Around this time every year I take a look at the decks I've wanted but still don't have. The list gets shorter each year, not because I've been buying a lot of decks (I haven't) but because my interests have been changing as I focus more on the Tarot de Marseille and other historical decks … Continue reading Deck Wish List for 2020
Tarot Decks
A Tarot de Marseille Two-Deck Comparison Reading
For quite some time I've been intending to use my "Friend or Foe" deck comparison spread with my two Fournier TdM decks, Le Tarot de Marseille and the Spanish Tarot. I finally got around to doing it. First, here is a link to the spread, followed by the reading layout. I prefer not to anthropomorphize … Continue reading A Tarot de Marseille Two-Deck Comparison Reading
The Tarot Classic Deck Interview
Since many of you will have read my previous thoughts on the subject and perhaps some of the several "deck interviews" I've posted here, let me reiterate. I'm not one who believes that tarot decks have distinct personalities, nor that they possess speech other than what we endow them with through a convenient form of … Continue reading The Tarot Classic Deck Interview
“. . . and I Must Scream.”
In thinking about the widely-held but just as widely dismissed opinion that tarot cards have personalities and "speak" to us with anthropomorphic aptness, I recalled that science-fiction writer Harlan Ellison once wrote a story titled "I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream." This led me to finally pin down what makes for my ideal … Continue reading “. . . and I Must Scream.”
The Joie de Vivre Tarot
Paulina Cassidy's second deck has been described by some reviewers as "child-like," an impression that is explicitly touted by the wording on the box, leading to the assumption that it is light-weight and not suitable for answering serious questions. This is an older deck, first published in 2011, that never caught my eye because my … Continue reading The Joie de Vivre Tarot
Foreverquest
Back in the early "aughts," when I was still playing Everquest Online relentlessly (what can I say, I'm a throwback), my wife dubbed it "Foreverquest" (that was before her own fling with World of Warcraft). That epithet reminds me of the situation I find myself in whenever I decide it's time to chase down a … Continue reading Foreverquest
Medieval Cat Tarot Deck Interview
I should be clear up front that I'm not a huge fan of animal decks, unless they're a little (or a lot) quirky like the Tarot of the Magical Forest, the Marseille Cats or the Baroque Bohemian Cats (which I unfortunately missed buying when it was still in print). But I was gifted the utterly charming Medieval Cat Tarot for … Continue reading Medieval Cat Tarot Deck Interview
2019 Wish List
I think it's been a year since I last bought a new tarot or Lenormand deck. That will most likely change early next year to celebrate moving into our new home. I've had a few decks on my wish list forever, and 2019 will be the year to chip away at it. Among the 60 … Continue reading 2019 Wish List
That First Deck
There is no shortage of sage advice for neophyte tarot readers seeking their very first deck. Some of it has been debunked; for example, the old caveat that you can't legitimately buy your first deck, it must be gifted to you. But other notions linger, like the opinion that you should latch onto the first … Continue reading That First Deck
Building the Perfect Deck
Although I'm a trained graphic artist with the skills to do so, I don't have the inclination or enthusiasm to tackle the monumental task of creating 78 individual works of art to populate my own tarot deck. But that doesn't prevent me from having opinions as to how I might go about it. It is … Continue reading Building the Perfect Deck
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 