Lesson 1 - Assignment

[Amethyst Rose]

Due April 19th


All students must complete this assignment before moving on to Lesson 2. No students will be allowed to read tarot cards with their partners if the lessons have not been read, or assignments not been completed. Tarot isn't something you can just read about to learn, you have to immerse yourself in it.

That said, you have two options for your first assignment.

Option 1: Tell me about your own tarot deck. What is it's history? Tell me how you feel it relates to the first tarot decks used for games. Is it based on the Waite or Crowley deck? Explain to me why you feel it to be so. What occult influences do you see in your deck? Is there anything else that strikes you as interesting about your deck? Show me your sources.

Option 2: Reseach one different theory of where the Tarot came from, and write about it here. Show me your resources.

[FaerieGothMommy]

If we chose option 1, do we discuss it on here or PM you?

[Naiad]

When will this be due in?

[Amethyst Rose]

All assignment answers should be posted on this thread. Oh, and I'm editing the post now, to tell you when it's due (I always forget the due date, sorry).

[Shadowulfe]

the theory im reading "claims" that the tarot dates back to egypt and that the reason why they came from egypt is that
The relationship between the pyramids and the Tarot cards is due to the fact that they were found painted between two columns in the arcane room and they were considered a sacred language because in these paintings, each card had a number and a letter, therefore it meant the alphabet of the hidden sciences, meaning the absolute principles, the universal keys which, applied at free will, could become the source of all knowledge and power. Each letter, each number, and each image expressed, in that language, a three-part law that had repercussions in the intellectual and physical divine world.

my source is as follows:
http://www.cafetarot.com/en/history.htm

[Viseux]

"Tell me about your own tarot deck. What is it's history? Tell me how you feel it relates to the first tarot decks used for games. Is it based on the Waite or Crowley deck? Explain to me why you feel it to be so. What occult influences do you see in your deck? Is there anything else that strikes you as interesting about your deck? Show me your sources."

I am using "The Ancestral Path Tarot." It was created by an aquaintance of mine, Ms. Julie Cuccia-Watts in 1996 (published date.) It's ties to historical use? Well, it adheres to the fundamental structure of Tarot decks using 22 images of major arcana which bear the standard titles and the "normal" four suits of minor arcana. I believe that it's historical authenticity lies in it's incorporation of historical and pre-historical imagery.
I personally think it is closser to the Crowley deck in origin because of the depth of symbolism incorporated into it's paintings. The pictures themselves envoke both message and feeling, emotions really. Where as the Crowley deck was based on more Eygtian influences, the Ancestral Path takes that idea one step farther and explores not just one ancestral influence but several including pre-historical. It speaks to me through the idea that we are all mutts now and that our ancestral gene pool is incredibly diverse. Drawing from varied histoys and traditions, all of our varied ancestors have wisdom to bestoe and stories to tell us.

http://www.learntarot.com/rwdesc.htm
http://www.sacred-texts.com/tarot/pkt/index.htm
http://www.usgamesinc.com/newstore/pages.php?pageid=5&cat=1
http://www.themystica.com/mystica/articles/t/tarot.htm
http://www.tylwythteg.com/tarot/tarot.html
http://www.lelandra.com/rwsclones/tarotrwsarttwist.htm
http://www.tarotpassages.com/DuQuette-kfj.htm
http://www.tarotforum.net/archive/index.php/t-469.html
http://www.learntarot.com/acdesc.htm
http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/ancestral-path/
http://www.learntarot.com/apdesc.htm
http://www.pagat.com/tarot/ottocen.html
http://www.tarot-decks.com/visconti-sforza.html

I hope this is all right. I am completly inexperienced and am starting from ground zero here.

Blessings,
Viseux

[Amethyst Rose]

the theory im reading "claims" that the tarot dates back to egypt and that the reason why they came from egypt is that

my source is as follows:
http://www.cafetarot.com/en/history.htm

Very interesting. Can you find anything else about that theory. (*hint* I LOVE long winded answers). :)

[Amethyst Rose]

I hope this is all right. I am completly inexperienced and am starting from ground zero here.

Blessings,
Viseux

Thanks, Viseux, that was just fine. :)

[gypsy0108]

I also have found a theory on the tarot dating back to egypt and linking it to the gypsies that go's with the first part of the lesson

The biggest crowd says that the Tarot came from ancient Egypt, and that the Major Arcana represents the 22 steps of the Initiate in the cult of the god Thoth. Supposedly the cards were brought into medieval Europe by the Gypsies (the whole idea came originally from the way that "Gypsies" and "Egyptians" are similar sounding words and that both peoples tend to be rather dark and all). The problem is that the Gypsies originally came from India, not Egypt and apparently the cards got to Europe before them anyway.
But i am not finished with the research yet but this is where i got the info from they also think that it may have came from milan

we can be fairly certain that the tarot deck as we know it is ABOUT 500-odd years old. Oh, and that it probably was first seen in Northern Italy, possibly in Milan. We're pretty sure abut that. But it's very hard to be certain or precise beyond this, and there's a few good reasons for t

http://members.tripod.com/~riobravo/tarotmanual/history.html

[gypsy0108]

OK This is the rest of what i have come up with in my reaserch.

so from what i have come across seams to say that tarot originated in italy every resourse I read has the same conclusion.

The designs of the 22 cards in the Major Arcana can be traced back as far as 1440, when the first known deck appeared in Italy. The 3 decks called the "Visconti Trumps" are generally regarded as the "forefathers" of the decks that are widely available today. .
Some of the major arcana was considered offensive by consertive nobels and some religious leaders so they tried to ban the death card the tower and the devil cards.
the first known use of the cards for devination was by Jean-Baptiste Alliette in 1770.
The discovery of the Rosetta Stone went to show that the tarot did not really originate form egypt as well.

The discovery of the Rosetta Stone that translated the hieroglyphs of the Egyptians in 1799 did not yield any support to the theory that the Trumps hailed from Egypt. Still, the belief endured and was augmented in 1857 with the introduction of the notion that the wandering Romany people - " Gypsies" thought to be descendants of Egyptians - had carried the deck with them on their travels through Europe.
This I will say through personal reaserch on the romany for my own personall history is that the gypsies that did fortune telling with cards was done with regular playing cards and have a totally different meaning as i have been doing gypsy type reading for a while now in addation to the tarot so i dont see as to where they could stem from the gypsies either.
In the 19th century Eliphas Lévi found a path between tarot and Kabbalah this made the impression that that the Tarot originated in Israel, and contained the wisdom of the Tree of Life. Ever sience then the tarot has been related to every religion and magical system there is just about.
The origin of the word "tarot"

A lot of theories exist some linking the word with place names others just a derivitive of a certain word or such.
Idries Shah, in The Sufis, hypothesizes that tarot is a derivation of the Arab word turuq, which means "four ways."

I also thought i would include this as it seamed interesting in the history of the tarot

Glossary of Terms--Atouts - French. Alternative term for tarots.
Attuti - Italian, alternative term for tarots.
Tarocchi - Italian. Tarot cards, or a game played with tarot cards.
Tarots - French, tarot cards.
Trionfi - Italian, alternative term for tarots.

Of Related Interest
there seamed to be some kind of extra meaning on the cups in the tarot deck as i have found
Cups, in any event, are meant to hold something. One of the meanings associated with cups in ancient times was "memory," as the memory is, in a sense, the receptacle of our life experiences. Of course, many memories are associated with our emotions - we've come full circle.


In doing a tarot reading, it helps to be aware of these various meanings for cups - emotions, memories, the container of something sacred.
I know i may have run over what was in the lesson somewhat but this is what i found i hope it wasnt to boring or too long winded
SOURCES--
found at http://www.salemtarot.com/tarothistory.html
http://roswell.fortunecity.com/leehigh/340/shadow/shadow5.htm
http://www.tarot-decks.com/tarotarticle.htm

[IvyWitch]

I wanted to do something on the Tarot of the Old Path, but I seem to have misplaced the book. Soo....I did find a few alternate theories on the origins of Tarot.

