Unboxings and First Impressions

[Mi-Shell]

Oh, @ilweran! 

I too received the Winterseer Animal Oracle  - for Winter Solstice from one of my clients!

It sure is a lovely deck!

First I had thought it to be all about Animals in Winter, but now I just looked at it quickly and am happy to note, it shows the Animal in all seasons 🙂 

I also got 5 other decks , so it will be a while, until I get around to really spending time with this little treasure.

[ilweran]

@Mi-Shell I hope you like it when you get a chance to try it out, it seems lovely so far. And it has a snail card which I love. I think snails are often overlooked, but that might be because we have around 15 garden snails as pets, and have had them since they were eggs (and introduced their parents to each other as well!)

[Mi-Shell]

@ilweran, the Snail Whisperer ♥

I am planning on using this one more towards Spring! right now it has a nice place among all the Winter Solstice pressies in our Family Altar!

 I love the Owl on the book cover♥

 

Right now I am doing daily draws with my new Crow Tarot and tomorrow will use that one for my first 2022 reading for a long-time client 🙂

[Niobium]

I have been remiss in sharing some of my rarer, recent gets. First up: Tarot of Semitones. This one I purchased from the wonderful folks at modernmagic.ru.

 

.

 

No box, instead it came with a lovely velvet bag. 'Rose petal' finish on fairly heavy stock (320+ I'd guess) so a tough shuffle. The art is overall very nice, though I'm a little whelmed by the courts. The rest does make up for it, though, at least for my uses. I'm a huge fan of well-done B&W tarot art, and this is a lovely edition. Overall the theme is Asian, by which I mean the continent as a whole, including Russia. A really great addition along side Of Light and Dust, which has a Middle Eastern theme.

[WizardintheWoods]

@Decan my copy of Dark Mansion Tarot arrived today. The artwork is fun and a light hearted dark venue if you will. There are nuances that I am quite enjoying and will lay a spread later during the week after I am better acclimate to the deck. The down side is the card stock, while shuffling very well is a bit thin. I fear it may not hold up well over time so I am glad it is a “for fun deck” not earmarked to be a workhorse deck for me. I do appreciate the recommendation and thank you again !

[Decan]

3 hours ago, WizardintheWoods said:

@Decan my copy of Dark Mansion Tarot arrived today. The artwork is fun and a light hearted dark venue if you will. There are nuances that I am quite enjoying and will lay a spread later during the week after I am better acclimate to the deck. The down side is the card stock, while shuffling very well is a bit thin. I fear it may not hold up well over time so I am glad it is a “for fun deck” not earmarked to be a workhorse deck for me. I do appreciate the recommendation and thank you again !

You're welcome, I was wondering if it arrived.

I have the large edition and don't find the cards too thin but because very matt, shuffling isn't perfect, and at times a few cards stick together. There is a lamination but minimal I think. Well.

Did you order the large edition or their last one (laminated); I read that they slide better when shuffling. Yes, not a deck for everyday I agree. I don't really like their other decks at their shop.

[WizardintheWoods]

These are laminated, that is my guess is what is making the shuffling easier. There was only one option to order, if the larger had been an option I would have gone that way as again, these aren’t for everyday. I see them more for fun at a fall get together or such. 

[Decan]

I took a look again at the descriptions of the decks and indeed, if they say that the larger one is 350g high quality paper, they just say the paper is high quality for the other versions, not 350g, so thinner I guess.

Anyway the larger doesn’t slip very well, it’s my little regret.

[WizardintheWoods]

May I ask @decan what site you are looking at?

[WizardintheWoods]

@Decan, what site might I ask are you looking at?

[Decan]

This one: https://taroteca-studio.com/

[katrinka]

There is a mistake I've made more than once with Nigel Jackson's Tarots. I know that if I want an indie deck, I may have to act fast. But with mass-produced decks from the big publishers, I habitually resist. I can always get a copy in six months or a year. That saves me from a lot of impulse buying.

But Jackson's decks, for reasons I don't know, go OOP very quickly, leaving me with the choice of paying $100 or more for a $30 deck on ebay, or doing without. In most cases, I do without. I have far fewer Jackson decks than I would like to have.

