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Favorite self-published or small press tarot?


McFaire

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What are your favorite self-published or small press tarot decks? And why?

I'm in a shopping mood. Thank you!

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I am not sure if they are considered Small Press or not, but for me it is all decks by Magic Realist Press (Baba Studios).  They do smaller runs and limited editions of decks, and their decks are super high quality, so well researched, beautiful, and I have loved every single deck of theirs I have worked with (The Alice Tarot (my most favorite), Victorian Romantic, Fantastic Menagerie, Baroque Bohemian Cats, Bohemian Gothic, and Fairytale Tarot).  I have their Tarot of Prague, but have not spent any time with it so cannot say how that one would read for me yet.  These decks end up being quite expensive, especially once they go OOP, so people into collecting that get these decks end up with decks that do increase significantly in value.

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Thank you for the suggestion. I've heard they do quality work.

(Yes, I would consider them a self-publisher because it is husband and wife team who publishes just their own work.)

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Rose Lalonde

Tabula Mundi  🙂

For the beauty, the clarity of esoteric correspondences, and the quality of the deck's production values. A labor of love, I think. I linked to majors, but you can also see the minors at her site. 
 

SKT is about to be out of print, and production values on the first edition were good; she's selling the last of the second edition now, which is brown instead of black. This deck was created quickly, but I've found it much more helpful in readings than I had expected before I received it. It's turned into a go-to deck for me. (If you have any interest in astrology in tarot, it's also one of the few RWS style decks that has the astrological symbols on the cards.)

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6 hours ago, Rose Lalonde said:

Tabula Mundi  🙂

For the beauty, the clarity of esoteric correspondences, and the quality of the deck's production values. A labor of love, I think. I linked to majors, but you can also see the minors at her site. 
 

SKT is about to be out of print, and production values on the first edition were good; she's selling the last of the second edition now, which is brown instead of black. This deck was created quickly, but I've found it much more helpful in readings than I had expected before I received it. It's turned into a go-to deck for me. (If you have any interest in astrology in tarot, it's also one of the few RWS style decks that has the astrological symbols on the cards.)

Thank you.

I have Meleen's Rosetta and Rosetta tin. Beautiful work. I'm definitely a fan!

SKT is quite intriguing. Very appealing. Hmmm... !

 

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SKT is an amazing deck. I’ve been working with it intensively for the last 30 days. It has become my go-to and one I’d never part with. 

The Wooden tarot, Seventh Sphere and Pagan Otherworls are also great.

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11 hours ago, Flaxen said:

SKT is an amazing deck. I’ve been working with it intensively for the last 30 days. It has become my go-to and one I’d never part with. 

The Wooden tarot, Seventh Sphere and Pagan Otherworls are also great.

The Pagan Otherworlds artwork is stunning. I'd heard of the deck but apparently never taken a close look, because it is unforgettably beautiful. Did you get the book as well?

The SKT art is less sophisticated but I'm so impressed with the layers of depth behind it and the author's extensive online material, and her concept of bridging between the Thoth and RWS. I can see there is a lot to be learned from this deck.

The Seventh Sphere looks serene and magical, and the wooden is gorgeous.

Thank you!

 

 

Edited by McFaire
typo
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I ordered the SKT first. I think this deck will teach me a lot. Also, the edition is nearly sold out and the author says it will not be reprinted. She also says on her site that they will not be doing a new version for at least five years. So I figured I'd better snag this one now.

Thanks for the tip, @Rose Lalonde, so glad I asked! This feels very special.

The Pagan Otherworlds 3rd is sold out the 4th is coming out this month so I'll be looking at that some more too.

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Rose Lalonde

Oh good, @McFaire, glad you got a copy then. 🙂  SKT rocketed up into my top 3 reading decks almost as soon as I got it and has stayed there. I hope you enjoy it too.


Nice avatar, @Flaxen. I remember you talking about that card in the journal section.  

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AJ-ish/Sharyn

ooOooo, just ordered the Seventh Sphere, what a nice looking deck. 

I'd second the Brady, Prisma Visions, Pagan Otherworlds, and Spirit Keepers. 

