Any Tarot Deck/s that Actually REPELS You or Creeps You Out?

[Ferrea]

To diversify the opinions and preferences even more: If I'm in dire need of a reading that gently nudges me to grow out of my comfort zone (of self-pity or whatever unhelpful attitude), I revert to the Mary El Tarot. In combination with her book, I get the most loving Tarot experience I could ask for—one of the rare instances when I read reversals.

[Ferrea]

7 hours ago, xTheHermitx said:

I do think some decks border on nudity/sexuality for shock value's sake, and I personally think that is sort of corny as well

 

Maybe these decks are simply created by men who love erotica. You can see this in playing cards as well. 

It would be interesting to find out how many female breasts are exposed in Tarot decks created by men versus those created by women.

[katrinka]

47 minutes ago, Ferrea said:

 

Maybe these decks are simply created by men who love erotica. You can see this in playing cards as well. 

It would be interesting to find out how many female breasts are exposed in Tarot decks created by men versus those created by women.

I don't remember the deck title, but years ago there was an "erotic" Tarot. I think it was from LS. The women were, as always, stacked like a brick sh*thouse. Maybe @gregory remembers it? The men in that deck were hideous little things. They looked a lot like Sméagol. It made my skin crawl for the same reason I can't look at pr0n. You never know when they're going to trot Ron Jeremy out.

That one was definitely made by a man.

As for playing cards, most of the "naughty" ones I've seen featured vintage pinups. You didn't see everything and they had fun lingerie and hairstyles. Those are closer to burlesque than pr0n. I could see a woman putting a deck like that together.

https://live.staticflickr.com/8328/8086005496_fbd93fba88_b.jpg

Edited March 31 by katrinka

[Elaina]

The oscuro is on my wish list.  

 

The original 90s Wonderland just reeks evil at me. I love Alice in Wonderland, but even as a kid it was a nightmare, a warning to Alice to keep secrets.  The deck being off should not surprise me.

 

Recently the Murder of Crows tarot.   It was given  to me, but I flipped through it and noped out of that deck.  I don't know what is wrong with it, and it's not like I don't have a running gag with my son over Cthulhu, he got me the cookbook a few years ago.  Creepy is fine, this is just off. 

 

Very few things bother me in general. Shadow work, I don't like dark decks. I've had people try to literally kill me 4 times.  I was strangled at 11, was a potential victim of a serial killer, and my niece tried and failed then brought in someone who wanted to kill someone for fun, so going into that whole saga in my head...them cute, novelty decks make some of the things easier to take.  I mean, if I suck and this is why people want me dead, it's a whole lot easier to take with a Garbage Pail kid puking at me then a dark deck eating dead eyeballs. (I also deal with things with humor, not exactly healthy lol).

[katrinka]

10 minutes ago, Elaina said:

(I also deal with things with humor, not exactly healthy lol).

Really? I've always considered it healthy. Mocking a thing takes some of its power away.
I've had a few close scrapes, but not at 11. Geez. Being that young makes it so much worse.

[Elaina]

I think gallows humor makes people uncomfortable when you're talking specifically about piano wires.  I was kicked out of therapy for talking about this (after the serial killer, before the niece and 30 years ago while being court ordered via victim services because I guess a cop giving you a notebook to read that describes in great detail how you will be killed and dismembered is traumatic a few years after you went through someone actually doing a greatly traumatic act) and went through this whole therapist being tearful and the crap about not my fault (obviously) and sat up and yelled  "I'm not dead yet" in one of the absolute best Monty Python impersonations I've ever done. 

 

 

[Ferrea]

2 hours ago, katrinka said:

I don't remember the deck title, but years ago there was an "erotic" Tarot. I think it was from LS. The women were, as always, stacked like a brick sh*thouse. Maybe @gregory remembers it? The men in that deck were hideous little things. They looked a lot like Sméagol. It made my skin crawl for the same reason I can't look at pr0n. You never know when they're going to trot Ron Jeremy out.

That one was definitely made by a man.

As for playing cards, most of the "naughty" ones I've seen featured vintage pinups. You didn't see everything and they had fun lingerie and hairstyles. Those are closer to burlesque than pr0n. I could see a woman putting a deck like that together.

https://live.staticflickr.com/8328/8086005496_fbd93fba88_b.jpg

 

The intent of my post was solely to point out that nudity in Tarot might serve as a means of pleasure rather than shock.
I didn't want to delve into what constitutes good or bad pornography (meaning: objectification to create desire) because that comes down to personal preference, just like Tarot.

And yes, when looking at vintage playing cards, Pin-Up is a thing. But the modalities of erotica have always evolved, and modern depictions on cards are much more overt—like everywhere else.

[dancing_moon]

4 hours ago, Elaina said:

The oscuro is on my wish list.  

I think our "dark sides" respond differently to different flavors of dark, depending on our experiences and what kind of healing is needed at the moment. Oscuro irked the OP and left me indifferent, but it must contain something that speaks to you, and that's great.

