Tarot Cards

Concerning the Carnie Tarot -

They sell a standard version that is just the traditional Marseilles Tarot, without the clown faces. I own both and agree the clown faces are likely not appropriate for straight readings.

As far as using them in readings, I typically do a full reading with my Medieval Tarot, then if there is a specific question left unanswered we may go to the Carnie. I have shown this deck to many believing readers and the reaction is always the same, that this is an old and powerful deck. They always want to know the history, so be prepared.

D

Also - the cards in the WA aren't actually from the Carnie; at least not the ones in my WA

Thank you for the info on the decks and it makes sense how you use them.

I have orderd the gothic bo decks and I look forward to using them.

Dean

http://www.ellisnadler.com/cards-of-wu/

The cardss of Wu look fabulous too

Dean

I have just switched over to the Dali deck as its just fabulous and there is so much meaning in there and sillieness it suits me so well.

I realise you could so this with any deck but the Dali cards each seem to tell a story of their own and I adore them.

I also like the gold edging as it sparkles as they shuffle.

Dean

The Curator wrote:

I've my own tarot cards...

As ABOVE so below!
I follow the curator.

But in general I use the classic Rider-Waite. My partner and I have an extensive collection of tarot and other divination decks, but this is the all time leader.
My first deck was the Palladini Aquarian.
I use the Curator's deck when I am amongst strangers who won't fuss about the back design. I have Card-shark's Medival that I've just begun to get comfortable with.
For Halloween I prefer the Halloween Tarot, a charming way to bring in Samhain!
http://www.foureyedbat.com/illustration/index.html

But I also use the tarot with the Witches Almanac with that presentation, and the Russian tarot it's based on (my family is Belarus).
Have fun and keep reading!
Larry

I should also mention that I use a lot of various tarot decks, mostly original editions:




An annoted deck of cards (circa 1900)




An original edition of the Oracle des Fleurs in pristine condition (circa 1830)



The Jeu de Nall (Perfect for my own Zodiac routine)



And mooooooooooooooooooooooooooore.......

Wow.

I love the The Jeu de Nall cards as they are so lovley.

Dean

Modern creators of tarot decks who think they can do what previously took a civilization are seriously underestimating the task and probably their own ability. There just aren't many people with some combination of personal inspiration and deep knowledge of the tradition, and the technical artistic ability to create 78 unique images (following the Waite-Smith precedent) in some commercially practical span of time. So yes, most modern tarot decks are fluff, though you can of course divine with fluff.

My favourite deck is a 1930s Grimaud Marseille like Christian's -- there's nothing to compare with the pre-18th-century decks for evoking that sense of time abyss. Jean-Claude Flornoy's version of the Noblet (used by Enrique Enriquez and Todd Landman) is terrific. I also use the Waite-Smith (best in-print edition is in the Pamela Colman Smith Commemorative Set; occasionally pine for a £1000+ original) and the Ciceros' Golden Dawn Magical tarot in a Golden Dawn context. Post-war, Robert Place is a major talent, and I'd use his Alchemical Tarot much more if the cards weren't thin and plasticky.

Regarding costs, I realized at some point that you can buy antique (pre-War) tarot cards usually for less than brand-new greeting cards.

Greetings Merlin,

I am not sure I agree as the cards are just tools at the end of the day.

But then I could be wrong.

Dean

How do you understand 'tools', and how does that lead you to not agree?

As always, there is no right or wrong.
The Tarot is an ever evolving tradition, fortunately so - or we may well still be gambling with them.
I agree that most modern decks are 'fluff' - but this is only true for me. For someone else a contemporary deck may make a deep and numinous connection.

Oh, by all means. As for gambling, I'd like to try it! There's definitely a routine to be done with the game of tarot. Or poker with tarot cards as in Tim Powers's Last Call, which I did try at university.

Black Harts effect damnation is a nice gambling effect with tarot. As for the issue of modern decks, tarot themselves are one of the most modern forms of divination. I've met a few people who won't use tarot as they don't feel they have an ancient enough origin. Five, six hundred years is barely a drop in the ocean in the grand scheme of the history of divination techniques.

It led me to disagree as I did not read your post properly before replying.

Sorry Merlin

Kind regards

Dean

Indeed, there is also something of a dispute about the Tarot being used for divination before quite modern times. Gambling there is concrete proof for - certainly encoded 'moral lessons' that reflect the belief systems of late medieval society. Most games had a deeper level of meaning. A gambling game can be seen on a metaphysical level too. Playing cards can be seen as ritual objects with which to perform magic, by combining different elements (by the mecanism of sympathetic magic; 'as above, so below'. Certainly, the assertion that they go back to the ancient Egyptian mystery school is a purely Edwardian fancy. However, the romance of the story of Egyptian priests smuggling out sacred texts encrypted on plates that travelled through Europe on the 'little Egyptian' trade route - is too attractive to ignore.
If, like me, you create your own reality; there is no dispute and you can have the reality you choose!

....still, I don't like the Tarot of the Cats!

I am of the opinion that playing cards were used for divination first then tarot followed after pepole stopped playing Tarok but thats just my humble but I may be wrong as now I read it wasn't tarok that dinosaur hunting game.

Me I am not a fan of the tarot of the gnomes.

Dean

Two new trumps-only decks by Pierrick Pinot, variants of his Tarot de la Félicité:
http://argolance.free.fr/tarot_de_minuit_presentation.htm
http://argolance.free.fr/tarot_des_renart_presentation.htm

Are these for the partially sighted?
Where did I put my sunglasses?
Don't like these at all Merlin - they look somewhat sacrilegious somehow! Still, just my opinion, other may think they are great.
Whatever I think, always good to see a new deck posted.

Try the Renart and the Félicité.

I think they are great as you can do a reading and check to see if they are colour blind at the same time

The second deck were nice and I have seen gaffed versions of thease cards too.

D

I use Card Shark's. (I think I was the first person outside Germany to get a pack). They look authentically 'old' and it's possible to get add on cards - which moves them out of the normal Tarot reading boundaries. Of course, it helps that they are also marked for reading from the backs....