One source that I found dates the tarot back to the late 1300's in Switzerland, where they used the cards for gambling games after playing cards were banned in 1367, and then a similar prohibition on playing cards was handed down in Barcelona Spain in 1382. These cards haven't been found, but some of the cards that have been found have been dated back to about 1400.
And, I never knew this so it's interesting to me, but the game of Tarrochi that was played and is played today is similar to bridge.

The same source has an alternate view of how the occult use of Tarot began.

In France, in the 18th Century, occultism was gaining popularity, and the Rosetta Stone had not yet been discovered and deciphered. There was a complete fascination with all things Egyptian. This combined with the fact that the occultists of the time had no idea of the history of the cards, led them to make some very inaccurate assumptions. French occultists attributed the cards origins to the "gypsies" or Bohemians (Romany) whom they believed to have come from Egypt. It is now known that the Romany originated in India. To this day, many still believe that the Tarot is a "book" of some ancient Egyptian Hermetic occult system In loiking at a few of my books it seems like this particular sites references the Joan Bunning book, and also Tarot for a New Generation seems to agree with most things on the site. Luckily for me, none of the books I have claim that the cards originated in Egypt.

http://www3.sympatico.ca/terrir/tarothistory.html

[FaerieGothMommy]

The tarot deck i'm using is the cosmic tarot deck by Norbet Losche, which was published in 1988 in Germany. The deck shows a lot of people in the images, which most are actually based on famous actors, such as the King of wands is based on the actor Sean Connery. The reason why i felt so attracted to the deck, was i could relate more easily to a persons reading when looking at these cards, as they often depict the querent or someone in the querent's life.
It is hard to relate this deck with either rider waite or crowley, but i would say it is more so like the rider waite deck. It's images are based more so on the rider waite deck, yet, the cosmic tarot is brought more upto date and has more images of people in it - also instead of having knight and page, the cosmic tarot has prince and princess.


The Cosmic Tarot is the work of self-taught artist Norbert Losche who currently lives in Aachen, Germany. There is a contemporary, futuristic feel to this deck. Many of the cards show the face or figure of a beautiful man or women. These figures are often modeled on famous actors and actresses, such as Greta Garbo, Clark Gable and Rita Hayworth.

A lot of the imagery in the cosmic tarot is based on nature, there are all sort of flowers depicted in the cards to represent different symbolic meanings. Such as a lostus or a lily.
There is so much symbology in this deck, that i find new things hidden in the cards all the time. For example, the hermit : There is so much going on in this card, that you could read it forever, and something i didn't even notice for a while was the scarf he is wearing has little symbology printed on it. I think thats why i love this deck so much, is a very imaginative deck.

I hope thats good enough, i tryed to give my opinion as much as i could, and it was kinda hard finding good links to this deck.

[BelovedDru]

Due April 19th
Option 1: Tell me about your own tarot deck. What is it's history? Tell me how you feel it relates to the first tarot decks used for games. Is it based on the Waite or Crowley deck? Explain to me why you feel it to be so. What occult influences do you see in your deck? Is there anything else that strikes you as interesting about your deck? Show me your sources.


My tarot deck is called "Tarot of a Moon Garden" by Karen Marie Sweikhardt. Thing is, I couldn't find too much else about them, but the pictures on the cards are supposed to represent links with other worlds and magical creatures that were once speculated to be found on the moon, such as unicorns and dragons--and they tell a sort of mini story in each. I think in this respect they are more like Crowley's cards.

The only other interesting things about my deck are my personal feelings--when I pick them up, I get a little buzz, and after becoming quite attached to them after only ten minutes, I decided that these were my cards. Weirdly enough, I feel pretty happy when I have them with me, and I enjoy learning how to read them.

http://www.holisticshop.co.uk/itemdetl.php?itemprcd=DITCMOGA

Assignment 1: COMPLETED! :woot:

[Amethyst Rose]

Thanks everyone who's gotten their assignments in already. So far I'm very impressed with them.

gypsy0108, you did an excellent job, thank you! Everyone else, what you've done exactly what I'm looking for, thanks again for your hard work.

I look forward to everyone elses assignments!! :)

[nightstream]

Due April 19th

Option 1: Tell me about your own tarot deck. What is it's history? Tell me how you feel it relates to the first tarot decks used for games. Is it based on the Waite or Crowley deck? Explain to me why you feel it to be so. What occult influences do you see in your deck? Is there anything else that strikes you as interesting about your deck? Show me your sources.



The deck that I've had the longest, which is my favorite and the one that I use the most, is the Sacred Circle deck. It was published in 1998, and it's rather unusual in that the artwork on the cards combines photography and digital imagery in an almost seemless way that makes for very realistic yet sometimes fantastical pictures. I fell in love with the artwork of this deck before I'd really given thought to tarot practice, and my mom bought the deck for me because I liked it so much.
The deck itself was 15 years in the making, from idea to completion, according to Paul Mason's and Anna Franklin's introduction in the accompanying book:


Our ambition was to produce a tarot that was rich in the Pagan and mythological iconography of the British Isles and Ireland, using photography to give a level of naturalism and sense of place that we felt was lacking in other cards.

Unlike most traditional Waite or Crowley decks, the Sacred Circle deck was created with modern Neo-Pagans in mind (which isn't really surprising, considering its publishing date and company, along with the fact that it is based out of a modern tradition). The cards keep in mind the modern Pagan idea of the Wheel of the Year, and the authors have renamed some of the cards to fit more with both the Pagan and the British Isles symbolism:
The Fool = The Green Man
The Magician = The High Priest
The Empress = The Lady
The Emperor = The Lord
The Hierophant = The Druid
Justice = The Warrior
The Hermit = The Shaman
The Wheel of Fortune = The Wheel (Of The Year, slightly different yet slightly the same...)
Strength = The Web
Judgement = Rebirth
The World = The World Tree
In some cases, the meanings of these cards are also slightly altered from traditional meanings in the Waite and Crowley decks (which I hope won't pose a problem for me in this class... does anyone else use this deck, and will using this deck cause problems for me in the classwork?)
There are a number of things that the creator of this deck kept from the Waite symbolism. The most obvious thing to me is the association of Swords with Air and Wands with Fire (which I would have been tempted to switch in creating a specifically Neo-Pagan deck...). There are also cards which have similar imagery to the Waite cards, even though there may be differences there in the same card.
I think the most interesting experience that I've had with these cards has come not from tarot readings, but through using them as jumping-off points for visualization or meditation. The images are rich in symbolism (though there are times where I'm not too confident about the claims the authors make about the practices of the "Ancient Celtic People" in the accompanying book), and without taking the authors' interpretations for a strict interpretation, I've had some wonderful meditative experiences from these cards.
My favorite card, both through artwork and the fact that it keeps coming up in my spreads, is the Queen of Cups. It pictures a dark-haired woman walking out of a lake, clutching the chalice that is featured in number on each card of that suit - around her are blackberries and a kingfisher, and Glastonbury Tor lies in the background.

Sources:
The Sacred Circle Tarot: A Celtic Pagan Journey (accompanying book) by Anna Franklin and Paul Mason

[Amethyst Rose]

Great answer, nightstream! Thanks!

[phoenix1010]

[Option 1: Tell me about your own tarot deck. What is it's history? Tell me how you feel it relates to the first tarot decks used for games. Is it based on the Waite or Crowley deck? Explain to me why you feel it to be so. What occult influences do you see in your deck? Is there anything else that strikes you as interesting about your deck? Show me your sources.

