Tuesday, February 9, 2010
In a manner of speaking, anyway. I recently cleared out a good number of decks, and it was NOT easy. I love my decks.
Still, no matter how much I love them, I was being buried alive by the sheer number of them in my tiny, already overcluttered home, and most of them not only did not get used, but were likely NEVER to get used. I liked them, but I didn't connect with them. Therefore, a number of them left my loving care and moved on to people who might actually, y'know, USE them. I haven't felt the loss so much as I've felt the pain of saying, "I have 40- Imean, 20- no,I mean...14 decks."
Ouch.
So, most of my once abundant collection is gone, and I find myself shepherding a small number of decks that I either already communicate well with, or that I have high hopes for. Lisa Hunt's Fairy Tale deck is gone, although I am already regretting that and will probably buy it back pretty quickly. Magic Realist Press' most successful deck, the Baroque Bohemian Cats, is also out of my hands now, which was difficult for a number of reasons. The only deck I parted with that I probably will not be able to replace if I decide I want to is the Tea Leaf Fortune Card deck. I hope I don't end up kicking myself over that, but the person it went to will take wonderful care of it, and I am content knowing it's in good hands, even if they aren't mine.
This clearing out occurred at roughly the same time as my addiction and dependence on the Bohemian Gothic tarot started to wane, and I started to play with some of the decks I have left. The Revelations got another spin around the track, and I found it sadly much less compelling than the first time I used it. The Tarot of Prague also got to stretch her legs. She confused the heck out of me and got stored until I get a chance to read the book and speak her language. And then, the Victoria Regina came out to play.
I have GOT to stop taking one look at decks and deciding that I hate them. The same thing that happened with the Bohemian Gothic is happening with the Victoria Regina; I didn't immediately fall in love with it at first sight, so therefore decided it wasn't a good deck for me and put it away. The only reason I didn't sell it with the others was because it would be virtually impossible to replace, and so I decided to give it a chance.
It reads brilliantly. It is a very inspiring deck in the sense that it really does draw very much on your intuition. The images are extremely detailed, and I believe that being in black and white suits the mood of this deck far better than being in color. Even soft watercolors would only detract.
These are large cards, suitable for the intricate artwork, and can be a bit difficult to shuffle. The are very well made, sturdy and glossy. The backs are quite simple, white with the image of Queen Victoria as she appeared on some coin or the other.
Where this deck really shines, though, is not the deck at all. It's the companion book. The book is a wonderful amalgamation of Victorian history and tarot. The court cards are all represented by different personalities from the Victorian era, including Benjamin Disraeli, William Gladstone, Oscar Wilde, and of course, Victoria herself. The parallels between the lives of these people and the personality traits represented in the cards is absolutely brilliant, and by far the most inspired writing I've ever seen in regard to the court cards.
Once again, however, I am taunting you with a deck that is not easy to find. There is a Chinese version for sale through ebay, as long as you don't mind not reading the book and can disregard the Chinese writing on the cards. Unfortunately, reviews of the Chinese version are not positive, stating that the cards are far too small (much smaller than the original, English version), the lamination is sticky and gritty, and the cardstock is not as well made.
I am entranced by the Victoria Regina at the moment- but when that wears off, I am quite excited to see what surprises my much smaller collection of decks has in store for me.