If you are an experienced Tarotist who is looking for a deck to really stretch that intuitive muscle, look no further than the Margarete Petersen Tarot (MPT).
This 78-card deck has an accompanying 78-page book. The booklet is very informative re the creation of this Tarot deck. The Majors are listed with poetic phrases to help jog your own imagination into life; the Courts are listed next as personality portraits. Given that Courts are notoriously difficult to interpret effectively, the poetic spiel given for each of them isn't always helpful; prior to the Minors section, MP provides a reasonable outline of elemental and numerical importance when considering this section of the Tarot. Again, the interpretative section is very poetic - but I found it actually quite useful. Note: There are not specific interps provided for reversals.
Now to the images on these cards.
The card back design is a stippled painted effect which readily lends itself to reversals.
If you need a lot of detail to help you interpret a card, then the MPT is not for you. Yes, some images are crystal clear - certainly in the Majors. However, most of the illustrated pips have a dreamlike, hazy quality with splashes of Eastern imagery. At first glance, these images might seem devoid of symbols or images to focus upon, but give your imagination/intuition a little time and you can soon discern much more.
Several of the cards are renamed: eg The Crone steps in in place of The Hermit, Trial replaces The Hanged Man, Mediatrix replaces Temperance, Renewal replaces Judgement. Oh - and Justice is VIII and Strength is XI.
I absolutely adore working with this deck, but you need to have confidence in working intuitively - or at least buy the deck with the intention of developing one's intuitive capabilities.
This deck was originally published in German - so please be aware that there are English and German versions out there.
