Tarot Deck Pet Peeves

[Tom]

As I've collected decks I find the ones that have changed the symbolism significantly are can be challenging. They require more mental processing.  If they are in RWS family but diverge  from what the cards usual definitions are it can sometimes be daunting.  I like to be able to pick up a deck and read it without too much translation.

 

Sometimes they change the card suits into other symbols that don't translate immediately to what suit they are supposed to be.  Like the Yuletide Tarot changed the suits into Good Cheer, Candy Canes, Candles, and Presents.  It's not immediate apparent as to how what objects correlate with Cups, Swords, Wands, and Pentacles. I like it better when they are labeled for instance 5 Cups, then I can focus on more what the creator is saying in the pictures shown in the cards in which case the objects don't have to be part of the scene. 

 

I think that is okay if people add their own interpretations to certain cards as long as I can understand how it relates to the traditional deck. Some authors have given us alternative scenes that make sense to me.  If they vary too much from the norm I would have to read a lengthy book to use them easily. I can just interpret those cryptic ones intuitively and go with my gut, but sometimes I think it best to know the authors intention. This is especially true of themed decks. 

 

What are some of your pet peeves? 

 

[akiva]

15 minutes ago, Tom said:

What are some of your pet peeves? 

For me it's when I buy a tarot deck with playing card suits and they conflate Diamonds with Coins and Clubs with Wands. In old TdM's you can quite clearly see the (often blue/red) Diamond in the center of the Wands cards. Old coins sometimes used to have a trefle/fleur-de-lis design on them too, much like the Club shape or similar.

 

I get that everyone has their own ideas, but it's not hard to refrain from locking the pips into one mode of thinking so that others can explore their own 😊

[Tom]

@akiva I saw a deck in Barnes and Noble that claimed to be a Tarot Deck, but it was only 52 cards and used playing card suits.  Some cards had what looked like Major Arcana inserts.  The pups didn't seem to have RWS correlation.  The art was pretty but I didn't understand what they were doing--perhaps creating some type of hybrid?  They should call it a Tarot Deck.  I think it's closer to an Oracle. 

[moonglow]

2 hours ago, Tom said:

 

What are some of your pet peeves? 

 

Decks that are all strictly light/positive/upbeat don’t sit well with me at all. I wouldn’t say “fluffy” ones are out, because there are fun, fluffy decks that embrace all aspects. The wider the range of emotions and experiences expressed, the better for me.

 

Then, personally, I’m also quite set on the individual cards provoking a specific feeling. I’m more than a bit picky about the 8 of Swords, for example. Some of them seem to have all the elements of the RWS one, but the feel just doesn’t come across. Then others change it up, but I get the same feeling, which is what I’m after. (I feel like something is missing in the DruidCraft, but quite like the Anna K and the Tarot of the Animal Lords versions, for example).

 

Oh, and crummy and/or unshuffleable card stock.

 

13 minutes ago, Tom said:

@akiva I saw a deck in Barnes and Noble that claimed to be a Tarot Deck, but it was only 52 cards and used playing card suits.  Some cards had what looked like Major Arcana inserts.  The pups didn't seem to have RWS correlation.  The art was pretty but I didn't understand what they were doing--perhaps creating some type of hybrid?  They should call it a Tarot Deck.  I think it's closer to an Oracle. 

 

 

Was this the “A Jane Austen Tarot Deck” by any chance? The creator of one of the solo board gaming YouTube channels I follow was showing this one off the other day. There are only 53 cards, with playing card markings, but then you have the Ace of Clubs as Strength (with a drawing of a teapot), the 6 of Hearts as The Lovers, and others with images but no titles (3 instruments for the 3 of Clubs). I honestly don’t know anything about other systems of cartomancy, but it really confused me.

[akiva]

25 minutes ago, Tom said:

@akiva I saw a deck in Barnes and Noble that claimed to be a Tarot Deck, but it was only 52 cards and used playing card suits.  Some cards had what looked like Major Arcana inserts.  The pups didn't seem to have RWS correlation.  The art was pretty but I didn't understand what they were doing--perhaps creating some type of hybrid?  They should call it a Tarot Deck.  I think it's closer to an Oracle. 

Was it the illuminated playing cards? They blended the majors with pips while also turning it into some sort of playing card oracle 😆

 

[Tom]

@akiva yep that's the one.  I didn't know what the name was.  I just don't get it.  I'm not adding it to my collection just because it's peculiar.  Thanks for telling me what they're called. 

[akiva]

10 minutes ago, Tom said:

@akiva yep that's the one.  I didn't know what the name was.  I just don't get it.  I'm not adding it to my collection just because it's peculiar.  Thanks for telling me what they're called. 

No problem 😊 I feel the same about it, it's an interesting design but the execution is off...

[Tom]

@moonglow I understand what you mean.  I do like whimsical decks though and have very few "Dark" Decks.  You might laugh at me but I really like The Gummi Bear Tarot.  They have RWS imagery.  I did a bunch of readings with this deck for other people and it's answers to questions were definitely very serious.  I guess there must be a happy medium between fluff and dark. If I'm reading for others I think certain decks aren't as anxiety inducing as other ones for seekers.  