The deck I will be using is the Universal Waite Tarot Deck. In 1909, Arthur Edward Waite commissioned Pamela Colman Smith to do black and white drawings of his interpretation of the 78 tarot cards. The deck was published in late 1909. Waite published a companion book explaining the his version of the tarot the next year. It is not known if Colman Smith colored the original cards or if the publisher did. Mary Hanson-Roberts colored this deck which has a 1990 copyright for US Games Systems. This deck was the first deck to illustrate the Minor Arcana with symbolic pictures. In the past the Minor Arcana were depicted like regular playing cards (i.e. the Eight of Cups was literally eight cups). In 1918, American LW de Laurence published the deck and Waite's companion book without permission until US Games Systems got the copyright.
Arthur Edward Waite joined the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn in 1891 after the death of his young sister. Later he became the controversial leader of the Golden Dawn. He wished to turn their focus towards mysticism and away from magic. Many groups split off of the Golden Dawn including one group lead by WB Yeats. Besides this tarot deck he wrote many books on various topics such as Freemasonry and the Kabala.
Pamela Colman Smith was born in England to American parents (I believe her mother was Jamaican). She studied art at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. About 1903 she joined the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. She is best known for the tarot deck but she had limited success in her other artistic endeavors. She died unknown and poor in 1951.
I was going to take a tarot class about a year ago, I had a choice between this deck and the Robin Wood Deck. I picked this deck because I really loved the coloring and the artwork. As I have become more familar with the deck I have noticed that there are little symbols in the backgrounds of some of the cards. I would really like to get the book Waite wrote for the deck. Many of the images in the deck have a medieval feel to them. Some cards definitely have a christian slant to them (i.e. The Devil and The Lovers). I also like Pamela Colman Smith's little siggie on the artwork.
I really enjoy reading everyone elses' reports. It makes me wish we could actually get together to look at each others cards!

Sources: www.opentarot.com
http://home.comcast.net/~pamela-c-smith/home.html
http://home.comcast.net/~vilex/
Booklet that came with the deck(Stuart R Kaplan)

[PeleRising]

Option 1: Tell me about your own tarot deck. What is it's history? Tell me how you feel it relates to the first tarot decks used for games. Is it based on the Waite or Crowley deck? Explain to me why you feel it to be so. What occult influences do you see in your deck? Is there anything else that strikes you as interesting about your deck? Show me your sources.

The Tarot deck I am using for this class is the Robin Wood Deck. It is the very first deck I purchased, and although I have several others it’s the one I feel I am the most in tune with. One of the things that drew me to this deck to begin with, is that I recognized the artist from some favorite books.

The Robin Wood tarot came about when the artist went to live with her husband in Japan on an Army base in 1980. She was interested in tarot and was doing all her reading about tarot by borrowing books from her local library… but when they moved to Japan, her access to those books was cut off. So she used her cards (she had a Rider-Waite deck) to learn about the tarot. She studied the cards themselves in every detail, and she says while she learned much from the cards… she also learned she didn’t exactly care for the deck she had. She wanted a set of cards that had a more “pagan/wiccan/nature” theme to them and figured the best way to get that was to make it herself. So she started drawing her own deck, it took her over 10 years to complete the deck.

The Robin Wood deck is closer to the Waite deck, I would say, but it is also filled with a large amount of symbolism. While each of the cards can be seen as telling a story of their own, the images are filled to the brim with symbols. Many of the symbols are easily recognizable to pagans, for example~ runes, ankhs, planetary symbols, yin/yang symbols, crystal balls, butterflies to represent transformation, symbols of the lord and lady amongst others. Every card is filled with symbols interwoven into the background… robes have certain patterns; colors are used to represent different things. Every time I look at these cards I see something new.

What strikes me about this deck, what draws me to it are the vivid colors, the movement in the drawn figures, and the sheer beauty of it.

Sources:

Aeclectic Tarot~Robin Wood Deck (http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/robin-wood/)

Robin Wood Tarot: The Book by Robin Wood

[Enozgirl]

I've been using the Dragon Tarot (by Terry Donaldson and Peter Pracownik) for the last few months. I believe it's more based on the Waite deck, from what I've seen. I've worked with the Rider-Waite deck, and the images in the Dragon deck remind me more of the images in that deck than the Crowly deck. Also, the energy is similar, but resonates on a different level.

I like that there's not just the dragons on each card, but the artist has also incorporated the elemental energies as well. For example, the "Wands" suit is the story of the dragon crossing the desert and battling the hardships of fire, only to be purified and reborn again.

Source: http://www.learntarot.com/drdesc.htm


The Dragon Tarot follows traditional tarot symbolism, but draws upon the rich imagery of dragons in historical and mythological sources. Dragonland evokes the fantastic world of imagination, myth and magic. The Dragon Tarot was conceptualized by Terry Donaldson with artwork by Peter Pracownik, part of the creative team behind the card game Wyvern (tm). Donaldson has also written a companion book The Dragon Tarot that serves as a guide to this deck. It includes the history of Dragon mythology and exercises for learning to read the cards. Donaldson is also the creator of the Lord of the Rings Oracle and Lord of the Rings Tarot.
Images from the deck: http://www.astroamerica.com/t-drag.html

Another Review: http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/dragon/review.html

[GiftOfTheGoddess]

The cards my friend (souljourney) ordered for me haven't come in yet :( They are one of the Pagan Tarot decks.. I believe my friend called them the "Pagan 2000" deck. When I saw them online I fell in love with them. They are incredibly beautiful and I am very drawn to them. I don't really know anything about Tarot but I would assume that the cards calling to me is a good thing :P I believe they are more related to the Waite deck because they seem to tell more of a story and don't use as much symbolism..

[Nellie]

I have "Beginners guide to Tarot" by Julie Sharman-Caselli. I've only recently become interested in Tarot & so don't know much about the other cards. I did however find a web site with this quote

The Sharman-Caselli Tarot, a Rider-Waite-Smith (RWS) variant, coupled with Juliet Sharman-Burke's companion book, is an ideal match for beginners. The deck itself would in the past have been classified a RWS clone, though that term has been correctly criticized for its imprecision. Still, while not identical, the symbolism of Sharman-Burke's deck is so close a counterpart to the RWS that I deem it a fraternal twin.

According to the Intro in the accompanying book, this deck has taken some of its imagery from earlier decks like Visconti-Sfzora as well as the modern Waite set. From what I've seen of the Rider-Waite-Smith cards online they do appear similar but have noticed that the colour is very yellow on all cards. The Sharman-Caselli cards are colour & symbol coded for ease of remembering, for example the Cup suit represent the water element and so water is always shown on these cards, as well as having blue tones, the Wands represents fire and has yellow tones etc. I believe that the Rider-Waite deck has just the symbol of the suit on the minor arcana, ie 6 of cups will just show 6 cups. This would be extremely difficult for a beginner to interpret and because of this the Sharman-Caselli cards have been changed to show pictures with characters.

The only history I've been able to find about these cards is that they are very relatively new compared to many other packs:


It was to be released in the U.S. in 2002 as part of Beginning Tarot deck and book set by Juliet Sharman-Burke.


http://www.tarotpassages.com/sharm-c-mh.htm
http://www.tarotpassages.com/sharmancaselli.htm
http://www.holisticshop.co.uk/index_divi.html

[angelbaby]

Due April 19th
Option 1: Tell me about your own tarot deck. What is it's history? Tell me how you feel it relates to the first tarot decks used for games. Is it based on the Waite or Crowley deck? Explain to me why you feel it to be so. What occult influences do you see in your deck? Is there anything else that strikes you as interesting about your deck? Show me your sources.

The deck I'm using is the Celtic Dragon Tarot by D.J Conway and Lisa Hunt. They began the work on this deck in the fall of 1997 and it took about a year to complete. The artwork in this deck is absouletly stunning and one of the main reasons I purchased this deck. Secondly, this deck, unlike the majority of tarot decks, associates swords with fire and wands with air, which I personally find earier to realate to. There are also two other changes in this deck, card five is the High Priest and card fifteen is Chains.

This deck relates more to Crowley in that it also uses very intense symbolism instead of telling a story. It uses symbolism that the Celts used. They also used landscapes only from the Celtic countries: Ireland, Scotland, and Wales

Sources:
A Guide to the Celtic Dragon Tarot by D.J. Conway & Lisa Hunt

[Enozgirl]

Oh, the Celtic Dragon deck associates Wands with Air and Swords with Fire?? I'll have to take a look at that, as that's the association that I typically use, too.

[Geist]

"Tell me about your own tarot deck. What is it's history? Tell me how you feel it relates to the first tarot decks used for games. Is it based on the Waite or Crowley deck? Explain to me why you feel it to be so. What occult influences do you see in your deck? Is there anything else that strikes you as interesting about your deck? Show me your sources."

ok here goes nothing:

The name of my deck is 'Barnes & Noble'. It was one of those decks where you buy a deck and a book came with it to explane the meanings of the cards. Despite this I have had this deck since the beginning and am very attached to it. I do not believe that my deck follows Mr Alistor Crowley because there is no kind of Egiptian theme to my deck as there would be in his deck so I must assume that it falls into the Rider-Waite Tarot deck type.

