new tarot selection
I don't know why it's taking me so long to write this post. I have two drafts of it already and the words aren't working, maybe I'm just tired. So here goes a less than perfect attempt -
I tried to identify what's most bugging me about the tarot decks that I own. Most aggravatingly: how many of them rely on gimmicks, instead of a solid structure, a foundation in any of the tarot systems. Most pervasively: how racist they are, all-white fantasy worlds, inaccurate to my surroundings and experiences, silently whispering about white supremacy and what's “normal” and “universal”. I'm also gravely disappointed at how cisheteronormative most major publishing houses make their decks, and how inaccessible indie decks with a more conscious and diverse approach are. It seems you have to be either located in the US, or be willing and able to spend four or five times as much on a deck to handle the shipping, customs, and other fees.
I can't do much about the lack of queerness in my collection without violating the basic tenet of my depth year project, but I can fix the other issues, and so I narrowed my options for this year down to the following eighteen positions:
Deep decks:
- The Voyager Tarot – a diverse collage deck from the 80s, I especially appreciate that it includes old folks. Good Marseille-adjacent system. There's a lot of study materials available but would require a purchase. Also it's the worst deck to handle – thick, stiff, and sticky.
- Margarete Petersen Tarot – beautiful culturally diverse abstract-leaning paintings. Solid numerology and elemental basis outlined in the booklet. A little flimsy-feeling with how huge the cards are.
- Thoth Tarot and the Thoth-based Urban Tarot – I think Thoth is one of the more accessible classic decks, there are many layers to study but it's fairly easy to start with Elemental Dignities and/or astrology. Plenty of readily available materials to study.
Classic decks (all of these are RWS-based and have potential):
- The Deviant Moon Tarot – one of the best RWS versions out there, uses less classical symbolism but infuses the images with enough of its own symbols. On the other hand – flimsy, and I'm not always in the mood for this particular weird dark aesthetic.
- Tarot of the Cat People – I love this fantasy world but the images aren't detailed or dynamic enough. Beautiful paintings where nobody is white, but a lot of them don't reflect the meaning the artist herself put in the booklet.
- The Crow Tarot – inoffensive RWS clone featuring crows. Beautiful vibrant colors, but the art style is a little cluttered. Also, having grown up with hooded crows, all-black crows feel Incorrect. But it feels very good in the hands (trimmed), papery and soft with a strong card-stock core.
- Tarot of the Magical Forest – cute creatures, nothing special but surprisingly readable. This has been a comfort deck over the years.
- The Uncommon Tarot – one I was very excited for, the only deck I have that acknowledges queerness and packs so much diversity into its images. The collage style is a bit chaotic, and the feel of the cards is unpleasantly plasticky, with the high gloss and the silver edges.
- White Numen Tarot – a great color palette and nice modern illustrative style. Not all cards make sense, but the biggest turn-off is everyone being young and sexy.
Gimmicky but I'm giving them a chance:
- Edmund Dulac Tarot – while it has the problem of most art decks out there – cards just don't line up with what they're supposed to mean – I love the style and it does speak to the imagination, if you're willing to read more intuitively.
- Tarot of Unknown Shadows – absolutely gorgeous but makes zero sense. The pips seem to be arranged with no intention or meaning behind them, the helpful background images are almost uniform across each suit, the booklet is nonsense. But it's so beautiful I'm determined to make something out of it.
- Tarot of the Origins – I love the concept of the early humans and their sibling species but the system didn't click for me. It's one of my older decks and I can't seem to get rid of it. I'm drawn to the line-work but repelled by the color choices. A year or two ago I trimmed off the borders and their numbers hoping I could work with it more as an oracle, no luck so far.
- Tarot de El Dios de los Tres – I'm not sure what's happening here, it's another chaotic deck from Fournier. I don't have enough knowledge to say whether its use of different cultures is respectful or appropriative. I haven't spent any time with it at all and so didn't feel I could just reject it out of hand.
Problematic faves:
- Ancient Italian Tarot – a reconstruction combining the various Italian Tradition decks. Unsurprisingly they weren't particularly diverse, but I wanted a classic pip deck to work with, and I find this prettier and easier to handle than the only Marseille deck I have.
- Polski Tarot – a surprisingly complex modern pip deck. Unsurprisingly for where it came from – it's all-white. I think the average Pole sees diversity only as something that happens on TV and doesn't have much to do with “real life”. (Hell, maybe it's different now with the border crisis, I don't know).
- Encore Tarot – this guy definitely should have known better so I'm very disappointed. At the same time I recognize this is one of the best/easiest readers I have. An artist who took the RWS tradition and didn't water it down and really did it justice, creating something elegant that feels timeless, a tarot-reader's deck. It is however painfully straight and white, even if there is some age variety and not everyone is hot. Why, my man? I know there were BIPOC in your other decks.
- Tattoo Tarot (Ink and Intuition) – borders on gimmicky, a pip deck with a beautiful bold style similar to a Marseille without following its layout, while the little hints in each card nod at RWS meanings. It also has the best “feel” of all my decks, the paper texture, the weight of the cards, the smooth matte finish, how it sounds when it's shuffled. Unfortunately, not only is everyone white, the young gentlemen in the Courts all look like fascists with their alt-right undercuts. This creator also should have known better.
I also have out the Alchemical Visions Tarot but solely for it's chunky jungian guidebook. I don't intend to work with these cards, at least not for readings, as they are almost A5 in size. I enjoy jungian methods of working with the self, but I'm still not sold on archetypes and other aspects of his philosophy. I'm curious to see if this book feels more like potent bullshit, or repulsive bullshit.
I think once the depth year is over and I re-introduce purchasing I'll be more selective in what enters my collection. It's better to have one thought out deck I know won't bug me and I'll use a lot, even if it's more expensive and a pain to acquire, than five shiny gimmicky decks that I'll use twice and decide weren't worth their already cheap price. I need to remember to bring my values to the forefront when considering a purchase, and not get distracted by a cool theme or gorgeous aesthetics slapped onto something empty or slightly rotten.