My most favorite Deck!

So...whether you are a tarot collector/enthusiast/reader with 2 decks, or 20, or 200, when it comes down to it, everyone has to have a favorite deck, right? The one that calls to you just a bit more than the rest; the one that gives you the really great readings; the one whose art just utterly enchants. For me, that deck, the most favorite of favorites, the one that I did indeed grab before anything else when firefighters broke down my door due to a fire in another apartment on my floor a few months ago is... Tarot Nusantara!

Not everyone has heard of it. It is, sadly, not so easy to get ahold of, and certainly not published by any of the major US or European publishers of tarot decks.

It's a pretty straightforward RWS clone designed and published in Indonesia and not so easy to get outside of Indonesia. I was lucky enough to find a fellow Aeclectic member from Singapore who was willing to sell me a copy. It was, at the time, the most I'd paid for a tarot deck, and to me at least, worth every penny.

I simply ADORE this deck. I've never been a huge fan of the standard old RWS. It's growing on me, I admit. Planning on getting a Pamela Coleman Smith Commemorative deck eventually, and also hopefully the Hoi Polloi but...for a long time I didn't like it at all, didn't connect with the images, just found it...boring, compared to so many other decks out there...

This clone, though? I really cannot express how deeply it appeals to me. The Indonesian art? The colors? The textures of the clothes? The awesome backgrounds? The way it reworks each RWS image in the new style but keeps them properly recognizable, takes out all the Christian symbolism which, while I intellectually get the importance of, intuitiveness has always been a turn of?

There is just so much for me to love about this deck.

I love the size of it. It's more or less playing card size; a bit bigger. Actually a bit bigger than the Silicon Dawn, so really not that small. For me, ideal-size. I'm of the camp that prefers smaller decks that are easy to handle than larger decks that are 'easier to see' but unwieldy...

Not that it is ALL quite...ideal. I wouldn't quite complain about the card stock. It feels really nice in the hands, and shuffles well. Certainly preferable to the super stiff lamination of some USG decks...

However, it is, I would say...delicate. The fronts are thinly laminated...the laminate actually has a really interesting/nice texture. But the backs are un-laminated. Which is a bit...concerning, shall we say. A spill on this deck would be a disaster. Creases easier-than-average to obtain. I've been careful as can be but...I like to carry around whatever deck I'm currently working with in my bag most of the time, because hey, you never know, but this does make me nervous.

But yeah. It's quite easy to read, being a RWS clone and all, and I'd imagine quite easy to learn with - by the time I got it I was well beyond that initial learning the meanings of cards phases, but yanno.

It also came with a nice book, of which I can understand none because it is all in Bahasa Indonesia, lol. Nice novelty item, though.

The titles on majors and courts are also in Bahasa Indonesia, which is a definite plus for me because, language-obsessed thing that I am, I just love it when my decks have TITLES IN FOREIGN LANGUAGES, and especially LANGUAGES I DO NOT UNDERSTAND.

So yeah. This is hands down most treasured deck in my collection. It makes me sad that it is so hard to get because uh, I think it totally should be widely available for all!

That would also make it easier for me to procure a much-desired second copy, lol. I live in fear of the insanity that would ensue if anything happened to the one I have :D