I have a certain friend whose birthday is coming up. He wants a Tarot deck. Can anyone recommend a really beautiful one in the $20 range? I think appearence is about all he cares about in terms of use for the things.
There are sagans of decks out there. You might want to browse through Stuart Kaplan’s “Encyclopedia of Tarot”, which has pictures of a great many of them, including ones currently on the market.
My sister rather likes dragons, so I got her the “Dragon Tarot” (most theme decks aren’t particularly originally named), which does have some nifty dragons amongst the cards. I’m pretty fond of some of the artwork in the Haindl deck. And I think the Salvador Dali deck is simply gorgeous; it is however quite a bit out of that $20 range, usually running up near a hundred or so.
I really like my “King Arthur” pack. I bought it so I could play Tarock. One of the first card games. It’s pretty fun, wish I could play it more:(
I got mine from a Waldens bookstore, I’m sure Borders has em too. This might be a ‘browse’ and choose type of thing.
I have a deck that’s gorgeous called “rohrig tarot.”
I have three decks; one is a cheapo that I found on the bargain table for $3, and it makes the Rider-Waite depictions look lively and colorful. One is a junior size Rider-Waite, exactly the size of a regular playing card deck. I carry it with me to parties and such. The third is an absolutely gorgeous “Art Nouveau” deck…the pictures look like stained glass, and while studying them I noticed that in each picture, little globes are hidden corresponding to the number of the cards and the suit. (For instance, on the nine of Swords, nine little red globes are hidden within the picture.) It doesn’t match the traditional imagery very well, but it’s very pretty.
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I personally think the symbology of the Builders of the Adytum deck is most correct, but you have to paint these cards yourself. Paul Foster Case wrote some of the standard references on Tarot using the BOTA deck as illustration.
It’s a bit beyond $20 (lists for $35), but the Voyager Tarot is probably the most stunning one I’ve ever purchased. Photo collages to illustrate the various concepts in vibrant, hi-res color cards. They are large (I believe about 4"x6"), but visually striking. Edward Gorey put out the Fantod Tarot, but the last copy I saw sell on Ebay went for $220.48. The Crowley Thoth Tarot is worth looking at, though. A personal favorite of mine was the Aquarian Tarot by David Palladini. Rather spare artwork, but it appealed to me for some reason. A good selection of decks can be reviewed here.
Of course, you could always ask Miss Cleo…
I like Renaissance Tarot, that look like this and The Tarot of the Cat People that look like this.
Put me down as a second for the Art Nouveau Tarot. It was my first deck and the one I use regularly for readings.
I own four commercial decks (plus two handmade), and I think the most beautiful one I have is the Tarot of the Old Path. The illustrations are lovely and feature metallic silver accents.
As already noted, the Haindl tarot is very nice, as is the Aquarian.
If your friend has an Celtic bent, there’s a (very) non-traditional deck and book called the Merlin tarot which is quite stunning, or the Celtic Book of the Dead (much less gruesome than it sounds).