Opinions on Artist Decoded Tarot

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💻All the links: linktr.ee/mixtressrae

[@JenniferSodini]

Thank you so much for this video, Mixtress. I really appreciate your honesty, and this is invaluable feedback. Rest assured, this was a one off, and Natalee and I have another deck coming out in 2025 together! Yoshino is a dear friend of mine from 2017, and we will be sharing more conversations on how this happened (crazy enough this project began close to two years ago). Only going to continue to grow and continue to refine as an author, but I am team human - and I believe in supporting artists (in a variety of medium). As is Yoshino, hence the title is based on his podcast, The Artist Decoded. It's confusing, I know. But, we hope that the conversations we have around the release will clarify. Also, I can't wait to share more about the work Natalee and I are doing together next. Sending you gratitude for your candor and for your time. Truly, it's very helpful. x

[@JenniferSodini]

And, PS: Your honesty is why I wanted to send it to you! Wasn't looking for anything saccharine, just your real experiences with it. So, I get it. I am appreciative even so.

[@MsNikkieMichelle]

This is sooooo exciting to hear!!! Can’t wait. ♥️♥️♥️

[@fortune_roses]

Same! Intrigued about what the next deck will look like. Especially after seeing this one and the art styles of the previous 2 decks (very different, which is interesting)

[@Soundrock]

This is what art is supposed to do start a conversation. Bravo!

[@Soundrock]

A discovery I made is to rub each of the cards together 10 to 15 times with friction to combat the stickiness of the matte finish. It also helped with the luster/depth of my set of cards from my perspective.

[@jodevonshirenz]

I'm really intrigued to be honest. I have so far stayed away from totally AI generated art. It has to date fallen flat for me, but these images are pulling me in. I don't have an issue with the lack of faces, the colours are glorious. I'd like to find out more about their creative process, how, why etc. But so far, I'm probably going to buy it. Unless I discover something that doesn't sit with me ethically. I'm also a bit of a guide book geek. If it's well written and interesting, if it adds to my knowledge. I also feel that AI isn't going away, so we are going to, in the future, have to make decisions around what we will and won't support. Thanks for your opinions. Always enjoy your honest perspective. 😊 👍

[@msampersand7399]

It kind of makes me sad that such effort is put into the production of a deck with this type of AI art. I hear a lot of people say "it's so pretty!" when looking at art like this, but personally I am weirded out by it because nothing in the images makes sense. They don't hang together. You can tell that these images were not composed by a human. Clearly they avoided the more striking problems of "people with three legs" and "hands with eight fingers", but many of the images are still just... a bunch of stuff. They managed to get in the main elements that you need to identify the card, that is true. But the images don't stand up to scrutiny, as far as I'm concerned. The wings on the cover, for instance, don't look like actual wings, but just a clump of feather-like shapes. There are colours and shapes in the backgrounds, but they have no function. I think that creates a problem for a tarot. How are humans supposed to read this intuitively? There is no sense behind it that you can hang on to. I suppose you can still read it numerically or treat it as a pip deck... Personally I just don't like looking at these images - they honestly play havoc with my brain because I *want* to make sense of them. It's a form of uncanny valley for me 😅. I do wish you'd received a deck that pleased you more for your first sollicited review. But - it's an honest review and I appreciate that very much.

[@skeingamepodcast5993]

I just picked up this deck in my local bookstore in BC Canada. I had it on my wishlist on Amazon and it's still on pre-order. Not sure how they got it so soon but I'm not complaining lol. All I've done is pull it out of the box and do a quick flip through but something about it spoke to me. I have a friend who works in special effects for movies. People pay a ton of money to watch movies with CG and AI, and pay him a lot of money to do it. If it's done well I don't mind. This sort of gives me collage vibes and I dunno. I like this. Maybe it's because I'm a water sign and I like the mushiness haha. There are a lot of decks out there where people are just taking renaissance art (or whatever era), slapping it on a tarot or oracle card and they're making heaps of money. Or even some collage decks feel really lazy. At least with the AI the artist had to sit down and edit and do a bit of work. Taking royalty free art and making it kind of apply to tarot...I find that really unfair.