My main reason for thinking this is because in my Deck I find that my Strength card is a number eight instead of card number eleven. But also because the images of my deck are also very similar for example you have

http://www.learntarot.com/rwsqn.gif
http://photobucket.com/albums/v497/Knives-sama/th_Art010.jpg and this is my card which is almost the same.

http://www.learntarot.com/rwdesc.htm

I do see alot of symbolism in my deck which to me is another reason why I believe my deck is similar to Arthur Edward Waite.

Sorry mines so sort. And thank you Graybird, for finding the name of my deck!!! :woot:

[Naiad]

Lesson 1 Assignment – Option 2

I’ve found a theory that the Crusaders brought Tarot cards to Europe from the Arabs somewhere between 1095 and 1270 when the Crusades took place.


It is not impossible that the thread weaves from China to India, from India to the Arabs, from the Arabs to the Europeans who fought in the Middle East during the Crusades, arriving in Italy first because the Crusaders had to sail on Italian vessels to get to and from their wars. What is impossible is to know for certain from which skein the thread we seek comes from, and how long a thread of history playing cards possess. It seems too many other threads of history are intertwined, obscuring the source.

It’s quite possible they picked it up from the Saracen warriors which their order was based on. The removal of knight from the Tarot to make the playing cards we know today could have been after the Knights Templar were destroyed after being accused of Satanism.


The original headquarters of the Christian Order of the Knights Templar in Jerusalem stood next to a revered shrine to the Goddess Fatima. The Knights Templar have been credited with the invention of the Tarot, but more likely they adopted it from their Saracen warrior fraternity contemporaries whom their order was based upon. But the removal of the knights from the playing card deck has been linked to the extermination of the Knights Templar in the fourteenth century, after being accused of adopting the ways of Eastern Gnostics.

In the book the Second Messiah by Christopher Knight there is a chapter called “The Tarot and the Templars” it explains;


…how the allegorical cards were used by the Knights to instruct members in the secrets of Freemasonry, and how the Church misinterpreted the meanings of the Tarot and outlawed it.

Also some possible origins for the word Tarot:

Egyptian – tar (a path) and ro, ros or rog (royal)
Hungarian Gypsy – tar (a pack of cards)
Hindustani – taru (also a pack of cards)

Sources:

Encarta Encyclopaedia

http://www.unexplainable.net/tarot.html

http://groups.msn.com/WhatsBrewineMag/historyofthecards.msnw

http://www.sfgoth.com/~raveneye/horuseye/tarothistory.html

http://www.seekerbooks.com/prod/9781931412766/

Complete idiots Guide to Tarot and Fortune Telling by Arlene Tognetti and Lisa Lenard

[Amethyst Rose]

Sorry mines so sort but I really don't know what my deck is. If someone does know can you tell me so I can edit my assingment thank you.

Hey... I'm trying to find your deck... can you tell me who the publisher is? It should say in the booklet that came with the deck, or on the border of the cards. The year it was published would help too. Do you have any other information, like the author? Thanks :)

[Khaelo]

Option 1: Tell me about your own tarot deck. What is it's history? Tell me how you feel it relates to the first tarot decks used for games. Is it based on the Waite or Crowley deck? Explain to me why you feel it to be so. What occult influences do you see in your deck? Is there anything else that strikes you as interesting about your deck? Show me your sources.
PeleRising already did the Robin Wood Tarot, so I'll cover the Art Nouveau deck. There are actually a couple of decks which come up under "Art Nouveau" -- mine is by Matt Myers. It's published by US Games Systems, Inc., and the copyright date is 1989.

The introduction in the Little White Book cites no other tarot decks as inspiration ("The origins of the tarot are lost to history," p. 3). It provides more information on the Art Nouveau style, which appeared in the late 19th century. Bulfinch's Art History says, "In design Art Nouveau was characterized by writhing plant forms...There was a tension implicit throughout the movement between the decorative and the modern" (cited here (http://www.artchive.com/artchive/art_nouveau.html)). The LWB specifically notes that it "was developed to offset a world of mass production, sterile ideas, and mundane imagery" (p. 3). The Art Nouveau deck, while mass produced itself (:smileroll), features beautifully stylized floral borders, particularly in the Minor Arcana. It also simulates the appearance of varied media. The illustrations are oil paintings of live models, but the realistic portraits seem to be embedded in jewel-studded stained glass windows. This, too, is apparently an aspect of Art Nouveau style.

Myers dedicates his work to Ursula K. LeGuin. It took four years to complete, from June 1984 to April 1988. Myers follows Crowley in the positioning of Justice and Strength, but he expands on the storytelling aspect of Waite's deck. Each of the Minor Arcana suits follows a couple through the turbulance of their relationship. Some of the cards echo Waite's, such as the 5 of Cups, 8 of Coins, and 6 of Swords. Most, however, are pretty original. The Major Arcana are more traditional, probably from Waite.

The deck doesn't look much like a card game deck. The illustrated pips not only feature extraneous pictures, but they also don't reflect the card number in the number of cups, coins, etc. This would make it difficult to play with the cards, especially since the numbers are at the bottom, where they would be concealed in a usual hand. :weirdsmil (source: personal attempts to play "Old Maid" with this deck)

Images (http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/art-nouveau-tarot/index.shtml)

A couple more sources:
learntarot.com (http://www.learntarot.com/andesc.htm)
aeclectictarot.com (http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/art-nouveau-tarot/review.shtml)

[Rhianna813]

I am going to do a 2 part answer to this question using 2 different decks. I will be using the Robin Wood Tarot for the class because I love the deck, but PeleRising already gave a much more indepth history of the deck than I could offer. I don’t have the book that came with the deck. But I do want to offer my own insights to answer to answer AmethystRose’s assignment.

I agree that the Robin Wood deck is based on the Rider Waite but some of the Christian symbolism has been replaced with Pagan/Earth based themes. Also some of the cards are identical to Rider Waite just redrawn but others are totally reinterpreted. The author set out to make the symbolism more accessible by redesigning the images with more expression and impact to really get the meaning across. She was very successful! The most occult influence for this deck is the use of Pagan imagery and some of the classic “occult” symbolism has been removed. For example, the Devil card shows no devil at all and instead shows 2 people greedily chained to a box in a tunnel. The Wheel of Fortune card historically shows a lot of occult symbolism but in this deck it reminds me of Wheel of Fortune – the game show LOL The Magician card shows the deerskin antlers on his head. This is well known Pagan symbol. And in the Lovers card a Moon is over the woman’s hand and Sun over the man’s. Another Pagan symbol. See images of the deck here: http://www.astroamerica.com/t-robin.html

Resources: http://www.robinwood.com/

Part 2. Another deck I own but do not really use is Tarot of the Master and I wanted to share some history on this deck for the class.

Tarot of the Master was created by an Italian artist named Giovanni Vacchetta and originally published in 1893. This predates the Rider Waite deck by almost 15 years. Why is this important? Well historically most Tarot decks had detailed images on the major arcana. The minor arcana looked like regular playing cards. The Rider Waite is commonly known as the first deck to add any real pictoral interpretation to the minors. However, Vacchetta did add artwork to his minors. From looking at the whole deck most of the images are only decorative and in my eyes do not really convey any meaning to the card but some seem to! Comparing this deck to the Visconti using the Magician card I do an interesting difference. In the Visconti the Magician is seated with hands at the table. In newer decks the Magician takes on a more occult form by holding his right hand to the heavens and his left to the earth. In the Master deck he is doing just that. See some images here: http://www.astroamerica.com/t-mast.html

Resources: Booklet that came with the deck and http://www.astroamerica.com/t-mast.html.

Rhianna :tarotwitc

[ajna]

Option 1: Tell me about your own tarot deck. What is it's history? Tell me how you feel it relates to the first tarot decks used for games. Is it based on the Waite or Crowley deck? Explain to me why you feel it to be so. What occult influences do you see in your deck? Is there anything else that strikes you as interesting about your deck? Show me your sources.

