What drew you to your favourite deck?

[Guest Night Shade]

https://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=97989

by romanticdreamz

 

Hopefully this hasn't been posted in a while. I was interested in what drew you to the deck you classify as your favourite. Was it the artwork, a general like of the theme or something else?

 

Me? After searching for a deck for months, I eventually found the Gothic Tarot of the Vampire deck by chance and it grabbed me straight away. (My first and only deck so far.)

 

Granted, I love Buffy and the vampire theme but on a deeper level, I find I connect with the genre - not quite fitting in, the search for something more and so on. I find I can relate that to being gay and even my life situation at times and my personality so it seemed to fit perfectly.

[Guest Night Shade]

I think my favorite deck right now is the Celtic Dragon Tarot.  It drew me in because, well, it's a dragon deck and I love dragons!  ;D  But I also like that the guidebook contained Tarot spells and meditations for connecting with dragons.

 

I also love the Happy Tarot.  This one drew me in with its bright, cheerful colors and adorable imagery.  And when I bought it I really needed an infusion of happiness!

 

The Dark Angels Tarot caught my eye because I'm rather fond of dark angels.  >:D  I love it for its dark, gothic beauty and almost dreamlike imagery.

[AnomalyTempest]

I'm not sure I have found a favorite yet. I have 10 decks but there isn't one I just grab automatically or anything. I like them all. I think I've been lucky to not have been disappointed in a deck yet. I want to say it's my Steampunk Tarot. I really like to look at it but it's the hardest to work with too. It just fascinates me.

[Tanga]

That it was multicultural (somewhat), colourful and modern  😄

(I have multicultural roots).

 

It's The Gendron Tarot: http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/gendron/

 

My 1st deck was the Art Nouveau by Matt Myers (http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/art-nouveau-tarot/)

- and after I'd learned some basics I realised I was craving a multicultural deck...

So for some years after I passively "searched for THE ONE" Lol - and eventually bumped into The Gendron Tarot in Camden Market one day (London, UK).

 

I use other decks - but this one's my "go to" and one I think of with most comfort and fondness.

 

Edited May 15, 2019 by Tanga

[AJ-ish/Sharyn]

a favorite is tough with so many choices available to us. Over the years I've had my top 20 list, which eventually became my top 10, and for the last three years, the top 3 list.

 

I was drawn to many, but grew into the keepers by using them.

Thoth, Llewellyn, Songs For The Journey Home. all very different.

[Jewel]

My very favorite is The Alice Tarot, I was drawn by the subject matter, art, use of metallic inks, and the fact that it was a Magic Realist Press (Baba Studios) deck - I have been able to connect so well with all of their decks.  I missed purchasing it when it was released, and by time I saw it the prices had skyrocketed so I doubted I would ever own it, but just put out my wish into the world.  Luckily a lovely TT&M forum member was interested in my extra copy of the VR Gold, and I was able to trade for it and the book!  Synchronicity at its finest.  It was meant to be.

 

But I do have lots of favorites, quite a few that started out as decks I was meh about or did not think I would like.  In the end it was deck energy and the way they read for me that makes them favorites.

[Cobweb]

My favourite deck is the Shadowscapes - which I wasn't expecting to like as much as I do.  Honestly, I bought it very cheaply on eBay!  It was a complete impulse buy because it was so cheap.  So what drew me to it was its price!!! :)) 

 

And then it arrived and I fell in love.  Maybe it's because I read a fair few fantasy novels in my formative years but it just...  works for me.  It clicks with my imagination.  It's RWS based but opens up the cards for me in ways I hadn't seen before.  For example, 5 Wands - the frantic urgency of the foxes chasing the hard and the way the hare goes to ground so the foxes miss it, scattering every which way...

 

Anyway, that's the very nonromantic start to my love affair with the Shadowscapes!  I think it just goes to show that some things are meant to be! 

[Esk]

My favourite deck is also the Shadowscapes, and what drew me to it is definitely art. I knew Stephanie Law's work from before and my first deck had to be hers. It's still my favourite. So beautiful  <3

[fire cat pickles]

My favorite deck is this one:

 

 

I had a dream one night about a tarot deck. I searched online through the AT database page after page and finally found it. I ordered it from Mr. Somerville and joined AT and the rest was history!

 

 

[MysticMoonlight]

I have my favorites for reasons that I'm sure we all share or can relate to...the artwork, the theme, etc. but I've noticed that even though those decks are some of my favorites to delight in visually (and yes they read terrifically too), my most beloved deck is not the deck that initially grabbed me with its artwork. At first, that is.

