Posted in random thoughts, Tarot, Uncategorized, writing

A few little discoveries which quickened my heart

Posted on by D. D. Syrdal

I ran across this by accident yesterday on Amazon. There is a new BBC adaptation of Jane Austen’s Emma, starring Romola Garai (pronounced “ro-MO-la Garry”). This was a television mini-series, and although it does not appear to have aired in the U.S., it has already aired in the U.K. The reviews on Amazon are very positive, so as a Janeite I am honor-bound to add this to my collection. Emma is not my favorite Austen novel, nevertheless the characters are as always beautifully drawn and the wry observations on life and human nature are present.

Second, for the Tarot aficianados, a couple of discoveries.

First, for the Tarot-faerie-Froud fans, news of a new deck and book oracle set by Wendy and Brian Froud! The Heart of Faerie Oracle is due to be released March 1, 2010. No sign of the cards on their Web site, though, which is a bit disappointing. They could give us a peek at one or two, wouldn’t you think? If you can find some, let me know. I’d love to get a look at them. Not that I doubt they’ll be fabulous, I’m just impatient! Their Web site calls it “the long-awaited sequel” to The Faeries Oracle. Again, not a standard Tarot deck, it will comprise 68 cards. You can pre-order it at Amazon.

And a second forthcoming deck, The Shadowscapes Tarot by Stephanie Pui-Mun Law.

Shadowscapes Tarot Death Card
Death from The Shadowscapes Tarot
When I first saw it, I immediately thought of the Paulina Tarot, by Paulina Cassidy, and while there are some similarities, the Shadowscapes Tarot seems more refined, less child-like. The watercolors always attract me, and some of these cards are quite vibrant. It’s a full 78-card deck, and through her Web site the author also offers prints, and figurines based on the deck. The cards appear to be loaded with small details that I’m sure will repay close study. The artwork is dreamy and lush. The deck’s foundations are definitely in the Waite-Smith, but with some very fresh takes. This one is also available for pre-order through Amazon.

Ah, the ever-growing “want” list of Tarot decks!

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Writer of vampire stories and science fiction. First novel, "Revenants Abroad", available now at Amazon. If you like a vampire you can go out drinking with and still respect yourself in the morning, I think you'd like Andrej.

22 thoughts on “A few little discoveries which quickened my heart”

  1. Wow, the Paulina Cassidy card is SO different from the other tarot cards I’ve seen – I feel as if you could read my dreams with that deck!

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  2. Argh, maybe I should edit the post. I’m not sure it’s clear that the one I have pictured is from the Shadowscapes Tarot. I think you’re looking at the Shadowscapes card, and yes it is dreamlike, isn’t it? I had a hard time deciding which card to put in the post, the whole deck is really sumptuous. I nearly used The Star card because that’s always one of the cards I have to love before I buy a deck. I included the link to the Paulina Tarot for comparison’s sake, since they’re both done in watercolors.

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  4. The Star (Arcana 17) is generally just one of the most beautiful cards in a deck. If it’s not done well, I probably won’t like the art on the rest of the cards. Not always, but generally speaking it’s a good barometer of whether I will like the artist’s style.

    The Star is also a card of hope, coming after Arcana 16, The Tower, or The Lightning-Struck Tower, which is a card of chaos, and things falling apart. Once you’ve had the rug yanked out from under you, the next card is The Star, still shining, saying you’ve come through the darkest part. It’s time to start picking up the pieces and carry on. All is not lost.

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  6. Hi Jenna,

    You are so welcome, although I feel sort of bad tempting you with these lovely new decks when we’re both on tight budgets. The Shadowscapes deck is so gorgeous and so unlike anything else out there. I’ve kind of given up on most of the mass market decks, I’m becoming much more selective about which ones I acquire.

    Be that as it may, let me know if you want to hear about my latest Tarot folly (a limited edition deck I just ordered in a moment of weakness…) I’m already warning my kids that when I kick the bucket they need to be careful not to just toss all my decks in the trash. I expect at least a few of them will go for more than I paid for them, since some are now out of print. 🙂

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    1. Of course we want to hear about your latest splurge! You work hard and have careful spending habits – there must be something really fabulous about this deck.

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    2. That’s quite alright about tempting me. Temptations add a bit of spice to life. 😉

      There are some tarot decks that I purchased back in the day that I got rid of and are now worth quite a bit of mone . Of course, it’s one thing for something to be worth a lot of money, quite another to actually get someone to cough up that kind of money.

      However, good advice about not tossing out those old tarot decks. 🙂

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  7. Ohhhhh….::::::::groan:::::::::: this is bad. 🙂

    It’s a limited edition, drawn by a Spanish artist and produced by Adam McClean who produces a few art decks, called The Goth Tarot. If you go to his site, he explains his whole process of how he produces these decks. I think I actually got the first order in on this one this morning!

    I spent about 15 minutes chewing my fingernails trying to justify this, and caved. I missed out on the Bohemian Gothic Tarot, and vowed the next time I see a fabulous deck I’m just going for it. It’s coming from Scotland so I won’t have it for awhile. I’ll put up some scans of the cards when I get it.

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  8. I’ll be honest, I thought it was gonna be worse 😉 – a lot of people spend that much MONTHLY on cable, or an overpriced cellular plan, or cigarettes… Did you get the Special Offer for the First 20 Customers?

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    1. Oh, it’s on its way! It’s on its way! Happy Day! 😀 Got an e-mail this morning he’s already shipped it. Should have it in a week or so if it doesn’t get hung up in customs.

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  9. I did, that’s one of the reasons I didn’t want to wait. So if I’m really diligent about bringing my lunch for the next month I can offset the cost of the deck. And I still have my cheapo cell-phone plan. And I’m still not paying for cable. 🙂 I seem to have zero willpower when it comes to decks I like. Like I said, I missed out on the Bohemian Gothic Tarot, which originally went for about $35 for the book/deck kit. I’ve seen it for as much as $999 on the secondary market now! Kills me everytime I think about it. Not that I’d sell it if I had it, I just loved it. As far as I know they have no plans to do another print run.

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    1. Here’s wishing that your first reading w/the new deck on shows awesome good fortune. If you see a bestselling series for yourself in the cards, look for the blithe spirit who’s offering to be your Pattersonian “co-writer” – that’ll be me! 😉

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  11. I have no issues with used decks, I’ve acquired a number of them. And as I make the foray into antique decks, they will of course all be used.

    What a find! Thanks for letting me know. Wow, nice to see some showing up for reasonable prices finally. That’s extraordinary, I’ve seen far less-collectible decks going for hundreds of dollars. Now all I have to do is outbid the others! 🙂 Hopefully more will make their way into the secondary market for similarly affordable prices.

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    1. Oh my god, oh my god! Oh my GAWD! Karen Mahoney, creator of the Bohemian Gothic Tarot, just announced in the newsletter today they have a reprint of the deck scheduled!! AAAHHHHH!!! :::spins around like a whirling dervish::: They’re making some ‘subtle changes’ to some of the cards (read: first editions will still be highly collectible) but I can live with that. It’ll be out later this year. I can hardly believe it, I keep re-reading the newsletter to make sure I read it right!

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  13. You’re welcome, Tasha! I’ve seen the first one, but still don’t have it. I do have the original “Faeries” book, I think some of the illustrations on the cards may have been taken from that book but I’m not sure.

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  15. Will do! I can’t find any mention of the reprint on the Magic Realist Press Web site, it’s only in the newsletter that I got yesterday. It just says “The deck is – finally – scheduled for a reprint later this year.” Since they’re still tweaking the cards they may not know exactly when it’ll be out yet.

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