I will be writing about two decks because I am in the midst of purchasing a new deck to work with and – if the US postal service comes through – will be using it for the bulk of the class.

http://www.kittsdream.com/images/adrian_tarot.gif

The first deck is the Adrian Tarot. I have had this deck since I was maybe fourteen or fifteen. The Adrian Tarot is a digitally edited photographic image deck created by Swiss painter and designer Adrian Bernhard Koehli.

Included on each card … is text in both English and German of the statements of the cards. This text is based, of course, on the creator's idea of the card’s meaning and each is limited to one or two words. (1)
I believe this deck to be based on the classic Rider-Waite deck (suggested by a review I stumbled upon and verified to myself visually). Due to this, much of the imagery that Rider-Waite deck contains are still present in these cards…Judgement’s three figures, the smirk on the hanged man, the magician having all four figures in front of him, the animals on the wheel of fortune, etc. are all the same only jazzed up. A spiffy little tidbit about the art on my cards that I just now found is that

the 22 major arcana cards can be laid out to form two figures - the man and woman from the Lovers card. The male figure is created from the first 10 cards laid out in the Tree of Life pattern from the Kabbalah. The female figure is formed in a similar way using cards 11-19. She represents the Tree of Knowledge. (2)
The cards are 2 3/4"x5 3/8" in size – oversized is something of a preference of mine – and have directional backs, which can bother some people when reading with reversals. From the reviews I have been reading online, many people really don’t like this deck. Though the deck came with an instruction booklet, the cards themselves do not lend any assistance to the readings and it was a poor choice for me to have made as a beginning reader. I thought they were pretty though…so there.
This deck was copyrighted in 1997.

Adrian:
(1) http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/adrian/review.shtml
(2) http://www.learntarot.com/addesc.htm
(3) http://www.ata-tarot.com/resource/cards/ (for pictures of the Rider-Waite deck)
photo care of: http://www.kittsdream.com/Tarot/adrian%20tarot.htm


My next post will have the second deck.

[ajna]

This section will not be anywhere near as informational as the first since I do not own and have not used this deck yet.


http://www.paganshopping.com/Merchant2/graphics/00000001/DLEGART.jpg

The deck I am in the midst of obtaining is the Legend: Arthurian Tarot (not to be confused with the Arthurian Tarot). I have never worked with a themed deck before so I think it will be quite interesting and – due to my interest in Arthurian legend – perhaps a bit easier to make associations with as well.
This deck was created by Anne-Marie Ferguson in 1997 (I suppose I have something about that year).
Since I appreciate the art and history of the cards the most when choosing a deck, I especially love these. First, I appreciate the Celtic theme running through it especially because of Arthur’s early, and commonly unnoticed, roots in the Welsh mythology of “Kilhwch and Olwen” in the Mabinogion. I feel safer in using and interpreting the cards knowing that the artist enjoyed the theme enough to do her homework.

The book states that it "unites mythic elements from all four branches of the Arthurian legend: the Celtic Legends, the early chronicles, the medieval romances and the Quest for the Holy Grail." (4)
This should also make the readings a bit easier for me than had they been based only on the more popular English-Catholic interpretations.
I also appreciate the art of each card as well. Not knowing, at first, that the art on these cards was done in watercolor, I especially liked the attention to not only artistic detail but historical detail as well and now I’m just completely blown away. I also appreciate the religion involved in the cards.

The exquisitely beautiful watercolor paintings of this tarot deck illustrate characters, places and tales from the legends that blend traditional tarot symbolism with the Pagan and Christian symbolism that are equally significant elements of this myth. (2)
Having a tarot deck based on a story that was, at the first peak of its popularity, almost Catholic propaganda must have been a challenge, but then her incorporation of pagan elements into the deck (Arthur’s legend dates back to pre-Christianity) makes me proud to have wanted to use it in the first place. More recently, I am a huge fan of the Mists of Avalon books -- which are now quickly becoming integrated into the cannon of Arthurian literature -- in which Christianity and paganism exist side by side, striving towards harmony (well, at least the pagan side is).
This deck also seems to follow the traditional Rider-Waite deck (as far as a themed deck can), though I have not seen the whole deck yet and am only venturing a guess based on comparisons I have been attempting to make between the artwork.

Legend: Arthurian:
(1) http://www.learntarot.com/ledesc.htm
(2) http://www.mystery-games.com/legartar.html
(3) http://www.mysticunicorn.com/ttlegend.html
(4) http://www.tarotpassages.com/legend2.htm
(5) http://www.ata-tarot.com/resource/cards/ (once again for the Rider-Waite comparison)
photo care of: http://www.paganshopping.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=TD


Thank you for putting up with my Arthurian nerdiness. I don't know near enough about the topic either so if I have made any mistakes, or if anyone has anything to add about either one of my decks, please feel free to post more or to correct me.
Thanks again.

[enchancea]

The tarot deck I am using is The Goddess Tarot by Kris Waldherr and it celebrates the power and beauty of women everywhere. The Goddess Tarot uses goddess myths and imagery to update traditional tarot symbolism; it acknowledges women's contemporary needs as well as her mythic past. It is meant as an easily accessible alternative deck for tarot readers already familiar with the popular Rider-Waite or Aquarian decks who seek a deeper experience of the Divine Feminine in their readings.


"While I worked on the deck, I felt strongly that I wanted to emphasize the values of creative agency and psychological understanding--in other words, personal empowerment--over any divinatory qualities usually associated with the tarot. I also decided it was important to me that my deck be easily understood by those already comfortable with the symbolism of that warhorse of tarot divination, the Rider Waite, which so many other decks use as their touchstone. As I proceeded onto the minor arcana, I looked to the Rider-Waite's imagery for inspiration for mine but added a feminine twist: by recasting many of the figures of power within the minor arcana as women, I hope to have created a sense of psychological identification and empowerment for female tarot readers"
-Kris Waldherr

In The Goddess Tarot, each major arcana card is related to a goddess and her story as well as representing an important aspect of life. The minor arcana of The Goddess Tarot is divided into four suits. Each suit is related to one of the four elements -earth, air, water, fire-as well as to a particular goddess and her myth. Each suit features a different border depicting the colors and qualities of the element it is associated with. The suit of cups is associated with Venus, the Roman goddess of love; swords, Isis, the great Egyptian goddess who represents the journey of loss and redemption; pentacles, Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of prosperity; and staves, Freyja, the Norse goddess of creativity and beauty.


Sources:
http://www.learntarot.com/godesc.htm

http://www.artandwords.com/goddesstarot/index.html

[Greybird]

I do not know the name of my deck...

http://photobucket.com/albums/v497/Knives-sama/th_Art010.jpg

Sorry mines so sort but I really don't know what my deck is. If someone does know can you tell me so I can edit my assingment thank you.

Doing some quick checking. The border and method of naming ("Queen" above and "Swords" below) looks a lot like the 'Barnes & Noble' deck. It is hard to say, because the picture is so small. Do the rest of your cards look anything like this (http://www.wicce.com/barnes&noble.jpg)?

[Silverwolfthorn]

ok option 1

My tarot cards are, i think, based on the Crowley deck. The cards are simple, the pictures on them relate to both the title of the card and the cards meaning. The meaning of the card is often dipicted within subtle symbols but the title of the card is depicted slightly more obviously. Also the colours of the clothes on the people in my cards seem to also have significance to the meaning.

The card's corners are colour coordinated (what a mouthful) depending on the card's suit. There is a very basic picture in the centre of a black background. These cards seem to have a floral theme going on. The High Priestess is holding on to flower, but im not sure if it is now, it looks suspiously like a pomegranate. I dont know. But all of the cards have some sort of plant on them.

Um... i really dont know what else to put.

Ok these cards are from Running press and called "tarot - the complete kit". They were 5 99 from Otakas. Lol ok thats me done sorry it was so brief i just didnt really know what to write.

Blessed be
Silverwolfthorn

[Home & Garden Witch]

Option 1: Tell me about your own tarot deck. What is it's history? Tell me how you feel it relates to the first tarot decks used for games. Is it based on the Waite or Crowley deck? Explain to me why you feel it to be so. What occult influences do you see in your deck? Is there anything else that strikes you as interesting about your deck? Show me your sources.


