Plague Diary: In Which I Wish I Had a Tarot Deck

[lydy]

I own...not many.  Five?  Six?  I find that I wish I had packed one, and now I'm thinking that maybe I should use this as an opportunity to buy a new one.  I'm looking for suggestions.  

My favorite deck has been the Morgan Greer deck, which is pretty  much the Rider-Waite deck, but with the people somewhat more foregrounded.  I dislike Crowley's deck, the name of which I cannot recall; it has too much non-consensual power in it.  I don't want a deck that's many different art styles.  I do care about the artwork, though.  I want full color, not black and white.  I do not resonate to plants.  I am not interested in very modern or very twee.  I don't want something heavily inflected by an ethnicity I do not have, so things like Celtic or Egyptian or African or whatever are just not going to speak to me.  Oh, round cards are right out.  I am reasonably traditional, but not very serious.  Extra points if it comes with a booklet or cheat sheet.   Oh, round cards are right out.  And I am not willing to spend huge amounts of money.

Should I just get another Morgan Greer or Rider-Waite?  Or is there something cool out there I should look at?

Thanks.

Comments

[princessofgeeks]

Angeles Arrien's book on the Crowley deck might change your mind. It's called The Tarot Handbook.

I have really enjoyed the photo collage deck called the Voyager Tarot by Wanless.

I also like Palladini's take on the traditional Rider/Waite cards.

But my fave remains the Rider/Waite deck with the new coloring.

you might like The Renaissance Tarot by Williams. Not twee at all.

And I have also enjoyed the Blake Deck.

[lydy]

I was just looking at the Aquarian Tarot, and liking it. Do you think the new Palladini is better than the Aquarian?

[princessofgeeks]

I am not famliar with the new Palladini deck. It's his Aquarian Tarot that I have.

[lydy]

Apparently, he also did a different deck, called "The New Palladini" which actually looks similar to the Aquarian in some ways.

https://www.amazon.com/New-Palladini-Tarot-David/dp/0880791896/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=new+palladini+tarot&qid=1606964575&s=books&sr=1-2

I have a strong temptation to get both, and compare. This way lies madness. If a man with two clocks never knows what time it is...

[princessofgeeks]

I'm not gonna discourage you!!! I probably about about 15 decks right now and have given some away.

[lydy]

You are a very bad influence, and I have done exactly that. I like the look of the Aquarian Tarot, which strongly reminds me of the Bird posters for Godspell and Jesus Christ Superstar, which I really love. That whole style of trippy-dippy-hippy-Art Nouveau-inflected graphic design appeals to me.

[princessofgeeks]

YES!

[lydy]

ENABLER!

[princessofgeeks]

I regret nothing.

[julian]

I got stuck on Robin Wood's for awhile, and still enjoy it, mostly for the art.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0875428940/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0875428940&linkCode=as2&tag=robwooent-20&linkId=VSWYASGI223XNLW5

[lydy]

It's pretty, but it makes me...itchy. I think it's not a good fit for me, while still looking like a very good deck.

[julian]

Reasonable enough. Itchy feelings are information, after all.

[ambyr]

Oh, Tarot is such a personal thing. The one I learned from is Michael Tierra's Herbal Tarot, but if plants do nothing for you that's not likely to be your thing. I adore Stephanie Law's Shadowscapes Tarot, but it's anything but traditional. I've been eying Gits and Dunham's Pagan Otherworlds deck lately? And there's the Modern Witch deck that's been following me around the city. Oh, and I know you're more a Pittsburgh person than a Philly person, but the James Boyle Philly Tarot is amazing.

I know, I know, too many decks.

[princessofgeeks]

Shadowscapes is gorgeous! I wish the cards were twice as big. The artwork is just amazing.

[green_knight]

There was a Czech language version with bigger cards - I've not managed to get my hands on it, but if I ever see it again, I shall pounce.

[lydy]

The Philly deck is amazing, but you're right, I don't really resonate with Philly (for all that I was conceived there, I never lived there. Pittsburgh is the city of my heart.)

I like th Shadowscapes art, but it doesn't resonate the way the Aquarian deck does. But damn, that's pretty.

[green_knight]

I'd definitely get another deck, and I wholeheartedly share your dislike for Crowley and the Thoth - life's too short for decks you don't like!

If you like fantasy, Barbara Moore's Wizard Tarot or the Renate Lechner's Thelema Tarot are both wonderful decks. (I haven't worked with Lechner's Arcanum Tarot, but it has a similar feel, and more close-up characters.)

For a more fairytale feel, the Forest of Enchantment is wonderful, but it may not be people-centred enough for you.

The Modern Witch tarot is sheer unadulterated fun - it's more of a comic style, very funny and to the point.
The Lightseer's Tarot is also contemporary, with extremely vibrant images and very character-centric.

If you're feeling literary, Barbara Moore's Alice in Wonderland Tarot is a delight, matching Alice and Tarot intelligently; but I don't know how easy that is to get at the moment.

All of these are mass market decks that have given me solid readings; they come with good-to-great books.

[guppiecat]

Do you know about Tillie Walden? She just released a deck. I love her other work, but I haven't done a deep dive into the cards yet.

https://www.tilliewalden.com/tarot

[lydy]

My, those are lovely. Definitely an animation art style, but lovely.

[quadong]

But how do you feel about round cards?

[lydy]

They are the work of the devil. Perhaps I should be clearer?

[bibliofile]

Which devil?!?! ;)

[lydy]

All of them, I think.

[bibliofile]

remember, in a pinch the Morgan's tarot is online. (There may be others.)

[lydy]

I love the Morgan Greer deck, but I actually hate the Morgan. It doesn't work for me at all. But I know people for whom it is the deck of their heart, which I guess just shows that people are people.