From: wmathews@ducvax.auburn.edu
Newsgroups: alt.divination
Subject: RE: new Tarot person
Date: 31 Jul 92 15:48:31 GMT

John writes:
 
>I have just started using the Tarot.  I am still in the process of learning
>about the Celtic Tarot, which is the one that I have selected for my use. (I
>gather that most decks, although there are many of them, differ little except
>in the art on the cards.)
>
 
As a collector who's been reading cards for about 14 years, I have to disagree.
There are many more differences among Tarot decks than simply the art on the
cards. Tarot designers (from ceremonial magick
societies to dianic witches) draw from many different symbolic and 
arcane sources to provide a base from which diviners and seekers
can draw. 
 
At the risk of offending, following is a review of Tarot decks I've 
recently compiled. I'm sure people will do a lot of disagreeing, and
I'd like to hear from people who might want to tell me about decks
not listed here (there are a bundle; I just don't have enough money
to buy them all 8->)
 
Wendelin's Completely Subjective Guide to Popular Tarot Decks 
(Inconclusive,presented for your perusal/discussion/information, 
and all IMHO)
 
HERMETIC/CEREMONIAL DECKS
 
Aleister Crowley Thoth Tarot, The. There is more than one 
          incarnation of this deck published. The two versions I have are 
          U.S. Games, 1978, 1980 and AGMuller, CH-Neuhausen (from 
          whom U.S. Games licenses most of the decks it distributes), 1986 
          respectively, but I have seen other versions of the Thoth deck. Of 
          the two I have, I prefer the one with the Muller/Neuhausen 
          credit, because the colors appear more vibrant and because it 
          includes three versions of the Magician card. This deck also 
          comes in all shapes and sizes. I prefer the biggest size because the 
          pictures come across better that way (but people with small 
          hands may want to buy a smaller copy for logistical reasons). 
          There is very little to say about this deck that wouldn't sound 
          like gushing praise, because I think it's one of the finest all-
          around decks widely available on the market today. Most people 
          find the artwork quite beautiful. I have rarely found a querant to 
          be disturbed by any of the images presented, although a couple of 
          people have reported to me that they found the deck dizzying or 
          were put off-balance by it just a wee bit. The artwork is inspired; 
          each trump and court card has a personality of its own. I highly 
          recommend this deck to diviners, magickians, and collectors 
          alike. If you read cards, this deck needs to be on your shelf, if 
          only for reference. Heavy cardstock, waxed/glossy finish. The 
          two copies of this deck I have are the very large rectangular size, 
          but I have seen the deck presented in several sizes. 
 
Hermetic Tarot, The. U.S. Games Systems, 1980 (Godfrey Dowson is 
          credited as the designer of the cards). A deck based on hermetic 
          principles, and one of the few black and white decks out there; 
          the only black and white deck I own. I have found the detailed 
          illustration of this deck tend to be a little confusing in black and 
          white. While the illustrations are nice, the cards seem busy; it's 
          hard to focus on them. Still, Golden Dawn specifications are 
          faithfully adhered to; proper Qabalistic symbols are reproduced 
          on each cards, as are the standard keywords. Recommended only 
          for collectors. Heavy cardstock, waxed/glossy finish. Cards are 
          what I call "standard" Tarot size: the same size as most of the 
          other decks published by U.S. Games.
 
Magickal Tarot, The. Aquarian Press, 1986, Anthony Clark. This deck is 
          primarily in the Hermetic tradition; it uses Qabala symbolism, 
          along with the keywords on minor arcana cards which are 
          standard in hermetic decks. The deck is brightly colored, and the 
          suits are color-coded. The artwork is striking and very powerful, 
          although some people have reported being disturbed by the faces 
          on the trump and court cards all being roughly the same shape 
          and having very similar features. This deck is extremely 
          powerful, and is very readable. Possible problems for the 
          beginner: so much symbolism is packed onto every card that it 
          might be confusing. Highly recommended. Heavy cardstock, 
          waxed/glossy finish. Cards are large and rectangular.
 
New Golden Dawn Ritual Tarot, The. Llewellyn, 1991, Sandra Tabatha 
          Cicero. A hermetic deck modeled after the specifications of the 
          Golden Dawn according to Israel Regardie, upon whose order 
          the deck was reportedly commissioned (the text states he died 10 
          days after he commissioned the deck). There are two versions of 
          theTemperance card, both of which are beautiful. Constructed 
          almost entirely of primary colors; the minor arcana employ 
          flashing colors. Faces and features on trumps are distinct and 
          different from one another; court cards, however, appear to 
          modeled after the same basic design, which is not surprising 
          considering the GD specifications. Elemental (alchemical) 
          significances are represented, as are Qabalistic and planetary 
          significances. Keywords appear on the minor arcana. The 
          artwork is more primitive than that on the other hermetic decks 
          reviewed here, and the powerful color schemes contribute to the 
          almost primal energy which radiates from this deck. Highly 
          recommended for meditation, magick, and divination. Medium 
          weight cardstock, unwaxed/matte finish. Cards are large and 
          rectangular.
 
