Saturn Celeste Posted February 22, 2018 Posted February 22, 2018 Hello ! I have not made enough purchases in 2018 to regret a single one.... and as years passed, I have become more cautious about wich new deck I really want, so I have not had deceptions in a few years. I think my last deception was the Modern Spellcaster tarot. Was it two years ago already ? I am not sure. At the time, I bought into the buzz that this deck was "inclusive" and that is why I got it. But when I got it, it appeared very bland to me, both in art and in contents.... I found it very "politically correct" but not genuinly inclusive as I has hoped. To me it seemed like someone had concocted a recipe to make a tarot deck that would be popular in the 21st century, and that recipe called for a pinch of POC, a pinch of bad ass chicks, a pinch of same sex couples.... but theend result seemed very "fake", or artificial, to me. So it was a disapointment, but I got over it. My worse deck purchase of all time must be the Decameron. I wanted a deck that did not shy from showing love and sex, and I read that this one also contained all sorts of people of all size, shapes and age range. That sounded good to me, a welcome change from the stereotyped "sex symbols" of eternally young thin full-chested females and young muscular man. But when I received the deck, I was appaled. I am not offended by crude and graphic representations of love. But in the Decameron, I found nothing sensual in the deck, no love, just porn ; and some of the sex scenes look like rape to me. And the sexist vibe of this deck ! Argh, horrid. Add to that that the art is quite bland, and that the illustrations have nothing to do with card meaning.... you have a deck that doesnt look like tarot but just a random collection of crude scenes, some of them offending. And the deck has the horrible multilanguage borders à la Scarabeo. Horrid, but I cant even rehome it because it is so bad. At the end, I think I eventually kept it because it is so bad that it sort of earned a special place for me : definitively the worst deck of my entire collection ! Luckily this was a long time ago, and for the last few years I have only aquired decks that I like ! I adore all the knight cards of Spellcaster. Erotic decks like the Decameron really are an acquired taste! There is a history to that deck though. It predates the 'sleepover' that happened with Mary Shelly and friends. Back in the 1300s there was another 'sleepover' among 7 women and 3 men. The Decameron is the result of their erotic literary escapades. I have the book, it's wonderful! So the deck is based loosely on that book. But again, erotic decks really take getting used to or purchase them for a specific reason, knowing there are lewd and nude figures. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Decameron The Romantic tarot is a great deck for compromise. If you like romance but not in your face nudity, that's a deck to check out. http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/romantic-tarot/ Like erotic decks, the definitions of this card vary from the conventional card meanings but I love the deck and can use it in 'mixed' age groups.
Whisper Posted February 22, 2018 Author Posted February 22, 2018 The Romantic tarot is a great deck for compromise. If you like romance but not in your face nudity, that's a deck to check out. http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/romantic-tarot/ Like erotic decks, the definitions of this card vary from the conventional card meanings but I love the deck and can use it in 'mixed' age groups. The images of the Romantic are very pleasant. Thank you for the discovery, Saturn! Lo Scarabeo has some wonderful Tarots like the 1001 Nights. However what really gets me down about their sets is the size of the cards. I find them always too small for their beautiful images. I think that's the reason I tend to stay away from LS. It's a real shame. Over-sized cards of many of their decks would make all the difference. Imagine if the Romantic were the actual size of the cards shown on AT! They would be stunning.
Saturn Celeste Posted February 22, 2018 Posted February 22, 2018 The images of the Romantic are very pleasant. Thank you for the discovery, Saturn! Lo Scarabeo has some wonderful Tarots like the 1001 Nights. However what really gets me down about their sets is the size of the cards. I find them always too small for their beautiful images. I think that's the reason I tend to stay away from LS. It's a real shame. Over-sized cards of many of their decks would make all the difference. Imagine if the Romantic were the actual size of the cards shown on AT! They would be stunning. They are regular tarot size. Very easy to shuffle. ;)
EmpyreanKnight Posted February 23, 2018 Posted February 23, 2018 I'm a POC, I have the Modern Spellcaster's Tarot, and I like it a lot! I didn't feel like it's very PC, faux-PC or what, but then again nuances like this go over my head sometimes. I guess this is because I have always lived in a primarily racially homogeneous country, so issues like this aren't common.