 

Sorry about what you went through. (hugs)

[katrinka]

11 hours ago, Elaina said:

I think gallows humor makes people uncomfortable when you're talking specifically about piano wires.  I was kicked out of therapy for talking about this (after the serial killer, before the niece and 30 years ago while being court ordered via victim services because I guess a cop giving you a notebook to read that describes in great detail how you will be killed and dismembered is traumatic a few years after you went through someone actually doing a greatly traumatic act) and went through this whole therapist being tearful and the crap about not my fault (obviously) and sat up and yelled  "I'm not dead yet" in one of the absolute best Monty Python impersonations I've ever done. 

That sounds like a severely unqualified therapist. Where did they expect you to sort all that, the local bar?
 

9 hours ago, Ferrea said:

The intent of my post was solely to point out that nudity in Tarot might serve as a means of pleasure rather than shock.
I didn't want to delve into what constitutes good or bad pornography (meaning: objectification to create desire) because that comes down to personal preference, just like Tarot.

That may well be. But the thread is about decks that repel us or creep us out. And that deck with the deformed little old men certainly did that. I've seen some repulsive deck images, but that one beat them all.
 

7 hours ago, dancing_moon said:

I think our "dark sides" respond differently to different flavors of dark

True. I have a similar reaction to the Oscuro: Meh. The same with most decks trying to be dark or demonic or whatever. I'm reminded of social media dorks who try to act like edgelords. 🤣 But phobias are different for everybody. If I try to walk across a railroad trestle, I freeze, my knees knock. But a lot of people can just stroll across like they're walking on the sidewalk. I suppose it's similar with decks.


 

Edited March 31 by katrinka

[Nemia]

Oh yes, the Ceccoli and Beautiful Creatures.... enter Uncanny Valley at your own peril! Toddler pageants, exactly. 

 

And thank you for the Tarot de Mars link. It would have made old Uncle Sigmund very, very happy! 

 

Concerning nudity: as a degenerate old European, I don't mind nudity at all. However, objectification makes me very uncomfortable, no matter whether the objectified persons are in the nude or dressed. The Lo Scarabeo gave me some serious pin-up vibes; all those buxom, bubbly blondes are borderline for me. Give me a creepy Deviant Moon demon any day! 

Edited March 31 by Nemia

[Chariot]

2 hours ago, Nemia said:

Oh yes, the Ceccoli and Beautiful Creatures.... enter Uncanny Valley at your own peril! Toddler pageants, exactly. 

 

Urgh.  I hadn't looked at these before, but urgh.  

The thing is, with these I would never consider buying them.  But I am CONSTANTLY tempted to buy the Deviant Moon tarot.  I always stop, but I don't know.  Maybe someday my finger will just click 'buy now' and I'll be stuck with the curse!  🙂

[katrinka]

2 hours ago, Nemia said:

Concerning nudity: as a degenerate old European, I don't mind nudity at all. However, objectification makes me very uncomfortable, no matter whether the objectified persons are in the nude or dressed. The Lo Scarabeo gave me some serious pin-up vibes; all those buxom, bubbly blondes are borderline for me. Give me a creepy Deviant Moon demon any day! 

Yes, that one is done in a completely different spirit. There's no expectation that anyone is going to be aroused by it. Like all Valenza's art, it's so over the top it's humorous. I sometimes imagine Patrick cackling to himself when he draws those banana boobs.

[Misterei]

On 3/28/2025 at 12:46 PM, Rose Lalonde said:

... I also have issues with the Röhrig. ...

I looked up this deck after your mention of it. One reviewer titled his review: My Least Favorite Deck.

So I guess you're not alone 😉

On 3/28/2025 at 1:28 PM, Ferrea said:

I checked a flip through of the Tarot Oscuro on Youtube. Had to exit at Justice. Awful.

Glad I'm not the only one. I don't know why I felt like I *should* like that deck. But yeah. Ick factor all the way.

On 3/28/2025 at 7:32 PM, dancing_moon said:

Another deck that comes to mind is the Wild Unknown. ... it kind of reminds me of animal corpses in the snow.

This made me laugh so hard. I also dislike WIld Unknown b/c it gives me strong Blair Witch Project vibes. I can't help but think of that movie every time I see the deck. I kept my copy b/c I have freinds who like it and the ick factor wasn't visceral. Just that I don't think I could read with it without recalling that movie.

On 3/29/2025 at 6:47 AM, DanielJUK said:

... It made me uncomfortable and there were big truths but I needed to hear it. So the deck does exactly what it's purpose is for. ...

I feel this was about Triunfi della Luna. I read with it rarely b/c the grotesque images can be offputting ... but some aspects of life ARE grotesque and bizarre and that's when I read with Triunfi della Luna. I think I like TdL but rejected Oscuro b/c the images in TdL are demonic. I feel compassion for them. Oscuro it's humans with the inexplicable crossed bandaids over their nipples and ... idk ... just give me demons for shadow work.

On 3/29/2025 at 6:47 AM, DanielJUK said:

... AI decks.

