Chariot Posted August 3, 2023 Posted August 3, 2023 2 hours ago, Mi-Shell said: @Chariot I love your compare and contrast posts! ♥ So much so, that I checked out this deck and am seriously getting interested in it. The depicted scenes are very much pulled out of everyday life and I have a feeling, this would make a great deck for me and my clients to read face to face with ♥ I'll do a couple more this week, if you're enjoying this. I will probably wait till the fanning powder (which Fire Cat Pickles recommended) arrives and I can maybe get the cards a bit easier to handle, before I try another actual reading from them. When I did my reading, I tried shuffling and dealing wearing the rubber finger covers that clerical workers use when handling papers. Even that was only somewhat successful, and I abandoned that as a bad job. I ended up 'shuffling' the cards by simply mixing them up face down for a long time, then selecting cards from the mix. Not terribly elegant! But aside from the card stock issue, these are fantastic cards ...a new conception, but adhering quite well to the RWS system (as well as to each other.) There are only a couple of cards I'm not really fond of ...and they aren't bad. There are no 'lazy cards.' The designs have all been well thought out and executed.
Chariot Posted August 3, 2023 Posted August 3, 2023 Here's another comparison card from The Everyday Enchantment Tarot that I particularly like: Like the RWS card, this young man is adept at juggling! But he also looks confident. He is not only good at juggling, but seems to be enjoying the experience. Unlike the people in a few other cards in this deck (10 of Wands, 8 of Blades/Swords as examples) he doesn't seem the least bit harassed or pressured. He's just doing a very demanding, complicated job, and doing it well—keeping everything ticking over and everybody happy. He's a natural at it.
Bodhiseed Posted August 3, 2023 Posted August 3, 2023 @Chariot, I like Poppy's pragmatic approach too - I'm enjoying your comparisons with the RWS.
Madame Squee Posted August 4, 2023 Posted August 4, 2023 This week: Tarot of Tales (Melinda Lee Holm, Illustrations by Rohan Daniel Eason) The breakthroughs depicted in the seven's are a great example of why this deck grabs me. PS: Someone on Amazon said the cards have a nostalgic odor. Sounded odd to me. But I tell you now, they smell like a brand new vinyl baby doll. PPS: https://youtu.be/NFeUko-lQHg
Chariot Posted August 4, 2023 Posted August 4, 2023 (edited) @Madame Squee - What a beautiful set of cards! They are not garish at all, but this variety of colours should make them easy to read at a glance, once you get used to the deck. I'm intrigued. I don't normally go for 'animal' decks, but this one is exquisite. I especially like the frog, staring into the pond at his reflection and 'fantasizing' all sorts of (probably silly) things about himself ...the essence of the 7 of Cups, really. The Fox is sitting so calmly at the entrance to his forest glade? Knowing he's more or less in the right place at the right time, and sooner or later 'things' will develop in his favour? (The essence of the 7 of Coins.) I think the seagull might be a bit more in keeping with the spirit of the 7 of Swords if it had something clutched in its beak that it had stolen, though. Somebody's partly-eaten hamburger or fish supper? 😄 The camel makes me think. It's not an immediate depiction of meeting a challenge (which I think is the usual overview meaning of the 7 of Wands.) But it seems to be about breaking through a barren situation into a better one. The ability to do that IS a challenge, though, isn't it? I like it. I like this deck well enough to check it out for myself. I look forward to seeing more of your postings about it. Edited August 4, 2023 by Chariot
Saule Posted August 4, 2023 Posted August 4, 2023 19 hours ago, Chariot said: Here's another comparison card from The Everyday Enchantment Tarot that I particularly like: Like the RWS card, this young man is adept at juggling! But he also looks confident. He is not only good at juggling, but seems to be enjoying the experience. Unlike the people in a few other cards in this deck (10 of Wands, 8 of Blades/Swords as examples) he doesn't seem the least bit harassed or pressured. He's just doing a very demanding, complicated job, and doing it well—keeping everything ticking over and everybody happy. He's a natural at it. I’m not even a part of this thread but I stumbled upon it and saw how beautiful Everyday Enchantment Tarot is. Needless to say I will be ordering it tonight 🙂 Like all the other posters, I’ve been really enjoying your comparisons. Please keep them coming if you have time!
Chariot Posted August 4, 2023 Posted August 4, 2023 @Saule It really is a lot of fun to work with. One of my all-time favourites. BUT do be aware that the cards are difficult to handle ...they are thick, fairly large (I've modified mine) and they tend to clump together while shuffling and dealing out. Just so you know. But while these disadvantages would be a deal breaker for me when it comes to other decks, I persevere with this one. I've even ordered some fanning powder which should arrive today, and with any luck will make the cards a bit slipperier to handle. But riffle shuffling is definitely not possible with this deck.
