nifty deck, introvert paradox

So about a week ago or so I got my copy of a deck I've been eagerly looking forward to since I first saw scans of it online before it was fully complete ... the Tarot of the Absurd. I've always loved the idea of a black and white tarot, having a bit of a *thing* for monochrome, and the decks out there, few and far in between, that fit that description...all are lacking a certain something. Light and Shadow is the closest I've found to what I'd been wanting, and lovely though that one may be image-wise...the size and highly mediocre cardstock prevent it from ever really becoming a favorite. This...well, lovely quirky artwork that stretches you in reading and as for the execution? I keep wanting to TOUCH these cards because they feel so nice.

So some work with it, since I got it a nice bag to live in and got myself a phone again to take pictures with until I figure out the camera situation...

I'm reminded by these two cards of one of those paradoxes that come with being an introvert - very much so in my case. When I was younger, I used to have a lot of issues with social anxiety, with thinking that I wasn't 'good with people', In truth, social skills are in large part something that can be learned and improved on and, while speaking will never be my strong point and I doubt I'd ever win any charisma awards, I really am not any worse than the average person at socialization and getting along with people.

The thing about being an introvert is that you don't necessarily WANT to be alone all the time. That gets lonely, and everyone can use someone to talk to, to engage in activities in, to give and get support from. At the same time, being around people can just get so...draining, sometimes. The talk talk talk, the noise, so much going on, different motives and approaches and sometimes maintaining that necessary inner barrier between yourself and the world...tiring, yes.

Yesterday I went with a friend to the National Book Fair and it was a lovely time, listening to some fantasy/sci-fi authors talk and sign books and yet...standing in long lines, sitting in a large crowd of people...always sets me on edge to some degree. So much noise, so much going on. I only grudingly and occassionally use facebook, and avoid other social networks by and large because...they are too overwhelming. Too much going on that I don't want to deal with. There are better things to do with my time.

The feeling when a stranger or acquaintance insists on striking up a conversation when you are in no mood to talk. Listening to other people talk in the library when you just really, really want to work on your own things *silently*. Being obliged to go out and deal with the world on days when you really would just like to hole up by yourself at home.

You don't dislike people or social contact, not at all, and you feel blessed to have as many wonderful people in your life as you do, and yet...

Introducing the Mix Deck!

So this week I am working with something a bit different again... (actually working with two decks, this and the Oracle of the Radiant Sun, but focusing on the more interesting one in this post)... a self-made, majors-only Mix Deck!

I may or may not have mentioned this deck in this blog before. Basically, when I was visiting relatives in Sweden last summer, I made my way to a large, awesome new age store in Stockholm. They had a nice selection of decks, but since I'd already gotten one at a new age store in a different city, and my funds were limited, I decided to forgo another. Instead, my attention was draft to a large bin of spare cards in the corner. They were one kroner each and seemed to come from many, many decks. So I spent the next two or three hours obsessively digging through it until I found one of each major, except for Death, which the bin apparently did not contain (I'm guessing that was a popular card to grab, ha).

When I got home, someone nice from Aeclectic sent me a spare Death card they had, thus completing my majors. However, I still wasn't quite satisfied, as there were a few repeats - two cards from the same deck and whatnot. Over time, with the help of some more AT members, that has been corrected, and I now have a majors only deck that has each card from a different deck. I did some trimming to get them to a more uniform size, and voila!

This is the only majors only deck I currently own, (though depending on how reading with this goes for me, I may consider getting a few more in the future...) and rather looking forward to seeing how working with it will be. I call it my Mix Deck...I'd actually like to give it a better name than that, but no ideas have come to mind thus far. If anyone has any suggestions, feel free to share!

So yeah, will be working with deck, sometimes paired with the aforementioned oracle, trying out new things :]

favorite card backs

An often overlooked aspect of tarot decks, the backs are...well. for me, i can't say they are necessarily a deal breaker - i have several decks whose backs I quite dislike but which I got anyway because well, the actual deck more than made up for that particular drawback. but I must say, a nice back really does add to the awesomeness of a deck as a whole.

For me personally, i like my backs to be reversible if possible (since I read with reversals), for them to somehow thematically or visually 'go' with the card fronts, WITHOUT being merely a print of one of the cards (this tendency on the part of LoS particularly is rather annoying...) and just general aesthetic prettiness. I thought it'd be fun to just list some of my favorite card backs from within my tarot collection. Interestingly enough, they don't correspond all that much with which decks are my favorites overall...

Lookit, shiny!

The Fenestra tarot has what is probably my most favorite of backs...very nice, subtle color, a bit of an art-nouveau feel to it, nicely reversible, and goes perfectly with the art style of the cards themselves. As I said, not really corresponding with my deck preference generally...see, I love the minors in this deck, and it'd probably be much higher on my preferences list if it wasn't for the HUGE, UGLY, UNTRIMMABLE borders the publisher felt the need to take onto all the majors.

I traded this deck away because of that, and the universe recently saw that another copy of it came back to me, so holding onto it this time because I do like the art style and colors generally. And yes, the backs are a major plus.

Other cool backs:

     
I like these two a lot, the Crystal/Vetro back and the Balbi. The Crystal back doesn't really go with the art style of the deck per se, but I just really like how it looks. Reminds me of some old playing card backs I vaguely remember from when I was a kid. Nice and reversible too.

As for the Balbi, again, simple and reversible. Colors do a lot for me too - I've always liked the purple and green color combination, and the particular shades of purple and green used here really appeal. I like the vague vine type design, and the general style and bright colors perfectly encompass the nature of the deck overall and yeah, likey.

Now here are two backs that AREN'T quite reversible, but which I really like anyway. One is the Thoth back. Like the rest of that deck, it is chock full of esoteric symbolism I currently only vaguely/half-understand at best, but I can appreciate it's significance. It definitely gives you a nice feel for the rest of the deck, and visually, it just works. Plus, its not THAT badly un-reversible, so I can still read my reversals without too much distraction.

The Tarot de la Rea back, on the other hand, is very non-reversible, but given that this is one of very few decks which I DON'T read using reversals (in fact this deck likes me to use one very specific spread to read with it) that's not too much a bother. It very well represents the cool mask-filled nature of the deck as a whole and like the fronts just has a...unique, special feel to it. This deck really is one of the little treasures of my collections, and that includes the backs.