I have the Rider Waite deck, however within the near future I am planning to buy the Forest Folklore Tarot deck because it calls to me very much so.


These cards are inspired by a combination of old England and 'new forest'. HERE (http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/forest-folklore/index.shtml) are some images of this deck. It is based heavily on the Waite deck, which I also like. The images call to me like something from my waite deck, although I don't know much about the Crowley decks, other than what I've learned researching this assignment. What really draws me into the deck is the beautiful artwork, and a connection that I can't really describe yet.

As for relating to the original decks used for games... I feel that the artwork on the cards (this is something that's always important to me, obviously!) is such that you can feel the emotion, and I also get that same feeling from the original playing card images I have seen. (I base a lot of my view points on my instinct, if you can't tell!)

Occult influences I see a strong place in this deck. Between the fae, the black cat (in the wheel of the year card) and the "Lady of Cups Card" that they show on the page I posted above, I see a lot of visual occult influences, more so than I see in my Rider-Waite deck which merely has "average people" as it's images.

I wish that I had more source to base this off of, this is a deck that I feel particularly drawn to, and as it is fairly new I can't find much information on it...

[Noriohtle]

Tell me about your own tarot deck. What is it's history?

Ok well i have 2 decks that are in my possession ; One which i feel comfortable using and learning how to read with which was sent to me by a kind friend ... and it was just sent out of the blue. Not much real story here unless she wants to share it with everyone but as for me i just found it in my mailbox one day. The Second Deck was given to me a few months ago
when my Aunt Passed away and her son called me to come over and pick something up as she had left instructions that the box on her Table was mine and mine alone. I had always tried to play with this box over the years as i grew not knowing what was in it.. well i now am the owner of a very tattered set of cards in a beautify hand carved wooden box. under the cards is a slip of paper with my grandmothers signature and the date of her passing and my aunts signature by which i placed the date of her passing and below which i signed my name.


Tell me how you feel it relates to the first tarot decks used for games.

I look at and read about the game that was played I truly myself don't see the Tarot I know within this game. But as someone else did what i now know has come about. But in the Decks of 62 cards used to play this game more remind me of a basic poker deck than a Tarot deck..


Is it based on the Waite or Crowley deck? Explain to me why you feel it to be so.

This 78 card Deck tells as story one that unfolds in different manner every time the cards are viewed. The cards seem to talk to me and show me lovely stories, and they can also give me nightmares. But i seem drawn to continue sifting through them and listening to its stories.
allowing them to unfold be they telling me of things that have happened or will happen for me i know not but the stories are quite compelling.


What occult influences do you see in your deck?

I would not necessarily say i see signs of the occult in my cards but i do see a love of nature and reference to magic and anywhere evil is represented there seems to be a pentacle present maybe what i see as everyday representations of magic and love of nature were meant to represent the occult though.


Is there anything else that strikes you as interesting about your deck?

well when i first looked at my deck i thought this was a very child like deck .. one that would be used mostly by teens or young adults the illustrations all seem to have a very cartooned look to them as i read more and more about my deck it seems that i am not the only one that felt this way about the deck when they first saw it but as i have they grew to love it as well.



I belive this answers the questions in Option 1; Still reading and researching to see if i can find something different or an expounded view for any history seen yet here as all i have seen have very interesting points.

[ajna]

when my Aunt Passed away and her son called me to come over and pick something up as she had left instructions that the box on her Table was mine and mine alone. I had always tried to play with this box over the years as i grew not knowing what was in it.. well i now am the owner of a very tattered set of cards in a beautify hand carved wooden box. under the cards is a slip of paper with my grandmothers signature and the date of her passing and my aunts signature by which i placed the date of her passing and below which i signed my name.

(stunned) That is amazingly awesome. Three generations...wow.

[Geist]

Hey... I'm trying to find your deck... can you tell me who the publisher is? It should say in the booklet that came with the deck, or on the border of the cards. The year it was published would help too. Do you have any other information, like the author? Thanks :)


Unfortunatly I have no information there is no date on the deck and my mother decided it was a "good" idea to throw away the book it came with *Sigh*..

[Niamh celtic mist]

Option 1: Tell me about your own tarot deck. What is it's history? Tell me how you feel it relates to the first tarot decks used for games. Is it based on the Waite or Crowley deck? Explain to me why you feel it to be so. What occult influences do you see in your deck? Is there anything else that strikes you as interesting about your deck? Show me your sources.


My deck is the Robin Wood Tarot (1991) It was originally designed for the creator's personal use. The deck is steeped in pagan symbolisim.

Compared to the original Tarot playing cards from the early 15th centuary they are similar in that they contain the number cards 1-10, The Court cards and the 22 special cards.

They are based on the Rider Waite Tarot..the cards use the pictures to tell a story. The images on a few of the cards are different from the Rider Waite deck ....but for the most part the deck is close enough that they are familiar...Swords, Pentacles, Wands, and Cups are used.

The Pagan theme is the focal point on the cards..Some examples are the Magician..in this deck he is wearing an antler headdress, there is an alter with cup, crossed swords, pentacle, and two candles behind him....The Priestess is wearing a pentacle necklace, a head band with a goddess moon on it and she is holding a book and a crystal ball...under a full moon..The Devil card is missing Baphomet, but has the man and woman chained to a chest filled with treasure that they are striving to pull in opposit directions..their chains make the the symbol of an inverted pentacle..(I like the symbolism of this card..it shows that we often work at cross purposes..and that greed can cloud our judgement)

The cards resonate with occult influences..Air, Swords, and Fire. The sun and moon are shown in many of the cards..The Judgement Card shows a woman rising from a cauldron of fire..with the Pheonix behind her...The chariot is being drawn by Unicorns..one black and one white...


The interesting part of this deck is the easy way in which the pagan symbolism blends with the original Rider Waite design....making the cards familiar and yet comfortable with someone who has a pagan background. They are very good for beginners because the pictures are rich, vibrant, and easy to interpret... :flowers:

Sources:

The Robin Woods Tarot booklet

http://www.tarothermit.com/[/url]

http://www.robinwood.com/[/url]

http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/robin-wood/[/url]

http://www.intuitivetarot.com/RobinWood.html

[LisaT4P]

The Druidcraft Tarot is a deck that combines the teachings of tarot, druidry and wicca.

It was created by Phillip Carr-Gomm, Stephanie Carr-Gomm and Will Worthington who are all members of the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids. Phillip Carr-Gomm has been the leader of the OBOD for 17 years and he has a degree in psychology and has been trained in both adult and child psychotherapy. Stephanie Carr-Gomm is Philip’s wife and the Scribe for OBOD. Will Worthington is the artist of the Druidcraft Tarot and the Pendragon of the OBOD. These three produced the Druid Animal Oracle in 1994. Will Worthington also co-created the Green Man Tree Oracle with John Matthews in 2003.

The Druidcraft Tarot was produced using tempura paints (egg yolk and minerals).

The book that accompanies the deck discusses the significance of Wicca, Druidism, Pythagoran numerology and is mainly based on the Golden Dawn system of tarot, more closely linked to Arthur Edward Waite’s version than to Aleister Crowley’s. The majority of the art for the cards relies on Pamela Coleman Smith's interpretations with a few departures.

A few changes have been made to the arcana in this deck such as the Devil being changed to Cernunnos, Temperance to Fferyllt, the Emperor and Empress to the Lord and Lady and Judgement to Rebirth. One of my favorite changes in the deck is the use of the Wild Boar replacing the traditional Lion in the Strength card.

Druidcraft Tarot: http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/druidcraft/
Order of Ovates Bards & Druids: http://www.druidry.org/
Druid Animal Oracle: http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/druid-animal-oracle/
Green Man Tree Oracle: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?userid=LF89IH9B4h&isbn=0760747016&itm=7

[Odilla]

I use the World Spirit Tarot Deck. I picked it because I wanted something very eclectic, using aspects of different areas of the world. It is very much based on the Rider-Waite deck. The cards themselves show very much the same symbolism, and tell a story, very much like the Rider-Waite deck. Although the Word Spirit deck has changed some things around, which I like. I don’t really think it relates too well to the original game deck, other then having the suits and such. Each card as so much detail that you can see something different every time you look at the card.

