Looking for Help Finding a Deck

[Doktor_Zeus]

I can be a VERY picky person sometimes, suffer a lot from buyer's remorse, and I've had a lot of difficulty finding a Tarot that really 'speaks' to me. I've looked through a bunch of 'Deck of the Week' threads and not found any that suited yet, so I was wondering if anyone would be willing to make some suggestions? I don't care if it's a Marseille, a Minchiate or one of those really rare ones with male and female versions of all the court cards. (In fact, if you know of any with male and female jacks and knights, I'd be interested to hear about it anyway!)

 

Must Have:

A pictorial minor arcana

Strong symbolism

High quality artwork

 

Nice To Have:

Alchemical symbols

Guide book

 

Must NOT Have:

Anything involving the art from the Rider-Waite-Smith deck

Gimmicky themes (i.e. 'Cat Tarot' or 'Dragon Tarot')

The word 'Witch' or 'Angel' in its title

 

Turn Offs:

CGI / 3D rendered art

Renaissance art

Monochrome art

Colour coding

Tuck boxes

 

A few decks that I either have already, or have looked at and liked, but not enough to buy:

Light Seer's Oracle, Arthurian Tarot, Mystic Mondays, Pre-Raphaelite Tarot

[Eugenie]

@Doktor_Zeus, have you seen this Alchemical Tarot? Looks stunning to me. I keep thinking of buying it but I am not really into the alchemical symbols (yet). The author also writes full-fledged books on the topic. 

[Guest]

28 minutes ago, Doktor_Zeus said:

one of those really rare ones with male and female versions of all the court cards. (In fact, if you know of any with male and female jacks and knights, I'd be interested to hear about it anyway!)

 

The only deck I know that has male and female knights and even pages is the Cary-Yale Visconti. Being an early Tarocchi, it does have pip minors though, so yeah. 

 

Regarding your other criteria, you may want to look up the Sola Busca. 

[Teemu]

Perhaps the Wildwood Tarot, it blends ancient concepts with tarot?

[PathWalker]

Have you used the deck list at Aeclectic Tarot?

There are various ways to filter the thread, but the whole list is here

 

https://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/list.shtml

[Doktor_Zeus]

5 hours ago, Eugenie said:

@Doktor_Zeus, have you seen this Alchemical Tarot? Looks stunning to me. I keep thinking of buying it but I am not really into the alchemical symbols (yet). The author also writes full-fledged books on the topic. 

 

Ouch... $42 shipping to the UK, more than the deck itself costs. Maybe if I can find a local stockist. That being said, I have Robert Place's book on the history of the tarot, which is pretty good so far, so I expect he knows what he's doing!

 

 

4 hours ago, Teemu said:

Perhaps the Wildwood Tarot, it blends ancient concepts with tarot?

 

It looks very non-standard, but I don't mind that so much as long as the cards' equivalents are easy to determine. I'll look into it. Thanks.

[gregory]

@Doktor_Zeus - here you go:

 

https://shop.watkinsbooks.com/collections/tarot-and-oracle-cards

 

GREAT place - if you haven't been - hurry up !

[Natural Mystic Guide]

Tarot de St Croix by Lisa de St Croix ticks off most of my boxes and may tick off yours as well.  Check it out.

[Misterei]

15 hours ago, Eugenie said:

... have you seen this Alchemical Tarot? Looks stunning to me. I keep thinking of buying it but I am not really into the alchemical symbols (yet). The author also writes full-fledged books on the topic. 

I don't own the deck ... but I got one of Place's books on Kindle which I like ... no shipping fees!

[Misterei]

16 hours ago, Doktor_Zeus said:

Must NOT Have:

 

... The word 'Witch' or 'Angel' in its title

🤣

 

@Doktor_Zeus <<Light Seer's Oracle, Arthurian Tarot, Mystic Mondays, Pre-Raphaelite Tarot>>

 

I gave away Pre-Raphaelite Tarot. The deck itself was gorgeous and I liked the little art history lesson in the LWB ... BUT ... I couldn't get an accurate reading from it. I think the fact that it was a mashup of paintings force-fit into a tarot ... like Cinderella's step sisters trying to fit their feet into the glass slipper. It just didn't work as TAROT even though it was eye candy.

