Tarot Decks

[Amethyst Rose]

Here's a thread where you can discuss various tarot decks...their pros and cons, their art, reviews and so forth.

A site that I consistantly use for tarot deck information is Aeclectic Tarot (http://aeclectic.net/tarot) . They have wonderful reviews and images of two hundred decks and there have only been a few I haven't been able to find there.

If you want to post an image of your cards, you can not post the entire deck, and you should give copyright information on them. I believe copyright says that we can post up to 6 cards (that's what Aeclectic Tarot does), but no more. I'll confirm that and get back to you.

[Wolfscout1]

here's the attachment for the cards i mentioned...

Lemm know what you think .
then do what you need to with the thread after i rea dok.

[Aidron]

I don't much care for the quality of the images on Aeclectic Tarot for the Celtic Dragon deck, so here are a five samples I found on a Google search.

Amethyst, I didn't include any copyright information as quite frankly, I never know what to include with that stuff. If that's not alright I can simply delete 'em.


Edited for copyright info: Artist - Lisa Hunt, Publisher - Llewellyn, and I have no idea when it was published. Originally, 1999... maybe, that's the earliest date I see. Ugh, I hate copyright info. I want a lil' copyright info chart in every book henceforth that clearly states what is what! :tongueout

[Raven Reed]

I have the Goddess Tarot and I love it, except for one thing... The court cards are VERY simple and since I already have problems with them, I am considering getting another, more expressive deck to work with until I know all the cards. I just am not certain what deck to get. I have a mini Rider-Waite, but cannot connect to that deck. Hmmm.

[Amethyst Rose]

Amethyst, I didn't include any copyright information as quite frankly, I never know what to include with that stuff. If that's not alright I can simply delete 'em.

Raven...all you really need to include is the Artist of the deck, the publisher and the date they were published... all of which you should be able to find in the LWB. :)

[Amethyst Rose]

I have the Goddess Tarot and I love it, except for one thing... The court cards are VERY simple and since I already have problems with them, I am considering getting another, more expressive deck to work with until I know all the cards. I just am not certain what deck to get. I have a mini Rider-Waite, but cannot connect to that deck. Hmmm.

If you really want a new deck I suggest going through Aeclectic Tarot and looking at card images and reading reviews until you find one that clicks for you. If you already have trouble with the court cards though, more complex cards maybe be more difficult for you to interpret.

[halfwaynowhere]

one of my favorite decks is phantasmagoric theater tarot. the cards are extremely large, but other than that, they are awesome. the pictures are cute. anyways, the theme of the deck is that the world is a stage and we are all actors preparing for the final performance. the actors are portrayed by puppets. each card has its own story behind it, described in the LWB. the story reallly contributes to the mood of the card... you can really see what the puppet is going through, and apply it in your reading... sorry, i'm a drama/theater nerd, so this is a great deck for me. anyways, i was wondering if anybody else has used this deck and what they thought of it.

[ragnarok0mega]

woo raven, i have the same deck and i LOVE the artwork for it

[Dashifen]

The vertigo tarot was originally printed by DC Comics (of all people) and illustrated by Dave McKean in 1995. The part I like is that they show characters from the DC Vertigo line of comics which publishes the Sandman comics by Neil Gaiman who is a god among mortal authors. That's what connected me to the deck originally, and an ex-gf of mine showed me the pictures online and I was hooked. Had to find the deck on eBay! Only 5,000 were originally printed in '95 and then another 5,000 were printed in 2001. Mine are the larger 1995 edition but that's mostly be cause I got them before '01. I'd actually wish they were a little smaller.

There are six larger scans of Death, the Empress, the Magician, the Star, the Tower, and the World at Aeclectic (link below) so I'll post other ones. My scans are very small as they were made for an online reading program and embedded in a flash program, but hopefully you can get a sense for the deck.

See also:
More images at Aeclectic.net (http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/vertigo/) The review at Aeclectic.net (http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/vertigo/review.shtml) Neil Gaiman at Amazon.com. (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/external-search/102-3324034-5291343?field-keywords=neil+gaiman&mode=blended&tag=mozilla-20&sourceid=Mozilla-search)
I recommend Neverwhere and American Gods.

[Bix]

The deck I had before was the Dragon Tarot deck. Out of all the decks I've seen before, that one still calls to me. I'm going to try and get them again.

[Aidron]

The deck I had before was the Dragon Tarot deck. Out of all the decks I've seen before, that one still calls to me. I'm going to try and get them again.


From what images I have seen it looks quite lovely. I considered purchasing it for awhile until I realized it associated air with swords and fire with wands.

