My In-Depth, Very Very Long Review of the Bohemian Gothic 2nd Edition

Monday, August 23, 2010

(My original review for the Bohemian Gothic Tarot can be found here. You can view images for all of the cards in the deck at the Bohemian Gothic Tarot website.)




It's no secret that I am passionately, fanatically, and deeply devoted to my Bohemian Gothic tarot. It's unusual, because I hate horror movies, scary books have no place on my shelf (sorry, Stephen King!) and I despise being frightened. Anything that falls into that arena, therefore, is normally an automatic "no" for me. However, much like I will play any game that Bioware releases simply because they are the very, very best in their business, I will at least try any deck that Magic Realist Press releases because they never, ever disappoint. Their decks don't always work for me (Fantastic Menagerie, anyone?), but they're always gorgeous.

The BG isn't my normal cup of tea, but it is, somehow, perfect for me. I have said before that I think it's because the deck's inherent darkness makes it impossible for me to twist the message into something purely good and happy. I hate giving bad news, but there's a dark side to everything, and the BG doesn't let you forget it. I also appreciate that it's a dark deck, but it's not a violent deck. Many of the images, while dark, still evoke a sense of stillness and peace.

My second edition arrived on Saturday, while I was out clothes-shopping with my daughter. Instead of a shiny new deck to play with, I got a yellow slip telling me to go to the post office and pick it up on Monday morning. To make my anticipation more painful, Sunday evening my car, The Prissiest Minivan in the World, refused to start. The horror! So, this morning, I hopped on my bike and rode to the post office in 90 degree weather. (See how devoted I am?) As soon as I got home, I washed the sweat off my hands (ew!) and peeled open the new deck.

I was quite impressed with the box. It's lovely, opens and closes smoothly, and it's quite easy to get the deck in and out. One corner was a wee bit crushed from shipping, but that's happened with every deck I've gotten that comes in a cigar-style box, and it doesn't really effect the appearance of the box. More importantly, the deck was fine. I would feel perfectly comfortable carrying the deck, in the box, in my purse.

See? You can't even tell.

Inside the box, there was a LWB and a coupon for 10% off my next purchase. Very nice! The deck itself was wrapped in cellophane, which was secure but not so snug that I feared damaging the deck in my attempts to get it off, as I do with some decks.

First, my observations and comparisons of the deck as a whole:

The deck is thicker than the first edition. The cards have a matte finish; the first edition cards feel absolutely slick in comparison. The cardstock feels slightly stiffer than the first edition, as well, but that might not be a valid observation, since I'm comparing a broken- in deck to one I haven't even shuffled yet. The cards are also slightly smaller than the first edition, by maybe 1 millimeter in both height and length, and the corners are slightly more rounded.

The Second edition is on the left.

A second edition card face down on top of the Nine of Wands from the first edition. You can see the size difference on the top and the right edge.

The back of the card is the same design as the first, but done completely in black and silver. (The first edition deck was black and white with silver shadowing.) This gives it a much softer, darker feel than the first, almost like if you put your hand towards it, you could get pulled in and swallowed up. Which, now that I think about it, is pretty creepy.



On the front of the cards, the biggest change to the deck as a whole seems to be the clarity of the pictures. In the first edition, the images were so sharp you could cut yourself on them. In the second edition, the images were softened, giving them a more dreamy quality. I prefer the sharper images of the first edition, myself; the new version is lovely, but I like the harshness of the original. The Hierophant, for example, has always struck me (in this deck) as an uncompromising man, who is almost cruel in his absolute authority. His unwillingness to bend or to see other viewpoints isolates him, but as far as he's concerned, that's the fault of others.The sharp lines around him made that clear; there was his way, and his way was right, and that was that. The new card is almost exactly the same; the red hat is a bit brighter, the blue robe is a bit softer a blue- but the biggest change was softening the image.

There are many other slight color changes throughout the deck. For example, a gray which is bluer in one deck might be greener in the other. The small border on the bottom that carries the card's name is a bit shorter in the second edition, as well, although the text appears to be the same size.