 

I have Lightseers Tarot [not sure what you mean by oracle?] and although the art is a bit modern and generic ... it reads quite well for me.

 

You might look at these:

Mystical Tarot by Lo Scarabeo. It has an almost surreal feel ... somewhat influenced by Sola Busca ... but built solidly on the RWS platform. That one might check all your boxes. Ciro Marchetti's Legacy of the Devine is a good solid deck. It's digital art ... but Marchetti is an ARTIST who happens to use digital media. It's nothing like the photoshop monstrosities or CGI nonsense.

Druidcraft, Golden Wheel, Radiant Wise Spirit, Centennial RWS, Morgan Greer, Fyodor Pavlov, Ethereal Visions all fit your criteria ... but its such a personal thing!

 

I personally have gotten into NON scenic pip decks ... which took my collecting in a different direction.

 

Edited December 27, 2023 by Misterei

[Raggydoll]

1 hour ago, Misterei said:

I personally have gotten into NON scenic pip decks ... which took my collecting in a different direction.

That’s where I’m at too. It’s the only point on the list where I differ, so unfortunately I can’t come up with any good recommendations. 

[Eugenie]

12 hours ago, Doktor_Zeus said:

 

Ouch... $42 shipping to the UK, more than the deck itself costs. Maybe if I can find a local stockist. That being said, I have Robert Place's book on the history of the tarot, which is pretty good so far, so I expect he knows what he's doing!

This is inhumane, of course. 

I live in Uzbekistan and people here do collective purchases sometimes (not cards, mostly clothing); it really helps to reduce shipping costs per person. This might be a feasible route for UK members if there are several persons who want cards from the same creator. Sometimes it can even be different creators as there are consolidation services available, you know - you order several packages to their address and they consolidate and ship to you. I know it is also a pain and a nuisance but I have to use them to buy things from the US as shopping is not good here. Maybe you know about those services already, but if not, I can tell you more. 

[Doktor_Zeus]

On 12/27/2023 at 5:39 AM, Eugenie said:

I live in Uzbekistan and people here do collective purchases sometimes (not cards, mostly clothing); it really helps to reduce shipping costs per person.

 

Thanks for the tip, but I don't really know anybody else near me who's into this kind of thing - which is weird, given I'm only an hour away from Glastonbury, but then I don't really get out much.

 

Fortunately, since then, I've found several (apparently) UK sites that do stock it, so I'm taking it into consideration. Still looking through all these suggestions at the moment though so it may be a while before I make any decisions.

[Eugenie]

@Doktor_Zeus you have lots of British people here in the forum, but this would mean that someone would have to receive the whole package and then ship some parcels domestically. 

 

As for more suggestions, I am waiting for my Darkness of Light to arrive and I think that it is a perfection. No alchemy though. But it is a tuck box, sorry...

Edited December 28, 2023 by Eugenie

[Chariot]

Maybe go onto YouTube, put 'tarot flip through' in the search box, and see what comes up. Just about EVERY tarot deck in the universe has a flip-through you can look at—showing you every single card, plus backs.  Furthermore they usually show what kind of box the thing comes in, whether a book comes with it, and often a look at the book itself.  This will save you a lot of tears you might shed otherwise, by just buying blind.

[Eugenie]

2 minutes ago, Chariot said:

Maybe go onto YouTube, put 'tarot flip through' in the search box, and see what comes up. Just about EVERY tarot deck in the universe has a flip-through you can look at—showing you every single card, plus backs.  Furthermore they usually show what kind of box the thing comes in, whether a book comes with it, and often a look at the book itself.  This will save you a lot of tears you might shed otherwise, by just buying blind.

 

Oh, that's a cool idea! I also like browsing review sections on blogs and forums, and if something catches my eye I look for the videos. 

And here, in people's journals, there are lots of gorgeous decks shown in action.

Edited December 28, 2023 by Eugenie

[Chariot]

Just now, Eugenie said:

 

Oh, that's a cool idea! I also like browsing review sections on blogs and forums, and if something catches my eye I look for the videos. 