All in all, I've never been a fan of dragons, nor had any distinct interest in them. I've taken an interest in them solely due to the tarot deck that appealed to me and the tarot guide that gave me quite a scare for not honoring dragons while working with a deck focuesd on them. ;)

[Jackiedanielz]

Just went out and got my very first deck. The Gilded Tarot. The pictures look great & it looks like an easy beginner deck for me to start with.!

http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/_img/gilded-00704.jpg http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/_img/gilded-00707.jpg
By Ciro Marchetti
Tarot Deck - 78 Cards - Published by Llewellyn

[Hærfest Leah]

I have the Faery Oracle deck. When I saw them they were calling my name for months until I bought them and now that I have them when I use them they don't speak to me at all. But they are beautiful.

[Amethyst Rose]

Just went out and got my very first deck. The Gilded Tarot. The pictures look great & it looks like an easy beginner deck for me to start with.!

Wow, I love the imagery! And the colors are so crisp! That's a really nice deck.... I might consider getting it, myself. :)

[Aidron]

Just went out and got my very first deck. The Gilded Tarot. The pictures look great & it looks like an easy beginner deck for me to start with.!

http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/_img/gilded-00704.jpg http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/_img/gilded-00707.jpg
By Ciro Marchetti
Tarot Deck - 78 Cards - Published by Llewellyn


When I first saw this deck I thought it was the deck for me. The imagery is so vibrant, crisp, and radiant. The more I looked at the individual details, the more I noticed things that bugged me and that list quickly piled up much higher than the reasons I adore it. :fpatricks

It reminds me of the Tarot of Dreams, which I just recently caught a glimpse of over at Aeclectic Tarot: http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/tarot-of-dreams/

It too is vibrant, crips, and radiant. It just screams out at me. They're two of the most aesthetically pleasing decks I have ever seen, but unfortunately both attribute air to swords and fire to wands, so I will never be able to work with them. :razz:

[Willow_starr]

As I mentioned in my intro I have a few decks, each holds something different for me and I use them all at different times'

The Zerner-Farber (http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/zerner-farber/) deck was my first deck and I still use it when I'm working on learning the cards. Each card is actually a picture of large tapestry and they are so beautiful and lush. I don't like that the deck has hearts instead of cups and princesses and princes instead of pages and knights. The book which the artists wrote is an excellent beginners guide and has a keyword for each card. It also shows you how to do a Celtic cross reading and gives an interpretation of each card in each position. This makes it very easy to get aquianted with the Tarot and memorize the cards.

The Sasha Fenton Tarot (http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/sasha-fenton/) is my favorite deck - it is so bright and approachable while staying true to many of the elements of the Rider-Waite deck.

I like Tarot of the Master (http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/tarot-of-the-master/) for its classic feel (it's based on the art of a renniance deck).

I very recently got the Goddess Tarot (http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/goddess/) and haven't done more than one or two readings with it. But I love the art work and a student of world mythologies especially of goddesses so I'm looking forward to doing more with this deck.

And finally I have the Halloween Tarot (http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/halloween/) which is just too much fun (and a good deck to boot).

I had a Rider-Waite deck but it just didn't appeal to me at all and I ended up giving it to a friend.

[Jackiedanielz]

It reminds me of the Tarot of Dreams, which I just recently caught a glimpse of over at Aeclectic Tarot: http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/tarot-of-dreams/


Those are wicked cool!

[Jackiedanielz]

And finally I have the Halloween Tarot (http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/halloween/) which is just too much fun (and a good deck to boot).


I saw this at the store today. It does look fun!

[Clockwork_Eros]

Out of all of the decks I've played with, the Thoth deck is my favorite. I love the art, and it just plain works for me. I do my own form of a spread, something like a triskele, and every now and again use runes with the deck as well. I've heard that the Thoth deck is not good for beginners, but I haven't had any trouble with it. The first reading I did with it worked amazingly well.

I also enjoy the art on the Osho Zen tarot. I think it is difficult to read because it does not follow the same style as a normal tarot deck. Also, I only have the cards, not the book. Each card is given a quality, trait, or occurance. I have recently done a spread using the Osho Zen and Thoth decks, and runes. Thoth makes a nice solid base, the Osho seems to be able to clearly define the Thoth cards, and the runes add a direction and better idea of the qualities of each card.