I didn't buy any decks for a few years, so am thrilled with how the market and options have opened up. 

Edited by AJ-ish/Sharyn
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28 minutes ago, AJ-ish/Sharyn said:

ooOooo, just order the Seventh Sphere, what a nice looking deck. 

I'd second the Brady, Prisma Visions, Pagan Otherworlds, and Spirit Keepers. 

I didn't buy any decks for a few years, so am thrilled with how the market and options have opened up. 

I haven't bought many lately either. I keep telling myself I'm going to downsize. Alas, no!

 

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3 hours ago, Deviation said:

Oh man other than Smith-Waite I literally only have small-press tarot decks lol

But here's my favorite of them:

Prisma Visions

Seventh Sphere Tarot De marseille

Children of Litha

If you can't tell, I'm a colorful deck sort of person!

Delicious  choices! This thread makes an excellent shopping list! Thanks!

ETA: I've been perusing the Prisma V too. The tableaux are really neat. I'm seeing this style cropping up in decks.

Edited by McFaire
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1 hour ago, AJ-ish/Sharyn said:

ooOooo, just order the Seventh Sphere, what a nice looking deck. 

I'd second the Brady, Prisma Visions, Pagan Otherworlds, and Spirit Keepers. 

I didn't buy any decks for a few years, so am thrilled with how the market and options have opened up. 

The Brady is another stunner. It's on my wish list. I think the reason I didn't go for it already is because I'm not a huge fan of the one-word descriptions on the minor arcana. But after taking another look, it is a spectacular body of art work.

 

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2 hours ago, FLizarraga said:

A not too well-known deck and a favorite of mine is the Book of Kaos Tarot: http://www.crossroads.wild.net.au/tarot.htm. The cardstock and the box are nothing to write home about, but the art more than makes up for it. It is darkly beautiful, and wild, and like no other deck I know.

 

Thanks @FLizarraga. Primal! I looked at some of the artist's other work too, including some performance art on Youtube. A lot of depth here.

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I ordered the Brady this morning. Thanks @AJ-ish/Sharyn for the mention. It is a very special body of work indeed. And the Spirit Keeper arrives Monday.

 

I think my spree will end here for now. But there are at least four other decks suggested in this thread that I plan to consider later.

 

Thanks to all!

I have been under the weather the last few days so this thread has given me a lot of pleasure and kept me preoccupied while I rebounded. It felt really good to share the excitement of these beautiful and meaningful works with you!

 

 

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1 hour ago, GlitterNova said:

I know it might not seem like much, but I love the Cephalopod Tarot. It's bright, colorful and the scenes are just delightful. Also, cephalopods are a really interesting group of animals (some of the most intelligent animals in the world!) and I love having a deck dedicated to them.

Here's one I've never heard of before! Charming and unique. 🙂

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1 hour ago, GlitterNova said:

I know it might not seem like much, but I love the Cephalopod Tarot. It's bright, colorful and the scenes are just delightful. Also, cephalopods are a really interesting group of animals (some of the most intelligent animals in the world!) and I love having a deck dedicated to them.

This is so adorable! The artist definitely does a good job translating the cards from humans to cephalopods. 

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On 5/2/2019 at 11:18 AM, Jewel said:

I am not sure if they are considered Small Press or not, but for me it is all decks by Magic Realist Press (Baba Studios).  They do smaller runs and limited editions of decks, and their decks are super high quality, so well researched, beautiful, and I have loved every single deck of theirs I have worked with (The Alice Tarot (my most favorite), Victorian Romantic, Fantastic Menagerie, Baroque Bohemian Cats, Bohemian Gothic, and Fairytale Tarot).  I have their Tarot of Prague, but have not spent any time with it so cannot say how that one would read for me yet.  These decks end up being quite expensive, especially once they go OOP, so people into collecting that get these decks end up with decks that do increase significantly in value.

Yes, Baba decks. The art and cardstock are sumptuous, and Karen and Alex are quite knowledgeable and always make solid, readable decks.

 

As for a truly small run (200 copies, IIRC) it's the Vamp, hands down, no contest. https://fennario.wordpress.com/2019/04/12/vamp-the-theda-bara-tarot-from-jook-art/

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