Zerner-Farber

[Talisman]

'Lo all,

Met a friend for lunch at a neighborhood place (gyros, Greek salad and Chianti) and he showed me his new tarot deck, the Zerner-Farber.

I'd casually looked at this deck on-line before and didn't remember being too impressed with it, but when I saw it I really liked the cards.

They are only the size of a regular deck of playing cards, and have a thin, light feel. Backgrounds for the cards are tapestry and I guess they are completed with collage. The minors reminded me of Victorian valentines, the majors of the Arabian Nights somehow. The textures and patterns are striking and individual cards are evocative with atmosphere and mood.

This is not a dark deck, but it isn't childish or sugar and spicey either, or, even with the Victorian feel, cutesy. The little deck has no borders on the cards, which especially appeals to my friend. Also, each card is just layered with symbols and stuff to look at, but didn't feel cluttered. (I could see having one of these cards blown up to poster size to hang on my wall for awhile.) Oh, yeah, the cards are Smith-Rider-Waite compatible.

My friend has a feel for tarot layouts that works this way. He says if the cards are stark and simple, he likes a lot of cards in a layout to develop a reading, but with cards rich in complexity he uses simpler layouts.

Anyway, just out of curiousity, wondering if any of you have experience with this deck. (I collect imaginary decks, or collect decks in my imagination, or something. You know.)

Talisman
The secret to magic is knowing what to wish for. If you wish for things you're not going to get, your magic will never work.

 

[Logiatrix]

tal,
this deck has been my "baby" since forever!
i have recently found a new "baby," but the Z/F will always hold a special place in my heart.
i found it to be very comfortable in the hands, because it is smaller, with thinner cards and a matte finish.
the art work is amazing! one might assume, at first glance, that this is all pinkness (and fucshia) and light, but that is most certainly not the case. there are many layers of symbology to this deck, so don't let the lace FOOL you!
there are two books that work with this deck: "the instant tarot reader," with which this very deck is sold as a set; also, "the enchanted tarot," while sold with those cards of the same name, is the same imagery.

 

[destinyawaitsme]

I have this deck...and absolutely love it. It's really easy to shuffle with and the imagery is easy to figure out in case of a momentary memory lapse.

I also think it's really great for beginners!

 

[misifu]

Hello Talisman,
I agree with you, I think this a wonderful deck for both beginners and advanced readers. Incidentally, this is also one of my favorites. A lot of my friends like it as well. Sometimes it's so eerily accurate!
Lots of Love,
Misifu

 

[purplelady]

The enchanted tarot was one of my first decks , along with the great companion book. It Is the same deck as z/f , but was published years before.Cards are much larger and thicker,and border is different. I really like this deck and worked with it years ago. The pictures are actually photographs of the collages that she did. I believe they are large,poster size or larger.Made of fabric, lace , buttons, paper,and anything else that may go on a collage,also drawing. I believe they exist somewhere in a museum or gallery , or maybe the artist has them!Each card was actually created as a large collage picture.

 

[purplelady]

I am Really impressed with this deck now! As I've said, it was one of my first decks,and I mostly worked with it years ago. The last year or two I've gotten many new decks ,so this one has mostly sat on the shelf in the last couple of years. But this thread renewed my desire to use this deck SO I got it out today and asked it a question.Then ,I figured the question I asked might very well be too complicated,and I wouldn't recieve an easily discernable answer.But it turns out ,using the celtic cross , that it actually answered my question beautifully,so I really am impressed with this deck now! I'm not sure if it's just the deck itself OR because I've owned it for a long time and used it in the past quite a bit. And though I really love All my decks! It isn't really uncommon to feel a bit perplexed after a reading ,especially as to the answer of a specific question asked . I am newly in love with this deck! Mine is the "Enchanted " tarot version , they are very large , too large to "riffle" shuffle.The hardbound book that comes with the deck has a color picture of every card , and the picture is even bigger than the actual cards. So , you can really see the textures of the fabrics and all that neat stuff!!! I seem to have a special affinity with the swords in this deck for some reason.