Unboxings and First Impressions

[katrinka]

Niiiiiiice, Raggy!

I don't have any unboxings at present, but I guess one can (loosely) get first impressions from online images? Anyway, the Wise Dog Tarot is shipping.
Compared to cat decks, there aren't that many dog decks. And I doubt this one will reach the golden razor wit status and lushness of Baba's BB Cats. I don't own the Crow Tarot, nor am I waiting for the Grimalkin with bated breath. (I'm going to pass on it, TBH. It doesn't look bad, but what do I need it for when I have the BB Cats?) But I had to get this one since the artist has done some of the dogs as quasi (or maybe not so quasi!)-religious icons.

 

Dogs will be dogs, and do dog things like lick their nether regions, chew your shoes and hump your guests. But they're capable of supreme self-sacrifice and loyalty beyond the best humanity is capable of. I've experienced it.

My birth mother, who subscribes to the beliefs of those horrible TV evangelists and is generally someone whose views on spirituality are something I tune out (I don't fight with her over this, she's in her 80's), has seen it too. Her dogma and doctrine don't allow her to see that dogs are made of the same stuff as us, only purer somehow, but she's told me that she thinks "angels jump into dogs sometimes."

I think Albert Payson Terhune summed it up best. He was churchgoing and all of that, but he had no problem arguing against the doctrine that "dogs have no souls" - often dripping sarcasm, and in a very affecting way. I like that. Wrong is wrong, no matter who does or says it. Even if it's the so-called Word-O-God. Take this passage from My Friend, The Dog:

And there are those photos one occasionally sees, like this one:

 

 

So yeah. We know how to make a lot of things, and do all manner of nifty tricks, but when it gets down to the wire, I think dogs are better than we are. And in the end, that's what "holiness" is, isn't it?
 

I only know of three other dog Tarots: the Il Meneghello Majors only one, the Original Dog Tarot (which is more of a gag item, and incomplete), and Mickie Mueller's. Of those four, I think this one is standout.

I don't know yet how much I'll read with it, or even IF I'll read with it. It's the first deck I ever bought purely for the art. Those sacred hearts got me.

It's still available here: https://crowtarotshop.com/products/wise-dog-tarot-in-production
 

Edited November 5, 2019 by katrinka

[Raggydoll]

Thank you @katrinka !!

 

So the second (final) version of my intuitive oracle deck just arrived and I am stoked!!

 

 

The backs are the same but a lot of the other things have changed. 

 

The biggest thing is that all the cards are now black and white with a moody feel. I wanted this oracle to work alongside the tarot deck that I’m creating. (And I plan on edging them both in black or platinum ☺️). The size of the decks are the same (poker size) and this deck has almost the same amount of cards as a tarot deck. I switched out some of the images and altered others. 

 

Here are some pics! (The pictures got pretty dark due to lack of daylight and lousy phone camera, but hopefully you get some idea of what they look like!) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As you can tell, there are no titles or keywords (and obviously no borders). I wanted the images to speak for themselves and be evocative for the intuition. I have had the time to experiment with my first edition and have found that I like to read the cards in a row without any designated positions. I often do two rows and assign different (but very general) meanings to the rows. Like for instance, the top row might represent the mundane present events and the bottom row might represent all that is going on underneath the surface (or that took place in the past etc). 

 

I chose symbols and images that has special significance to me and I also went with animals that I am familiar with. So there are lots of birds (especially crows and ravens 😊), foxes, reindeers etc.

 

I must say that its been so fun to make my own deck and I’m definitely hooked. I have created one more oracle deck that is at the printers and I’m almost done with my tarot deck (but I’m not rushing it). Exciting for sure! 😀

 

I will show pictures of the other decks later and I will reveal the titles of them all once I’m done tinkering with the title cards (still unsure whether I’ll make a box or bag for them. Good thing that there is no rush, it’s all done for me and part of my bucket list dream projects 🙂)

 

[Decan]

Ah, that's it!!

I'm glad to see your oracle. The photos are pieces of art, you have obviously an artistic side.

This makes me think of an art gallery we could visit with opportunities to connect with the photos on display, and decipher signs for spiritual guidance.

Congrats!

 

Edited: I don't open every thread so I just saw as well the first version of your oracle on the previous page; well I like colors but in black and white your deck has a more impressive vibe (just my opinion!).

Edited November 18, 2019 by Decan

[Raggydoll]

15 minutes ago, Decan said:

Ah, that's it!!

I'm glad to see your oracle. The photos are pieces of art, you have obviously an artistic side.

This makes me think of an art gallery we could visit with opportunities to connect with the photos on display, and decipher signs for spiritual guidance.

Congrats!

 

Edited: I don't open every thread so I just saw as well the first version of your oracle on the previous page; well I like colors but in black and white your deck has a more impressive vibe (just my opinion!).

Thank you! I did not take the photos myself - I used stock photos that I then cropped and edited in various ways. So the vision is mine but the photography skills belong to others 😀

[katrinka]

I like it!
Most oracle decks one sees nowadays are all colors and light beams and whatnot, with distracting keywords on them. But these speak on their own.
The gavel especially is a great choice for a card. I wish I'd thought of it!