Osho Zen Pictures at Aeclectic Tarot (http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/osho-zen/index.shtml)

Thoth Deck Pictures at Aeclectic Tarot (http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/aleister-crowley-thoth/index.shtml)

[Eternal Seeker]

They're two of the most aesthetically pleasing decks I have ever seen, but unfortunately both attribute air to swords and fire to wands, so I will never be able to work with them. :razz:

Those correspondences are traditional, based on the elemental weapons of the Golden Dawn:

wand: fire
chalice: water
pentacle: earth
dagger: air
A.E. Waite was a member of the Golden Dawn, and much of the symbolism of the Rider-Waite tarot was taken from the private tarot used by Golden Dawn members. He didn't reveal all its secrets to the public, however.

What correspondences do you work with?

[Bix]

Those correspondences are traditional, based on the elemental weapons of the Golden Dawn:

wand: fire
chalice: water
pentacle: earth
dagger: air
A.E. Waite was a member of the Golden Dawn, and much of the symbolism of the Rider-Waite tarot was taken from the private tarot used by Golden Dawn members. He didn't reveal all its secrets to the public, however.

What correspondences do you work with?
Oh, I didn't know anything about correspondences to tell the truth. They just spoke to me the most. All the other Tarot I've seened haven't really just come out at me like the Dragon Tarot did.

[Aidron]

Those correspondences are traditional, based on the elemental weapons of the Golden Dawn:

wand: fire
chalice: water
pentacle: earth
dagger: air
A.E. Waite was a member of the Golden Dawn, and much of the symbolism of the Rider-Waite tarot was taken from the private tarot used by Golden Dawn members. He didn't reveal all its secrets to the public, however.

What correspondences do you work with?


Actually, they are only now traditional. Originally even within the Golden Dawn, air was associated with the wand and fire with the athame. They were interchanged to maintain some secrecy and to not divulge too much information to the uninitiated and also to show that correspondences can mean very little if you have belief to support it. However, since my belief is based a great deal on logic, I've never been able to work with tarot decks or anything for that matter with the correspondences of air to athame and fire to wand. My own correspondences would be:

Air: Wand, Passive Hot
Fire: Athame, Active Hot
Earth: Pentacle, Passive Cold
Water: Chalice, Active Cold

Therefore I need a deck that utilizes these associations, or the whole thing just goes in the crapper for me. :lol: Sadly there are few decks even now that utilize these correspondences, most clinging to the intentional misinformation stemming from the Golden Dawn.

For the record, I do not associate masculine and feminine with anything as I have strong influences from the Greek culture, and the elements were defined as hot and cold which in modern times has been replaced with feminine and masculine.

[Eternal Seeker]

Actually, they are only now traditional. Originally even within the Golden Dawn, air was associated with the wand and fire with the athame. They were interchanged to maintain some secrecy and to not divulge too much information to the uninitiated and also to show that correspondences can mean very little if you have belief to support it.

I've never heard of this before. What is the source of this information? In all the Golden Dawn material I've read over the years, the correspondences are always wand-fire and dagger-air.

Eliphas Levi was the first to associate elements to the tarot suits, in his 1855 book Dogme et rituel, and he used wand-air and sword-fire. However, with the release of the Rider-Waite tarot in 1910, and its accompanying book that expounded the symbolism of the tarot, the Waite (Golden Dawn) symbolism became traditional.

[Aidron]

I've never heard of this before. What is the source of this information? In all the Golden Dawn material I've read over the years, the correspondences are always wand-fire and dagger-air.

Eliphas Levi was the first to associate elements to the tarot suits, in his 1855 book Dogme et rituel, and he used wand-air and sword-fire. However, with the release of the Rider-Waite tarot in 1910, and its accompanying book that expounded the symbolism of the tarot, the Waite (Golden Dawn) symbolism became traditional.


To be quite honest, I can offer you no sources. It's been years since I went into researching this and with how many people seem to know it I always just assume it is general knowledge. Hopefully, someone else can post a few links. If not, I'll see what I can turn up.

[Eternal Seeker]

Hopefully, someone else can post a few links. If not, I'll see what I can turn up.

Thanks! :smile:

[Amethyst Rose]

Oh, I see... the art looks nice, from what I can see. I'm guessing it's a generic tarot deck. We'll see if there are any other members who have heard of or seen this deck before. I'm also going to get an admin to merge this thread with the tarot deck thread.

[AmethystMoon08]

I love and use the Rider Waite tarot and Robin Wood tarot decks.

