My Top Most Beautiful and/or Unusual Tarot, Oracle, Lenormand Decks

NOTE: This post now has its own page/gallery with additional decks listed. For the full and updated version go here.

I know this is subjective - after all for the most part, taste in art is personal isn't it? What I totally love might be so-so to someone else. I've certainly found this to be true with Tarot card art. As an artist myself, I guess I'm especially interested, and sensitive, to the quality of the artwork of Tarot decks.

I do hate to say this, but I'm surprised at what a large majority of people seem to like in art in general. When it comes to tarot art, I read in a lot of Tarot Facebook groups about different decks. Someone or other is always glowing about their new deck discovery or long-time favorite - positively gushing over the "gorgeous" art. When I first joined these groups I wasn't familiar with a lot of the decks discussed, so I'd look them up online to view samples of the cards (and read reviews) - mostly at Aeclectic.net. Well, I can't tell you how many times I was more than surprised at what I found!

Often, the art was what I consider simpering, cutesy, childish stuff, or simply had a totally uninspired commercial look - with airbrushed comic book-like figures of heroes and villains and sexily clad women. Sometimes the art was just inept - a completely unskilled "primitive" look with crudely drawn or painted images that might be great in an elementary school class, but certainly not as a tarot deck that is trying to be taken seriously! Well, I guess there's something for everyone in Tarot and certainly within art in general. Go to any museum or gallery and take a look!

So, for what it's worth and without further prognostication, here are my votes for the most beautiful and/or unusual Tarot/Oracle/Lenormand decks. Some are out of print and difficult to find, others haven't been released yet, others are easily found on Amazon and elsewhere. They don't necessarily reflect accuracy of artistic interpretation as compared to standard RWS or Thoth meanings, but their inclusion here is based solely on appearance and/or ingenuity and is not in any order of preference. This list is ongoing and new additions will be added. If anyone has a deck or decks you feel should be mentioned, please let me know! Here goes:

1.     Victorian Romantic Tarot, Baba Studios
2.     Tarot Illuminati, Kim Huggens , Erik C. Dunne
3.     Oracle of Visions, Ciro Marchetti
4.     Gilded Reverie Lenormand, Ciro Marchetti
5.     Alice Tarot, Baba Studios (9/2014 release)
6.     Tarot of the Zirkus Magi by Doug Thornsjo (12/ 2014 release)
7.     Chrysalis Tarot , Holly Sierra, Toney Brooks
8.     Star Tarot,  Cathy McClelland (not yet released)
9.     Amanda Palmer Tarot (OOP)
10.  Urban Tarot,  Robert Scott (not yet released)
11.  Victoria Regina Tarot Created by George Patterson, Sarah Ovenall (OOP)
12. Tarot de St. Croix, Devera Publishing, created by Lisa St. Croix
13. Alchemical Tarot by Robert M. Place (OOP)