[Raggydoll]

6 minutes ago, katrinka said:

I like it!
Most oracle decks one sees nowadays are all colors and light beams and whatnot, with distracting keywords on them. But these speak on their own.
The gavel especially is a great choice for a card. I wish I'd thought of it!

Thank you! You might appreciate my tarot deck too, it has some alternative ideas in it and it’s definitely not cheerful 😁. I’ll let you know once it’s done if you’d like to see some pics 😘

[AJ-ish/Sharyn]

shouldn't this be in Oracle Decks forum? 

[Raggydoll]

29 minutes ago, AJ-ish/Sharyn said:

shouldn't this be in Oracle Decks forum? 

We only have one Unboxings thread and so we allow other types of things than just tarot decks in there. Same goes for the postman thread - it’s in the tarot category but people can talk about any type of decks, books etc. It wouldn’t be feasible to have one unboxing thread for every category of things or for every subforum. 

[AJ-ish/Sharyn]

ah. all I noticed at the top of the thread is Tarot Decks. Clear as glass now. 

[katrinka]

7 hours ago, Raggydoll said:

Thank you! You might appreciate my tarot deck too, it has some alternative ideas in it and it’s definitely not cheerful 😁. I’ll let you know once it’s done if you’d like to see some pics 😘

Yes, I would like. :D
 

Edited November 18, 2019 by katrinka

[KaiNO]

First, I have to say that your deck looks impressive, Raggydoll! 👍 Now, I want to create my own deck, too ☺️, but for me, this is a project that lies several years ahead.

 

*

 

So, for now, I buy decks, and my latest acquisition is the Kickstarter deck "The Oracle of Heaven and Hell":

 

 

 

Immediately I think the deck looks good, I have previously received documentation on PDF, so I am looking forward to starting using the deck 🙂

 

[ilweran]

 

The Goddess Dream Oracle by Wendy Andrew arrived yesterday. It's been a long wait as I pre-ordered it a couple of months ago!

 

It is lovely visually, the book is fine but I'm not sure it's completely necessary as everything needed is in the cards. It is useful to know if a specific goddess is depicted though as I didn't recognise all of them.

 

The three cards drawn were answering the questions 'who are you?' (inspiration) 'what can you offer me?' (imagination) and 'what do I need to do?' (forgiveness).

 

If there is one slight criticism it's that there is a slight mix of cultures in a deck that feels mostly Celtic. For example I love Amaterasu and it's a beautiful card but she stands out quite sharply in this deck that has, off the top of my head, the Morrigan, Rhiannon, Elen, and I think three cards depicting Brigid, as well as more generic goddess cards that have a Celtic feel to them. That is being a bit picky though!

[Decan]

Oh My! My 5 Cent Tarot by Madam Clara arrived with all the extras! 😀

 

So my first impressions!

The quality is amazing, the card stock but as well the sturdy box, and the pouch is of premium quality too (a vibrant red with yellow pompoms, I love that!)

The back of the cards is less beige than I thought but has a soft "light green touch" with something slightly metallic too, it's nice! I chose the clearer option, the other option for the back of the cards was "really green".

 

I think it's a Tarot deck to use when you want to deal with the RWS system (for the meanings of the cards) but concerning the images with something completely different (and fun)! It was a nice Kickstarter (and packaged very well!). I have a spread cloth too (in a nice thin cotton) and a Big pin! The LWB looks well done.

 

 

Edited December 9, 2019 by Decan

[Danvers]

On 12/9/2019 at 9:50 AM, Decan said:

Oh My! My 5 Cent Tarot by Madam Clara arrived with all the extras! 😀

 

So my first impressions!

The quality is amazing, the card stock but as well the sturdy box, and the pouch is of premium quality too (a vibrant red with yellow pompoms, I love that!)

The back of the cards is less beige than I thought but has a soft "light green touch" with something slightly metallic too, it's nice! I chose the clearer option, the other option for the back of the cards was "really green".

 

I think it's a Tarot deck to use when you want to deal with the RWS system (for the meanings of the cards) but concerning the images with something completely different (and fun)! It was a nice Kickstarter (and packaged very well!). I have a spread cloth too (in a nice thin cotton) and a Big pin! The LWB looks well done.

 

 

It looks beautiful! I preordered through the Etsy shop and I'm waiting for mine to arrive. Apparently the parcel is somewhere here in the UK, just waiting for them to be delivered. 

I love the pumice colour backs now that I've seen them in various unboxings but I ordered the green backs/edges and am wondering if maybe it was the right choice. 😯

Someone else said that the cardstock is linen finish, is this true? I think it's a great looking deck don't you?

[Decan]

1 hour ago, Danvers said:

Someone else said that the cardstock is linen finish, is this true? I think it's a great looking deck don't you?

Yes it is linen finish, the feel is very pleasant and it shuffles very well!

I had a previous Kickstarter this year and the card stock was a bit too thick for me (and a bit glossy too), and finally I don't use it much. For this one I shuffled the cards already several times because I love card stock (and the deck of course)!