 

My Original Rider-Waite-Smith has to be my most favorite deck of all. This has been a slow and gradual love. It was my first deck and I just didn't really love it visually upon our first meeting. I soon thereafter and quickly fell down the rabbit hole of ordering decks that were beautiful and stunning in every way and while I love many of them dearly for many reasons, I had a nagging that something was missing. I couldn't put my finger on what that was so I kept buying various decks. Expensive habit. I vowed to slow my buying habit and use what decks I already have. Go deeper not wider...yada, yada. I'm so glad that I did because it was during this time I picked up my RWS again and something just clicked. It reads SOOOO well and as our relationship developed, the artwork sang to me. I now find it so beautiful (not that I ever thought it ugly, just perhaps easier to overlook) and the symbolism seems to make sense to me in a way that feels very organic. I love it. It reads so well for me that sometimes I just sit with my reading to process how spot on it is. 

[HermitWriter]

My Pierre Madenie Tarot de Marseille was definitely love at first sight. I love TdM decks, but this one just went above and beyond. It was my cat's favorite too. She HATED sitting in laps, but when this deck came out? She couldn't get close enough. I miss having her purr in my lap while reading. I'm sure that plays a role in why I love this deck so much. But I also love the card stock, the "ghost" images that are on my version, and how it seems to speak softly but powerfully.

 

I'll also always have a soft spot for my original RWCS deck too. It was my first tarot deck, and it's been the template for so many modern decks.

 

I love reading everyone's replies here, too. TT&M folks have wonderful taste in tarot!  :D

[Jewel]

I have my favorites for reasons that I'm sure we all share or can relate to...the artwork, the theme, etc. but I've noticed that even though those decks are some of my favorites to delight in visually (and yes they read terrifically too), my most beloved deck is not the deck that initially grabbed me with its artwork. At first, that is.

That is actually much the way it has been with many of my favorite decks.  The Alice Tarot was somewhat of a fluke in that it checked all the things I like box plus reads like a dream.  But a couple that really caught me off guard and I did use for years and years as my primary decks were The Cosmic Tribe and The Fey Tarot, two of my all time favorites.  These were decks I did not expect to like and they ended up replacing the original two reading decks I used for years prior, and I used them almost exclusively for years after and will never part with them.

 

 

[cnyb]

I particularly like the unexpected favorites.  That sense of surprise and discovery.  Right now the Tarot Mucha is filling in that spot -- at first I was surprised that I found the pics online attractive enough to buy the deck -- then when I saw it in person, I was surprised that it really captivates me, in so many unexpected ways.  It swept me off my feet, something about the romantic dramatic qualities, in this case.

[Jewel]

I particularly like the unexpected favorites.

I totally agree, those unexpected surprises really become treasures.

[Cat]

I don't have a single favorite deck, so here my answers for a few of my current faves:

 

World Spirit Tarot: The overall diversity and inclusivity (people of color! fat people! people with glasses! ambiguously-gendered or same-sex couples! old/young/middle-aged people, and not just in the court cards! sometimes several of these things at once!) I also like the lino-cut art style and the colors. (The occasional references to various spiritual traditions from Norse paganism to Voodoo feel a bit questionable to me, though.)

 

Housewives: The mix of parody and hommage to 1950s advertising imagery and all that implies. And the fact that it seems like a super gimmicky and superficial deck but actually reads very well and in-depth. (Just like the advertising images it's built from, it's unfortunately extremely non-diverse.)

 

Collective Tarot: Again, the overall diversity and inclusivity. And the way it weaves in activism/politics, queerness, feminism, and an emphasis on collectives rather than couples or nuclear families throughout the whole project. (I just wish I liked the art style of the sword suit better.)

 

Generally speaking, a very diverse cast of characters (without harmful stereotyping) plus an art style I like (luckily, I'm fairly varied in my tastes there) will very likely win me over. I like decks that look and feel like my world (yes, in its own way, the Housewives does just that).

[Guest]

The art of the Thoth was what initially drew me to it. Then I stuck with it after I used it and it gave me really powerful readings. It is a great deck and one of the few I own backup copies of. It has always given really spot on readings and powerful advice.

 

I was drawn to the Deviant Moon for a different reason. The art style is lovely, but there was just so much whimsy in the darkness of the deck that I loved it. It had such a different feel from a lot of other decks I had seen on the market, and even though it seems like a scary deck, I feel like there's a lot of light in it as well. That weird dynamic really drew me to the deck and it's been one of my favorite reading decks ever since. 

