0lvr

Ok, as previously mentioned – I thought I'd do some tarot tags and/or challenges from around youtube and instagram as a way to engage more/deeper with one of my biggest interests, even if I'm missing out on the community building aspects. Can't imagine myself actually running a youtube channel tho.

I thought I'd start with the tag that inspired me to actually do this, instead of the guns-a-blazing no-punches-pulled one that was really tempting me. So here we go with the #TarotNerdTarotGeek. This tag was made by Mags Black over on youtube. By the way, her Tree Whispers Oracle is making me want to try and dip my toes in the oracle world again. Alas, I feel that was never really meant to be... Here we go:

1. Which tarot deck for you offers endless interest or study opportunities and why?

As a system I'm always drawn to Marseille and other early decks, from before all the occult crap (affectionate) got loaded on top of it all. There are so many ways to read – purely visually, your numerology of choice, pips-as-majors, langue d'oiseaux, basic common sense (ten swords sound like a Very Bad situation, two hearts sound like trust and connection) etc. I love the balance between pips and figure cards, there's more room to just... look and see what might be happening between them, as opposed to deciphering each fully illustrated scene in, say, a RWS-themed deck.

As for individual decks I'm really drawn to the Voyager and the Margarete Petersen. The former just has so much detail and work put into it, there's a chonky workbook I haven't looked at, it's vaguely Thoth inspired but doing its own thing, I'm really curious about it, but haven't really given it much attention yet (see question 2). With the latter – there seems to be a lot of “internal” things to learn, rather than external things to study. This is an artist who took creating a deck to a deep, personal, mystical level and that's something I really respect.

2. Which tarot decks hit/or miss your 'Card Stock' spot and why?

In terms of card stock I think for me it's more a matter of the coating. I do get a little disappointed at a very flimsy deck (so far only the Ian Daniels Tarot of Vampyres and the game deck Tarot of Loka), but I don't care how thick a deck goes, it can go as fat as it wants – I don't need to riffle shuffle. The types of lamination though, those get me. I can't stand the too-glossy, sticking-together feel of some decks – like the Voyager. I'd have gotten rid of it, if not for the unexplored depths it hints at. Don't get me started on “rose petal finish” (aka rubber). I've actually been really enjoying the papery feel (and sound!) of both the Tattooed Tarot (Ink and Intuition) and the Erotic Tarot. It's a very matte finish, they don't have gilding and feel very natural in the hand. The Tattooed Tarot card stock is heavier, but both are thick and stiff enough for me, no preference there. Two flops and two faves!

3. Does size matter? Favorite shapes and sizes of decks, smallest decks, largest decks.

As long as the cards are legible and fit on a reading surface they're good enough for me. Some cards are definitely too small for the art that's on them, it's clear the artist hadn't meant for them to be viewed at that size (either a mistake on the side of the artist or the publisher). Some cards are too big to read with. My biggest deck is the Alchemical Visions Tarot, I have it packed away but I think it's something like 14x18cm. Absolute monster the size of a human head, the cards are more suited for altar pieces, pathworking, spell work etc. Mostly I got it for the very jungian guidebook, which I still haven't read – of course. The smallest “natural” deck I have is the Jean Noblet TdM from Flornoy (also packed away), which I think is comparable in size to the decks I trimmed. I have a cropped Tarot of the Magical Forest, Fantasy Universal tarot (the one that still came with multilingual borders), the Nicoletta Ceccoli, the John Bauer tarot, and a Thoth that was originally a “medium” size. That's the only one I have out and about now, so that's the one I'll measure – 5.5x9cm, smaller than a playing card.

4. Is there a favorite tarot artist/author/creator/publisher that you enjoy the most or collect and why?

I don't really do that? I mean, I live in Europe, so I have most access to LoScarabeo and Fournier decks, they've always been around, so just by default those were the ones I used to have the most of before online shopping made it more convenient to bring stuff over from the UK or US. I do find myself very drawn to Fournier's art decks, they're very hard to resist. I don't have the most recent one and I'm trying to be ok with it haha! I'm aided by the fact that I never actually use them. They seem to be based on some completely different system I don't know of – is there a different/local tarot tradition in Spain maybe? Very often they're decorated pip decks, but the meanings the decorations hint at are all over the place. Also they're often very busy, just the artist having fun with it. I like them as just... art objects to look at. But that's never the intention when buying one. I actually want to be able to read with all my decks.

5. Any favorite art styles or themes?

This might be weird because I do have a style/theme I have a very hard time resisting and end up having a lot of, but it's not something I like to read with? Not sure if the decks that do actually speak to me have any cohesive theme/unifying thread running through them. But – I'm a sucker for goth, goth-y, gothic decks. Whether it's various vampire decks, Bohemian Gothic, Anne Stokes. I don't know, I think I just admire how goth folks go All In on their aesthetic. Like, they are Committed. I also always had a fascination with nuns – how someone can be so wholly about one thing. I admire and envy that sort of single minded focus. Also these decks might just be Very Cancerian – both dark and soft/romantic at the same time? It's a mystery.

6. In what ways are you a tarot nerd or geek with tarot cards? (Bumper sticker, branded clothing, jewelry, tattoos, deck collections, artwork etc)

This one's easy – I don't think I have any external, physical marker of this geekdom other than whatever my current “collection” consists of. I have around 40ish decks, and all were bought with the intent to use them, not to just have them. Over the years I've given away many titles, enabled other people, kept making room for new decks – always searching for something more Me. I've read professionally for a little while as a side gig? I have a few books, but none I could actually recommend (other than Robert M. Place's “The Tarot: History, Symbolism, and Divination”), I always just preferred handling the cards and getting my info from a broad range of online sources, like on tarot forums – individual voices of practicing readers, over theorists and occultists. I just love learning about the cards, whether it's new-to-me systems (someone should do a proper exploration of the Picard system) or new takes on old faves. I often check out “beginner” materials, to see new approaches and get a feel for how tarot is perceived out there today. And simply enjoying the wealth of info online which just didn't exist when I was starting out – it was ten years between me first getting into tarot and hearing someone do an example reading on a podcast that actually made everything click into place. Now there are millions of youtube videos where you can see readers in action, hopefully saving a lot of people a lot of early frustration.

And that's it! Mostly I'm a tarot geek simply because I love it so much. I love its simplicity and complexity. I love that it can be a mundane brain exercise and a tool for mysticism, mediumship, and other more “woo” stuff. I love how people of all walks of life find their way to tarot and see value in it for themselves. And I just love the art and tactile qualities of a good deck. Sometimes all I want to do is watch something and shuffle the cards, a very soothing stim.