TRADITIONAL DECKS
 
Celtic Tarot, The. Aquarian, 1990, Helena Paterson and Courtney Davis. 
          This deck is full of nice examples of knotwork in the Celtic style. 
          Figures are stylized and look medieval, with the large, almond-
          shaped eyes and inverted triangular heads which are typical of 
          figures in The Book Of Kells and other early Celtic manuscripts. 
          The deck is very pretty to look at, adequate, but nothing special. 
          The color scheme is pastel, lavenders, pinks, etc. I found the 
          accompanying literature flawed. One high point is the suit of 
          coins; there is some very nice pattern work happening in the 
          numbered cards. I would recommend this deck to collectors, but 
          don't consider it enough in the Celtic spirit (who ever heard of a 
          Celt in pastels?! 8->) to make for a good divinatory or magickal 
          deck. Heavy cardstock, waxed/glossy finish. Wider and shorter 
          than standard size.
 
Rider Tarot Deck, The. A deck which exists in many incarnations. The 
          one I have is by U.S. Games, 1971. "Designed by Pamela Colman 
          Smith under the direction of Arthur Edward Waite." I'm 
          probably being biased here, but I don't like any incarnation of the 
          Rider/Waite for divinatory or magickal purposes. It might have 
          something to do with the fact that yellow isn't my favorite color 
          8->, or it might have something to do with many people 
          thinking that the Waite is THE Tarot deck. From a collector's 
          point of view, however, the Rider is one of the finest examples 
          of post-Italian traditionalist Tarot decks. The copy I have is 
          heavy cardstock, unwaxed/matte finish. The copy I have is 
          standard Tarot size, but I have seen more than one size of this 
          deck.
 
Robin Wood Tarot, The. 1991, Llewellyn. This is a delightful, appealing 
          deck with beautiful illustrations. Although it might be a little 
          too "New-Agey" for some, the images aren't all sweetness and 
          light. The major arcana are thoughtfully designed, traditional 
          without being stodgy. With the exception of the Aces, the cards 
          all depict human characters, and every card has a distinct 
          personality. With a little intuition, this deck is very easy to read. 
          Highly recommended for beginning readers and people of the 
          pagan persuasion, for collectors because of the illustrations, but 
          not for those who expect any deck they have to handle tons of 
          use/abuse, because the construction of the cards leads me to 
          believe they wouldn't hold up for a long time. Medium-weight 
          cardstock, unwaxed/matte finish. Wider and shorter than 
          standard Tarot size.
 
Sacred Rose Tarot Deck, The. U.S. Games Systems, 1982 (Joanna 
          Sherman is credited with designing the deck). This is a modified 
          traditional deck, based on stained glass and Byzantine artwork. 
          The entire deck is done in dark, rich colors, and the artwork is 
          stylized and pretty. My opinion is that the symbolism is a little 
          too overstated (The Fool jumps into a pit full of stars, a crab 
          crawls up the skirt of the Moon); your mileage may vary. Lots of 
          people have reported that they read very well with this deck; I 
          have experienced decidedly lackluster results. However, the 
          cards themselves are very pretty, and I would certainly 
          recommend the deck to collectors, though I'd hesitate to 
          recommend it for magickal purposes because of the lack of 
          variety among cards. Heavy cardstock, waxed/glossy finish. 
          Standard Tarot size.
          
Witches, Tarot of the. U.S. Games, 1974. Stuart R. Kaplan. I dislike this 
          deck, although in fairness I must say that when I was a pre-
          teenager and first experimenting with cards, I liked it very much. 
          Now it looks garish to me, and I find much of the symbolism 
          overstated. The other big beef I have with this deck is its 
          instruction booklet. I usually counsel people to stay away from 
          the little instruction booklets which are sold with Tarot decks, 
          except for the parts that deal with the inception of the cards. 
          These usually include a little preface by the card designer, or 
          someone who claims to have known him/her, and provide 
          interesting information for the collector. Kaplan's introduction 
          to this deck is inferior, biased, and downright degrading toward 
          witches, male and female. It's possible that this booklet might 
          have been revised, but the version I have is horrible. I never 
          recommend this deck, not even to collectors, unless you really 
          want to have a copy of the official Live and Let Die Tarot 8-> (the 
          deck was featured in the movie). Heavy Cardstock, waxed/glossy 
          finish. Wider and shorter than standard Tarot size.
 