In some cards, the colors seemed more muted and less vibrant, such as the reds in the Eight of Wands, the smoke in The Magician, and to a lesser degree, the Hermit's lantern. I'm not really a fan of this; I loved those vibrant, passionate, eye-catching colors!

Card By Card comparison:

I am not going to actually do every card in this deck. Many of the cards are very nearly exactly the same as the first, with slight changes in tint or sharpness that I have already mentioned. I'm just going over the ones that struck me, for whatever reason.

Where the 2nd Edition wins:

Ready?
The Moon: They changed her face. She has a regal, calm look now, a certain tilt to her head that is confident , mysterious, and almost haughty. In the first edition, she looked worried and weak willed. The new card is a win.

Justice: The cover of the book is actually much clearer, and the robe on the figure in the background is red now instead of black. The judge's different colored eyes are more noticeable, and the furnace in the background is much more muted in color. I love these changes.


The Devil: I adore the addition of a gold earring on the woman. Somehow such a small thing adds so much to this image!

The Sun: Another card with simple color changes, yet the new card is beautiful and powerful.

Judgement: The painting behind the angel is now muted and fades into the background, giving the image a sense of depth and allowing the reader to focus on the people in the card. as a result, the contrast between her peace and his horror is more tangible.

Two of Wands: Not much was done to this card, mostly cropping, I think, but the woman seems more ghostly and more wistful, bringing the emotion of the card to the forefront and involving the reader more than the first edition.

Nine of Wands: At first glance, you'd think it was exactly the same, but the softer focus of the image is more reminiscent of early morning light, and underscores the meaning of the card. Love it.

Six of Cups: The new picture on the headstone is a definite win. It makes the image far more personal, and easier to relate to.

Nine of Cups: They changed the glass style in the drinker's hand. I love the new glass, it seems to fit more readily with the mood of the card.

Eight of Swords: I really like the addition of the rats. It suggests that, yes, there ARE things to be afraid of, but it's not something you can't overcome.

Knight of Wands: LOVE the new background!


Queen of Pentacles: Thank you, MRP, for NOT CHANGING HER FACE! She is my favorite card in the deck, because of that look on her face, and I am delighted you left it alone.

Where I'm Undecided:

The Lovers: I'm kind of split on this one. The woman in the new card is far and away lovelier than the woman in the first, and looking at her does evoke images and emotions; she appears to be making a difficult choice, leaving something behind for the sake of something that means more. It's a more emotional card, compared to the more physical composition of the first edition Lovers. The problem is her male counterpart. In the new one, he has this expression on his face that suggests he's just about had it with her Edward Cullen obsession. He doesn't appear loverlike or passionate or even a little creepy. He just looks bored and slightly irritated. I also much preferred the original background, with the light of the moon peeking from behind the black clouds. The new card, on the whole, is much prettier, and I suspect in time I'll prefer it. I just have to reconcile that look on his face, and the fact that it is vaguely Twilight-esque.


The Tower: I adore the new red shadowing on the statues; however, I also adore the purple sky in the first.

Six of Pentacles: Do I prefer him with horns or without? I can't decide.

Where the Second Edition leaves me cold:

The Emperor and The High Priestess: I preferred the original backgrounds. The skulls on the ceiling in the Emperor were much clearer and more powerful, while the forest behind the HP was more symbolic, to me, of mystery and the unknown.


Queen of Wands: There was a wealth of emotion in the first Queen's expression; wistfulness, hope, sorrow, even quiet laughter. Her successor looks irritated, or even bored. I suspect she's in a secret society with the gentleman on the Lover's card, where they read Very Serious Literature and eat very small sandwiches with the crusts cut off. Also, the fact that the original Queen was likely a transvestite added an entire world of meaning to the card that is now missing.


Five of Wands: for some reason, simply cropping this card neutered it for me. It has always been representative, to me, of either making things harder for yourself by fighting things that aren't there, or refusing to see what is. Having those ghouls closer gives them more substance, and alters the way I read the card.

Three of Cups: I don't like the vampire puncture marks in the oldest girl's throat. (Assuming that is what they are, and I didn't just get a misprinted card!) They feel unnecessarily violent.