[DanielJUK]

I've moved this thread to the Tarot Decks section 🙂

[moonglow]

49 minutes ago, Tom said:

@moonglow I understand what you mean.  I do like whimsical decks though and have very few "Dark" Decks.  You might laugh at me but I really like The Gummi Bear Tarot.  They have RWS imagery.  I did a bunch of readings with this deck for other people and it's answers to questions were definitely very serious.  I guess there must be a happy medium between fluff and dark. If I'm reading for others I think certain decks aren't as anxiety inducing as other ones for seekers.  

 

Yes, all dark is not particularly useful either. And I would definitely not laugh at you for the Gummy Bear Tarot! Firstly, to each his/her own, but, that said, I would personally have a hard time resisting that one as well, if I weren’t seriously limiting my collection. I don’t really like any of the other RWS editions out there beyond the Centennial, so if I hadn’t found it, I may well have gone for something similar. I was quite drawn to the Ator Tarot when I downloaded the Fool’s Dog catalogue app, for example.

 

50 minutes ago, akiva said:

No problem 😊 I feel the same about it, it's an interesting design but the execution is off...

 

Aha. I had seen the Illuminated Playing Cards before, but not the “Tarot”. While by different artists, they have the same publisher. The Jane Austen Tarot Deck and the Illuminated Tarot are both subtitled “53 Cards for Divination and Gameplay” and are both (oversized) playing card style, with at least some of the same associations, at least for the Majors (Ace of Clubs for Strength, 6 of Clubs for the Tower, 9 of Clubs for The Sun). 😕

Edited December 14, 2023 by moonglow
Clarification

[akiva]

19 minutes ago, moonglow said:

Aha. I had seen the Illuminated Playing Cards before, but not the “Tarot”. While by different artists, they have the same publisher. The Jane Austen Tarot Deck and the Illuminated Tarot are both subtitled “53 Cards for Divination and Gameplay” and are both (oversized) playing card style, with at least some of the same associations, at least for the Majors (Ace of Clubs for Strength, 6 of Clubs for the Tower, 9 of Clubs for The Sun). 😕

The Jane Austin deck was probably inspired by the IPC deck, as they are very similar! I think for some people it could work, but I like my majors and pip cards seperate 😆 

[fire cat pickles]

4 hours ago, akiva said:

For me it's when I buy a tarot deck with playing card suits and they conflate Diamonds with Coins and Clubs with Wands.

Amen!

 

Diamonds/Wands are fire and Clubs/Coins are earth.... Drives me insane!

[akiva]

11 minutes ago, fire cat pickles said:

Diamonds/Wands are fire and Clubs/Coins are earth.... Drives me insane!

How about pip decks/playing card decks that use RWS meanings? That's definitely up there with the pet peeves 😆

Edited December 14, 2023 by akiva

[Rose Lalonde]

Mine is when the producers of a game or other well-known property sell a tarot deck but have made zero effort to match anything related to tarot, except maybe the majors.

 

I'm a hypocrite 😅 since I own the guilty-as-charged Dragon Age Inquisition Tarot, but there's a reason it's framed on the wall in my office rather than being on a reading table. 

 

Edited December 14, 2023 by Rose Lalonde

[Misterei]

6 hours ago, akiva said:

... a tarot deck with playing card suits and they conflate Diamonds with Coins and Clubs with Wands ...

Guilty of this one ... I'm AWARE of the french system where spades are lucky and clubs are unlucky ... but I find the above-mentioned method is just easier for me. So I keep spades as swords and clubs as batons. Diamonds as coins, hearts as cups. Even while knowing some French reader is grievously offended by this };>

 

As far as my pet peeves?

 

LOL That would be more of a BOOK than a forum post 😇

 

Yes, the 52-card "tarot deck" is close to the top.

Along with all the happy horsesh*t that gets labeled as "tarot" by marketing staff who wouldnt know a real tarot if it bit them on the a$$.

 

Modern decks with watered-down, politically correct, psychologized symbolism.

 

Decks that change the elements/suits ... I like my swords as air, my coins as earth, my cups as water, my batons as fire; thank you.

I NEVER buy decks that mess around with the elements ... except for ...

 

... the Lasenic deck which I special ordered all the way from czech republic ... based on Oswald Wirth system ... but I got Lasenic for its historical and aesthetic value [beautiful art nouveau influence]  ... even knowing I likely will never read it.

[akiva]

2 minutes ago, Misterei said:

Guilty of this one ... I'm AWARE of the french system where spades are lucky and clubs are unlucky ... but I find the above-mentioned method is just easier for me. So I keep spades as swords and clubs as batons.

Spades are bad in French methods, it's the German method that makes Spades lucky 😆 I always struggle with Spades being "good".

The English piquet system I'm using atm says the 10♠️ is travel/distance, but I still have a mini heart attack when it appears in a spread! Though the rest of the Spades are negative so it's all good (or not) 😁

 

6 minutes ago, Misterei said:

except for ...

