The Serpent and the Peacock Tarot

[FLizarraga]

So I discovered this deck in a post on the Facebook Tarot Marketplace group. It was already sold, but it sent me into a rabbit hole that yielded very few results.

 

A post on the Tarot collectors Forum: http://www.tarotcollectors.com/view_topic.php?id=3347&forum_id=4

 

A brief mention in these hallowed forums: 

 

And a few YouTube walkthroughs.

 

And, well, this is the deck's very own website: http://www.serpentandthepeacock.com/

 

That's it. Basically, almost no one seems to have heard of this deck. Ever.

 

I did order it, together with the book, and they arrived yesterday, wonderfully packed, and with a bonus peacock feather. It is as gorgeous in person as it is in photos. I find the resolution of the images a tad underwhelming, but it could be the lighting in my office, or the fact that my close-up vision is gone after this year's surgeries. The cardstock is nice, on the matte side without being perfectly matte, VERY SLIPPERY, and the gilded edges rub off on your fingers, though not too much; I find it a little like fairy dust.

 

I am not in love with the Moon card, or even the Devil card, but that Tower does it for me.

 

Here are some pictures. Like I said, the lighting is not ideal, and neither are my skills as a photographer, for that matter.

 

So --opinions?

 

 

 

 

Edited August 18, 2021 by FLizarraga

[cosita]

I came across this deck a few months back but couldn't find anyone who did a walkthrough or anything, so I'm glad someone from the forum picked it up! How do you like it? (I'm guessing you've already checked it out at home with better lighting and everything.)

[katrinka]

It's very pretty. The collage work doesn't look crudely done at all, and I like the old images and the colors.

But that said, I'm going to give it a pass. That benevolent old moon doesn't say Tarot Moon to me. And the Mano Poderosa (Powerful Hand) is used for protection and blessings, it doesn't say the same things the Judgement card does. https://www.luckymojo.com/manopoderosa.html

 

The images are fascinating - but in many cases, they just don't fit:

 

That's from a 2003 painting by Karena Karras called "The Bath". It's a swan woman bathing in blood. It's a wonderful painting, but it doesn't fit Temperance.
http://www.karenakarras.com/index.html

And if you don't know the painting, you can't even read the image properly. You might think it's an old alchemical image, or that she's being cooked.
 

The creator says at the website "I don't know tarot" and "the imagery, symbolism and meanings that goes beyond the traditional interpretations, I feel, are best left to the intuition and imagination of the reader." That can be problematic, or at least irksome,  if you do know Tarot and the pictures conflict with it.

I wish they'd found another font for the title bars, too. The deck needs to be taken on its own terms without a reminder of RWS on every card.

This would have been much better done as a divination deck without the Tarot format. Not an "oracle" deck with affirmations and bad titles, but a divination deck. It's a pity they didn't do it that way, since the art is so evocative and beautiful. No guidebook needed, just a list of where the images were sourced, so people can research them if they want. It could have been a truly great deck.

I'm not saying this to ruin it for anyone - by all means, enjoy the art. Just be aware that it might not read as well as a deck done by someone who does know Tarot.

 

Edited August 20, 2021 by katrinka

[FLizarraga]

11 hours ago, cosita said:

I came across this deck a few months back but couldn't find anyone who did a walkthrough or anything, so I'm glad someone from the forum picked it up! How do you like it? (I'm guessing you've already checked it out at home with better lighting and everything.)

 

To tell you the truth, I have not had the time. These past couple of weeks have been very hectic.

 

10 hours ago, katrinka said:

It's very pretty. The collage work doesn't look crudely done at all, and I like the old images and the colors.

But that said, I'm going to give it a pass. That benevolent old moon doesn't say Tarot Moon to me. And the Mano Poderosa (Powerful Hand) is used for protection and blessings, it doesn't say the same things the Judgement card does. https://www.luckymojo.com/manopoderosa.html

 

The images are fascinating - but in many cases, they just don't fit:

 

That's from a 2003 painting by Karena Karras called "The Bath". It's a swan woman bathing in blood. It's a wonderful painting, but it doesn't fit Temperance.
http://www.karenakarras.com/index.html

And if you don't know the painting, you can't even read the image properly. You might think it's an old alchemical image, or that she's being cooked.
 

The creator says at the website "I don't know tarot" and "the imagery, symbolism and meanings that goes beyond the traditional interpretations, I feel, are best left to the intuition and imagination of the reader." That can be problematic, or at least irksome,  if you do know Tarot and the pictures conflict with it.

I wish they'd found another font for the title bars, too. The deck needs to be taken on its own terms without a reminder of RWS on every card.

This would have been much better done as a divination deck without the Tarot format. Not an "oracle" deck with affirmations and bad titles, but a divination deck. It's a pity they didn't do it that way, since the art is so evocative and beautiful. No guidebook needed, just a list of where the images were sourced, so people can research them if they want. It could have been a truly great deck.

I'm not saying this to ruin it for anyone - by all means, enjoy the art. Just be aware that it might not read as well as a deck done by someone who does know Tarot.

 

 

I did not go very far in the deck's website, so I missed that. It is, however, apparent once you take a good look at most of the images.

 

And I agree with you, katrinka. It's gorgeous, and I guess you could use it like you use a Lenormand --say, you do a reading, you get the Moon card, and you just use whatever Tarot system you use, which is not necessarily dependent on the images that are in front of you. 

 

That's not how most people read Tarot, though, and definitely not how I read. I guess it could be used it as a deck for purely (or almost purely) intuitive readings, a divination deck, like you say.

 

Thanks for the provenance. I was not familiar with Karena Karras. I think that some of the medieval images were used by Kat Black in her Golden Tarot (I would have to try a side by side comparison), but of course they are used differently, and they are not anyone's property, anyway.

