Mystic Faerie Tarot - the Sidhe they ain't

Mystic Faerie, 2007

I just received this deck the other day. I bought it used on a whim. Published in 2007, art by Lynda Ravenscroft, book by Barbara Moore, it's the Mystic Faerie Tarot. My first reaction to it is -- wow, is it tame in comparison to the fearsome and otherworldly Sidhe. This deck is gentle beyond gentle in comparison. I won't know for a while if it is a 'keeper'. Some decks come in and go out of this house so fast I barely remember having them (like Crystal Visions, for example). I can say that I find the majors very appealing, beautiful even. The minors are a bit twee, and already I am finding annoyances with them, because the deck both attempts to be RWS, but is also squeamish about the more negative cards. The courts are a bit on the insipid side as well. Still, it is early days with this deck - I only just opened it yesterday! So I don't want to reach any snap judgments. Perhaps this deck will help me see the fae with a softer edge, experience a lighter, softer side. I tend to be attracted to sharp edges, mostly, and dismiss this type of deck (not for nothing am I Queen of Swords), though I do keep buying them and giving them a shot. So there must be the potential there, if I ever find the right one.

I can say I quite like the art. It seems art nouveau, and I've always loved both nouveau and deco (which probably explains why I never got rid of Thoth, so that I  finally got around to looking at it more closely. Though I actually just paused for consideration before mentioning Thoth and Mystic Faerie on the same page. Gosh, I just had a thought of throwing Thoth and Mystic Faerie in the ring together, that would be absolute carnage! But maybe these faeries are tougher than they look.) I like the borders. The thing  with borders is, I can't make a hard and fast rule about them. Some decks I can't stand ornate borders and whack them off with scissors. Some decks seem to need the borders. This is one of the decks where an ornate border works.

I can also say that this deck would, for me, lend itself best to single card or small draws, because the cards all look so much alike that when laid out in a large draw, it all just becomes one big monochrome of swirlies and bubbles and makes me want to scoop them all up and go find another deck. It seems to be best read by prior knowledge, with a little 'intuition' based on a few details in the picture. There are very, very few nods to esoteric or occult symbols in this deck, and those are exclusive to the majors.

So today we've got The Moon, and I see it as showing today's mood swings. I've already had quite a few and it's only 10 AM. Crabby and howling, that's me. ha ha Poor hubster. Must go have a look at the calendar.