[Aidron]

Thanks! :smile:


Alright, I know I promised info. Unfortunately, I'm going to have to just bite my lip and look foolish here. I'm terrible at doing searches online (truly, I never find precisely what I'm looking for) and have not had the time to go through my books and find one that lists the information I need to support the research I presented. I'm going to bookmark you original post asking me to support this, however, as I'm really tired of being unable to supply people with what they want when they ask me to further elaborate on something I said. When I find something (and Athene only knows when that will be) I'll PM you or post here (if the thread is even still up at the time).

[Madjek]

Just went out and got my very first deck. The Gilded Tarot. The pictures look great & it looks like an easy beginner deck for me to start with.!

http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/_img/gilded-00704.jpg http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/_img/gilded-00707.jpg
By Ciro Marchetti
Tarot Deck - 78 Cards - Published by Llewellyn

Wow...I love those pictures, they are beautiful...I might consider getting one myself. The only deck I have right noe is called "Titania's fortune cards". I don't know if it would be considered a tarot deck though. It only has 36 cards. I love the photo artwork on them though.

[Jackiedanielz]

Very pretty!

[Sothis*Crowfeather]

I have the Faery Oracle deck. When I saw them they were calling my name for months until I bought them and now that I have them when I use them they don't speak to me at all. But they are beautiful.

I have this deck...it was given to me by someone who had the same situation, she thought they where pretty but they didn't speak to her.They partically shout at me when I use them, maybe it's time to pass them to another person.

I just got the Vampire Tarot deck...this one I've wanted for years, not only do I love the art work but I also like pratically anything that has to do with vampires. I am eager to start working with it...it's under the tree for now. Anyone have advice for how to begin working with a new deck...I've never worked with an actual Tarot deck before, just read about them.

[Amethyst Rose]

The only deck I have right noe is called "Titania's fortune cards". I don't know if it would be considered a tarot deck though. It only has 36 cards. I love the photo artwork on them though.

For this class you will need a standard 78 card Tarot Deck. :)

[Amethyst Rose]

Anyone have advice for how to begin working with a new deck...I've never worked with an actual Tarot deck before, just read about them.

We'll be going through this in the class. :)

[Rain Gnosis]

Some of the cards in my deck can be seen here - http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/quest/

It's a unique one in a few ways. The court cards are Mother, Father, Daughter, and Son, in that order. Some other systems incorporated with the cards are gemstones, hebrew letters, astrological symbols, i ching, and runes. There are cards marked for use in simple yes/no questions, and the aces show clocks and seasons to do readings based on timing. The book shares a few readings and also games to play with the deck. The graphics are created using 3d modelling software. They are luminous, dream-like, and fantastic.

[CanisFirebrand]

This is my newest deck and the one I will be using in this course. :)

http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/gothic-vargo/

http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/_img/gothic-vargo-02516.jpghttp://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/_img/gothic-vargo-02520.jpghttp://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/_img/gothic-vargo-02518.jpg

[MBeeHny]

why don't I just post the link...... I have the Unicorn Tarot :)
http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/unicorn/index.shtml

It's the only one I have.....and I like it ;)

[Raven Heart]

I started with the marslies tarot deck many years ago and just started collecting them. I think i have about. Everything from the Alice in Wonderland deck to the Circle Tarot. I used to use the thoth since i loved the imagery. Than i just moved onto to the Rider waite, just started using them and loved the level of symbology. Done the road i may switch back to using the Golden Dawn tarot cause in my opinion it has the best fool. A baby with a wolf on a leash plucking an apple. To me that was the best idea of what the fool is.
Raven Heart

[Madjek]

I got my very first Tarot deck for Christmas from my boyfriend. He got me the Universal Waite deck. I'm so happy :D I like the colors better on this deck than on the Raider Waite deck.

[VelvetBlade]

Congrats and enjoy! It's wonderful when a deck "touches" you....


~AW

[faerieridingdragons]

This was the first deck I purchased: The Wolf Pack (http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/wolf-pack/index.shtml) I bought this over a year ago,and have yet to use them.They screamed at me to buy them,and they are lovely pictures of my totem animal spirit,so I had to have them and I'm glad I'll actually get a chance to finally use them.I also have the Fairy Oracle set and the Gendron deck,all of which have been waiting somewhat quietly for me to learn to use them.

[Aleigh]

I just bought two more decks, and can't wait to recieve them. :) They're The Witch's Tarot and Robin Wood Tarot. My husband asked me what I need four decks for and I couldn't explain it to him. :lol:

[Jackiedanielz]

Just.....can't...can't....stop....buying them!

[WulfcwenStar]

MM
My Tarot cards are the Druid Craft Tarot. My husband bought them for me as he knew I wanted them. I have never used Tarot cards before so I will try the exercises on this site as they seem to be what I am looking for.