 

 

 

Edited August 21, 2021 by FLizarraga

[katrinka]

1 hour ago, FLizarraga said:

 

To tell you the truth, I have not had the time. These past couple of weeks have been very hectic.

 

It's good to see you back. Hope all is well.
 

1 hour ago, FLizarraga said:

I did not go very far in the deck's website, so I missed that. It is, however, apparent once you take a good look at most of the images.

 

And I agree with you, katrinka. It's gorgeous, and I guess you could use it like you use a Lenormand --say, you do a reading, you get the Moon card, and you just use whatever Tarot system you use, which is not necessarily dependent on the images that are in front of you. 

 

The thing is, though, that a lot of us don't even use Lenormand like that. If the images are off-standard, we take that into account. It can be a bit of a headache sometimes, and that's why a lot of us prefer classic decks. Remember that thread where we were talking about Ciro's female Rider? Absolutely pages of discussion about how to make that work. It requires some adjustment and you lose some of the Rider meanings. I never could do it, and more's the shame - it's a lovely deck. I love his Sui Generis, though!

People can and do learn a system and apply it to everything across the board. But if you're going to use RWS meanings for TdM, for instance, why not just use RWS, or one of the many decks that follow that system closely?

I absolutely love the art used for this deck. But I'd never use it.
 

1 hour ago, FLizarraga said:

That's not how most people read Tarot, though, and definitely not how I read. I guess it could be used it as a deck for purely (or almost purely) intuitive readings, a divination deck, like you say.

 

Yes. Chop off the titles, I suppose.
I wouldn't read it intuitively, I'd research the images and try to come up with core meanings. It would be a ton of work for one deck with the bottoms chopped off. And those numbers would still be on top, and I know what they are. They're burned into my brain.
Ack.
 

 

Edited August 21, 2021 by katrinka

[FLizarraga]

On 8/20/2021 at 10:16 PM, katrinka said:

 

It's good to see you back. Hope all is well.
 

The thing is, though, that a lot of us don't even use Lenormand like that. If the images are off-standard, we take that into account. It can be a bit of a headache sometimes, and that's why a lot of us prefer classic decks. Remember that thread where we were talking about Ciro's female Rider? Absolutely pages of discussion about how to make that work. It requires some adjustment and you lose some of the Rider meanings. I never could do it, and more's the shame - it's a lovely deck. I love his Sui Generis, though!

People can and do learn a system and apply it to everything across the board. But if you're going to use RWS meanings for TdM, for instance, why not just use RWS, or one of the many decks that follow that system closely?

I absolutely love the art used for this deck. But I'd never use it.
 

 

Yes. Chop off the titles, I suppose.
I wouldn't read it intuitively, I'd research the images and try to come up with core meanings. It would be a ton of work for one deck with the bottoms chopped off. And those numbers would still be on top, and I know what they are. They're burned into my brain.
Ack.
 

 

 

Thank you, katrinka! Things are better.

 

I am glad you said this. Because we're told Lenormand is supposed to be read like a sort of math equation, ignoring visual cues and intuition, yet I don't think any reader worth their salt does that.

 

This is probably not a reading deck for me, or most people anyway. It's just gorgeous and mysterious and unreadable, like the Nicoletta Ceccoli Tarot.

 

 

[katrinka]

49 minutes ago, FLizarraga said:

Thank you, katrinka! Things are better.

 

🙂 🙂 🙂

49 minutes ago, FLizarraga said:

I am glad you said this. Because we're told Lenormand is supposed to be read like a sort of math equation, ignoring visual cues and intuition, yet I don't think any reader worth their salt does that.

I imagine it started like this.

Person 1: "The Dog has an old, dry bone. I feel like the bone is his old relationship..."
Person 2: "No no no! Lenormand isn't read intuitively!"

And everything got misunderstood from there... 🙄

 

49 minutes ago, FLizarraga said:

This is probably not a reading deck for me, or most people anyway. It's just gorgeous and mysterious and unreadable, like the Nicoletta Ceccoli Tarot.

 

People purchase these decks to look at with no expectation of reading them? I had no idea. Color me naive!
I'd rather have art prints, though. I could enjoy them on the wall instead of stowing them away!

[FLizarraga]

On 8/22/2021 at 1:21 AM, katrinka said:

People purchase these decks to look at with no expectation of reading them? I had no idea. Color me naive!

 

Are you new here? 🤣

 

The things about this deck is that I think I can read with it, imperfect as it is as a Tarot deck. The images speak to me. And, in the end, that's all that matters.

 

And I wouldn't bother with the provenance of every single image. I know enough about medieval art, and mythology for that matter, that I can get by. Even the Karras image, while not medieval, is referencing medieval art, sort of like artists such as Leonora Carrington and Remedios Varo.

Edited August 25, 2021 by FLizarraga

[katrinka]

12 minutes ago, FLizarraga said:

Are you new here? 🤣

 

LOL. I know, flavor of the month, a flurry of posts and on to the next. But I always assumed people at least intended to use them when they purchased them.
 

12 minutes ago, FLizarraga said:

The things about this deck is that I think I can read with it, imperfect as it is as a Tarot deck. The images speak to me. And, in the end, that's all that matters.

 

Yes, it works as a non-Tarot. The titles and numbers would be distracting, though, at least for me.
 

12 minutes ago, FLizarraga said:

And I wouldn't bother with the provenance of every single image. I know enough about medieval art, and mythology for that matter, that I can get by. Even the Karras image, while not medieval, is referencing medieval art, sort of like artists such as Leonora Carrington and Remedios Varo.

 

If you know the genre backwards and forwards, there's little or no reason to research them, I agree. Someone coming to it "cold" would be well-advised to do so, though.