I've ordered two new decks. I thought I'd see if anyone else has them

[Grizabella]

I'm always a day late and a dollar short, as the saying goes, but we're on "skunk watch" so I was just quietly surfing around on Amazon and ran across two decks I couldn't talk myself out of.  After arguing with myself that I don't need any more decks and oh yes I do need just two more I finally ordered them and they're due to be here on Tuesday.

 

One is the Arcane Tarot and the other is the Grim Tale Tarot.  I absolutely have to have these two new decks! The Arcane and the Grim Tales are very necessary to carry me through the ordeal of the skunk watch and the moving of three houses.  

 

Anyway, does anyone else have these decks? If so, what do you think of them?  I love Llewellyn decks for the card stock and that enticed me with the Grim Tales, for one thing.  I also just loved the looks of the Arcane so I'm excited to see if it's as wonderful as it looks.  

 

 

Edited January 31 by Grizabella

[Raggydoll]

I don’t have either of those decks, but I hope you will write a blog post about the ’skunk watch’ ordeal, because it sounds fascinating! I’m trying to picture what it entails 😁

[Tanga]

Yes indeed alla @Raggydoll - what is a "Skunk watch"?

Ooops - off topic.

[gregory]

I can probably answer that - you want to know where they are and make sure they don't come near your place or - especially - your garbage. They spray when startled and the stench is VERY hard to get rid of.

 

So - if they are around and you know they are - you don't go out. If you hit one with your car - or run over a dead one someone else hit - well, UGH. And yes, washing it with tomato juice helps - but Not Enough. Your car will reek for days if not weeks. It's like being on tornado watch - you take precautions.

[Misterei]

I don't have these but I just watched a flip thru of Grim Tales. Gives strong Addams family vibes. With some Lovecraft mixed in. Nice!

 

[Grizabella]

My decks came today and my very favorite is the Grim Tales.  I love the art work and it will definitely be one of the decks I use for Halloween. However, I wouldn't advise it for a beginner.  I always recommend that beginners learn with the Rider Waite.  This deck has a few Minor cards with images that could (and probably would) be confused with Majors for a beginner.  For an experienced reader this wouldn't be a problem.  It isn't a problem for me, anyway.

 

The deck is a borderless one and is done in a matte finish.  It's a dream to shuffle.  It's illustrated in darker style, without vibrant colors but it does have muted colors. It gives a sort of solemn atmosphere even though the images are really cute and evocative.   

 

The Arcane Tarot is quite literally dark.   The cards are illustrated with a whole lot of black and some red and golden yellow. The images are interesting and done in the style of Thoth or Marseilles in that the Majors and the Kings, Queens, Knights and Pages are illustrated but the numbered cards are mostly just illustrated with cups, pentacles, swords, and wands and not with scenes. The deck is slightly bigger than usual with stiff cardstock.  I find it very difficult to shuffle but part of that difficulty is that I have small, elderly hands. I probably won't use the deck very often and will randomize the deck by dealing it into piles rather than doing a riffle shuffle. 

 

I'll do some pictures and post them sometime tomorrow.

[Grizabella]

On 1/31/2026 at 1:46 PM, gregory said:

I can probably answer that - you want to know where they are and make sure they don't come near your place or - especially - your garbage. They spray when startled and the stench is VERY hard to get rid of.

 

So - if they are around and you know they are - you don't go out. If you hit one with your car - or run over a dead one someone else hit - well, UGH. And yes, washing it with tomato juice helps - but Not Enough. Your car will reek for days if not weeks. It's like being on tornado watch - you take precautions.

 Well, unfortunately, nobody ever discovered that there were skunks living here but my daughter was in the kitchen cooking and she took a break and went to the hallway to take a break in her room.  As she rounded the corner, she saw a small animal disappear into the exhaust vent for the dryer. We don't have our dryer installed yet.  My daughter came and told me what she thought she had seen a skunk and I told her "oh that couldn't be what it is because if it was, we'd have smelled that one was around".  She insisted that it was a skunk.  She researched it online and found that it was could be a spotted skunk.  Those are smaller than the common skunks that have just one stripe down their backs and instead spotted ones have both stripes and spots, but they're not prone to spray as often as the bigger skunks. They aren't provoked as easily.

 

My daughter set up a camera that night---but forgot to turn it on!  Next night she did the same but remembered to turn it on and lo and behold, it was definitely a spotted skunk and it had invited a friend to come to dinner! There's not the slightest skunk smell around this place.  Now we have to figure out how to trap and remove it (or them) without causing any spraying.  I think maybe they don't spray here because it's where they're living but when it's caught in a trap that will be a startling occurrence and might cause it to spray.  They have to be removed but since they always come back if relocated, they have to be "exterminated" and neither of us have the heart to do that so now we have to find someone else who will do it.  I have a niece who works for the Forest Service who may be of help.

 

Since they can't be smelled here, it wouldn't be such a pressing problem except that they're very destructive and they've already torn out insulation and done other damage. They can also carry diseases that animals and people can also be prone to get from them.  We always keep our trash cans locked up because of the bears and other animals  but I didn't even know Oregon had spotted skunks much less ever dream we'd have them infested here.  I knew we had the big stinky skunks in Oregon but  not small spotted ones.

Edited February 3 by Grizabella

[Grizabella]

I've stumbled onto something that might explain why so many of the Grim Tales cards resemble others.  I was reading some Amazon reviews on that deck and found where it was said that it's an AI generated deck and that nothing informed people of that fact so they were unhappy.  They said they wouldn't have bought it if they had known and they were returning it.  Well, it doesn't bother me that it's AI generated.  I still love it and will use it a lot.  I thought I should post it here, though, in case anyone would want to know it before buying it.

 

While I was at it, wouldn't you know? ------ I found a new Lenormand by Ciro so I had to have it!  So now the Lustrous Lenormand will land at my house on Friday.  I haven't been in the market for any cards for a long, long time but now the bug has bitten me again.  Honestly, though, I'm not interested in more decks.  Truly!

 

[Misterei]

9 hours ago, Grizabella said:

I've stumbled onto something that might explain why so many of the Grim Tales cards resemble others.  I was reading some Amazon reviews on that deck and found where it was said that it's an AI generated deck and that nothing informed people of that fact so they were unhappy.  ...

I wondered about that when i watched the flip through. I couldn't tell. Thanks for clarifying. 

I bought a couple of oracles and tarots from Etsy that are AI generated and discovered I never use them. *sigh*. Prolly will give them away eventually.

 

I have learnt that I am put off by AI generated even if I like the cards -- I end up not using them. Seldom have that problem with decks that are human drawn or painted [although it happens occasionally]. There is one Lenormand deck i have which might be AI??? It's done digitally but vibes more like digital art done by a human rather than full AI. I use that deck and got good readings from it.

9 hours ago, Grizabella said:

 I found a new Lenormand by Ciro so I had to have it!  So now the Lustrous Lenormand will land at my house on Friday.  

I have Gilded Reverie. It was my first LN deck and I still use it. I also have his Legacy of the Divine Tarot. Ciro's art is digital but it still has a human vibe. In contrast the Etsy AI decks are pretty -- but they somehow lack a human vibe. 

Edited February 3 by Misterei