 

... the Lasenic deck which I special ordered all the way from czech republic

From pyroskin? I have that too, it's a lovely deck, and those black backgrounds *chef's kiss* 🤌 but my word what are those elemental associations?

[Misterei]

2 minutes ago, akiva said:

From pyroskin? I have that too, it's a lovely deck, and those black backgrounds *chef's kiss* 🤌 but my word what are those elemental associations?

Yes!

LOL it was out of print and I harassed them via emails translated into czech on google ... until they printed a new batch [I assume just to stop the butchery of their language] 😉

I can ALMOST go for Lasenic's weird elements ... but ... no.

 

On another note ... I never could get the payment to process on that Ukranian pasyans deck you linked me😞 Thanks for trying.

 

[akiva]

2 minutes ago, Misterei said:

Yes!

LOL it was out of print and I harassed them via emails translated into czech on google ... until they printed a new batch [I assume just to stop the butchery of their language] 😉

I can ALMOST go for Lasenic's weird elements ... but ... no.

That so funny 🤣 but I would of done the same! It's such a hard deck to find, so definitely worth nagging them for it!

When did you get yours? When I bought mine there was only 1 left which is why I went for it, so might be responsible 😇

 

5 minutes ago, Misterei said:

On another note ... I never could get the payment to process on that Ukranian pasyans deck you linked me😞 Thanks for trying.

I was too eager, I didn't check the payment process before sending the link. Even got a temporary Ukrainian number, then got slapped with a "please use a Cyrillic address". 🥲

 

If you want I do have the home-made clipart one 🤣 it's not the prettiest but it works, I need to adjust some symbols so they're more inline, but the offers there once it's sorted 😊

[Misterei]

3 minutes ago, akiva said:

That so funny 🤣 but I would of done the same! It's such a hard deck to find, so definitely worth nagging them for it!

When did you get yours? When I bought mine there was only 1 left which is why I went for it, so might be responsible 😇

 

I was too eager, I didn't check the payment process before sending the link. Even got a temporary Ukrainian number, then got slapped with a "please use a Cyrillic address". 🥲

 

If you want I do have the home-made clipart one 🤣 it's not the prettiest but it works, I need to adjust some symbols so they're more inline, but the offers there once it's sorted 😊

LOL it was a full-on harassment campaign to both Pyroskin AND the czech printer };>

This would have been in the last 18 months or so ... last year. Spring 2023? Winter 2022?

 

I would love to check-out your clip-art pasyans. What a sweet offer.

Edited December 14, 2023 by Misterei

[akiva]

4 minutes ago, Misterei said:

LOL it was a full-on harassment campaign to both Pyroskin AND the czech printer };>

This would have been in the last 18 months or so ... last year. Spring 2023? Winter 2022?

I got mine just as the war in Ukraine started, as they shipped it into Ukraine to be delivered here, took a few months but it still arrived here, I was really shocked! 😯

 

7 minutes ago, Misterei said:

I would love to check-out your clip-art pasyans. What a sweet offer.

Tomorrow I'll sort out the symbol that doesn't match properly and I'll pm you the pdf and some meanings 😊 if you don't like it, it might inspire you to have a go at creating one!

[Misterei]

6 minutes ago, akiva said:

... Tomorrow I'll sort out the symbol that doesn't match properly and I'll pm you the pdf and some meanings 😊 if you don't like it, it might inspire you to have a go at creating one!

Nope ... yours will be FINE.😇

I'm so wiped-out with moving right now ... creative projects are a distant memory *sigh*

[akiva]

6 minutes ago, Misterei said:

Nope ... yours will be FINE.😇

I'm so wiped-out with moving right now ... creative projects are a distant memory *sigh*

I'll get to sorting it 😁 I saw you are moving, I hope it goes well for you and are able to put the stresses behind you 🙏 

[Tom]

Getting back to my pet peeves I don't like it when Tarot decks are defined as toys or children's games.  I would never consider reading cards as a game for young children--as I don't think it's appropriate for pre-teens (and that would depend on the maturity level of the teenager.  If they are marketed as games and toys they should have card games that the cards can be used to play--not divination.   I don't think that many parents could tell the differences as to whether card reading it is a "game" or not.  

 

[Tom]

@moonglow an example of a dark deck that I admire but won't use for reading is The Deviant Moon Tarot.  I supported the artist/author through his concepts and development of his deck in AT.  He did a great job on them but I find them subtly disturbing as well--but as works of art they are cool.

[Guest]

I have a simple peeve - decks with irreversible backs, especially if they're RWS-based. I read reversals so yeah.

 

It's certainly not a deal-breaker though, or I'd have missed out on a lot of awesome decks. Learned to live with it, but only because I had to. 

 

2 hours ago, Misterei said:

I'm AWARE of the french system where spades are lucky and clubs are unlucky ... but I find the above-mentioned method is just easier for me. So I keep spades as swords and clubs as batons. Diamonds as coins, hearts as cups.

 

Same here. 

 

I mostly ignore airy-fairy, touchy-feely decks, and since I don't come into contact with them, I can't say they're pet peeves, really.