Last month I talked about some of the Tarot decks (new and old) I'm attracted to working with these days. Now I want to show some of them to you and explain why I'm attracted to them! First of all, I store my 80+ decks and books on Metal Shelf racks. I don't like to own more decks than I can display. This also makes me choosey!! I don't just buy the flavor of the month from all the Tarot publishers that are eager to cash in on the proliferation of Tarot decks and Tarot art in the 21st Century.

Of course, where else would we begin but with the most famous Tarot deck in the world; The Ride-Waite-Smith or RWS for short. Published by Rider Pub. in 1909, this deck began to proliferate quickly after US Games bought the copyright in 1971 (currently copyright is expired). The Universal Waite colored by Sally Hanson Roberts used the same designs, but used pastel to make them less cartoony (in my opinion). Then out with the pastel and in with the bold colors of the Radiant Waite. Next the images were further transformed with busy eye-catching borders in The Diamond Tarot.

Send in the clones!! Sally Hanson Roberts also created her own Tarot deck that was a close Clone of the original RWS deck that she colored for the Universal Waite. Many of the decks created in the 1990's were RWS Clones like Robin Wood. The Morgan-Greer was a clone from the 1970's

German Publisher AGMuller was also producing decks and books with the RWS images in the 1990's.

Before US Games got the copyright in 1971, the Albano Waite deck used odd yet vibrant colors. It was Out of Print for a couple of decades, but has recently become available again.

Tarot Original 1909 (an Italian deck) was the first to create a circular deck out of the familiar RWS images.

Published in 1949, The Thoth Tarot by Aleister Crowley and the Lady Frieda Harris took it's place as the 2nd most recognizable Tarot deck in the world after the RWS.

And, before both RWS and Thoth, there was the French Tarot de Marseilles which was considered the standard in decks for over 400 years. I was fortunate to get both of these decks back in the 1990's. They look almost identical, but one has much thicker card stock than the other making a thicker pile of cards. I'm sure those images look familiar to almost everyone. There are also many other TdM decks that are more modern in my collection, but I'll save those for another post.

In the next picture are some famous decks most of which I acquired before 2000. The Voyager Tarot by James Wanless was the first popular collage deck with modern images. I actually met James Wanless at a Tarot Conference and have an autographed copy of a book he wrote to accompany his deck; Strategic Intuition for the 21st Century published in 1996. You can trust that this deck definitely has it's own spin on the traditional 78 cards. The Universal Tarot does a fabulous job of combining many different spiritual traditions (Eastern & Western) for a truly eclectic and diversified deck. Out of the other decks, I've only used The Gilded Tarot which is an RWS Clone. The others are still waiting on my shelf for me to have time to learn their secrets and use them.

Another favorite category of mine is the Women's Round Tarot decks in my collection. Two of them are out of print. I have a deep dive in another blog post on just these 3 decks and their connection to Women's Spirituality.

Some of my favorite decks to work with are these Pagan and Witchcraft decks. I've been using the Morgan-Greer for years and recently have connected with The Druidcraft Tarot. The Robin Wood Tarot was my very first deck. You can see how raggedy the box is.

At first, I didn't think I would like The Wild Unknown Tarot. I actually started with The Wild Unknown Archetypes deck and loved how insightfully accurate the readings were for me. So, I had to get all 4 of Kim Krans' Wild Unknown decks. The Animal Oracle is wonderful. The guidebook for her Tarot is very minimal... kinda Tarot Light as far as I'm concerned. But, the more I use these decks the more I love her non-traditional artwork.

As soon as I saw these cards being used by another Reader, I just had to have my own set. I even got a drawstring bag with the deck's Hermit on it. I love the symbolism of The Star Tarot deck. It was thoughtfully designed to combine RWS with Thoth and TdM meanings. Though the artwork is NOT RWS, it's stunningly beautiful, colorful and meaningful. The Guidebook thoroughly explains what the authors intended the images to convey and how they took from the 3 traditions I mentioned to create something entirely new but true to tradition at the same time in every card.

I waxed eloquent in last month's blog post about my recent use of the 30th Anniversary edition of The Enchanted Tarot by fabric collage artist Amy Zerner and her Astrologer husband; Monte Farber. They have created over 2 dozen different divination systems in the past 35 years and I have some of them.

The Rhythm and Soul Tarot is a very special deck that is based in Southern American musical traditions that centered around Nashville and Memphis, TN in the early 20th century (think The Grand Ole Opry, Sun Records, and Graceland). Songs and artists have been assigned to each card and you can find the entire 80 song playlist on Spotify. There are 2 new Majors in this deck: 23. Rhythm and 24. Soul. The suits are musical genres; Country (Roots), Jazz, Blues, and Rock & Roll (Axes). Now that I've retired to South Carolina, I find this deck not only connects well with my new clients, but helps me to learn more about the culture here in the South. I learned that this deck has 6 designated 'Porch' cards. Porch cards are important, because the front porch is considered significant place for human connection and homecoming. You'll notice in the 10 of Blues (Cups) below we've got a happy black family on their porch.

Another musically oriented Tarot deck!! It's very BOHO and based on the 1970's. I must confess, my husband is a deadhead, so I had to get this deck to please him. I admit I don't know all that much about The Grateful Dead's music and haven't worked with the deck much at all except to thumb through the cards and read the beginning of the Guidebook. The suits have been changed to Bolts, Bears, Skulls, and Roses. What I do have to say about this deck is that it is extremely positive and cheery despite the fact that it contains skeletons on almost every card.

The Golden Tarot is another collage deck, but this time it's a compilation of images from the late Middle Ages and Early Renaissance. I just love this deck and the guidebook too!! Her collage cards use standard RWS images and that makes it easy for me to interpret. If you are RWS experienced, these cards are easily recognizable. Her meanings are succinct upright and reversed based on traditional understandings.

And, finally, I obtained a used copy of Chrysalis Tarot because I was so attracted to the artwork. It's a deck that tries to weave together various stories, myths and fairytales. So, I ordered the accompanying book off Amazon. I was disappointed to find that the women who put this deck together were more experts on storytelling than they were on Tarot. It would have been a better deck if they had been more thoughtful about which tarot cards they matched up with the stories. However, I believe there is still something for me to learn from this deck even if it doesn't align with traditional tarot meanings. It's another deck that has renamed the elemental suits; scrolls, mirrors, spirals, stones. The Guidebook is highly detailed including story details and good explanations of what was in their minds as they created the designs. Apparently, this pair of authors did a lot of channeling to connect with the characters they chose.

Did any of my decks speak to you? I'm available for virtual readings online or over the phone. You can request a specific deck when you book a reading with me. Plus, I take pictures of cards cast and share via text and/or email. I'll be your favorite Tarot card reader and Psychic Adviser. Call me today!