Lantana Posted February 23, 2018 Posted February 23, 2018 Not to derail this thread, but I do kinda get what Carojuile is saying about the Modern Spellcaster’s deck. I wouldn’t call it PC or “forced” but more like... Disingenuous? I feel like this deck illustrates the difference between inclusivity and actual representation. If you compare it to say, a deck like the Next World Tarot, I think the difference becomes pretty clear. (Honestly I think the discussions about diversity in Tarot need to bring up diversity in Tarot creators or else we just get decks like this but another discussion for another time). That being said, I still perfer mass published decks to be like this instead of what they were before (and still tend to be) but I don’t think it’s bad to ask for better. To get back on topic... I have bought a whopping one tarot deck so far this year. But as a whole, I don’t think I’ve immediately regretted a purchase? I try to research and think about decks a LOT before buying them. There are some I’ve come to dislike later, or am still unsure if I want to keep, but thankfully I have not yet experienced immediate buyers remorse when opening a deck.
Carojulie Posted February 23, 2018 Posted February 23, 2018 I adore all the knight cards of Spellcaster. Erotic decks like the Decameron really are an acquired taste! There is a history to that deck though. It predates the 'sleepover' that happened with Mary Shelly and friends. Back in the 1300s there was another 'sleepover' among 7 women and 3 men. The Decameron is the result of their erotic literary escapades. I have the book, it's wonderful! So the deck is based loosely on that book. But again, erotic decks really take getting used to or purchase them for a specific reason, knowing there are lewd and nude figures. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Decameron The Romantic tarot is a great deck for compromise. If you like romance but not in your face nudity, that's a deck to check out. http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/romantic-tarot/ Like erotic decks, the definitions of this card vary from the conventional card meanings but I love the deck and can use it in 'mixed' age groups. Hi SaturnCeleste, Sorry f I am blunt, but I admit that I am a little miffed that you assume that I am a prudish sissy, and that you throw the Romantic tarot at me as a "compromise" for the Decameron ! I am well aware of Boccace's work, and that the Decameron tarot was supposed to be taking its inspiration from it (well, the title is clear enough, and in any case it's written on the tuckbox....) but frankly, I dont see much of Bocacce work in it at all. I have not read the entirety of Boccace Decameron, but from what I know, it is much smarter, much deeper, much more humorous, and much less sexist than this deck. I am not offended by in your face nudity at all, I am not offended by representations of sex scenes, and I am not sure that erotic decks "need to get used to" , at least not in my case. You know, not liking the Decameron does not mean that one is a prude.... And conversely, being open to erotic images does not mean that one is going to automatically like the Decameron. I would be happy to have a beautiful and functionning erotic deck though, but I am picky. I have many reasons for disliking the Decameron tarot as I said in my earlier post, and none have to do with the nudity or blunt images. As for the Romantic tarot, I have been aware of it for years, and always thought that the cards I saw online seemed terribly "silly-cheesy". Once again, that is only my opinion here. But that's probably why I found it vexing that you would think to protect my innocent eyes by showing me the Romantic instead of the Decameron, lol ! But honestly, I dont have Romantic tarot so in truth I cannot really speak of it - if I saw it in person I might change my views. When I bought the Decameron years ago, I was specifically looking for an erotic deck, and I was aware of three decks in that category : the Manara erotic tarot deck, the Tarot of Sexual Magic, and the Decameron. Now I know that there are much more that three, but at the time I was not aware of the others. I have some Manara books, and I find that he always draw women all alike (if you change the hairstyle, all his women look exactly the same) and while it does not bother me much in his graphic novels (its his style after all), I wanted more diversity for a tarot deck. Same for the tarot of Sexual Magic : I saw a Youtube review and crossed it out of my list because all the characters were so similar, uniformely young, thin, sexy, same big breasts, yawn..... I had heard about the Decameron and that it represented people of different ages and different types of body shapes, so I thought I would like it, and I bought it without researching it further. But I really dont like it AT ALL. I am not offended by nudity nor by the representation of erotic scenes, but I am offended by many things in this deck : - most of all, scenes where the women do not seem to be willing to participate in the frolicking, or seem to be hurt or threatened. I really dont like to see people forced to have sex. - I find the art style ugly. That's a totally personal opinion of course, but I find it of poor taste (it reminds me of Lupatelli's gnomes wich I find fugly... at least with Manara I wouldn't have had that problem) - so much for "representing different ages and body shapes". All women but one are young, thin an conventionaly sexy. Only one card shows an older, chubbier woman. Many cards show all sorts of MEN being older and all, but they are inevitably having sex with a Manara looking chick (just less well drawn), not the other way around. - the illustrations have nothing to do with the cards ! Neither in the majors nor in the minors. It's not a tarot deck but a collection of random illustrations given tarot card names..... I was looking for a tarot deck, not to have to learn a completely new system ("system" is a big word, since there is not even any logical organisation in the suits) - The sex scenes are, after all, rather conventional in a sexist way, and I cannot see any sensuality, no desire, just porn.... To me it feels like the monotonous fantams of a rather tedious heterosexual male. Now that's just my opinion of course, and it's cool if this deck pleases other people, but for me, I was just sorely disapointed. But I like a debate of opinions, and I am very open to listen and respect other people's opinion of the deck and why they like it ! No sweat SaturnCeleste ! :)
Carojulie Posted February 23, 2018 Posted February 23, 2018 Not to derail this thread, but I do kinda get what Carojuile is saying about the Modern Spellcaster’s deck. I wouldn’t call it PC or “forced” but more like... Disingenuous? I feel like this deck illustrates the difference between inclusivity and actual representation. If you compare it to say, a deck like the Next World Tarot, I think the difference becomes pretty clear. (Honestly I think the discussions about diversity in Tarot need to bring up diversity in Tarot creators or else we just get decks like this but another discussion for another time). That being said, I still perfer mass published decks to be like this instead of what they were before (and still tend to be) but I don’t think it’s bad to ask for better. I agree with you Lantana, it's a good thing that it starts to reach massmarketed decks. For inclusivity I have many artist decks that I prefer ( I like the Sakki Sakki, and the Next World Tarot is on my wishlist), but artist decks are probably always ahead of massmarket on this account ; and a little inclusivity in a massmarket deck is better than nothing, plus it might mark the begining of a change.
Carojulie Posted February 23, 2018 Posted February 23, 2018 I already posted about mine in some other thread. The Coffee Tarot. Just ugh. http://www.janetboyer.com/Coffee-Tarot.html Enjoy. If you can. I liked her Snowland; that was why I backed it. I have been intruigued for some time by the Snowland tarot. I saw it on Etsy a couple years ago, and I think it is still available. I did think I would like it at first, but now I wonder if it would be a good deck to introduce tarot and story telling to a young child ?
Saturn Celeste Posted February 23, 2018 Posted February 23, 2018 Carojulie[/member]! Oh dear, I never meant that personally. I never assume things about members and when I reply to posts, it's usually in a general manner. What is of no interest to one might be of interest to another. Nothing personal was intended and I apologize if I came off that way. The Decameron has been mentioned in a few other recent posts around the boards and not everyone has approved of the deck. I don't try to sway people into my way of thinking, I just try to give an alternative. I meant if the Decameron was not for some people because of the artwork of the deck, then the Romantic tarot might be more of a fit. No malice was intended in my reply, Carojulie! I have the Manara deck and I love it! It is full of Manara's Italian humor! If you don't have that deck and like his books, please get the deck! It might be the erotic deck you've been looking for! There aren't a lot of erotic decks to choose from. I just purchased the Cosmic Tribe a few days ago and worked with it today and liked it but it was more of a tarot deck than an erotic deck. I would also like to suggest the Eros Oracle if you're not familiar with that along with the Venus and her Lover oracle if you like oracle decks. I did not realize the Eros has gone out of print! If you can find this deck, it's really nice! https://www.amazon.com/Eros-Oracle-Kit-Lo-Scarabeo/dp/0738712930 Here's Venus and her Lover deck, it's odd but very interesting. *NSFW* https://venusandherlover.com/ Another beautiful deck I just got is the Femmes Erotique. I haven't read with it yet but I can't wait to break it out! *NSFW* http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/femmes-erotiques/cards.shtml
Jewel Posted February 23, 2018 Posted February 23, 2018 The Cosmic Tribe is one of my very favorite decks, and no it is not erotic. Nudity is a design element (no masks, the way you were put on this earth), and it uses various body types but there is not full ethnic diversity (though there is some) and there is no real age diversity. Being a photographic deck I believe the images of people might have been in the creators circle of friends so age-wise they are relatively the same (I could be wrong that is just my impression).