[@Masculineintuitionreadings]

But even within abstract art, every brush stroke has intention and meaning behind it because it was a conscious choice of the artist. That spirit is what AI art lacks.

[@MixtressRae]

Agreed. Conceptually, I’m just not interested in art that wasn’t created by a real and fucked up human being.

[@LennanSmith]

Hmm. As someone who isn't buying more tarot decks, I still find the conversation around art/art styles/tarot as art fascinating. This is making me have some thoughts about it all. I feel opinionated, and may make an impromptu VR later. LOL.

[@MixtressRae]

Ooh, 😎😊💜

[@murasakim00n]

Looking forward to it!

[@louloudark1651]

I don't like the title of the deck... like Ai decoded artists better than artists themselves... ?! My other biggest problem is it is "blurry" nothing defined and faceless... (it is a personnal issue... I am very visual and if there is humans I like to see their faces)... What I like it they did put right on the box that they used Ai. but overal it is not a deck for me ... thank you for your honest opinion it is appreciate !

[@NYCHFAN]

I think this deck is really pretty. I get what you are saying about AI, I said the same thing when Pixar put out Toy Story, and CG was new. AI is here, it's limited right now, but I suspect in a year or two, people will be none the wiser when they see it. As an artist, I prefer working with my hands - drawing and painting things myself, rather than being on a computer telling it what to draw and paint. I know folks who love to do art with CG. I think this will be the same with AI. Although this deck is beautiful and intriguing, it seems to fall flat for me, too. I may get it sometime just to see if it works, or it is empty for me, also. ✌️❤️ Edit: I wanted to add that I think tarot publishers are investing too much in the guidebooks - I'm talking to you, Llewellyn - putting out these fancy, expensive guidebooks (with flowery language that really says nothing), while putting out crappy decks. What is a "vapor wave"?

[@MixtressRae]

Vaporwave is a style of art that uhhhh, look it up. 🤣 I have no idea how to describe it now that I’m trying to put it into words.

[@avree8921]

Loved hearing your thoughts on this, great review. Thanks for keeping it real 🙏 Ethical issues aside I think this deck is very intriguing. I’m not sure how well I would read with it just by looking at the images online but it does have a unique vibe. I wonder how future generations will feel about AI art. If it gets to the point where we can’t tell the difference between handmade vs AI, how will we verify one from the other. I.e. what’s to stop people lying if they use AI to generate art. I also wonder how they would view decks like this in the future. Currently it’s very controversial but if we’re able to sort out the legal aspects it might become less controversial. Maybe. We’ll see!

[@nicnaknoc]

I enjoy a tuckbox and really wish that the book and any additional box would be add ons, cuz to me its 8 out of 10 times just garbage and goes straight into paper sorting. Unrelated comment: the large ring on your point finger is beautiful and I'm kinda envious 😅 AI art is equal counterfeit decks in my opinion as AI is trained on and mostly build on stolen art.

[@MixtressRae]

Isn’t that labradorite gorgeous!?I got lucky with that stone as it was in a “free bin” at a gem show years ago and then had it wire-wrapped into a ring. 🤤

[@nicnaknoc]

@@MixtressRae it is absolutely gorgeous 😄

[@raerae2885]

I have to agree that AI art feels pretty soulless and also wonder if that perception will change as AI advances. It’s like AI makes visual images that are pretty decor, but not really art. It’s just not moving, which is especially troublesome for a tarot deck. If not already, I wonder how long it will be until guidebooks are written by AI. Although a deck with human created art and an AI written guidebook probably wouldn’t bother me as much. Kudos to the creators of this deck for being up front about how the deck was created at least.