The King of Cups: Expression again. In the original, he clearly felt both wistfulness and hope, sadness and longing. This time, I rather get the impression that his lady love ate broccoli and beans for dinner and is emitting some rather indelicate odors there at the window.

Queen of Swords: I loved the old Queen of Swords, because at first glance she looks so unassuming, but if you take a second look at her face you know she will cut you. She is perfectly lovely, and yet her direct, unwavering and calm expression says, "I see through you." She looks powerful and unafraid. She doesn't need to keep her hand on her sword because the sword is just a distraction- the truly dangerous thing in that image is the Queen herself.

Although the symbols of power and danger are more overt in the new image, with her hand on her sword and her teeth all vampire-y, I would be far less intimidated by the new queen than I would the old, and far less confident in her wisdom and impartiality.

After showing the deck to Wakingspirit, she commented that the new deck "looks more cohesive and less photo-edited, which is good. The colors are clearer and brighter, but because of that, the deck is less creepy. Still creepy, just... less." She was also extremely taken by the Momento Mori card, which is lovely.

So, overall, it appears that the deck is a win. To finish this post up, I finally gave the deck it's first shuffle, and it is stiff and hard to manage, I suspect it will soften up beautifully in time. It will be interesting to see how the gilding wears with use.

The fact that this deck has always reminded me of campy B-Movie horror in the very best ways has always been one of my favorite things about it. Even though the characters in the cards should seem dangerous or evil, when you really look at them, you get the feeling that they're just as prone to bumbling mistakes as the rest of us. These monsters throb with humanity, and we can relate to their struggles and their triumphs. That is what makes it a great reading deck, and that is why I love the Bohemian Gothic, both old and new.



Images used with permission, Copyright @Alex Ukolov and Karen Mahony, Baba Studio 2010.

Out with the old, and in with the new.

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.

The Bohemian Gothic Tarot

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Let me start out by saying that I am not the type of girl that likes "dark" stuff. I can't watch horror movies or read scary books; in fact, even after watching those "Haunting" shows on television I end up sleeping with the light on. "Ghost Rider", with Nicholas Cage, kept me up one night. Seriously. This is how much of a coward I am. My imagination is too visual and too active to feed it those types of things. After watching Stephen King's "Rose Red" I slept with the lights on for a MONTH. Ask my husband. He'll roll his eyes. :D

So, we've established I'm a wussy. More than that, I tend to find those types of things distasteful. It's not just that they scare me, they also tend to disgust me. I appreciate greatly when the dead are shown a measure of respect, and I am very disturbed when they are not, even in fiction.

Taking those things into consideration, it is an absolute wonder that I ever even purchased The Bohemian Gothic Tarot. It's a horror movie lover's fantasy deck, after all. Very dark, and very chilling. Everyone I know who sees the deck gets the creeps from it. (And the waitress at Ihop gave us MUCH better service after I pulled it out. :D ) What is even more astonishing is how much I adore it.

Let's take a step back. Magic Realist Press is responsible for several amazing decks, including the Victorian Romantic Tarot, Baroque Bohemian Cats Tarot, and Fairytale Tarot. Their decks are extraordinarily beautiful, and an absolute pleasure to touch and use. They use high quality products to create their decks and put an amazing amount of thought and care into them, even after the product is complete and on the shelves-and the product that ends up on the shelves is in an entirely different class than any other deck that I've ever seen.

Don't get me wrong. There are publishers out there that create amazing, gorgeous, high quality decks. However, there is only one publisher that I would buy a deck from, sight unseen- and that's Magic Realist Press. If they produce it, I want it. (They also create a wide range of other products, including laptop bags, tarot bags, and purses- and they are also amazingly well made. You can check out their products at http://baba-store.com .)

Initially, my desire to have the Bohemian Gothic was fuelled simply by the fact that it was a Magic Realist Press deck, and therefore worth having. Then, I got a look at the three of pentacles:



And had a good giggle over it. Remember, the three of pents is about teamwork and mastering your craft. What a wonderful choice to depict those two qualities! It made me consider the card in an entirely new way. I started to wonder if perhaps this deck could provide me with a new outlook, teach me to see the cards in ways I hadn't before. It became more attractive to me on it's own merits and not simply because of it's creators.