Yep. It's subtle. I've seen some pretty AI decks that I almost thought about purchasing. But then there was something subtly repulsive about their shallow perfection. To me, reading with an AI deck might feel like watching that old horror movie called The Stepford Wives.

[Elaina]

5 hours ago, Misterei said:

Yep. It's subtle. I've seen some pretty AI decks that I almost thought about purchasing. But then there was something subtly repulsive about their shallow perfection. To me, reading with an AI deck might feel like watching that old horror movie called The Stepford Wives.

My cousin bought me the van Gogh tarot for my birthday (today) since we're Dutch. He lives in the Netherlands and I did a zoom reading.

 

Stepford is exactly the best response.   It's obviously AI, and the results were tinned and sort of like the old Zoltar.  Fun but soulless. 

 

Not looking a gift horse in the mouth, it's a perfectly fine deck giving perfectly fine responses. My cousin doesn't believe in this stuff anyway, and I'll keep the deck because it was a gift and I think it is pretty...weird extra fingers and limbs and all. 

[Lovebird]

On 3/29/2025 at 5:11 AM, Nemia said:

My tolerance for even not-so-perfect tarot decks is pretty wide - I totally agree on the Lo Scarabeo Tarot, a real disappointment. Obviously, the artist had a brief (combining Marseilles, Thoth and RWS - an interesting idea) and just painted pretty young girls in nice poses. Competently done but without any, any depth. Nevertheless, I trimmed the deck and it works pretty well as take-along in a tin. 

 

There are however decks that I had to let go. 

 

The Jungian Tarot - wow, those robotic figures and dead eyes. It was a nice set with an intelligent book, and I could stand the weird pips, but I couldn't stand those frozen faces. So creepy. 

 

  

 

Then there was the Art of Life Tarot. 

 

I'm an art historian and love art deeply, so this should have been right up my alley, don't you think so? Yeah, I thought so, too. 

 

  

 

This deck combines famous works of art with a kitschy display frame (okay, you don't have to use that) and well-known words of wisdom. To be honest, I thought the creator simply looked up famous quotations containing the keywords associated with the cards. Some of the majors were well-chosen (the Magician), while others were really, really a stretch. And the creator never went far from the well-known, well-loved Modern Art classics. 

I struggled with this deck because instead of getting anything from this deck, I argued with the cards: why van Gogh here? Come on,  you can do better? Not another van Gogh! Why not Vermeer's Woman with Scales for Justice? etc. And then adding those pedestrian words of wisdom! 

 

A deeper issue: art has its own power. You can't squeeze art into tarot or tarot into art simply by taking a masterpiece and declaring: now, that's the Justice card, of the Nine of Pentacles. There is more work to do. Kat Black did it, Hildegard Hinkel did it. There is even a certain ruthlessness necessary - approaching a timeless work by Giorgione and telling the guy: now I'll cut you out and you'll play your role in my tarot deck. And the art mostly goes along with it. Somehow, in the Art of Life, it didn't work at all for me. As quickly as it came into my home, it had to go. It may work for others, but not for me. 

 

To be continued! 

Hahaha The jungian tarot reminds me of those medieval paintings Hahaha dead eyes 😁😁😁 true. 

[Lovebird]

10 hours ago, Elaina said:

My cousin bought me the van Gogh tarot for my birthday (today) since we're Dutch. He lives in the Netherlands and I did a zoom reading.

 

Stepford is exactly the best response.   It's obviously AI, and the results were tinned and sort of like the old Zoltar.  Fun but soulless. 

 

Not looking a gift horse in the mouth, it's a perfectly fine deck giving perfectly fine responses. My cousin doesn't believe in this stuff anyway, and I'll keep the deck because it was a gift and I think it is pretty...weird extra fingers and limbs and all. 

Hahaha 😁extra fingers and limbs? 🫣🤭 

[Lovebird]

On 3/29/2025 at 2:32 PM, Lovebird said:

Probably the lunatic tarot.. Some of the cards anyway because others are very nice too look at 

This is the lunatic deck. Mm I love some of the cards, but nope, never for readings.. It repels me, anyway is too thin for readings. Mm when I saw the box I knew what I would just admire what I like from a distance. 

Edited April 3 by Lovebird
Added more pics

[Rodney]

Surprised no one has mentioned the Sacred Rose. Eyes without pupils and a lot of squashed faces. I find that deck creepy, but it doesn't repel me.

[Elaina]

Lunatic tarot reminds me of Final Fantasy in a lot of ways. 

[Morwenna]

Sacred Rose is kind of fun. I got used to the blank eyes, but a friend of mine who otherwise loved the deck hated that aspect and took matters into her own hands with a fine-point pen. It looks a lot better that way! But I never had any urge to do the same to mine. 

 

Most surrealistic decks don't bother me one way or the other though I have no desire to own one; but the Deviant Moon always creeped me out from the beginning. Though nowadays it probably doesn't feel any worse to me than any other of those surrealistic decks. 

 

But the Giger? Nope nope and nope! And @gregory, Tarot de Mars--you are so right: NFW indeed!