Things I have grown weary of in decks....

[Guest Night Shade]

This one is from our own GreatDane!

https://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=188312

 

We all have our preferences. Things that are not isolated instances that I keep seeing popping up I don't prefer are (in no particular order):

 

Large decks that are too big for my hands (particularly if the BORDERS are what make them so big!). If a deck is borderless, or thin borders, I will adjust if I like a deck, but size does matter in tarot decks for me.

 

Renamed suits or images (slight deviation where still easy to make out, fine, but something like fruits and vegetables, animals, etc as suits or images that are really renamed so I have to memorize or go to a book, not so much)

 

Themed decks that don't offer much that is new, relying on tarot collectors or impulse buyers to sell, well, anything.

 

Anyone have anything to add?

[Guest Night Shade]

I get annoyed with decks that seem to exist purely for the artwork, with little to no tarot symbolism.  Especially decks where the characters in the Majors just seem to be posing to have their portrait painted - these decks may be beautiful, but if you know nothing about tarot, you'd be at a loss to find any kind of meaning in them.

 

I get tired of seeing large borders as well.  After a while, all the cards start to look alike.

 

And finally I don't like it when the name of the suit isn't written on the card, and instead is replaced with a glyph representing the suit.  If it's a deck where the suits have been renamed, it's sometimes hard to figure out which suit is which!

[GreatDane]

I second that!  X/

 

There have been so many decks, and with the increasing popularity of decks, even more coming, that may have BEAUTIFUL images … but have NOTHING to do with the card's meaning. 

 

There are a lot of decks that seem made by people who have NO idea what tarot is about or care.  They just make 78 cards for the bucks.

 

I feel sorry for newbie readers who think all tarot decks will give them the meaning and symbolism, at least a clue, of what they need or should look for. 

 

 

 

 

[Raggydoll]

One of my biggest pet peeves is when they try to force fit pre-existing artwork onto tarot. So I’m always weary about a deck when that’s the case.

[River]

One of my biggest pet peeves is when they try to force fit pre-existing artwork onto tarot. So I’m always weary about a deck when that’s the case.

 

This, very much. I saw a couple of images from the John Bauer tarot and I thought it was so pretty, but then I understood it was pre-existing artwork and got somewhat disappointed. I like the choices of symbolism to be well thought-out to represent the meaning of the card. Aestetics are important too of course, that's why I'm picky as hell. :P

[Eric13]

I'm done with the decks that purely exist for the artwork also. There's so much that's just posed for or the same computer image is used with only different colors or "crazy" style clothing. They do take away from the original meaning. I've also decided to no longer use any decks that don't number their major arcana's.