Carojulie Posted February 23, 2018 Posted February 23, 2018 Hi Saturn Celeste ! Dont worry, I never though you were malicious at all ! I hope you saw that, even if a little miffed, I was still laughing ! ;) Written language is not always easy to use when trying to convey feelings. Pardon me, I know I can be very opinionated about certain decks, and very blunt when sharing my views. But it does not prevent me from being respectful to other points of views, and open to discussion, and to respetc authors and creators of decks (sometimes, I hope they wont read me because I would not like to hurt their feelings) Thank you for sharing these decks, and wow, the Venus and her Lover deck looks wonderful ! I love the colours from what I have seen so far, and I am going to try and peruse more cards. I have a feeling I am going to like this deck. The Cosmic Tribe I did not know was considered erotic ? It's the deck from Rachel Pollack isn't it ? Now I am not sure that it is the one I have in mind, I should check the title again. The Tarot des Femmes Erotiques has been on my radar for a long time. It looks more like an oracle to me, but a beautiful one. Not that I think that it could be the erotic deck that I was kind of looking for at the time of my unhappy purchase of the Decameron ; but I like the photographs in the Femmes Erotiques, and I saw a Youtube video where the host was talking of this deck with such warmth, that it was contagious ! She had the exact words to speak of it and was conveying my own feeling about the deck. If I can find this youtube video again, I will edit this post to give the link. The Manara deck, I cringe from the borders.... yes, true, I am very picky. And maybe it could be trimmed. But the Venus one ! Thanks for sharing this link, it's promising ! Thank you for sharing ! Take care, :)
sandrang123 Posted February 23, 2018 Posted February 23, 2018 Decameron was not a deck I was even aware of until recently. I am no prude (most people say I curse and act like a sailor ;) ), but I found the Emperor card disturbing. I am a survivor of sexual abuse, and it just cut too close for me. When I work with decks, I find ones that I energetically connect to...even one card can seriously tip things. In fact, really: It does say a lot that in so many years of reading cards (and in buying a ridiculous amount of decks in my life), I still have about 5 go-tos and it's very rare I add to the number often.
Saturn Celeste Posted February 23, 2018 Posted February 23, 2018 Carojulie[/member], here is the Cosmic Tribe that I purchased: http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/cosmic-tribe/ About the Manara, I think it might be difficult to trim. It has a lot of 'stuff' in the borders. This is the video I saw by Shy Fox that got me interested in the Femmes Erotiques. It's really a lovely deck and it comes in a nice box also. I totally understand everyone has their own tastes, no problem! I do want to say one more thing about the Romantic tarot is that each suit takes place in a different country. And on this page: http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/romantic-tarot/ There is a shot of one of my favorite Wheel cards. It's the couple sitting by the Ferris Wheel. I love that card! The countries are Paris, Vienna, Rome and Venice. It does have its own style of definitions but it adapts to any tarot meanings. I look forward to more discussions with you, Carojulie! ^-^
Canid Posted February 25, 2018 Posted February 25, 2018 No regrets so far, but again I had not purchased anything tarot or oracle for a few years and I am being really picky as I add new things. I am way passed the catch-all phase of my collecting days. But oh there was a time ... and I still have decks to prove that. That is one of the reasons I started my deck a month project. To make me really sit down and work with my decks and when I get a few I will make trade thread in hopes of rehoming them for some other decks I might want to try out. Wise. <3 I have one that I could never connect with and would like to rehome, the MerryDay. I collect decks not just to read with or consult, but as a collector for the beauty of their artwork. This one, though, was a mistake. Thanks for sharing. I had never seen it. I like a lot of the art, but...not for me. Not at all. You never know tho, it may go oop someday. Keep it unless someone really really wants it. I like the colors...
