Antique tarot decks are making a comeback. Restorations of 17th and 18th century packs and cards created in an older style are very desirable these days. I wonder why these decks, so long neglected on this side of the Atlantic, are finally garnering attention.
One idea that comes to mind is that the antique-style decks have an old feel to them. Many people prefer century-old brick houses to the metallic boxes that pass for dwellings in 2012. Could there be a correlation in tarot decks? The sense of tried-and-true and the feeling of being lived with is comforting.
Another thought is that the antique tarot decks aren’t layered with years and years of superstition, philosophy, esotericism, or cutesy themes. Without getting into a pissing contest of the “this deck is purer than that one” kind, the older and older-style cards are elegantly themselves. No excess adornment required. They take us closer to the roots of tarot.
Perhaps using an antique tarot deck unites us with our cartomantic ancestors. A sense of belonging to a lineage comes with employing a Marseille or other older pack. One might perceive oneself as the carrier of a noble tradition.
My very first tarot deck, purchased 33 year ago this month, was/is the 1JJ Swiss pack, a reproduction of a 19th century set of cards. I still treasure it. Other antique-style decks I use a lot include the Jean Noblet Tarot de Marseille (a restoration of a deck from 1650), the Jean Dodal Tarot de Marseille (a restoration of cards from 1701), a version of the Tarot de Marseille by Alejandro Jodorowsky and Phillipe Camoin, and a new black and white Marseille-inspired Majors-only deck called Triomphes MMXII (I love that Enqrique Enriquez and Mary Greer, two contemporary tarot “stars”, are depicted as Trumps I and II respectively).
Since I have a fondness for the High Priestess or Papesse card (Trump II), here are images of that card from the decks I’ve named in the order in which I named them. Enjoy!
Evolutionary Tarot & Circle Ways 
Happy 33rd Anniversary! I know what you mean about these decks, I’m getting more ‘into’ them myself these days. Ali x
Thanks, Ali!
I enjoy the feel of them and I’m able to use the system of number + suit that I’ve used for a long time without too many extra pictures getting in the way. That said, I love many contemporary decks, too.
I *love* older decks. I also love mid-century design and modernist artwork. This explains much of Anaithnid (“anonymous” in most Goedelic gaelic variants, in the same sense as Anonymous 4), I believe. 😉
That’s certainly one way to discern the difference.
It might’ve been simpler for to say that the first usage of the term “modern” in from approximately the same period as the oldest extant tarot decks. But my personal challenge is to see how much I can remove from a card’s artwork and still have it be viable for both reading and gameplay. Games, you can go very, very far down the scale. Most diviners, OTOH, tend to prefer more hints in their Pips…
Reblogged this on Tarot Games and commented:
Older decks, especially Latin-suited decks, are the most reliable decks for gaming with. However, some decks have confusing suit illustrations. The ones James illustrates here have curved Swords in the Pips and straight Wands – something to consider when using these decks with new players.
yea James, just consider me a Marseille thug! Don’t like your fortune? Perhaps you’ll like a wack! Don’t piss on my pips! I’ll make the Atouts pout!
I really got to get another picture to make this rant convincing!
As far as rants go, it’s pretty friendly, Paul. Hmm…might need some XV or XVI imagery to convince us
😉
Hi James. I’m so happy to see you spreading the word about older decks. I’ve been reading with the soprafino for about a decade and find that my intuition soars when it isn’t tethered to specific card illustrations. A lot of people are intimidated by reading with cards that don’t have scenes on them. My website has loads of exercises to help people get over their fear and read intuitively with historic decks.
I find that when I use a simple system of suit + value (number or court) combined with the question, some very creative and personal responses come forth. I hope that people will visit your site, Sherryl, and find out what you’re up to there. Cheers!
I have two older style Tarot decks and a few facsimile Tarock decks, but I mostly have facsimile decks of playing cards from the 17th to 19th centuries. I like using the playing cards more for daily draws because they often have quirky illustrations rather than pips, especially if they are transformation decks (a sub-genre of my collection.)
Being a visual person I never found pips too intriguing.
I didn’t either at one point. Jodorowsky points out in “The Way of Tarot” that the pips train us to pay attention, to notice details so that when we get to the Majors, they speak to us more easily. Just one thought.
Strangely, when I first started out I used pips, and I also use pips with playing card divination now and then today.
It lost its appeal a few years back. I prefer illustrations so I can work a story into it and make my own art in response. I think my objection is to the suggestion that only the Holy Pips can open your mind.
It doesn’t matter what you use if you tune in.
I think the market has become flooded with so many new interpretations of the Tarot that readers are craving a more raw and undiluted experience. Re-prints of historical cards are brilliant because they’re affordable and yet retain the charm of the original cards.
Currently enjoying these Piatnik reissues 🙂
http://www.psychicbazaar.com/tarot-cards/290-the-piatnik-historical-cartomancy-collection.html
I agree, James. There are several newer decks that I like — Gaian, Medicine Woman, etc. — because they reflect a life-sustaining culture. And I am, indeed many are, hungry for tarot that is tarot. Who needs yet another “Pre-Cambrian Tarot of the Pleiadean Dustball-Wearing Fairymice” or some such thing?