[@SaoirseGraves]

Commenting as I watch - bearing in mind that I have no particular issue with generative AI because, as humans, we are usually rubbish at managing ourselves and our tools. AI will (only) be as useful and fair and 'good' as we *already* are.. So... 'the romantics returned us to the darkened womb of human thought' ...how? why? & according to whom? If I were to publish something in response that says 'the romantics would have hated this deck' is the whole world going to just believe me or should I not qualify that with some kind of external proof or explanation? Also - "The Artist DECODED"!? Really?

[@SaoirseGraves]

Also, I'm someone who loves the type of art this deck is trying to be (think Cezanne, Odilon Redon, etc) but from my current vantage point through this screen - not one card yields detail in any spot of a given image. Does the lion in Strength have eyes? Is there any sense of gravity or structure (or indeed wildness or animal-nature) in it's face? Can you tell what the objects floating in each image are? Where does the reader go for greater depth in their intuitive hits? Each card also has a pretty weird sense of positive composition and negative space (seemingly little awareness of it's borders, objects clustered at the bottom of certain cards, no planned sense of movement or directional interaction between cards if they're laid out in a spread... no gesture.) I also see bright colours with high contrast rather than planned and directed tonal choices. AI aside, these are things that *IMO* human people need to consider when communicating using the visual arts too. A person may choose not to consider them in favour of any number of other priorities - but that's what allows us to decide whether something is worth purchasing or not. I specifically think the marketing of this deck is trying very hard to distract the consumer from that aspect of their agency.

[@SaoirseGraves]

The Chariot and Strength have the same backdrop... re-used.

[@SaoirseGraves]

'Not holding your attention because it's devoid of humanity' ... thinking about that phrase, I would say it's devoid of 'story' or 'narrative', which require known techniques that people (and probably AI eventually) can learn and utilise. This deck and other seemingly soulless AI do not seem currently to use those techniques.

[@MixtressRae]

I did not notice that!! 😮

[@MixtressRae]

I love your comments btw. 🥰🥰🥰 bringing the art CRITIQUEEEEEE👏!!

[@gem3333]

I love this deck I think it's beautiful! I love how it looks like a painting... but I understand not want to support because well to sum it up Humans dont want to be replaced by robots!!!/ AI ...lol ❤😊

[@Masculineintuitionreadings]

Also, I love seeing how well Jennifer has responded to your vid but also to some comments I’ve seen.

[@MixtressRae]

Agreed! Jennifer is a sweetie and I hope I’ll get to review her future decks with Natalee. It is really cool to get to have a discussion without pitchforks. I could get used to this!!

[@valentineblackrose8888]

Hi 👋 i have miss your videos so much don't go away too long! 😊

[@toriw1162]

I agree with your review. Unfortunately I had purchased it before I saw any reviews. Also I had no idea until it was in my hands that it was AI. On a positive note I think it’s pretty but……Lesson learned.

[@LuckyLibra7]

I love this art style so I was drawn to this deck. I have looked through several AI decks and I am not impressed. But I do want this deck for some reason. If you want it off your hands, I will take it. Lol😂

[@colleenwilliams2877]

Thank you for your personal comments! Although you focused on the art being AI generated, I wonder if the guidebook writing was also AI generated?? Although Jennifer Sodini's intentions are real and from her heart... this Tarot deck seems a bit " artificial "

[@pinekun]

i really hate seeing AI images and knowing which artists the prompts ripped off. i can spot several in this deck, most notably Peter Mohrbacher, who unfortunately gets mimicked all the time by AI. AI feels like it loses its humanity because it can't make a choice. a human makes a choice about why something is put into an image. AI just slaps it into a picture because it was told to. also i cant believe this is called the artist decoded. wow does that feel like such a slap in the face? LMAO as an artist, i dont personally care if someone wants to mess around and play with it for their own entertainment. but i am fully against AI images being allowed to be sold. it's piracy, frankly. it is truly frustrating that AI couldve developed to do any number of things to actually better society. instead it was used to steal from artists. sighhhhh.

