I enjoyed all this DV bashing a lot, I have to admit, now that this thread has popped up again. I dislike cheesy happy-go-lucky decks, even more so when they are oracles, and it is always nice to see my prejudice confirmed. Big loughs tonight.
But I think Debra does have a point:
Even after reading the critical answers to her post. Sure there isn’t really a balance between dark/creepy “DOOM DOOM WE ARE ALL DOMED” (quoting gregory) decks and the DV “all is candy” kind decks. But IMO that is simply because happiness is so much nicer than doom. And even when working with a tarot that balances darkness and light, don’t we all in a way want to lift or minds and souls, move towards the bright side, improve our karma, so to speak? I think we do. And as much as few people will understand how to lift your soul by using, say, the Baphomet (I don’t get it either), few people here obviously understand how to lift your soul by simply ignoring everything that isn’t bright.
Well, yes, tarot actually has a more neutral approach of improving insights, no matter if the results are nice or not. But those who consider themselves free of self-deception may throw the first stone. If our tool (a tarot, a screwdriver, a bottle of whisky) doesn’t deliver what we want to get, we put it aside. I am not so sure that those who prefer a DV oracle to a proper tarot deck are more naïve or more simplistic or something like that. I guess they just want something different.
And yes, DV sells better than most “serious” tarots, and also better than most really dark and creepy stuff. But nothing is bad just because someone makes a lot of money with it. There are many widely appreciated tarot decks being sold by using very clever marketing strategies. Nothing wrong with that.
The one thing I have to agree with (even though I’d rather like to contradict everything that looks too consensual) is the dishonesty of the DV stuff that has been mentioned several times, just because I feel the same way. My attempt to overcome my prejudice has failed for that reason. But I have to admit that I have become somehow curious about her tarot deck.
) Even the Savage only says it responds to the darker side of life; it doesn't say it only gives the ghastly negative messages.