Sources:
http://www.overtheedgetarot.com/world_spirit_tarot_review.htm
http://www.tarotpassages.com/worldspirit.htm
http://www.learntarot.com/wddesc.htm
http://www.aeclectic.net/world-spirit/review.shtml

[Rainey]

Option 1.

Tell me about your own tarot deck. What is it's history?

My tarot deck is a deck that was a gift from a rather... eccentric... woman down the street. Perhaps I stared a bit too long one day when I was walking down the street and saw her spreading cards out on her patio. I have no idea. All I know is that she came up to me and handed me a deck of self-made cards. Tried to give 'em back, but she insisted that I keep them. After a few minutes, I decided that 'some silly cards' were not worth arguing over when all I really wanted to do was get home.

Tell me how you feel it relates to the first tarot decks used for games.

Eh, well, this particular deck probably wasn't used much for games, but, overall, I can definitely see how it's related to games. The minor arcana could've been used for some sort of poker-style game. Or those neat matching games, where you match pictures. Well, actually, that probably wouldn't work as they all look different... but, I guess you could attempt it if you wish.

Is it based on the Waite or Crowley deck? Explain to me why you feel it to be so.

Well, apparently the lady down the street liked the Old English tarot deck. And the Rider-Waite deck, too. But not the Crowley deck, apparently. This deck... doesn't seem to be quite a 'deep' as the Crowley deck. It has much simpler images and less... color.

What occult influences do you see in your deck?

I honestly don't know enough about occult to answer this question. If there are any, they're probably hidden in clear sight where I can't see them.

Is there anything else that strikes you as interesting about your deck?

The missing Hanged Man card. Perhaps that's why she wanted to get rid of the deck. The minor arcana are also quite bland compared to the major arcana. But, that's okay. It's nice, though I'm looking for another deck that I'd like to use that preferably has the Hanged Man. But... perhaps it was left out for a reason. I'll have to ask.

Sources

http://www.webpresspro.com/tarot/tarot_card_index.htm
http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/rider-waite/
http://www.themysticeye.com/pics/thoth.htm

[Greybird]

Option 1: Tell me about your own tarot deck. What is it's history? Tell me how you feel it relates to the first tarot decks used for games. Is it based on the Waite or Crowley deck? Explain to me why you feel it to be so. What occult influences do you see in your deck? Is there anything else that strikes you as interesting about your deck? Show me your sources.

Fair warning: I tend to be long winded. It is part of my nature. You should see my wife’s eyes glaze over when I drop into my ‘thirty-minute speech’ tone of voice. You have been warned! ;)

I use the Robin Wood tarot. The cards themselves are dated 1989, and I’ve had my deck since about 1995, although I haven’t done a reading (or really had the cards out) since about ’97. As to the specific history of the cards, I can’t really comment. Whatever little white book they came with them has long since vanished. PeleRising also did his assignment on this deck, so I can refer you to his scholarship (http://mysticwicks.com/showpost.php?p=1747716&postcount=18) for a more specific history of their design and development.

I used the Waite deck for quite some time, and have spent some time looking at Crowley’s Thoth deck. These cards are clearly derived from the Waite deck. The Thoth, and most derivatives I’ve seen, tend not to be just ‘focused’ on symbology, but seem so heavily symbolic that they border on the abstract. Some of them you have to study to even recognize the core element of the picture. The Waite decks, while having plenty of symbolism, tend to express a scene, and integrate the symbolism into that scene. Similarly, the Robin Wood deck presents expressive scenes – when you look at the Hermit card, you see a hermit, and you see the situation he’s in, and you get an inkling of his personality. A single frame from a story, in other words. See the comparison HERE (http://greybird3339.home.insightbb.com/hermits.jpg).

The deck seems to have been, essentially, a re-draw of the Waite cards as opposed to a complete re-imagining of the concepts of the cards. The same elements are generally in the same places in both the minor arcana and in the trumps. The biggest difference in the redraw is a change in some of the symbolism. The Waite cards had a great deal of Egyptian/Hermetic/ceremonial symbolism, plus plenty of Judeo-Christian influence. Robin Wood replaced these elements with symbolism and imagery more suited to modern paganism. The Waite High Priestess, for instance, is shown seated between black and white (lotus?) pillars, a copy of the Torah in her hand, and a crescent moon at her feet, wearing what appears to be a lunar headpiece, and with a solar cross on her blue robes. The Robin Wood High Priestess, on the other hand, has replaced the black and white pillars with black and white trees. The crescent is now a full moon above her head, the and the Torah is a Book of Shadows. Despite the differences, she retains the blue robes, black hair, and lunar headpiece. See a comparison HERE (http://greybird3339.home.insightbb.com/priestesses.jpg).

Other pagan symbology is scattered throughout the cards – black & white candles behind the Magician, moon phases on the Empress’s circlet, crystal tipped wands as opposed to more obviously phallic Waite wands, the Lovers equated to the sun and moon, the respect for nature shown in the Strength card (a powerful lion and a woman strong (willed?) enough to hold it on her lap, as opposed to the woman dominating the lion forcefully in the Waite deck), and lots of similar examples. There are a few cards completely redone – the Wheel of Fortune (the original was exceedingly non-pagan, with lots of Hebrew and Egyptian symbolism; it was probably easier just to start from scratch), Death, which is less of an overtly intimidating, violent concept and more of a dark, but comforting figure. The Devil doesn’t show a devil; rather it shows people voluntarily bound to materialism (think of the body-over spirit symbolism sometimes attributed to the inverted pentagram), and Judgment uses the phoenix and a cauldron (scads of occult symbolism just there) for rebirth rather than the Christian rapture.

As to what strikes me as interesting about the deck - it is the third deck I’ve owned. My first was an odd woodcut set given to me by a friend. It was simply what I had – it never really appealed to me. The second was the classic Rider-Waite tarot, which I used for several years, during which time I went through some unpleasant and confusing bits of life. At one point I decided that I’d gotten too many associations with that particular deck , so I went looking for something else. The Robin Wood tarot was the first to really catch my eye. Back in the late ‘80s, when I was first getting my feet wet in the occult, before I’d even heard of wicca, I used to read everything I could get my hands on from every branch of the local library. About 85% of what I read I would now have rolled my eyes at and put back on the shelf, and it was very unsatisfying. Most of what I found was the typical “Astonishing Mind Powers” junk so prevalent back then. It was utterly unbelievable, and left me cold. Finally, when I was about to walk the other way, I came upon Scott Cunningham’s ‘Magical Herbalism’, the one book that finally introduced me to something both practical and believable – no promises of money falling from the clouds, or enemies bursting into warts, just practical instruction and honest explanations. That book genuinely inspired me. I read it and studied it until the pages fell out, then got another copy and did the same thing again. While I’ve moved on to other things since, it was that book that got me looking at the world in a different way. At one time in my life, I probably had every word memorized, and the illustrations had utterly burned themselves into my subconscious – those words and bits of art represented a new way of looking at life to me. I still sometimes pull it (my third copy, now) off the shelf and look at the illustrations when I need a bit of a personal refreshing.

I didn’t know why the Robin Wood tarot so caught my eye when I picked it up off the shelf in a Reno magic shop, but it did. I figured out quite some time later that it was Robin Wood who did the illustrations for Magical Herbalism, and the cards are done in the same style. The style of these cards, then, has a firm grounding in my psyche, and reminds me of those fantastic early days when things are all discovery and delight – you know, before all the toil and trouble sets in. ;)

Here are a couple of examples of the cards:

Example 1 (http://greybird3339.home.insightbb.com/rwref2.jpg)

Example 2 (http://greybird3339.home.insightbb.com/rwref1.jpg)

My sources:

The Robin Wood tarot deck
The Rider-Waite tarot deck
Wicce's Tarot Collection (http://www.wicce.com/deckreviews.html) , specifically for the Thoth Hermit image.

