0lvr

i got two decks last month – the first two decks of 2024. i'm not Planning on purchasing a lot, but then again – do i ever? it feels like i now have many decks that i actually like and use. finally! previous shopping bouts were motivated by dissatisfaction, and maybe it had actually been a real dissatisfaction (not having the right thing), versus the fake capitalist dissatisfaction (are you sure you have the right thing? there are so many nuances and varieties, are you sure you don't want to try another thing?) i am not convinced either way, but i am not feeling a lack, and the new purchases didn't feel... frantic or desperate. just a delightful “that looks beautiful, i'd like to try it”. review time!

trionfi della luna – paradoxical edition

this is the non-illustrated version, trionfi della luna 3rd edition in the basic paradoxical coloration. they also had the illustrated in pink and turquoise. it was a tough call, but ultimately i cared about the marseille style more than the sea-blue colors. and looking at it sitting on my desk, next to my little dark madonna shrine it seems to match the more sombre-brown vibe i've been cultivating this winter. like the wood of my mandolin, or the pale brown and green stripes of my last knitted... scarf-blanekt thing. might actually like it enough to take out the deviant moon tarot to match!

the cardstock seems to be the same as the deviant moon – a little thin, but perfectly springy and well laminated, doesn't wilt or bend. the edges are fraying a little already but i don't mind. i love the art, how bold and robust the pips are, filling up the space with each symbol and floral decorative motif. the people cards also have quite a lot going on and bring plenty of nuance to their meanings by the symbolism in their weird imagery. it is a little strange to have the linework be white, but it gives the cards a kind of unique glow.

magic soul tarot

much sturdier! beautiful painterly style. it's digital art, but not AI generated. the artist does have some problems with the hands here and there (honestly, i think you're either a hand artist or you're not, i get it), but mostly those show up as strange proportions – either the hands are too small or the heads are too big. the images are kind of the opposite of the trionfi della luna. where the latter has clear symbols, foreground and background – you can work with directionality and echoes of shapes etc. – the former are mostly done in a portrait style. so even though they are “full illustrations” in the RWS vein, there's not much room for the remaining elements of the scenes, other than the person in focus. so i feel you can't really do much with the images themselves. but if (a big “if”!) the 5 of cups is the 5 of cups regardless of the art then it doesn't really matter, might as well look at something beautiful.

a ranty, unfair (?) note – this one is trying to do diversity, but only in the ethnicity area. everyone's young and beautiful and able-bodied and presumed straight. obviously it's good that they're trying, but it only makes me more critical. because if you're aware enough to try – you could have done better. and that sucks too, because the publishers that are not trying just get an “it's a lost cause” hand-wave, so overall i want to encourage any kind of progress. but then the POC are mostly confined to their own suits, so that's... un-ideal. on the other hand, 28+ POC cards is still unfortunately a big win in the current tarot landscape. i'll take it.