Faces on the cards.

[Libra 58]

What do you think about real faces of living or dead people on the cards?

Does it bother you or do you not care?

[Croat]

Faces as a category don't bother me.  But if it's just a photograph, as opposed to an artistic drawing, not really a fan.  Seems perhaps a bit contrary to reality, but personally I get more from drawings/paintings than I do from photographs.  I suppose the reason I feel that way is I perceive drawings/paintings as imparting more of the artist's personality and what they put of themselves into the artwork.  I'm sure others will feel differently...

[Libra 58]

I don´t like real faces at all on cards.

 

It makes me uncomfortable to see their faces, I don´t know anything about this people or their lives,

so why should I then use their faces as a way of reading cards?

 

Doreen Virtue, she put her face on many cards in her decks and now she don´t even

want´s to be associated with tarot! So what was the point?

 

Christina Ricci made a deck with only herself in it, but they are drawn pictures and are more for fun.

So that deck is more ok for me, I don´t have it and I don´t want it.

 

 

[Chariot]

If the faces were of people I recognised (celebrities, etc) I would carry not only the tarot meaning, but my own previous opinions (and stereotypes) of these particular people. This would complicate a reading. As for using the faces of real people whom I don't know ...if I knew the people were 'real' it would feel intrusive to be attributing characteristics to them ...either correctly or incorrectly.

At the same time, applying tarot principles to the real world (including real people) is an interesting exercise.  It CAN be useful to think of a celebrity or person you know who embodies a particular tarot card. That's harmless ...and helpful.  But if their faces end up on a deck?  A line gets crossed, in my opinion.  Just ...no.

[DanielJUK]

Many people (I have noticed) don't like photographic decks. I do have a few and one has photos of real people on some of the cards. I am okay with that. However if it was the photos of real celebs or like a headshot of real people in each card, I think I would find it such a turn-off. I read symbolism and I think the humans sort of get in the way? Hard to explain.

 

The Cosmic Tarot, of course, is artwork of different Hollywood golden celebs. You can read it trying to work out who they are or just read it not thinking that. There are lists online, compiled of who they really are. I keep thinking of who the celebs are when using it. I do like the artwork though 🙂 

[Tanga]

6 hours ago, Libra 58 said:

I don´t like real faces at all on cards.

 

It makes me uncomfortable to see their faces, I don´t know anything about this people or their lives,

so why should I then use their faces as a way of reading cards?

 

Doreen Virtue, she put her face on many cards in her decks and now she don´t even

want´s to be associated with tarot! So what was the point?

 

Christina Ricci made a deck with only herself in it, but they are drawn pictures and are more for fun.

So that deck is more ok for me, I don´t have it and I don´t want it.

 

 

It depends on whether I have any associations to the real face and what those are. If I don't know who the people are, it doesn't matter.  

 

Doreen - imo - had some sort of a personal breakdown...and I felt rather sorry for her (for whatever went on that she decided to completely renounce Tarot and go back to being more strictly religious, after having made her own Tarot empire) - whilst everyone else seemed to be mad at her for having done this.

I was not a fan of her decks as I don't agree with taking the dark side out of things. However, for people with a strong superstitious fear of the dark side - a deck with no dark side in it, would be a good place to start.

[Delven]

I'm trying to think of a deck which had real-life photographs of people, that I've used 🤔 Real life animal portraits in Oracles - yes. 

I prefer art to photography on cards, even though I do a bit of photography, I love the way artists express people - I know Ciro chose real people to represent some of his cards in Tarot of Dreams and then enhanced them in photoshop. There was one card I didn't gel with - one of the Queens, but that's my bias of the card.