I've written in the past that there seems to be a veritable tsunami of mediocre tarot and oracle decks entering the market, most likely due to the ease of self-publishing and the impression that "anyone can be an artist" (aka "It's so simple a caveman could do it"). Now I notice on the Tarot Marketplace … Continue reading A Glut of Garbage?
Tarot Decks
“The Initial Sweep of the Divinatory Eye”
While reading an Amazon review of the gold-enhanced, 78-card Oswald Wirth deck (which I had been thinking of buying but now I'm not so sure), I happened upon the phrase "the initial sweep of the divinatory eye" in a criticism of the uninspired non-Wirth pip cards that drag this deck down. The author noted that … Continue reading “The Initial Sweep of the Divinatory Eye”
Going for the Gold
I now have a handful of tarot decks with gold-foil highlights and in some cases complete backgrounds. I also have the Golden Lenormand but I'm not including it here, and the Dali Tarot but it only has gold on the upper and lower borders. Kat Black's Golden Tarot and Eric Dunne's Illuminati Tarot didn't make … Continue reading Going for the Gold
The Golden Art Nouveau Deck Interview
The Golden Art Nouveau Tarot is a gorgeous Italian rendering of the the Pamela Colman Smith designs that makes excellent use of gold-foil accents and backgrounds. I decided to put it through my "deck interview" spread to see what it will divulge about itself in the way of a pseudo-psychological "personality profile." I don't actually … Continue reading The Golden Art Nouveau Deck Interview
Deck Lust and Forbearance: A Tale of Two Extremes
I haven't counted lately, but last I knew I had just over 70 decks distributed unequally among tarot, oracle and Lenormand cards. It would be dishonest of me to say that I use all - or even most - of them. From 2011 through 2018, I went through a serious episode of "Deck Acquisition Syndrome" … Continue reading Deck Lust and Forbearance: A Tale of Two Extremes
Mind Over Matter
I was just looking at the tarot-deck "de-enable" thread on one of the forums and realized that I haven't had to be "de-enabled" on buying a new deck in a very long time. It probably helps that I don't find most recent decks particularly inspiring from a divination standpoint, even if they happen to be … Continue reading Mind Over Matter
Call Them “TINOs”
I was just reading a fascinating wiki article about Canadian cultural philosopher Marshall McLuhan, who coined the phrase "the medium is the message" while analyzing the impact of media sources like television on society, and who concluded that the delivery system is more revealing of modern collective values than the contents. In commenting on his … Continue reading Call Them “TINOs”
DAS: A Joyful Scourge
Around the end of every year there seems to be a flood of new-deck announcements and glossy (albeit online for most of us) catalogs from Lo Scarabeo, U.S. Games Systems and a few smaller publishing houses. These feed the pernicious addiction many of us share: "Deck Acquisition Syndrome." Every tarot forum I've participated in (I'm … Continue reading DAS: A Joyful Scourge
The Dali Universal Tarot Deck Interview
The 1984 Dali Universal Tarot was recently reissued by German publisher Taschen, and I received a copy of the updated deck as a gift. While not as sumptuous as the original version (no gilt edges and the card stock is on the lighter side), it is still an impressive product; the large box has a … Continue reading The Dali Universal Tarot Deck Interview
A Valuable Resource
Although it's far from comprehensive given the explosion of new tarot decks in the last few years, there is a "tarot-card gallery" website that offers complete scans of numerous popular and historically-significant decks. My understanding is that the German owner of the site has authorization to publish the images from the copyright owners of the … Continue reading A Valuable Resource
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 