Radiant Rider-Waite Tarot Deck [Cards]

Gorgous and delightful set of tarot cards based on the original Rider Waite (Pamela Coleman Smith) set yet colours much more vibrant and having an awesome affect on the mind. My only criticism would be the quality of the card which to me is very fine compared to original cards. Still, would highly recommend especially as a first deck.

For the first time I've actually been able to see the finer details!!! I love the Original Riders and it is the pack that I use the most for my personal readings. However, there are certain cards which are SO dark that you literally cannot see what is going on - for example King of Pentacles, you would never know it was bull's head carved on his throne or that his cloak is covered in grapes. The Death card is also so dark you can't see the people lying on the floor etc.

The Radiant puts an end to all this. At last the drawings seem to have the veil lifted from them and you can see teh finer details, which are integral to understanding the cards clearly. The colours used are vibrant and the lines of the drawings are very clear.

The only drawback with these cards is that the drawings are not the original ones done by Pamela Coleman Smith. They are heavily based and almost identical to them but they are not quite the same. Now. This does lead to a couple of changes in the cards, for example the purple curtain behind the High Priestess is fully covering the scene behind the throne. In the Original cards, a corner of the curtain is raised showing us a glimpse of a river/pool of water behind her. This is crucial to the card's meaning and yet is lost in the Radiant version. In the World card, the dancer is pictured with 2 white wands in her hands but in teh traditional cards there's one black wand - another crucial detail.
I really wished they had applied these colours to the Originals and left the drawings in their original form.

These cards are excellent for studying the tarot because the colours, another integral part of the meanings, can be seen clearly. The drawings are neater and I imagine those who can only study/use decks taht are aesthetically pleasing will be overjoyed with these.

I don't think, personally for me, these will ever replace my beloved Originals but overall, if you are looking for a starter deck or want an upgrade to your Originals (perhaps for a client reading these would be more appealing) or you need a clear deck to study, I would truly recommend the Radiant.

A previous reviewer criticised the artwork of this deck, but I couldn't disagree more. You need only look at the original Rider Waite to see the difference. The colours are vibrant and beautiful, whilst retaining the potent symbolism of their much loved but drab parent deck.