Unfortunately, this deck is not easy to find, and if you do find it, it's not cheap. I started hunting. I kept my eyes open, nearly bought one from a kind member of AT, and waited... and one night, on a whim, checked Amazon: Voila! A Bohemian Gothic that was downright affordable, from a marketplace seller. I didn't even stop to think about it. I just clicked "buy"... waited four days.... received it....

And was horrendously disappointed.

Yup. I did NOT like the deck. It was too dark, too creepy, the cards were too stiff (when compared to my darling Victorian Romantic, which is well broken in and delightful!), I was never going to be able to read with it... It was crushing, really. Still, I had the deck, and if I sold it, I was never going to be able to replace it, so I used it.

And I used it some more. And the more I used it, the more I realized how very wonderful this deck actually is. It is an extremely readable deck, as a matter of fact; it lends itself well to intuitive reading, and the cards flow together to create stories better than any other deck I've seen. It's a dark deck, yes, but it's not morbid; it has a delicious sense of humor, and is also very good at conveying the full range of human emotion. This deck remembers that there is very rarely such a thing as pure joy. Always, there is a balance in our lives of joy and pain, of light and dark.


The book is a delight, too. The Justice card doesn't fit the Rider Waite Smith imagery at all; but after reading the description in the book, I was nearly in tears.

Each entry contains the original image that was altered to create the deck, which is not only interesting, but can also be enlightening. The original three of swords actually showed a man and a woman in an embrace, not seeing the woman in the foreground. Even though that's not what the cards show, I remember it when I draw that card, and it does make the card deeper and more meaningful for me.

My favorite card in the deck is the Queen of Pentacles:



The look on her face just breaks me into giggles every time I see it. That's a "WTF?!" face if I've ever seen one.

That is not to say that the deck isn't creepy. On a lot of the cards, there is just something off about the people in the card; when I described it to Wakingspirit, she called it "the uncanny valley". Heads are turned just that much too far, skin is just this much the wrong color, the cards are extremely well executed to be chill inducing. After working with it for awhile, though, that stops being a distraction, and becomes more of an asset- another small thing to draw from.



The cards are still too stiff, (I like thin, floppy cardstock) but I suspect that will resolve with time. The backs are stunning, showing a spiderweb-like arrangement of bones and skulls in white ink, shadowed by shiny silver ink.

The cards are borderless. I am not a huge fan of the bar of color at the bottom of the card, where the card is labelled; I would have much preferred the text directly on the image without that. However, that is my only complaint about this deck- all in all, it's glorious- and I am not selling it.

You can check out the entire deck at http://www.bohemiangothic.com.

Images used with permission, Copyright Karen Mahony and Alex Ukolov, Magic-Realist Press 2007. All rights reserved.

Deck Review: Wisdom Cards by Louise L. Hay

Saturday, November 7, 2009

I found the neatest little deck the other day at the bookstore. It's not my normal style, being more brightly colored and abstract than I normally go for, but for some reason it caught my eye and I snatched it up.

I'm glad I did. This little deck is adorable. It's not a divination deck, although I think it could be used that way with one or *maybe* two card draws and some imaginative association; instead, it's a deck of affirmations. The brightly colored cards are two sided, with a message on one side and an elaboration of that message on the other.

For instance, an orange card with flowers and birds on it say, "I dwell on positive thoughts."

And when flipped over, the card is darker orange, with a green flower at the bottom, and says,

"If good comes into my life and I deny it by saying, "I don't believe it," I literally push my good away."

Another card, this one with a black background and rainbow coloring, with a person in the middle, says "I can heal myself on all levels."

The back has a yellow background, with a rainbow border and rainbow text, and says, "Healing means to make whole and to accept all parts of myself- not just the parts I like, but ALL of me."

I really love this deck. In fact, I think this would be a fun deck to use to surprise strangers with- to leave cards in random places for others to find.

This is part of a set called "Beautiful Card Decks" by the same author, which includes titles like "Power Thought Cards", "Healthy Body Cards", and "I Can Do It Cards". I know at least the "Healthy Body Cards" are definitely going into my Amazon cart (from which no item ever returned, mwahahahahaha).

Check out the deck here.