[@MsNikkieMichelle]

One more thing, I do enjoy the guidebook. I agree about Jennifer’s esoteric knowledge and there is absolutely soul between the covers of that book. She is a fantastic writer and I do have Amenti Oracle (and love it) so I also agree with you about another collab for a tarot deck. Maybe AI has a place in the world, however, I believe it just doesn’t when it comes to divination tools such as tarot and oracle decks. That’s my two cents for frees 🤷🏻‍♀️

[@jr509]

Very pretty ❤ card stock means more now so I think I have to pass even though it’s just gorgeous.

[@murasakim00n]

So does anyone else want the deck? I guess you could say I'm ai-curious? I'm gonna check out the artist's podcast to try to understand the name of the deck, and moreover why it should be a tarot ❤ your reviews...they are reviews!

[@jodevonshirenz]

I've put it on my wish list. I'm going to take a bit of a look at their process, the whys how's and wherefore's and will forego it if I find something I don't feel sits with me ethically. I'm surprised that it doesn't fall flat like some AI decks (for me). I love the colours, lack of faces isn't an issue for me... I think AI is becoming something that we need to learn to live with in some way... it will all depend on our own individual feelings and personal ethics. Are you a yes or no? 😊

[@amyhodges959]

Excellent review…or opinions. I would love to hear you talk about the difference between a review and an opinion. Are you a teacher? If not as a profession, it’s definitely a talent of yours. Thank you

[@MixtressRae]

I feel (for me anyway) I’d need to have had a lot of experience with a deck to call my opinions on it a “review”. I just don’t see myself as a professional critic, I guess. 😬

[@candysbroomcloset]

Appreciate your Real Review. "Prompt Engineering" lol I like the design for the backing and the use of multi-color sprinkled throughout the images. The only AI deck Ive wanted so far is the Habetrot Traum. There are a few distorted faces on tiny figures in the background but ovall I love it. The software used seems more advanced than in The Artist Decoded deck. It was designed in Switzerland and printed in Germany. It's an indie oop but theres a chance for a 2nd edition ❤

[@jodevonshirenz]

Ohh interesting! I didn't realise the Habetrot was AI... I sometimes feel criticism about AI in tarot isn't equally shared across the tarot spectrum? Although I could get wrong.. Apologies if so... Now off to do some more research 😊

[@Witchlitus]

It sounds like AI wrote the guidebook too. The Romantics rebelled against dehumanization resulting from the Industrial Revolution . I don’t think they’d be into this. This deck creeps me out.

[@theallisoncompendium]

Just googled Vaporwave as this is the first time I've heard about it. Very cool! I'd love a deck with this aesthetic, too. The creator of the Alvdansen Tarot was doing art a bit like this after finishing Alvdansen, using AI tools, I think. But their website has disappeared. I'm not sure what happened there.

[@WitchyWallflower]

Off topic but I have a necklace that perfectly matches your labradorite ring. Every time I see you wear it I want to tell you, so there. I did it 🤣🤣😜

[@MixtressRae]

Pretty!!🤩

[@dabzco]

Mine should be coming tomorrow might do a daily pull and see how I feel. Personally when I try to use AI deck it feels flat. Beautiful to look at but it’s hard to read with them for me.

[@Masculineintuitionreadings]

I remember us talking about this and I’m so glad you filmed this review. ❤

[@wombofthevoid]

