I've been given a £20 Amazon voucher and am thinking of buying myself a new deck. I haven't bought a mass-market deck for over a year and I'm sure I've missed some great ones!

 

I'm looking for some inspiration so...what were your favourite purchases of 2017?

Of the mass market ones available on amazon, I'd have to say the Rana George Lenormand. You're probably looking for a Tarot, but the Tarots that really impressed me over the last year have all been indie-ish.

For me it has to be the Star Tarot by Cathy McClelland!

I bought so many decks last year and most of them were ones that I have lusted after for quite some time so that I love almost all of them. I have to refine the criteria to be able to answer rationally. If I were to limit the items only to Tarot decks I purchased in 2017 which were also published only in 2017, I would still be left with 10. If I were to only choose those that I have or will soon use quite a lot, I guess I have my top three of sorts:

 

1. Barbara Walker Tarot in a Tin

2. Tarot of Shadows by Vera Sklyarova

3. Tarocchi Sola Busca - LoS Anima Antiqua line

Thanks for the suggestions so far - it's really interesting to see what others have bought and liked this year.

 

katrinka[/member], I have quite a few Lenormands and Rana's looks lovely - I always seem to reach for my trusty Dondorf though.

 

RavenOfSummer[/member], the Star tarot looks really interesting - does it read well?

 

EmpyreanKnight[/member], I'm very tempted by the Barbara Walker in a tin. It's a deck I missed the first time round and I like decks which use mythology.

Dreams of Gaia

Viceversa Tarot

Bought these in December and still haven't had time to study them properly.  But when I opened them first impressions are good.

Spider

 

Do gifts count ? I asked for (when I saw a reliable seller with one for sale) the Camargue that I had wanted for YEARS.

 

http://www.alchemywebsite.com/tarot/database/record1686.html

 

Best I got all year, though there are others I love too. The LoS Santa Muerte, the 78-card Star, the Vice Versa, Mark Watson's trio of dark decks...

I agree with those who mentioned the Star Tarot (although the quality of the cards is crap), Santa Muerte, Ostara and Spirit Within Tarot were a few other mass market favs in 2017.

My absolute #1 deck is an indie deck, the Sasuraibito, but I was very happy with most of my other purchases in 2017, which were mass market decks.

 

Some I'd like to mention:

 

- Joie de Vivre - it sat on my wish list for.. 3-4 years before I got it and it's really cute and whimsical, feels very "me" which was really nice.

- The Wild Unknown - didn't feel like buying it for the longest time because of all the hype but decided to give it a chance this fall and it's a pretty nice deck after all!

- The Aquarian - it's still a bit hard to decide how I feel about the white faces but I'm in love with the art deco style and bright reds and oranges in this deck!

- Blue Owl Lenormand - the German edition of this is still in print, called the Blaue Eule Lenormand. It's very nice for my forray into Lenormand and has a vintage artstyle I like.

- The Centennial RWS - my favourite version of Pamela Colman-Smith and Arthur E. Waite's influental deck.

- Ostara Tarot - collaborative decks aren't usually for me, I like my art to be more consistent than they usually are, but this deck managed to pull it together in a way that appealed to me.

Thanks for the suggestions so far - it's really interesting to see what others have bought and liked this year.

 

 

RavenOfSummer[/member], the Star tarot looks really interesting - does it read well?

 

 

 

I do love reading with it flaxen. I find it especially great for spiritual and inner work- I used it for the Sacred Days of Yule this year and it was very powerful. The companion book is marvelous as well :)

EmpyreanKnight[/member], I'm very tempted by the Barbara Walker in a tin. It's a deck I missed the first time round and I like decks which use mythology.

 

It also has a highly informative companion book that may be OOP, but is available at an affordable price either used or nearly new. I bought a copy, and I loved it.

 

Also, all of the deck's previous runs were snapped up, so if you find yourself liking it, you may want to get a copy before it's all gone again.

I don't even remember what decks I bought in 2017! :o

So I take one from one of the piles that is here on my table......

Everyday Witch Tarot. :)

The Ostara is also one I've debated over - I'm not normally keen on decks with different styles of art but I've heard lots of positive comments on this one. Another one to add to the wish list together with the Star Tarot.

 

Page of Ghosts[/member], the Sasuraibito is on my list to buy from Little Red Tarot. It is a gorgeous deck. :)

 

Thanks for the heads-up on the Barbara Walker - think I might have to go for that first as I don't want to miss it again.

 

 

I pretty much only bought indie decks this year, so I'll be no help to you... But the best deck I bought this year was the long out of print Thea's Tarot. I just love holding a piece of LGBT tarot history in my hands, and it's been giving me amazing readings... I'd say it's my second favorite deck in my collection!

 

The one mass-market deck I purchased was quite a delightful surprise though! I thought the Raven's Prophecy was going to end up as a deck forgotten in a drawer until October, but I've actually gotten a lot of use out of it. I don't even mind the orange borders all that much.

The Shadowscapes Tarot is beautiful.

The Shadowscapes Tarot is beautiful.

 

The Shadowscapes was my first tarot love but all the complaints about the tiny cards vs. detailed artwork put me off it for years. I'm thinking that 2018 will be the year where I give it a chance and see what I think of it myself instead :D It is very pretty and I'm also interested in Stephanie Pui-Mun Laws art books.

I'm pretty sure I bought only two decks last year, the Rosetta Papyrus, which I love, and, and the very end of the year, the Renaissance, which I am really looking forward to using. The cards are beautiful, and I have started reading the very well done large-format book that came with it.

Off the top of my head I'd say the Tabula Mundi Colores Arcus

http://www.tabulamundi.com/tabula-mundi-major-arcana-tarot/

I'm not a big Thoth reader but I am very interested in the system and feel the deck is lovely to work with.

 

Another set that really surprised me was the Sirian Starseed Tarot and the oracle deck I use with the Starseed deck, Cosmic Reading Cards

http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/sirian-starseed/

http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/cosmic-reading-cards/

These 2 decks were an impulse and they really surprised me on how I love working with them, especially as a pair.

 

One of the last decks I received was the 78 Astral.  I just love the deck!  It was on preorder for almost a year but well worth it.

https://www.78tarot.cards/78-tarot-astral/

It was actually a gift (does that count?) but my favourite was Everyday witch