So I wised up and ordered his Rose Tarot while I still could. The downside is the packaging: one of those big Schiffer-type boxes containing the deck and guidebook. But it's easy enough to find the deck and book a place to live, and toss or repurpose the box. And the cards are glossier than I would prefer. Still, it's good stock, and I managed to photograph a few cards without big white glare spots. And it's lovely. I always liked the way Jackson draws peoples' eyes, they look kind of wild and wolfish.

The Minors follow RWS, but they're not a retread. The 5 of Swords shows Icarus. The 7 of Cups is someone trying to rake the reflection of the moon rather than the usual seven cups full of pipe dreams. The 5 of Coins is a "wandering mendicant friar":



A lot of thought went into this. Here's more:

 

 

It's full to bursting with things from the Grail Legends, alchemy, etc. You'll recognize some of it. If it's unfamiliar that's OK, it's explained in the guidebook. I especially like the Majors. He gave a nod to the old decks by including the pillar on the Strength card. Check out the wheels within wheels on the Chariot. That's the fiery chariot of Enoch and Elijah, who "went to heaven without dying." See the metaphor there? 😉 And look at the curtains on Death: before you say those are sperm, rebirth, etc., check the guidebook: they're tears. This is a real Death card, not a sugarcoated one.

 

Sites like Kickstarter often have decks with a lot of mystical/occult imagery, but in most cases it's just thoughtlessly included as a sales gimmick. This deck is different. It's a readers' deck, and it's really, really well done.

Edited January 23, 2022 by katrinka

[Decan]

Amazing pics!

Nigel Jackson has definitely a unique way to draw, and it's very nice. I knew there was a Rose Tarot available, but didn't order it (I hesitated though).
I take note of the little flaws though, thanks for the review!

[frankie]

I have been tempted by the Rose Tarot but held back precisely because of the mystical/occult imagery--this review is great and addresses my worries. Definitely something I'll reconsider, hopefully not until it's too late!

[stephanelli]

Another deck I'm behind the times on, but I received my Light Seer's Tarot in the post yesterday!  (A birthday present to myself, from myself 😆)

 

I can't believe how bright and vibrant the cards are, I'm so in love with it already!  I think it's going to quickly become a working deck for me, I've done a few basic pulls and so far I'm finding the artwork incredibly intuitive and easy to read!  I love the modern vibe it gives off 😍

 

The cards are matt and shuffle so easily and don't give off an annoying glare when I try and photograph them 😆

 

[ilweran]

3 hours ago, stephanelli said:

I've done a few basic pulls and so far I'm finding the artwork incredibly intuitive and easy to read!  I love the modern vibe it gives off

It is a lovely deck, and I find it reads easily as well. And it does modern well - I often don't like modern settings in decks, this one is an exception.

[Bodhiseed]

@stephanelli, I love the Light Seer's Tarot, and agree with everything you said about it. When I read for others, it is the deck most often chosen.

[PathWalker]

Oh dear @katrinka the Nigel Jackson looks lovely - and there was me saying I had all the decks I needed!

[MysticMoonlight]

I unboxed my Dark Wood Tarot this a.m. along with the Mausolea Oracle. Wow, I really love them both. Both are decks that I didn't give much attention to upon release for whatever reason but after seeing them mentioned in Raecine's (owlmoon513) recent videos, I became intrigued and ordered them. So glad I did. Very literal decks...I like this a lot. Also, the book for the Dark Wood Tarot is fantastic. Lots of ooo's and ahhh's.

[MysticMoonlight]

My Golden Tarot of Klimt arrived and I'm in absolute LOVE with this deck. Why, oh why did I wait so long to get it? It's amazingly beautiful...even better in person. It's also very "conversational" and loves to be read. I can't stop looking at it and want to carry it everywhere with me 🥰 The Ace of Pentacles is just EVERYTHING!!! 

 

Some favorites: NUDITY WARNING!!!

