Volume 1 Issue 1 ISSN# 1708-3265
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The Envelope, Please… is pleased to profile with Jeanette and Lori from "The Tarot Garden". I hope you all enjoy meeting them as much as I have! Q: What is the Tarot Garden? A: The Tarot Garden is a combination website/Internet business which specializes in tarots and cartomantic decks.
Our purpose in creating it was twofold. First: we wanted to provide an informational resource on tarot decks
which was as comprehensive as possible. Now, creating a list of every
tarot ever published since the beginning of the twentieth century is
probably an impossible task. However, we have been working to
consolidate data which until now was only available by referring to a
large number of different sources. Some of the tarots listed on our
website are not cited anywhere else, including Kaplan (i.e., Stuart
Kaplan's three-volume Encyclopedia of Tarot reference). Our online,
searchable database has grown to include over 1,000 published
cartomantic decks in less than three years, and we literally have
hundreds more sitting in piles waiting to be entered into our system.
There remain some definite "gaps" in our information, but we fully
anticipate that 90% or more of the published tarots found in other
sources will eventually be listed on our website. And, of course, there
are numerous entries included among our data which aren't found anywhere
else, due to their extreme rarity. Second: we wanted to do more than simply make the information
available. We also wanted to provide a service for people who wished
to obtain and collect tarots. Until Tarot Garden, there wasn't a single
source where a tarot enthusiast could, for example, purchase decks
published in the U.S., China, or Poland with equal ease. We
currently stock over 500 titles, from over 20 countries, and our
inventory and selection is growing every month. We're also working
diligently to bring a wide variety of small-press and self-published
tarots to the attention of a wider audience. There are still a large
number of both domestic and imported titles we hope to ultimately
carry, in order to become a "one-stop" shopping source - both for
folks who are collectors and for those who are simply seeking that
"one, special deck." But even now, we still have the largest selection
of both popular and rare items available anywhere. Q: What deck (or decks) do you recommend for people who are just
getting started with tarot, and want to learn how to read the cards? A: There are generally two schools of thought. One
view is that a beginner should stick with one of the "basic" tarots -
usually the Rider-Waite or the Crowley-Harris "Thoth" deck - until he
or she is comfortable with the essential principles. The other view is new tarotists should search for the deck which "speaks" to them, or "fits" their personality. Ultimately, both of these views are correct, in their own way. It is
probably mostly dependent upon the personality of the student. It is
certainly true that the Rider-Waite and Thoth decks are not suited for
everyone. On the other hand, with hundreds of decks to choose from, it
can become an expensive proposition to buy and experiment with tarots
until one finds the "best match." After all, how can a beginner
necessarily know what constitutes a good match until he or she has some
idea of what tarot is really all about? In the end, finding a good
tutorial book or teacher is probably as important, (if not more so), as
finding the "right" deck. Q: At present, how widespread is the interest in collecting tarots? A: There have been no formal studies on how popular tarot collecting
has become as a hobby or avocation, but it's probably safe to say
until recently, interest has been higher in Europe than in North
America. Most of the really interesting limited edition tarots have
been published in Europe, although we may see the situation finally
starting to change soon, especially now since new technologies have made
it more feasible for deck creators to publish their own work. In North America, however, there's been a definite growth in the number
of folks interested in collecting tarots as information has become more
accessible through the Internet and other sources. The biggest problem
with fueling more interest in the U.S. in particular seems to be the
general conservative nature of the culture, and the association of
tarot with "crackpots," "shysters," and "demonic practices." This, of
course, is simply due to a lack of education of the general public,
whose exposure to tarot has largely been through sensationalistic
movies and dubious high-profile "psychics". As a
result, people are discouraged from seriously considering all the
enriching aspects of tarot collecting - its fascinating history, its
artistic expression, its symbolic and academic richness. Even those who
already collect tarot are sometimes hesitant to admit it. Some of our
customers even ask us to remove all references to "Tarot" from the
outside of the packages we send them, fearing ridicule from family,
friends, or co-workers who might happen to spy the parcels and
disapprove of their contents. Tarot has come a long way over the last
hundred years, but it seems as though we may still have a ways to go in
eradicating the ignorance and prejudice surrounding the subject. Q: What advice would you offer to tarot collectors? A: First, I think it's important for tarot collectors - or any
collectors - to ask themselves why they collect. In the case of
tarot, is it because the artwork appeals to them? Or maybe the study of
its historical or academic aspects? Is it in anticipation of a future
increase in value? Or simply for the "thrill of the hunt," and the
excitement and sense of accomplishment they feel when they finally
manage to track down and obtain an extremely rare or desirable item?
Having a clear idea of the answer to this question can help collectors
focus on building the collection that's right for them, and minimize
the amount of time and money wasted on items which ultimately
disappoint. Unless you're independently wealthy, it's unlikely
you'd be able to obtain all tarots published over the last one
hundred years (or more, for collectors who are also interested in the
really antique decks). So the typical collector is probably best served
by limiting their ambitions to some obtainable subset. Secondly, I think it's important to be skeptical. Unfortunately, there's
currently no tarot equivalent of the so-called "blue books" which you
find for many other collectible items. This means there's no
single, authoritative source where collectors can go to determine
issues of rarity and (dollar) value for the various decks. As a result,
many venues through which tarots are sold will make claims regarding
rarity and price which are difficult for your average collector to
verify. There are a tremendous number of decks often touted as
"rare" by sellers who don't know (or don't care) what they're talking
about. A truly rare tarot is one where there are very few copies
in existence, either through design (i.e., low-number limited edition)
or attrition (i.e., very old decks whose numbers have been greatly
reduced through loss or spoilage). This is different from hard-to-find
decks, which may be out-of-print, and for which demand may currently
exceed the available supply, but which are not low in number.
Hard-to-find decks usually can be obtained, as long as you're willing
to offer a high enough price to coax them out of the hands of the
people who have them. Truly rare decks may often not be obtainable at
any price; the trick is to find them first. Of course, many, if not
most, of the decks touted by some sellers as being either rare or
hard-to-find are neither. Q: What developments do you foresee for tarot over the next hundred
years? A: I think tarot will continue to gain legitimacy on all fronts as a
discipline worthy of attention and study. There is some marvelous work
being done in academic circles today, providing us with new
insights into the history and development of tarot cards. While the
answer to the question of the origin of the cards may never be fully
discovered, we are certainly being disabused of earlier romantic
notions regarding tarot as a book of arcane knowledge handed down
through the millennia. In their place, however, we are gaining a
broader understanding of the truly varied, enriching, and spiritual
potential which has been incorporated into this handful of archetypal
images in a relatively short period of little more than two hundred
years. In the end, perhaps tarot may even provide us with the
metaphysical equivalent of a "unified field theory," allowing us to
find the important common ground in our various philosophical and
theological truths. The evolution of tarot is hardly at an end. Indeed, it may just be
beginning. |
Copyright (c) 2003 by Timeless Spirit Magazine. All articles are the copyright of the particular writers and cannot be reprinted without their expressed permission. All rights reserved. International copyright laws prohibit reproduction of or distribution of this page by any means whatsoever, electronic or otherwise, without first obtaining the written permission of the copyright holder. We retain legal counsel to protect our copyrights.
Any advice given is for informational purposes only.