 
ROUND DECKS
 
Daughters of the Moon Tarot, Daughters of the Moon (no date 
          available). This a round deck geared almost exclusively 
          toward women and Diannic witches. If I remember correctly (my 
          copy of this deck was lost in a recent move), there are only one 
          or two cards which depict men in the deck, and alternates are 
          provided, in case you don't want to work with any male images. 
          This deck is black and white, but it's designed to be 
          painted/colored according to the reader's specifications. I 
          thoroughly enjoyed coloring all the cards, but if you buy this 
          deck, I recommend you invest in a good set of art pencils or 
          magic markers and some artist's lacquer before starting: you'll 
          want to color each card and make sure you lacquer it before 
          putting it in with the others, since the backs are not waxed and 
          color could rub  off. Someone suggested to me that readers might 
          want to laminate the cards, but I think they'd be too thick to 
          manipulate. This is an interesting concept, and I'd like to pick up 
          a new DOM deck, but they're not as popular now as they were in 
          the early/mid eighties. For people who are both readers and 
          collectors, I'd go so far as to recommend that you buy two: one to 
          color for your own use, and one to keep in its pristine state. I 
          never got really good results reading this deck, but it sure is 
          pretty to look at. Medium weight cardstock, unwaxed/porous 
          finish. Some people may find the round shape a little unwieldy 
          at first, but you gradually get used to it. 
 
Motherpeace Tarot, The. 1981, Motherpeace. This is a round deck with 
          lots of Native American symbolism and a feminist slant. The 
          court cards are numbered Son, Daughter, Shaman, Priestess. The 
          round shape gives an interesting slant on interpretation based 
          not on whether cards are reversed or upright, but how far a card 
          is rotated. Upright is neutral, upside down is neutral/bad. If the 
          card is rotated to the right, the energy is pushed; if rotated to the 
          left, the energy is held back. It's an interesting concept, but this 
          deck doesn't really do anything for me at the moment. The 
          artwork is primitive, but not as powerful as that seen in some of 
          the previous decks. A few years ago, this was one of my favorite 
          decks, and I got some very interesting results with it, but I seem 
          to be out of synch with it these days. I'd recommend it to almost 
          everybody except those who are more interested in the art on the 
          cards than anything else. It's a very interesting deck, if only for 
          the round principle. Heavy Cardstock, waxed/glossy finish. 
          Some people may find the round shape a little unwieldy at first, 
          but you gradually get used to it.
 
 
NONSTANDARD DECKS
 
Arthurian Tarot, The. Aquarian, 1990. Caitlin and John Matthews. This 
          is a fascinating deck which replaces all the cards, major and 
          minor, with characters/episodes from Arthurian legend. As a 
          fan of all things Arthurian, I really enjoyed this deck from start 
          to finish. Each card tells a specific story from the quest for the 
          grail (which is interpreted as not necessarily a Christian symbol), 
          and all the major characters are represented. The artwork is 
          precise and detailed, rich, although very few primary colors are 
          employed. I've had really interesting results reading this deck, 
          and I would heartily recommend it to anyone interested in 
          Arthurian legend or Celtic folklore in general. Unfortunately, 
          the word on the grapevine is that it might already be out of 
          print. At the risk of plugging a mundane bookstore, the one 
          place I've found which consistently has a copy in stock is B 
          Dalton Bookseller. Heavy cardstock, waxed/glossy finish. Wider 
          and shorter than standard size.
 
Elemental Tarot, Dolphin/Doubleday 1988, Caroline Smith and John 
          Astrop. This deck comes in a nice package, with a hardbound 
          instruction booklet and a separate box which contains the cards. 
          The instruction booklet has some interesting notes in it and I'd 
          recommend you keep it around if you want to make any sense of 
          this deck. Smith and Astrop give a nod to the GD in the section 
          on the court cards, and the standard astrological and planetary 
          symbols are associated with the trumps, but that (aside from the 
          fact that there are 78 cards in the deck, 22 major arcana and 56 
          minor arcana including 12 court cards) is pretty much where the 
          similarities end. The major arcana are treated as a fifth suit, 
          spirit, signified by an egg, and the four suits of the minor arcana 
          are designated by their elemental affiliations: earth, air, fire, and 
          water. Each major trump has a keyword printed below the 
          picture, an identifying phrase printed sideways on either side of 
          the picture, and its name printed above the picture. The trumps 
          do not carry their standard names in all cases (The Magician, for 
          instance, becomes The Trickster). Each card of the minor arcana 
          has its own god or goddess, the significance of which is briefly 
          explained in the instruction booklet, its own elemental name, 
          astrological symbols, Egyptian symbols, and number symbols. 
          The name of the god or goddess is printed below the picture. The 
          artwork is primal, and the artist makes grand use of color. 
          Figures are stylized and predominantly naked. All in all, the 
          deck is very interesting, but for obvious reasons, I wouldn't 
          recommend it to a beginner. I haven't had much of a chance to 
          read with it, because I haven't had time to muddle through all 
          the symbols on the cards, much less memorize all those gods 
          and goddesses, but my suspicion is that it would be a very 
          powerful tool in the right hands. Medium weight cardstock, 
          unwaxed/matte finish. Cards are slightly wider than standard.
 