[Barleywine]

For me it wasn't a question of favorite, it was one of "only." At the time (1972) the Thoth was the only deck I could find locally. So for divination I used that and Eden Gray's first two books while I (very) slowly assimilated the Book of Thoth. It was the Minor Arcana cards that grabbed me the most (and they still do) with the court cards second. The Majors reminded my of one of those "loaded" Bloody Marys with a full-course meal sticking out of the top of them. The art of some I like better than others.

[McFaire]

20 minutes ago, Barleywine said:

The Majors reminded my of one of those "loaded" Bloody Marys with a full-course meal sticking out of the top of them.

Ha ha, perfect for a Sunday morning, right?

[chongjasmine]

I like the pictures in my universal waite deck. That is what drew me to it,

[ilweran]

I seem to have settled onto goddess/celtic themed decks with some fae, a large chunk of Ogham and a side order of chakras. I'm Welsh so the Celtic elements perhaps aren't surprising.

 

More specifically - for the Greenwood it was the Strength card that tipped it over from looking longingly at scans to actually buying it.

 

Llewellyn - based on the Mabinogion, what's not to like!

 

Other decks...

Shadowscapes is just too beautiful not to fall in love with.

 

Anieth Nature - Celtic, Ogham, animals...

 

Hidden Realm - beautiful again, though in a completely different way to the Shadowscapes. All about the expressions on the faces.

Edited August 29, 2019 by ilweran

[mooshedpotatoes]

I have the Aquarian Tarot deck. I got it because it was pretty and very art nouveau! 

As an art major I couldn't get it out of my head!

[lostingothicmusic]

I really love the Tyldwick Tarot and I was drawn to it because of my love of old manor/estate houses. I live in the UK and so I have access to many of the types of properties that inspired Neil Lovett via organisations such as The National Trust and English Heritage. I grew up only 5 minutes away from a NT property and played weekly in the grounds and forecourts, stables etc. It made a huge impression on me and my experience of such places and I think this is what drew me to the Tyldwick. I can walk around that deck so happily because I really feel I already KNOW the place and it's energies. 

 

My other favourite is the Mythic Tarot, which was my OG deck in the 90s. I was drawn to it because I already knew some Greek / Roman Myths from school. But...I was such a noob; I had no idea about anything Tarot based when I picked it up in the shop. I thought all decks were the same system, same symbols just with different 'characters'. If I had known that the Mythic had it's own system, I would not have started with that deck! I ended up losing the guidebook too (and only recently bought another copy).  I got very confused with reading the cards and fell out of love with the idea of tarot for a while, but came back to it in my 20s and began to read intuitively with it instead until I picked up another tarot book and sort of mish-mashed RWS onto it. I have since learnt how to read it "properly" as well as intuitively, but I think my experience with this deck gave me several lessons to learn from. 

[Eno]

My favorite is the Ironwing Tarot. Usually when I get a new deck I collect all the informations available about it, then I catalogize it for my collection and if I haven't lost interest in the deck by then, I may try it once or twice. The Ironwing was different, as soon as I got my hands on it, I had the desire to try it, it imediately connected with me.

[Chariot]

I don't have a 'favourite' deck, or, rather, I have several favourites. But there is one deck I was immediately drawn to when I saw a picture of The Fool, from that deck.  It's Ciro Manchetti's Tarot Grand Luxe.  I just about jumped out of my chair when I saw that Fool.  At last!  A Fool who is NOT just about to walk off a cliff!  This Fool (and his excited, happy wee dog) are skipping away from a town in the very early morning, before anybody else is up, and setting out on what looks to be a grand adventure. They both look really excited and happy to be on their way.

This, to me, is the essence of The Fool.  Not somebody with head in the clouds and about to step off a cliff, but somebody who is going away with a high heart and positive expectations. That card picture expresses EXACTLY how I used to feel when setting out on a journey.  I always loved that feeling, and love that it's been expressed so well in this deck. The close-up of this Fool's face near the top of the card is also good.  He's in charge of his destiny, and ready to rock.  He is not afraid of the future, but doesn't seem particularly 'foolish' about it either.

There are other cards in the major arcana of this deck that I'm less fond of—Temperance, The Star and the Sun— and a few others that I absolutely love—The Empress, Death, The Devil, The Tower—but The Fool is the card that made me instantly buy the deck. And I've never regretted it.

[Libra 58]

I have over 150 decks but I´m still looking for my favourite deck! Maybe I soon will find it!