Ok, so as one of those kooky folks with an ever-expanding collection of tarot decks which, when you think about it, is far more decks than i'll ever really NEED... one of the major draws to this particular brand of madness is the art, for me. Collect decks because they are pretty, because each artist has different take on those same images, and you really to learn more about tarot when your mind is challenged by...how is this card same/different in this deck than that one and so on.
Now, I have my favorite and less favorite decks to be sure, but I thought it would be an interesting excercise to try to force myself to pick a favorite CARD, of each of the major arcana, from among my deck collection. As a way to make myself think a bit more about individual cards, what makes me choose this or that as the best, etc. So, a favorite, and runner up.
Since this would make an over-long and probably tedious both to write and to read single post, shall do as a series or whatnot. So, without further ado...
0. Fool
Before getting this deck, I really hadn't given the Fool all that much thought, honestly. It wasn't one of my most favorite majors in just about any deck, but it wasn't one of those that often gave me trouble reading either. The idea of doing three fools in the style of Crowley's three magi, though? BRILLIANT. The more I work with this deck and think about this idea, the more I love it. And unlike the Thoth, this isn't about aesthetics...the whole maiden/mother/crone fool thing...conceptually awesome, awesome.
I especially adore this, the Crone Fool. She's done this before, this walking off the cliff thing. Perhaps its inevitable. Perhaps she's still expecting something new to happen. Perhaps she doesn't care anymore. Perhaps she KNOWS now, all about those barely visible (especially on scans! UV effect in this deck is awesome) wings, there. I just love the nuance and depth of interpretation here, the expressiveness of the fool, her dog...and especially the color composition of this card. Visually it's amazing. I could really just stare and stare at this card all day. Really hands down, for me personally, best Fool card in any deck that I own.
Runner Up:
And this is, also easily, my second favorite. I love the Sun and Moon tarot. It's such an underappreciated little thing - a lot of people take issue with the cardstock, it seems which...ok, yeah, it wouldn't win any ease-of-shuffling awards, to be honest. But nonetheless that is so worth dealing with for the amazing images. I love the facelessness of the little 'potato-head' people, the universality of their forms, and the color again in the deck is so...bold, strong, compelling. And it has a multi-ethnic feel to it I really enjoy as well.
The simplicity of this fool card, the way it so easily embodies the essential meaning of the card...the bright blue sky, the shining sun, the way a TIGER is trying to stop him and a crocodile waits below the clifff, the swirling of the butterfly, his staff...the energy and optimism and potential but also the danger, thoughtlessness, blindness, all so easily interpretable...and aesthetically, the getup of this fool makes me smile every time, ha.
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