Merlin Tarot, The. Aquarian, 1988. R.J. Stewart. This is another deck 
          which has nonstandard names for many trumps. The trumps 
          are also numbered differently from standard decks, which might 
          make this deck especially difficult for a beginner, and even for 
          old hands. It takes a little getting used to. Artwork on the major 
          arcana is really nice, understated. The aces are really nice, too. 
          Unfortunately, the numbered cards in the minor arcana are 
          disappointing sometimes. The concept is that all four suits 
          correspond to animals, and the numbered cards are composed of 
          the intertwined animals. This works pretty well with the suits of 
          Serpents and Birds, but the Fish and Beasts look like they are not 
          enjoying themselves. Heavy cardstock, waxed/glossy finish. 
          Wider and shorter than standard size.
 
Mythic Tarot, The. Fireside/Simon & Schuster, 1986. Juliet Sharman-
          Burke and Liz Greene. Even though I almost never recommend 
          a nonstandard deck for people just starting to read cards, this is a 
          great deck for the beginner, for someone who is looking for a 
          different approach, and for anyone interested in Greek 
          mythology. The deck is patterned entirely after Greek myths, and 
          no other symbolism is employed. This makes the Mythic Tarot 
          about the simplest deck of Tarot cards there is. The illustrations 
          are really nice and detailed, and the book that comes with the 
          cards is surprisingly good. I'd recommend this deck to beginners 
          and adepts alike, as well as collectors, because it's simple and lots 
          of fun. I only have a couple of problems with the deck. First of 
          all, the cards are so flimsy that mine began to wear out after I'd 
          only had the deck a few months. Second, the book is cheaply 
          constructed, and the glue on my cover has separated from the 
          signatures. The copy I have also came with a really cheesy 
          polyester cloth on which to lay out the cards (I think I'm using it 
          for a dustcloth now 8->). Very thin cardstock, waxed/glossy 
          finish. Standard size.
          
Old Path, Tarot of the. Howard Rodway/Urania Verlags AG, 1990. This 
          deck was developed by Howard Rodway with the help of eight 
          famous witches, including Janet and Stewart Farrar and Margot 
          Adler. Like many nonstandard Tarot decks, this one renames 
          several of the major trumps. The Hierophant is The High Priest, 
          The Chariot becomes Mastery, The Hermit becomes The Wise 
          One, The Hanged Man becomes The Lone Man, Death becomes 
          The Close, Temperance becomes The Guide, The Devil becomes 
          Temptation, The Moon becomes Illusion, and Judgment 
          becomes Karma. The meanings on the cards according to the 
          designer haven't changed all that much; he just wanted to use 
          less offensive names for them, I guess. I like this deck. The 
          artwork is pretty, almost whimsical, it's mostly colored in blues, 
          greens, and yellows. The trumps have distinct personalities (The 
          Tower is particularly interesting), and the minor arcana are 
          mostly traditional. I especially recommend this for people of the 
          pagan persuasion; some may find it a little "new-agey." Heavy 
          cardstock, waxed/glossy finish. Standard size. 
 
Witches Tarot, The. Llewellyn, 1989. Ellen Cannon Reed and Martin 
          Cannon. The first thing I noticed about this slightly-wider-than-
          standard deck was the fact that the artwork bleeds off the cards. 
          No interior margin was employed. That made me a little dizzy, 
          but I got over it. If you haven't seen this deck but have read 
          others, I think you'll be surprised how disconcerting it is to see 
          that bleed. The deck is based around both Qabalistic and pagan 
          symbols, and does not have a Devil, a Hierophant, or a Hermit. 
          Instead, there is a Horned one, a High Priest, and a Seeker. I 
          really don't like the deck for various reasons. First of all, the
deck 
          is just a little too heavy on the "sweetness and light" that gets 
          advertised as the only side of paganism. Secondly, too many of 
          the men look like Mr. Universe and too many of the women are 
          pregnant. All the aces (and lots of the other art) are airbrushed. 
          Strength looks like she's about to get it on with the lion. The 
          court cards are not meant to be interpreted separately; instead, 
          they're supposed to serve as indicators for the next card laid. If 
          you lay out a court card, you are supposed to lay another card on 
          top of it, and interpret the second as modified by the first. 
          Obviously, I'm not going to recommend this deck, but it's widely 
          available and you can get it almost anywhere, even mundane 
          bookshops. Heavy cardstock, waxed/matte finish. Cards are 
          slightly wider than standard.
 
wendelin
wmathews@ducvax.auburn.edu
Newsgroups: alt.divination