[Catiana]

Option 1: Tell me about your own tarot deck. What is it's history? Tell me how you feel it relates to the first tarot decks used for games. Is it based on the Waite or Crowley deck? Explain to me why you feel it to be so. What occult influences do you see in your deck? Is there anything else that strikes you as interesting about your deck? Show me your sources

I have a Celtic Dragon deck. It was created in 1999 by D.J. Wonway & Lisa Hunt (illustration). The creators chose to the make the deck unique. All of the illustrations and celtic symbols. All of the landscapes of the designs are from Ireland, Scotland and Wales, with the all of the clothing being medievil in design. The creators chose to avoid anytype of New Age looks and designs.

The deck follows the traditional methods of portaying the tarot symbols with with cards being able to be laid in any divination pattern. There are a few exceptions to traditional cards. This deck is only read in the upright position and n ot the reversed position and the creator has changed the elements associates with Wands and Swords. With this deck Wands is associated with Air and Swords is associated with Fire. The other differences is that the names of two cards of the Major Arcane have been changed. Card 5 is the High Priest and Card 15 is Chains. The creator chose to make this chance because she felt tht the usual names did not reflect pre-Christian Celtic Spirtuality.

I am not familiar enough with Waite and Crowley decks to know which the deck is more closely based on.

The deck is influenced by dragons and Celtic spirtuality, which is the reason I was drawn to this deck.

I also love this deck because the illustrations are so incredibly wonderful and lifelike.

Source:

The Guide to The Celtic Dragon Tarot - D.J. Conway and Lisa Hunt. .

[Geist]

Doing some quick checking. The border and method of naming ("Queen" above and "Swords" below) looks a lot like the 'Barnes & Noble' deck. It is hard to say, because the picture is so small. Do the rest of your cards look anything like this (http://www.wicce.com/barnes&noble.jpg)?

YES!!

Thats my deck thank you for finding it for me~~e! :veryweird

[Greybird]

YES!!

Thats my deck thank you for finding it for me~~e! :veryweird

Great! If you haven't already found it, here (http://www.wicce.com/barnesandnoble.html) is their overview of that particular deck.

[Amethyst Rose]

Okay, everyone, I'm here! Incase you all were wondering what I've been up to and why I haven't really been replying to assignments, it's because I had a long weekend and spent most of the last 3 days with family and not online.

I'll go read assignments now. :)

[Amethyst Rose]

Alright, I'm done looking through everyones answers and they were all really well done. I'm really impressed with the work that went into these answers. Greybird, you rock!

I'll be posting grades and the next lesson shortly.

[Nellie]

Grades????? We get graded on our assignments!!!! :woah:

[Amethyst Rose]

Don't worry about it too much :) It's basically just a way for me, and you, to see how you're doing, and if you're understanding the lessons and assignments.

[dolphincity47446]

Assignment 1 - Option 1

I am using the Connolly Tarot deck. This deck was designed by Eileen Connolly, based on her vision of the meaning of the cards. Her son, Peter Paul, used colored pencils to bring her alive. The deck was published in 1990.
I think that this deck is closer to the Waite deck with the designs and the symbols.
The colors in this deck seems to stand out more to me than other decks. I enjoy using this deck to read for other people because there are less negativity in the cards. For example, the "Death" card has been changed to "Transformation" and the "Devil" card has been changed to "Materialism" in this deck. To me the images seem to come "alive" in this deck.

I also have the Gendron tarot deck. This deck was made by Melaine Gendron in 1997. Four Gods or Goddesses from different cultures are assigned to each card and suit in this deck. There are certain animals that are also related to each card and suit. For example, dolphins are related to the suit of cups. The Knights are replaced with the Prince and the Pages are replaced with the Princess.
I think that this deck is closer to the Waite deck also because of the design and some of the symbols.
This deck also has more positive qualities than other decks as this deck does not use the "Death" or the "Devil" cards either instead they have been changed to "Transformation" and "Materialism". I consider this deck as my favorite deck and I only use this deck to read for myself. My favorite thing about this deck is the fact that the people used in this deck seem so real, the images are very detailed.


My resources:

http://learntarot.com/

[Enozgirl]

I'm going to give this another stab, now that I'm not in the middle of training new people here at work.


Tell me about your own tarot deck. What is it's history? Tell me how you feel it relates to the first tarot decks used for games. Is it based on the Waite or Crowley deck? Explain to me why you feel it to be so. What occult influences do you see in your deck? Is there anything else that strikes you as interesting about your deck? Show me your sources.
The tarot deck I'll be using is The Dragon Tarot, by Terry Donaldson. This deck was published in 1996 using artwork from Peter Pracownik. In creating this deck, Terry and Peter drew on Dragon legends from around the world to compile "keys" to the mystical secrets of life. Terry created "Dragonland", ruled by the Dragon Emperor and Emperess. Each suit of the minor arcana details a different aspect of Dragonland, along with the particular trials and rewards each area may provide. For example, the suit of Wands shows a dragon on a travel through the desert, stopping at an Oasis along the way, then continuing through the heat of the daytime.

The Dragon Tarot uses the traditional tarot structure, and uses the traditional Major and Minor arcana. It's not like other decks I've seen that have changed some of the cards. The deck also incorporates elements, astrological signs, and even aspects of the Tree of Life.

What's interesting about this deck is that there are no humans in it (well, except for the bones of a Knight on the "Hanging Dragon" card). I feel that the dragon is our key to understanding that part of ourselves that we do not wish to see. Sort of like ignoring the elephant in the middle of the room. The dragon has always been a symbol of initiation of entry into the world of magick and mystery, and in this regard, working through the deck has aided me on my spiritual journey more than any other deck I've used.

I believe this deck relates more to the Waite deck rather than the Crowley deck. I believe the deck tells more of the story of the dragon, most particularly in the Minor Arcana. Each suit is separated into a single dragon's journey through the element. There are guide dragons that visit them along the way, but in the end, the dragon makes the journey on his/her own. So while it does include a lot of symbolism, I feel that it's more of a story. I suppose, in its usage of storytelling *and* symbolism, it's a uniting of the two, but the heavier influence is from the Waite-style deck.

The dragon itself is very occult. In restricting the imagery to dragons interacting with their landscape, rather than humans and dragons interacting together, I believe the deck forces you to take a more metaphysical approach to the reading and interpretation. And it's not just dragons taking the place of humans in the deck, either. Plus, there's different types of dragons for each suit, tapping more into the mythical meanings behind these dragons. For example, the dragon used for the "Coins" suit is more earthbound, while the Air dragon has no legs on which to stand.

I love my deck. The deck allows you to tap into your own dragon energy, and see what lessons you have before you.

Sources:

The Dragon Tarot - source book by Terry Donaldson

[Amethyst Rose]

That was much better, great job!

[i_am_serenity16]

Option 1: Tell me about your own tarot deck. What is it's history? Tell me how you feel it relates to the first tarot decks used for games. Is it based on the Waite or Crowley deck? Explain to me why you feel it to be so. What occult influences do you see in your deck? Is there anything else that strikes you as interesting about your deck? Show me your sources.

This was a hard assignment for me to complete… as I informed you it is a bit late and for that I apologize (dumb SAT test’s had my brain fried for most of the week). However, I wanted to do this one because I thought it might help me connect with my deck a little more. So here goes…

My deck was hard to research as it is just a cheap, generic deck I bought at a huge store with a tiny corner devoted to paganism… it is the only shop within 2 hours of my house that sells anything pagan. Since it is a generic deck made by a press company called “Running Press Inc.” I couldn’t find any details on it anywhere online, even with my numerous searches I couldn’t turn up too much. So what I have is based on my knowledge of tarot (which is fairly limited) and looking at the Rider and Crowley decks.
My deck, I believe, is influenced primarily by the Rider deck. The images are quite similar, but I believe they have a bit more of a “modern flair” to them… the colors are extremely vibrant, bold, and vivid. I see ties to paganism everywhere in the images of the deck, the drawings are depicted as elements or animals except in the case of a few cards like The Fool, The Devil, The Lovers, Strength, and the kings and queens of each suit.

That is pretty much all I could determine from my deck, which to tell the truth I am thinking of buying a new one… I’d really like to get an Egyptian Tarot deck. Anyways, my sources are…

www.learntarot.com
“Tarot” written by Dennis Fairchild and Illustrated by Julie Paschkis, Published by Running Press Inc.