The Tarot obsession – a follow-up post

Alright, since the last post on these I’ve got two more - the Necronomicon deck and the Tarot of Atlantis. I didn’t do a real description of the decks I have though, so here’s my little review of them all, so far:

Shakespearean Tarot – Got this one probably a dozen years ago, at a ‘remainder’ store, so new, but for maybe $8, definitely no more than $12. It came in a box with a nice book. Lovely images, with quotes, all fully illustrated. I bought this one just for its art, with no intention of using it as tarot. Nice stiff cards, silky coating – so far, my favourite in that respect. Having learned a bit now, I can say the images don’t always tell you much, so this is a deck for someone who already knows their tarot.

Vertigo Tarot – The beginning of my downfall *grin* I got this re-release the last week of February new from Amazon, so full price – again, bought for their art (huge Dave McKean fan) but following a freaky experience at a psychic fair in January (see the long-winded post from my birthday) I find myself more open to their uses! Anyway, this also came in a box with a book (well-written and a work of art in itself) and a velvety bag for their storage. They’re the tallest cards I have, they’re nice and smooth but pretty thin. The imagery is amazing, but again, it’d be hard for someone who didn’t know what they were representing to tell what they mean – there are clues, but you have to know what you’re looking for. I’m waiting until I know my tarot better before using them.

Aquarian Tarot – Got this one less than a week after receiving my Vertigo deck, second-hand for $14 at a flea/antique market. This one’s original from 1970, a little wear but excellent condition, in the original lidded box (with original advertisement inserts and LWB – “In this age of aquarius…”). I’m using these to learn on. The imagery is a little more close-up than the Rider-Waite, so some symbolism is a little different but it’s mostly as expected – but the artwork itself is absolutely gorgeous, lovely art nouveau style with solid lines, muted colours and lightly-drawn faces.

Tarot Nova (mini and pocket) – so this counts as two decks. I bought the two for myself and also another set of the two for a friend. Got them brand new two days after my Aquarian deck at World’s Biggest Bookstore here in Toronto, off one of those carts you see near the cash with all the little boxes in them so inexpensive, like maybe $8 and $11 (btw, if you can’t find what you want within the lovely selection at the Occult Shop – and if you have no qualms about buying from one of the big stores – WBB is a veritable warehouse of proper decks! Second floor, near the occult/new age section). The mini deck, let’s face it, I’ll probably never use or even separate (they’re all attached in accordion-style) as they’re way tiny, like under an inch, in a teeny little box, but they’re super cute and they come with a wee hardcover book. The pocket deck, on the other hand, is a bit of a surprise, it’s a full deck with fun, simple imagery that might just hint at the meaning of the card, but would totally be usable once I’ve got my basics down. They came in a box with a book too, more expanded than a LWB. They’re a good weight of card, but the laminate is really sticky – I’ll have to scratch ’em up before I can use them when I get to it.

Morgan-Greer Tarot – Got this one new (so full price) at the Occult Shop here in Toronto (great shop btw, they have a great selection of cards, plus candles, books, pendants, stones, you name it, and very helpful and friendly staff, simple walk or quick bus ride from St Clair West station) about a week after the little decks. Came with a foldy box with an LWB. The artwork on this one is also gorgeous, and the imagery reminds me of the Aquarian, with similar symbolism and the close focus, but the style is different – the Aquarian deck is muted in colour, while this one is very bright. The images also go right to the edge of the card, which is interesting. They’re lovely.

Necronomicon Tarot – You all know I’m a recovering goth, right? I got this really for that reason, I’m not fully recovered yet. Held out for a week, then bought these. The entire idea of this deck is one that I wouldn’t use for a tarot reading, it’s all incredibly dark, but man is it cool! In a box, with a full book and a black organza bag for storage. Secondhand at BMV (a ‘remainder’ and second-hand store next to WBB and possibly my favourite bookstore in town, and a depository of tarot cards I’ve just discovered!) – a ‘remainder’, for about $16 I think.

Tarot of Atlantis – Just a couple of days ago. Came in a foldy box with an LWB. Great imagery, kind of graphic novel-ish. It’s a good size to use, and I may use it once I know what I’m doing with the cards, but for now it’s relegated. Also a ‘remainder’ from BMV, about $14. All the cups cards have people sexin’ it up, not in an ‘erotic deck’ way, but you know. 10 of cups is a giant orgy. Ahem.

Okay, so that’s… eight decks, if you include the mini Tarot Nova one.

On top of that, I also got the Answer Deck a couple of weeks ago from Running Press (great imagery, red outlined cards with stark pure b&w images, each with a single word or phrase) new from WBB and the re-released Gorey Fantod Pack last week (which I LOVE – beware, all cards indicate bad things, like Loss of Eyelashes or Wispiness) from Book City on Bloor, they special-ordered it for me…

Slight obsession, yes.

I have a rather large, evolving list now of ones I want to add to my collection (after going through EVERY deck on the Aeclectic Tarot site), including the Color Your Own Tarot (appeals to the DTP in me!), the Old English Tarot, the Philosopher’s Stone Self-Awareness Deck (the images remind me of OMNI Magazine), the Tarot of the Imagination, the International Icon Tarot and the Urnash Tarot, among many others.

I have a list, are you surprised? Ask and I’ll share…

And I can’t do readings for you, I don’t know what I’m doing just yet. J* really does though, she’s amazing!