What are they thinking?

[Lillie]

...with the exception of the Charmed (the less said the better) I don't hate any of my decks. Some I have disliked at times, but come round to. But if I come round to liking the Charmed I may have to kill myself. Arrgghh.

Perhaps the best thing would be to take a length of red string, wind it 9 times around the deck, tie it with 9 knots, and drive a 9 inch nail through the heart of it.

That should lay them to rest.
Or at least it might pin them down.

 

[Sophie]

And the Decameron Tarot is just just bad taste. Good grief. WHAT kind of reading do you do with this deck?

Uhmmmm, well...

Not necessarily a reading, you know ... Inspired by Aretino, I believe...

 

[nexyjo]

whether or not i like a deck has to do with what i use the deck for. frankly, many decks i own i *never* use for reading, but i really like looking through the cards and just musing over the art. they may not speak to me in the context of reading, but the artwork moves me.

that said, when i first got into the tarot, i bought three decks - rider-waite, shapeshifter, and the dragon tarot. i totally disliked the shapeshifter on every level, i liked some of the art in the dragon tarot but it did nothing for me as far as reading, so i used the rider-waite at first.

i guess the rider-waite template stuck with me - most decks that speak to me are clones. the robin wood is a perfect example. since i first bought that deck, it's been my favorite. the pagan tarot, while it does shift from the rider-waite imagery, also speaks clearly to me.

when i first got the thoth deck, i was overwhelmed. it felt so powerful, i had trouble even holding the cards for any length of time. after a while, it became just too much for me. i haven't even looked at the cards in years. i agree, that deck is scary, and i'm not really sure why. i hold on to it though - for some reason i was compelled to have it, so i imagine that its purpose will eventually become clear to me.

a lot of my favorite decks are those that feature artwork i enjoy - the art nouveau types, hansen-roberts, aquarian, cloisters (i am still facinated with round decks for some reason), and some of the erotic decks like manara's erotic tarot and the black tarot. i never read with any of these decks but i enjoy looking through them. actually, these types of decks make up most of my collection which numbers around 30 or 35.

and then there are those decks that i use for a while and then start to speak too softly to me, but i keep for the art and in case they speak up again, like the ren, osho zen, legend arthurian, gill, gendron, old path, and a few others.

i take no issue with the fact that some people have no idea why others prefer decks they dislike - the tarot is such an individual experience, and we all are so different, it's no wonder that we each have completely different relationships with individual tarot decks.

 

[FaerieSage]

I totally agree...have you tried the Radiant though? It's wonderfully redrawn and colored

Hadn't thought about it. I agree that it's much nicer to my aesthetic sensibilities. I'm not ready to run out and buy it yet, but I certainly don't have the aversion I do to the original. Those pictures combined with the color scheme...*shudder*

 

[cirom]

From the moment I read the first post of this thread I thought to myself, ok here goes I'm in for a bad week. My assumption that the Gilded would not make it through without being mentioned in this particular hall of "fame" proved to be the case....but having said that the tone of this thread has been a credit to the members and in the spirit of agreeing to disagree and an aknowledgement of the diversity of options that provides almost everyone in the tarot community with something that should suit their pesonal taste. So no complaints from me.

On an amusing note though, seeing what a picky bunch we are, could you imaging preparing a hypothetical design brief for an artist to create the ideal deck. One that would attempt to be successfull by addressing the various preferences and dislikes mentioned in this and other threads. It might go something like this.

"OK. here is want I want you to do. Come up with a deck thats ....

Physically big enough to show the artwork in its best light.
But not too big that it may be difficult for smaller hands to shuffle.

Adhere to a classic such as RWS so that people are reasonably familiar with the imagery.
But don't be too familar that it may be dismissed as another clone.

Consider using fully illustrated minors so that the style and artwork is consistent throughout.
Or maybe not, because some find that over illustrated images too dominating and distract from their own interpreatations, which are less hindered when viewing less illustrated pips.

Consider adding a border around the card as this will focus the image much as a real frame does for a canvas. Possibly include some sybolism or colour as this may also help visually reconfirm the suits.
But then again maybe not., borders might just detract and distract from the imagery.

Make the style and content of the imagery faithfull to the traditions and heritage of tarot.
But then again you might also consider making the imagery relevant to today's real word. After all when is the last time you saw a knight at the local shopping mall chuckle chuckle.

OK when you get back to me with your first draft sketches, we'll then talk about options for Swords being fire or air, and the numerical position of justice and strength

Alright then, I think we've covered most points.... for now, other than that you're absolutely free to come up with something of your own. But make it fresh and new, we don't want to risk creating something that just gets lost in the crowd do we?
Oh and by the way,....one last thing, we don't have much of a budget

 

[Flavio]

"OK. here is want I want you to do. Come up with a deck thats ....

I believe that even if an artist accomplished to meet all those requirements, there would be someone not liking it, it was funny to read, have you actually experienced something like that?

 

[OakDragon]

I believe that even if an artist accomplished to meet all those requirements, there would be someone not liking it, it was funny to read, have you actually experienced something like that?

I would guess that any tarot deck designer who has tried to incorporate tarot enthusiasts desires' has experienced that.

 

[cirom]

I believe that even if an artist accomplished to meet all those requirements, there would be someone not liking it, it was funny to read, have you actually experienced something like that?

Not that extreme, and not with tarot, but yes I have had to listen to some design briefs in my career that contained some contraditions.

"We're look for something traditional yet fresh" "Conservative but not staid"
I tended to respond by thinking (but not saying "Words but no meaning"
"Corner office but no brains"

 

[Rhiamon]

Ciro!

OMG, I am cracking up! Who knew people's tastes could be so different? I personally love the Gilded, haven't saved for the ToD's yet but will But ya know, alot of people dislike borders, but I personally like them. I even waited to buy the new Witch's tarot because they made it with black borders now. *shrug* no pleasing everyone...never, ever, that's what's fun about life

 

[darwinia]

But then again maybe not., borders might just detract and distract from the imagery.

For your imagery Ciro this is true. However, if you choose to hide your artwork with pinball lights from arcade games. . .