 

Edited February 19, 2022 by MysticMoonlight
Nudity Warning

[katrinka]

Il Meneghello's Sibilla 1850 arrived yesterday via DHL from Italy. I was supposed to get it last Thursday, but for obvious reasons, mail has been running behind schedule.
It's the old La Vera pattern, like the Masenghini deck and the Everyday Oracle. But it has watercolor tints instead of dots. It's basically Il Meneghello's Sibilla 1890 from 2006, but with rounded corners and WITHOUT the shiny polaroid-like coating. The colors are much nicer than the camera has captured here:



Kaph reviews the Everyday, the La Vera, and the 1890 here. I'm not sure if he rounded the corners of his 1890, or if Il Meneghello did that with later editions. Mine came in a blue box and has square corners. https://sibillareadings.wordpress.com/category/sibilla-deck-review/

 

The 1850 version is matte. Very, very matte. It looks uncoated. But I suspect it might be very lightly coated - it riffles like a dream. 💖 It's much easier to handle than my uncoated Il Meneghello decks. I love those, but I don't find myself using them as often as I would if they were easier to shuffle. This one feels wonderful in hand.



Stock can make or break a deck. I passed my Masenghini La Vera on to someone else - even though it's "complete" with lottery numbers and reversed meanings in small print, the stock is so stiff that shuffling actually made my thumbs sore. The more I used it, the sorer my hands got. Using it was like aversion therapy. I battled with it for a few years, but Kaph is right: it never breaks in. An old shabby copy is just as stiff as a new one. I still have my old white-bordered 2001 Sibilla della Zingara and my Everyday Oracle - those have acceptable stock. I'll probably retire the 1890 - it has good stock, but the shininess seems all wrong.

The 1850 is soft, SO matte, and it feels wonderful in hand. I think I'll be using it a lot. The Everyday Oracle is good for heavy use and beating up (if you can find one without those awful black borders!) - it's cheap and has a regular coating - but this 1850 is perfect for leisurely at home readings where you have the luxury of washing your hands and cleaning the surface of the table.

I do love Sibilla. It's dramatic. 😁 Enemies sneak around with snakes or daggers. People mourn at graves or bawl their eyes out over a letter. Guys get stumbling drunk, are chained in a cell, or attempt suicide. A thief sneaks in an open window, a house burns down, a coffin bears a skull and crossbones rather than flowers. It's refreshing after all the sugarcoated decks that seem to be trending in recent years. It's one of the few decks I use reversals with - these things do happen in life, but it's usually not that bad. 🤣


 

[katrinka]

If I'd known this was arriving today, I'd have checked the mail earlier. As it happens, I was taking the trash out at dusk and popped the mailbox open so I could throw out the junk mail and ad flyers. Lo and behold, there was a little box with a Texas return address. It was from makeplayingcards.com. I hadn't ordered anything from them and thought it must be either a mistake or a gift.

It was neither. It was the SEAMS Tarot that I backed some time ago. I knew it would be shipping soon, but I didn't know mine had already. So it was cool getting surprised like that. 🙂

The first thing I noticed was the way the art styles go with the cards. With most collab decks, people just pick: "I want to do the Moon!" "Okay, you have the Moon." But the SEAMS looks like it was coordinated in such a way that the artists' styles are matched to the card meanings. Because of that, it doesn't feel disjointed or jarring. It's just super expressive:

 

The Page of Cups has a lot of light and a childlike, cartoonish quality. The 10 of Swords is dark, and very, very bloody. Temperance echos the style of that lovely old soft Chinese art, the kind you might see on the cover of the Tao Te Ching. There's a nods to other styles, too. It's a blend - like tempered wine!

I'll have more to say when I've read the companion book and spent more time with the deck. And I want to get pictures in better light. But so far, I'm very favorably impressed. 😁

Edited March 12, 2022 by katrinka

[Therese]

@katrinka Wow, this looks amazing! Do you know how many artists have participated in the project?

[katrinka]

16 hours ago, Therese said:

@katrinka Wow, this looks amazing! Do you know how many artists have participated in the project?

The guidebook lists 41 artists, if I'm counting correctly. Maybe @BlueToy will pop in and tell us more? He was the director, and he did a wonderful job.

[Niobium]

Ah it looks lovely! Hm, maybe if there are extras left over I'll snag one, or keep an eye out for someone who doesn't want to keep theirs.