the tarocchi is a marseille style pip deck, the shadowplay is a photocollage deck based on the RWS system. i picked these two for january because they're both pale and calm, like the winter. the tarocchi is a bit brighter, with pops of pink and turquoise, so it's not all drab. the shadowplay is a bit more neutral in tone.
i was quite surprised that i ended up spending so much time with the shadowplay, it was a clear winner. before this project i was on a marseille/pip deck wave, so i thought the tarocchi would be my main deck, but i barely reached for it. whereas the shadowplay was very inspiring and i ended up playing with it a lot, making up new spreads, doing all sorts of readings, exercises, experiments. mostly i'm surprised because when i made it i didn't really intend or expect for it to be an actual usable deck. it was purely an art project focused on using limited materials. i didn't illustrate each card's meaning to the fullness of its potential or my understanding of it. it was as "accurate" as the images in that one issue of the shadowplay magazine allowed for. and yet it became a strong favorite for over 8 weeks! (i extended its use into february!)
maybe it's because while making the cards i needed to reach a stage with each picture that felt "complete" and "good" or at least good enough? none of the images are contrary to my understanding or offending me in any way. on one hand that makes it incredibly usable. on the other hand ti might be a downside that nothing in there can surprise me, subvert my expectations, make me see a card in a new way... i don't know, maybe it doesn't have to. it can still teach me a lot and expand my worldview simply by which cards pop up in response to a question.
i'm not completely surprised that i haven't naturally reached for the tarocchi. outside of this project it was one of my least reached-for pip decks. i really can't say why, i love the art style. maybe it's the cold white of the backgrounds? or the sparsity, how the pips and embellishments seem so far apart from each other, not wanting to interact (vs. for example trionfi della luna - those pips and decorative elements are chunky and they spread out to fill up the whole card). slightly puzzling and sad that such a clear, pretty deck can still somehow "not work" (for me). the contrast between the performance of the month's decks was stark!
