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Tarot cards

I used to collect Tarot cards. Some of them were really beautiful. I lusted after a Salvador Dali deck for a very long time but could never justify to myself paying its rather high price. Lost the whole collection in a divorce and never replaced them.
BTW, I feel compelled to state that I collected them solely as art. I never had the slightest belief in any fortune-telling hogwash.
 
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I have about 20 Tarot's, collected over the years. I was interested in the history of playing cards, which inescapably led me to Tarot (and other variants and precursors of playing cards).
 
Cainkane1 said:
Some illustrators give their artwork to printers of Tarot cards. These are collected by hobbyists. Anyone in here collect those colorful cards?
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Few illustrators "give" their artwork to publishers/printers!

I have a dozen or more Tarot decks as part of my collection of playing cards. Some non-tarot decks from my collection can be seen on my long-neglected playing-card web site.

I was fortunate enough to take a tour of the offices of US Games, which publishes many tarot decks. USGS is owned by Stuart Kaplan, one of the foremost American collectors of tarot and playing cards (as well as being the author of the four-volume Encyclopedia of Tarot). There were some incredible decks on display in the office, as well as at a nearby museum, including one card from the oldest known tarot deck.

Very cool stuff.
 
JA Demko said:
I used to collect Tarot cards. Some of them were really beautiful. I lusted after a Salvador Dali deck for a very long time but could never justify to myself paying its rather high price. Lost the whole collection in a divorce and never replaced them.
BTW, I feel compelled to state that I collected them solely as art. I never had the slightest belief in any fortune-telling hogwash.
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I don't believe in fortune telling either. I once saw a tarot deck illustrated by Frank Frazetta but i didn't want to pay $35.00 for it.
 
h0mesch00led said:
i don't know about tarot cards guys...
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Huh?? Does this mean you can't appreciate an art form if it originates in 'woo'? If so, you'd eliminate most of Bach & Handel, many sculptors & painters, glorious architecture, archaeological wonders, etc, etc. Sad
 
h0mesch00led said:
i don't know about tarot cards guys...
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Then you should learn! :D

Here are images (courtesy wicce.com) of some of the Tarot decks in my collection:

Tarot of Baseball
Tarot For Cats
H.R. Giger Tarot
Glow-In-The-Dark Tarot
Halloween Tarot
Original Rider-Waite
Tarocchi di Robot
Tiny Tarot
Year 2000 Tarock

Actually, if you consider Tarock decks (such as the last one), I probably have another twenty or so.

I have another very cool tarot, the name of which escapes me, which is named after the related Vampire-themed role playing game.
 
RSLancastr said:
I have another very cool tarot, the name of which escapes me, which is named after the related Vampire-themed role playing game.
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The Masquerade?

Got a link? I don't have this deck. Of course, I have a big collection of vampire themed junque for some strange reason.
 
I seem to remember Phil and/or Kaja Foglio doing some tarot illustrations a while back, around the same time they were doing illustrations for Magic: The Gathering. Anyone seen these?
 
I agree, Tarot decks are often very beautiful! Browsing around Tarot sites is fun, and cheap as well, :p so thanks for the links!
 
I love Tarot decks, although I only own a couple. I prefer the older pre-Rider-Waite decks. As odd as this sounds, Rider and Waite really distorted the woo, including such extraneous stuff as astrology, numerology, pre-Rosetta stone junk Egyptology, and the Kabbala, and changed a lot of the imagery to match what they claimed was the original mystical meaning.

The exact origins of the original imagery are obscure, but they seem to include some sort of renaissance Christian cosmology and are divided into earthly, spiritual, and heavenly powers. They may also represent some sort of parade or pageant based around the same thing (possibly a pre-lenten, Mardi Gras parade) and the models may be really members of the family who owned the two oldest known Tarot sets.

And the regular number cards are just as fascinating, but I won't get started on them. :)
 
I drew up my own once. Never considered finding out what was in a Tarot deck first, just drew up whatever odd idea came to mind.
 
I've made two cartoon/anime decks by finding scenes that correspond to the meanings of the cards, and then photoshopping pictures and frames together with effects and clipart. An enjoyable way to spend a few evenings, and a cool offering to your fandom of choice.

Tarot cards are pretty. :)
 
I've got two - a miniature Rider/Waite and a Norse tarot, which fit right in my brief period of dabbling in paganism.

I also used to own a non-tarot deck of cards called Philosopher's Stone which I absolutely loved. I've no idea where they are now. Probably buried in some box somewhere.
 
I originally got interested in Tarot symbolism in high school when I had to interpret a passage of T.S. Elliot's The Wasteland - he drew heavily on tarot symbolism and stuff from the Golden Bough. I do find the Major Arcana as sort of interesting in that it can represent a spiritual progression of a person from innocence (The Fool) to worldliness (The World). There are many beautiful Tarot decks that can be appreciated as fun and accessible works of art.
 
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