Morgan Greer or Connolly?

[FaintlyMacabre]

Yes indeed it does.

But is it just nudity in that particular Lovers card that makes you uncomfortable ? Precious few tarot decks are nudity free - traditionally Star is nude, to name but one. A quick trawl on albideuter turns up a mass of nude lovers, as well as stars, and some totally uncovered Worlds.

One is that Moore/Fell Steampunk though, even though it still mostly looks like it is "through a glass darkly to me" and I have issues with some of the cards. I have only looked through it twice, I think. Everyone is covered though.

Way back, I was a little uncomfortable with the naked people too and, of course, that Robin Wood was just perfect Now it is not such an issue although I am not keen on women who look like inflatable dolls, etc.

Um, I thought that ribbon on The World was there for a good reason.

(How about the Vanessa?)

edited: I am pleased to say that The Lovers in the Barbara Walker Tarot are properly clothed and very chaste looking so if that is the only sticking point, that is the go-to deck

Diana

 

[gregory]

Not a nudity reason, I think. I read somewhere that the ribbon wrapped around her signifies the ‘lightning flash’ path that consciousness takes down the Tree of Life, from top to bottom and back. Also the balance between stability and movement. Here's something about it; I can't find where I actually read it.

Of course this neatly knocks all the other versions (in full length surplices etc !) off the map....

 

[FaintlyMacabre]

I had understood that The World showed a hemaphrodite. Representing the union of everything or something of the sort.

Okay, somebody literate - Alfred Douglas, "Traditionally the floating veil is said to hide the fact that the dancer is hermaphroditic, combining the physical features of both sexes. This would fit in well with the symbolism of this card as the last stage in the Tarot cycle."

"The search is ended, the goal has been reached. The self has at last reached true unity and is indivisible. The contrasexual elements have been reconciled; the psyche no longer holds and illusions concerning its own separateness and is aware that it is conterminous with the entire universe. Poised at the mystic Centre, the androgyne moves with joyful abandon, joining ectastically in the Dance of Life."

Yeah, that's what I read somewhere.

Diana

 

[gregory]

OH. I thought I knew my Douglas. But - those are VERY hermaphroditic breasts....

Not.

And his own is almost even less so. Then again, I think I may now have found a hermaphroditic World: it really does suggest a deliberate hiding of the male genitals....

 

[Zephyros]

Well hermephroditic doesn't necessarily mean androgynous. In the Thoth the connection between the Fool and the World is more accentuated. Here, though, it follows the RWS formate. It's usually one of the darker of the Majors in terms of color, if you use the GD scales which Case was influenced by, and here it has a lovely dark blue background with a starfield.

From the Book of Thoth:

In the card itself there is consequently a glyph of the completion of the Great Work in its highest sense, exactly as the Atu of the Fool symbolizes its beginning. The Fool is the negative issuing into manifestation; the Universe is that manifestation, its purpose accomplished, ready to return. The twenty cards that lie between these two exhibit the Great Work and its agents in various stages.

In essence, the Fool has no sex, while the World is both.

I was surprised when I read here on AT that Bill Greer wasn't actually into Tarot at all. Who's Lloyd Morgan? Has he done any other decks? Published books?

 

[gregory]

Well apparently Greer worked under Morgan's direction.... But to quote from Lee's review elsewhere:

This is somewhat odd, since the deck includes a card with the artist’s biography and a short statement by the artist on how the deck was created, which does not mention Mr. Morgan.

I need to go look at a book or three....

Fair point about hermaphrodite =/= androgyne. I stand deeply corrected !

 

[FaintlyMacabre]

I just remembered reading that somewhere and grabbed Douglas. I am sure every deck is not following that train of thought.

Everybody looks like they were just neutered in that World card, Gregory. I don't think I ever saw a more depressed looking group.

Diana

 

[cSpaceDiva]

Who's Lloyd Morgan? Has he done any other decks? Published books?

Lloyd Morgan ran Morgan Press. In addition to the Morgan-Greer, they also printed & published the Aquarian Tarot and the Fantasy Showcase Tarot. I'm not aware if there were any others.

 

[Freddie]

Without a doubt, I prefer Connolly.

Just to clear a few misconceptions up about the Connolly deck:

The artist Peter Connolly paints on glass, the stained glass thing may have been added by U.S. Games.

The deck is Christian Mystic/Gnostic not Catholic or any other mainstream Christian faith. Maybe a little bit Anglican. The books are not Catholic by any stretch. She talks a lot about Kabbalah and Astrology. Her system is based on the C.C. Zain books.

The title 'Death' is not on any of the early Tarot packs, so not putting it in this deck does not mean it is making it a softer touch.

To my knowledge, Stuart Kaplan does not appear in this deck, Connolly family members do though.


Freddie

 

[FLizarraga]

MissNine, I'll be the voice of dissent here and say: neither. For Catholics, which are the people you would be reading for, a nearly perfect deck is Kat Black's Golden Tarot. It's wonderfully evocative, based on magnificent church art from the late Middle Ages and early Renaissance, its nudity (such as it is) wouldn't offend a nun, and it is based on a sturdy RWS structure.

It's my all time favorite deck, so I'm biased, but I'm also an ex-Catholic.