Yeah, it can be a lot of fun in idle moments, to see what's out there.  It can also bring those 'nah, I don't want this deck after all' reactions that prevent us from making mistakes.  The only thing the flip-throughs don't usually do is deal with card stock quality...although some of them do.

Personally I have a tendency to get annoyed at clueless fumbling with wrappers, boxes, etc, and lots of overly-decorated finger-flapping, but that can easily be bypassed by repeatedly pressing the "L" key on your keyboard, which moves the video along much faster.

[gregory]

2 hours ago, Doktor_Zeus said:

Fortunately, since then, I've found several (apparently) UK sites that do stock it, so I'm taking it into consideration. Still looking through all these suggestions at the moment though so it may be a while before I make any decisions.

 

Watkins absolutely is UK (Cecil Court in London) and has a VAST selection of special decks as well as the "ordinary" ones ! I own one that I have NEVER seen even MENTIONED anywhere, that I just saw on a shelf there and bought. If you haven't been - you absolutely must,. You will never be the same again - I don't know where in the UK you are, but it's even worth a train fare.

[PathWalker]

2 hours ago, Doktor_Zeus said:

 

,POLITELY SNIPPED . . . but I don't really know anybody else near me who's into this kind of thing - which is weird, given I'm only an hour away from Glastonbury,

 

I live IN Glastonbury       And depending on which direction you re there are certainly other people (even from this forum  ) who would be near to you. I guess it's  the "not getting out much" which slows down such connections?

[gregory]

OH - I missed your location. Yes a good few people from here are within reach (not me, but still.) It might be worth going into town to one of the nice "like us" stores - you'd meet people there !

[Tanga]

@Doktor_Zeus - you live in Glastonbury and know no one with similar interests???

I would urge you to go out "now" and hang around in Glastonbury central around the shops looking all esoteric and "otherworldly".  And get chatting.

Now - grant it, I have not been to Glastonbury for a million years - but still.

 

Watkins books (Cecil Court, central London) - is still the best for the largest live selection of Tarot available on the shelf.

And if you're there - may as well check mysteries.co.uk out too - at Short's Gardens, Coven Garden.

 

Aeclectic.net - as has been mentioned, has a vast library.

If you're into indie - littleredtarot.com

Youtube and more Youtube flip-throughs. I have found these invaluable for getting to check out each card of a deck before I buy.

Giving someone deck suggestions is difficult - everyones taste is so individual.

Also check out tarotbyseven.com  - maybe you'll like one of hers.

Sometimes I trawl Etsy.com for Tarot - and this is how I've just bumped into some new decks I like that I wasn't aware of.

Good luck fining "The One"/"Ones" - it took me a million years 🙃.

 

[gregory]

6 minutes ago, Tanga said:

And if you're there - may as well check mysteries.co.uk out too - at Short's Gardens, Coven Garden.

 

One of the best typos I have ever seen.....

[Tanga]

23 minutes ago, gregory said:

 

One of the best typos I have ever seen.....

Ahh - what a perfect Freudian slip 😆.  It is indeed (ofcourse) a Coven Garden on occasion (Covent Garden). 

My days of discovering the pagan community outside of my closet all happened there.

 

Edited December 28, 2023 by Tanga

[PathWalker]

no - @Doktor_Zeus said they lived an hour away from Glastonbury.

 

I live in Glastonbury   

[DanielJUK]

9 hours ago, gregory said:

 

Watkins absolutely is UK (Cecil Court in London) and has a VAST selection of special decks as well as the "ordinary" ones ! I own one that I have NEVER seen even MENTIONED anywhere, that I just saw on a shelf there and bought. If you haven't been - you absolutely must,. You will never be the same again - I don't know where in the UK you are, but it's even worth a train fare.

 

They used to have a great online shop but it's vanished 5 years ago. I think it's a nightmare keeping online shops and customer stored details safe from hackers these days.

You can go old school, they have a mail order service, phone and email! They have always sent me stuff from there when I don't want to pay transport costs or feeling too unwell to get over there 🙂