Systems and Themes

[Rachelcat]

I thought I’d yammer a bit about my deck categories.  I hope it is interesting or fun to somebody.  (And it might be my topic for my tarot society presentation in July . . .)

 

I’m at 379 decks in my collection, which includes tarots, oracles, and historical reproduction playing cards, as of this minute, with 7 of those being on preorder.  (Can’t resist a Llewellyn coupon . . .)

 

I love organizing things (on paper at least), so I’ve categorized my decks as systems and themes.  Systems are tarots and oracles that follow a definite pattern, like minchiates, 72 angels, or 64 I Ching hexagrams.  Themes are more about things that aren’t a set system, like cat decks or a certain type of art.

 

My systems and themes are by no means exhaustive, they’re just what I have, like, or collect.  Or not collect.  I have italicized the systems and themes that are on my do not collect list, even though (or because) I already have a few of them:

·       RWS and close clones

·       Anthropomorphic animals (or as I like to call them, cats in coats)

·       AI decks (I only have one, a Halloween oracle.)

·       A woman on every card not goddesses (which weeds out the more “airy fairy” oracles out there)

 

Categories in parentheses means the category includes decks already listed in the higher level category, for example, the Two or Three Sets of Majors list includes all the same decks that are in the Tarot Majors list.

 

And for fun, I have included in some of the theme lists decks that contain one or a few cards in that theme, for example, a dream dictionary deck has a Vampire card, so I’ve listed it in the Vampire category. 

 

Without further ado (but where would we be without ado?), here are my systems and themes.

 

Systems

Bach Flower Remedies

Besançon Tarot (Juno and Jupiter)

Chinese Calendar

Egyptian Tarot

Etteilla Systems (tarot and oracle systems)

Golden Dawn Tarot Not Thoth

Hebrew Alphabet

I Ching

Lenormand including with extra cards

Mantegna

Maya Calendar

Merged Decks (decks I keep shuffled together)

Minchiate

Non-Scenic Pips Not Historical

Ogham

Phrenology

RWS and Close Clones

Runes

Shem HaMephorash (72 angels and demons)

Spanish Tarot, Eudes Picard

Suits

-----French-suited including tarot and playing cards

-----German-suited including tarot

-----Italian-suited not tarot

-----Unique-suited not tarot

Tarocchino

Tarot Majors (majors-only decks)

-----(Two or Three Sets of Majors)

Tarot Non-Standard Number of Cards, not minchiate, not tarocchino

Thoth and Thoth-Inspired

22 Non-Tarot Majors with Suits

 

Themes

Abstract

Affirmations

Alchemy

Angels and Demons

Animals

-----Animal Tarot one species per card

-----Cats

-----Mythical Animals

-----(Anthropomorphic animals)

-----(Dragons)

-----(Satyrs, fauns, Pan)

-----(Some mythical animals)

-----(Unicorns)

AI

Artists and Art Styles

Astrology

-----Moon

-----Sign Combinations

Crystals

Dream Dictionary

Erotic

Fairies

Food

Gods and Goddesses

Halloween

-----(Vampires)

Historical Reproductions, original published before 1909

Humorous

Landscapes

Love and Romance Not Erotic

Media

Native American

Photographic

Places

Plants

Prehistoric

Realistic Contemporary Setting

-----Animals in Realistic Contemporary Setting

Robots

Science Club

Seasons

Shapes

-----Heart

-----Landscape

-----Oval

-----Round

-----Square

Sibillas and Tea Leaves

Spreads

Text

Wicca

Woman on Every Card Not Goddesses