Edited December 10, 2019 by Decan

[Danvers]

@Decan

I know what you mean about really thick cardstock, some of my decks are so thick that I can't actually shuffle them properly so it's good to hear that these are thinner card.

I'm REALLY looking forward to getting these now, hopefully the postman will bring them soon. It will be like Christmas come early 😁🎄

Edited December 10, 2019 by Danvers

[alyce]

On 12/9/2019 at 8:50 PM, Decan said:

Oh My! My 5 Cent Tarot by Madam Clara arrived with all the extras! 😀

 

So my first impressions!

The quality is amazing, the card stock but as well the sturdy box, and the pouch is of premium quality too (a vibrant red with yellow pompoms, I love that!)

The back of the cards is less beige than I thought but has a soft "light green touch" with something slightly metallic too, it's nice! I chose the clearer option, the other option for the back of the cards was "really green".

 

I think it's a Tarot deck to use when you want to deal with the RWS system (for the meanings of the cards) but concerning the images with something completely different (and fun)! It was a nice Kickstarter (and packaged very well!). I have a spread cloth too (in a nice thin cotton) and a Big pin! The LWB looks well done.

 

 

 

How lovely!! I'm really looking forward for my copy to arrive.

[Danvers]

At last the postman has brought my 5cent tarot! I'm so pleased with the whole bundle, well worth the wait and paying the import charges. Lovely linen finish cardstock which feels great for shuffling. I'm going to love using this deck and I will probably use the 4 extra cards too. 

 

 

[Decan]

Beautiful pics!

If I could go back, maybe I would have chosen the green back, but the clearer back of the cards is fine. Well, it's the only thing I'm still unsure.

I'm surprised you paid the import charges, the declaration of value was nicely done (I looked at that closely). Well...

I redid one of the pompom though, better to consolidate them before you have to redo them (I struggled a bit!).

[Danvers]

1 hour ago, Decan said:

Beautiful pics!

If I could go back, maybe I would have chosen the green back, but the clearer back of the cards is fine. Well, it's the only thing I'm still unsure.

I'm surprised you paid the import charges, the declaration of value was nicely done (I looked at that closely). Well...

I redid one of the pompom though, better to consolidate them before you have to redo them (I struggled a bit!).

I was surprised by having to pay import charges but I guess I just got unlucky this time around. I'm glad that I chose the green option now that I have it in my hands, it's much greener than I thought it would be and i like that.

I might change the drawstring to a red or green, the yellow is a little bright for my tastes. 

[Danvers]

My Christmas gifts to myself arrived today, 3 oracle decks and a cute tarot deck.

My first is Devil's Acre Penny Fortune Oracle, it's full of images built around Whitechapel in London around the time of the Jack the Ripper murders, very atmospheric and eerie. Nice cardstock and fliptop box with a foldout LWB. 

 

 

 

The 2nd oracle The Curious Chapiteau Lenormand which is based on the circus, full of gorgeous vintage images. I love how the LWB is actually printed on separate cards so there's no rummaging through pages of a book for the meanings. A fun deck with lovely linen cardstock. 

 

 

 

 

My 3rd Oracle is just so cute and colourful, The Cat Land Oracle. Really great images and quality cardstock on these cards and box. There's lots of little details hidden in the cards which is something i always enjoy finding in new decks. 

 

 

 

And finally The Whispering Spirits tarot. This is not my usual preferred style of artwork but there's something about these little spirits that really called to me. Gorgeous cardstock and sturdy box and a nice LWB. It's got such a summery vibe going on so it will be perfect for using in the spring and summer. There's a hint of Studio Ghibli going on here too.

 

That's it. My Christmas gifts to myself and the last new decks of 2019.

 

Edited December 18, 2019 by Danvers

[Decan]

The Devil's Acre Penny Fortune Oracle looks really tempting! But no more deck presently for me 🙂, nevertheless it goes directly on my wishlist!

[KaiNO]

Today, the very last deck I ordered in 2019 arrived; Tarot D: The Didactic Tarot.

 

 

I'm still waiting for some previous orders, but from now I will buy significantly fewer decks. Now I have to start using the ones I already have 🙂

[Danvers]

2 hours ago, Decan said:

The Devil's Acre Penny Fortune Oracle looks really tempting! But no more deck presently for me 🙂, nevertheless it goes directly on my wishlist!

Just a heads up - it's a limited edition of 100 and there are only 19 decks left. I hope you manage to get one of these decks in time because it's such a unique concept. 

[Mi-Shell]

The Light Seer's Tarot arrived!♥

A very sturdy box that survived the trip into the bush without any dents!♥

It fits the cards quite snug, but it is still easy to take them in and out. ♥

the card sized booklet is about 1 cm thick, has sturdy pages and fits well into said box.♥

The cards are amazing! A mat finish but still, the colours pop and there is no sticking ♥

The card pack thick - quite a hand full and shuffling may be a bit of a trick.  ?

For this quality, the price point is very attractive. ♥

I am looking forward to exploring and using the deck!♥

Now  I am wondering, If on the forums we have a thread devoted to it.

So far I could not find anything.....