🧠Bullet points for my thoughts: •I actually had a pause at the title of this deck because at first it didn't make sense to me and then it still doesn't because artists and art cannot be decoded. That is literally the reason people are artists and create art; to express the unintelligable; to express what cannot be (fully) explained, described, truly *known* •The foreward is very pretentious and as you said, is trying to make AI seem more cooler and advanced that it actually is. I played around with Discord's AI server and while fun, it really wasn't a huge thing. AI art, *to me* ,will never be more valuable or exceptional (except financially) than the creations that are born from the human soul/hands/mind/heart. Art is not about speed, about who can create the "best" the quickest. It is so much more than that. It is about dedication, perserverance, about play, about the seasons of human creativity, about unique individual experiences of reality being channeled, creative expression from the soul/heart and having that being healing and nourishing and more. •I agree with you that there is a disconnect with the guidebook and the art. The guidebook seems like it is speaking of another deck compared to the art. The art for me is, as others have pointed out, blurry, and while the art style is consistent, it is *too* consistent. It is too obviously AI (as well as so static). The art looks too similar, and there are no smaller details to help enliven and add some type of needed diversity to each of the cards. They lack symbolism. There is no balance between the small details and the big/overall picture. Overall, this deck goes into my category of "tarot art but not useful for actually using as a tarot deck" 💐And decks *from my own collection* that fill what this deck is trying to convey through the art and color theme: •Margarete Petersen tarot (the chaotic feel of it and look to some of the cards which were not intentional, and the art itself is just wow, the way I emotionally react to this deck is so powerful and the colors are *beautiful* ) •The Lonely Dreamer tarot (an amazing process of collage onto exisiting art of another artist, and just being done so beautifully well) •Tarot of the Spirit (traditionally created art that is just so beautiful, absolutely amazing coloring and the books that goes with it so belong together with the art and they are *deep* and the writing of them are so smooth and easy to understand and flow with) •Oh! And how can I almost forget, the Somnia tarot because it accomplishes what this deck did not; with the secret of the people/beings being faceless and the more cold feeling. Somnia tarot has the depth that this deck is missing And lastly, the only AI deck I have actually ever found some interest in is the Älvdansen Tarot which I haven't yet got and not sure I ever will

[@MixtressRae]

Yes to all of this! Also, I thought about Margaret Peterson and Somnia too, but I wasn’t sure I could articulate that thought, so thanks for that too!

[@wombofthevoid]

@@MixtressRaeThank you for this review! It saved me from having to check it out myself only to realize that I don't align with it. Usually I wait before purchashing, but I wanted to just give it a try (was going to pre-order it), but I saw you posted a review of it on your patreon (which unfortunately I cannot pay for right now) and waited until you posted your review here for me to see. I don't ever comment but I watch your videos and your opinion is of value to me 🌷 I also had a feeling you thought of Somnia as well!

[@skeingamepodcast5993]

See, and I think everyone goes nuts over Margarete Petersen, and to me it just looks like something anyone could do. It's pretty, but I don't see it and think "wow, I could never do something like that." This deck did immediately make me think of Somnia too though. I have Somnia and I love it. My ex husband is a professional photographer so I can appreciate the time and effort.

[@pinekun]

great point about the somnia!

[@wombofthevoid]

@@skeingamepodcast5993In my opinion, art should never be looked at as "something I can never do" or "something that everyone can do". Art is to be appreciated for the skill and time (years) and effort that goes into it whether one likes a painting or not; to just simply respect it. Many people could do what Margarete Petersen and other artists have done if they dedicate years of learning, knowledge, time and effort to do so, but that isn't the point of art, or at least, it shouldn't be. As an artist myself, I know what it takes to create art as she has done, as many other artists have done, and the process of creating art/paintings adds to the love I have for the Margarete Petersen tarot (and other decks & art in general). And of course it is up to personal taste. The art simply calls to me, it is a reflection of my emotional self/world. It is the same language of my emotions. To me, it would be strange if every single person loved one deck.

[@dawnh7089]

Thank you for the review! I noticed this deck being heavily pushed by a few retailers and wondered what the buzz is about. I’m anti AI in tarot and in art, it’s not necessary and the method used to create AI art isn’t exactly ethical.

[@zsuzsiabramson5655]

I want to LOVE this deck so badly....BUT I don't...leaves me flat, empty, emotionless

[@leolamoon11]

The figures don’t look present. Shadowy and haunting in a way that is very unappealing and not poetic or evocative, lacking in dimension. Definitely not a fan of this AI generated art, even with the caveat of having a human participating in the process.