Chariot Posted August 4, 2023 Posted August 4, 2023 (edited) As pictures of this deck, The Everyday Enchantment Tarot by Poppy Palin seem to have proved popular ...here's another one: Like many of the other cards in this deck, Poppy has chosen to depict one particular aspect of the usual card. Gone is the notion of 'sacrifice' or even 'suspension'—in terms of being stuck where you are and not being able to do anything just now. Instead she has depicted the notion of seeing things from a totally different perspective! In the case of this Hanged Man, who happens to be a teenaged boy, his new, unorthodox view of things is bringing him a lot of pleasure. Interesting to look at the people in the background, from those who are ignoring him or can't see him, those who disapprove, those who think he's making a big mistake—and the little girl who seems to think the boy is a pretty cool dude. Edited August 4, 2023 by Chariot
Bodhiseed Posted August 4, 2023 Posted August 4, 2023 9 hours ago, Madame Squee said: PS: Someone on Amazon said the cards have a nostalgic odor. Sounded odd to me. But I tell you now, they smell like a brand new vinyl baby doll. This made my morning. 😂 Thanks for pointing out the breakthroughs. This is one of the few mass-produced decks (at least in the last few years) that seems worth the purchase. Is the booklet helpful?
Bodhiseed Posted August 4, 2023 Posted August 4, 2023 56 minutes ago, Chariot said: Like many of the other cards in this deck, Poppy has chosen to depict one particular aspect of the usual card. Gone is the notion of 'sacrifice' or even 'suspension'—in terms of being stuck where you are and not being able to do anything just now. Instead she has depicted the notion of seeing things from a totally different perspective! In the case of this Hanged Man, who happens to be a teenaged boy, his new, unorthodox view of things is bringing him a lot of pleasure. Interesting to look at the people in the background, from those who are ignoring him or can't see him, those who disapprove, those who think he's making a big mistake—and the little girl who seems to think the boy is a pretty cool dude. Looks like he's trying to make the best of a long wait in line!
Chariot Posted August 4, 2023 Posted August 4, 2023 (edited) Hi, @Bodhiseed Yes, I'm happy to report the book that comes with The Everyday Enchantment Tarot is excellent, comprehensive, and written by Poppy herself. She gives detailed insight into how she conceived each image and what she thinks it means, as well as her overall card philosophy. She doesn't use reversals, but she does discuss the downside of each image. (I do use reversals, but this isn't a problem for me. I can easily conceive what the reversal would be.) Here's another of the cards. Minor Arcana, this time. Again, I love the way she's expanded on the traditional meaning of the card : The usual depiction in the Five of Coins/Pentacles is of poor, disabled people out in the snow outside the window of a church. Poppy's illustration differs in two ways ...it's not a church, but a nice cozy pub they're outside of—meaning they'll need money to come in. And there are people in the pub, definitely doing well, deliberately ignoring the have-nots outside. At least in the traditional depiction you can assume that the poor could maybe go inside the church (as a sanctuary) or ask the people in the church to help them. But Poppy's is a more harsh depiction. The poor are stuck outside in the snow—in plain view—but nobody in the pub gives a hoot. No stained glass windows to block out images here. Edited August 4, 2023 by Chariot
Chariot Posted August 5, 2023 Posted August 5, 2023 (edited) Before I get on with my day, I'll post another card comparison from The Everyday Enchantment Tarot ...but this time from a slightly different angle. (By the way, @fire cat pickles, the fanning powder arrived yesterday, I've tested it on a couple of the cards from this deck, and it seems to solve the problems I've had with the cards sticking to each other. It will be a couple of days before I can get the whole deck treated, but THANK YOU for the suggestion!) Anyway. Here are three cards, all exploring the notion of voluntary solitude: I've always struggled with the RWS 4 of Swords. The figure in the card is supposed to be resting, recharging batteries, even healing from some illness or trauma—but by gee, he actually looks dead, in a tomb! Hmmm. The Hermit isn't some medieval, Merlin-y recluse in Poppy's deck, but an ordinary, modern person taking time at home (at night, possibly late at night—the moon is fully up and there is an owl outside) to study, to research, to think, to work on some issue that needs reflection. This is mentally active solitude, solitude with purpose. I do note that the person depicted here is wearing baggy, unisex clothing, has a very basic haircut, no other adornments. Perhaps this person is an academic, or scientist, who is focused on historical or scientific theories and/or philosophy, rather than having a social life? The Four of Blades/Swords figure is out camping taking a calming, much-needed (possibly healing) barefoot break from the world's chaos to just rest up in simple, earthy surroundings. He is also clearly not dead! The 9 of Coins/Pentacles is one of my favourite cards in Poppy's deck. This modern woman is just having a quiet day 'in,' and doing the things she simply enjoys doing. She doesn't seem the slightest bit lonely, nor driven in any way—either by a need to figure things out, or to escape from some trauma or pressure. Nope. She's just enjoying her own company. This, to me, is an ideal state! I love home-alone time, and feel like I can never get too much of it. When I do get it, I tend to do exactly as she's doing ...put together a special meal, create some ambience in the dining room with lighting, music, etc, get a book to read—and I'm in HEAVEN! I also use this time to work with my tarot cards in peace and quiet. Not an easy state to reach, when you live with other people, but the 9 of Coins/Pentacles is MY ideal card! 😋 Edited August 5, 2023 by Chariot
Guest Posted August 6, 2023 Posted August 6, 2023 Thanks @Bodhiseed! The Promethean is one of my favorite decks. Already performed my draws for the week, but I only had time to post them now, on what's thankfully turning out to be a quiet weekend.
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