Whisper Posted February 25, 2018 Author Posted February 25, 2018 No regrets so far, but again I had not purchased anything tarot or oracle for a few years and I am being really picky as I add new things. I am way passed the catch-all phase of my collecting days. But oh there was a time ... and I still have decks to prove that. That is one of the reasons I started my deck a month project. To make me really sit down and work with my decks and when I get a few I will make trade thread in hopes of rehoming them for some other decks I might want to try out. Wise. <3 I have one that I could never connect with and would like to rehome, the MerryDay. I collect decks not just to read with or consult, but as a collector for the beauty of their artwork. This one, though, was a mistake. Thanks for sharing. I had never seen it. I like a lot of the art, but...not for me. Not at all. You never know tho, it may go oop someday. Keep it unless someone really really wants it. I like the colors... It's selling for around US$65 at Amazon.com, so I think it's on its way to becoming OOP.
Carojulie Posted February 25, 2018 Posted February 25, 2018 Carojulie[/member], here is the Cosmic Tribe that I purchased: http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/cosmic-tribe/ About the Manara, I think it might be difficult to trim. It has a lot of 'stuff' in the borders. This is the video I saw by Shy Fox that got me interested in the Femmes Erotiques. It's really a lovely deck and it comes in a nice box also. I totally understand everyone has their own tastes, no problem! I do want to say one more thing about the Romantic tarot is that each suit takes place in a different country. And on this page: http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/romantic-tarot/ There is a shot of one of my favorite Wheel cards. It's the couple sitting by the Ferris Wheel. I love that card! The countries are Paris, Vienna, Rome and Venice. It does have its own style of definitions but it adapts to any tarot meanings. I look forward to more discussions with you, Carojulie! ^-^ Thanks for the links SaturnCeleste ! It's funny because the Tarot des Femmes Erotiques, it's also a video of ShyFox that made me aware of this deck ! I did not know her name, but recognized her when I clicked on your link. It's not the same video though, for me it was the older video that she posted as a VR to Kelly Bear "5 decks you cannot live without". I am sorry, I dont know how to instert links to youtube from my tablet here. But it's easy to find this video in ShyFox's channel. Now I am going to watch her video on erotic decks ! Thanks :)
Emilija Posted February 25, 2018 Posted February 25, 2018 Nigel Jackson's Dragon Tarot-- bad digital images, cardstock like paper, and *gasp* pip minors! >:( >:( :o
Whisper Posted February 26, 2018 Author Posted February 26, 2018 Nigel Jackson's Dragon Tarot-- bad digital images, cardstock like paper, and *gasp* pip minors! >:( >:( :o Oh, no. Pip minors. That would do it for me, too, Emilija.
Jewel Posted February 26, 2018 Posted February 26, 2018 The Cosmic Tribe I did not know was considered erotic ? It's the deck from Rachel Pollack isn't it ? Now I am not sure that it is the one I have in mind, I should check the title again. I would not consider The Cosmic Tribe erotic. As shared above nudity is a design element - showing us as we were put on this earth, but the context is not erotic. The deck was created by Stevee Postman.
Emilija Posted February 26, 2018 Posted February 26, 2018 Nigel Jackson's Dragon Tarot-- bad digital images, cardstock like paper, and *gasp* pip minors! >:( >:( :o Oh, no. Pip minors. That would do it for me, too, Emilija. I returned it t the store today. Thankfully, no questions were asked.
Whisper Posted February 26, 2018 Author Posted February 26, 2018 Nigel Jackson's Dragon Tarot-- bad digital images, cardstock like paper, and *gasp* pip minors! >:( >:( :o Oh, no. Pip minors. That would do it for me, too, Emilija. I returned it t the store today. Thankfully, no questions were asked. Good that you were able to get rid of it. Now, you can get what really speaks to you.
liminal quartz Posted April 7, 2018 Posted April 7, 2018 Probably The Hobbit Tarot. I purchased ir for novelty -- I love The Hobbit, and collect Hobbit memorabilia, so of course I had to get it. I don't really regret buying it, but it was a pretty disappointing deck. The illustrations are pretty boring and uninspiring.. I can't complain too much, it was really cheap, but I don't think I'm ever going to use it.
Shinsoo Posted April 7, 2018 Posted April 7, 2018 The Chakra Oracle Cards They weren't bad, per se. But shortly after I received them in the mail, I got the vibe that I really don't need or want to use oracle cards much in my readings anymore. And now I can't seem to shake them--I tried to pawn them off on another tarot reader who wanted them, but she lived really far away and it was cheaper for her to buy them locally than to pay postage for me to ship them to her, lol Guess they'll just go into my drawer until I find a home for them.
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