Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Wiccanish, confusing and colorless, 19 Jan 2006
I was excited at the idea of a "pagan tarot". My thought was that this would be a very generic deck that would appeal to any pagan on any path. I should not have thought; it is not good for me to think.The deck comes with a tiny little booklet. The first line in the tiny little booklet reads: "This entirely new tarot deck is illustrated with scenes from the life of a modern pagan or Wiccan." Looking at the deck... more Wiccan than pagan I'd say. But, a closer examination suggests "Wiccanish" more than anything else. However, I get ahead of myself. Let's start with the look and feel of the deck. The cards themselves are... bland. The color scheme might have been called "earth tones" except for the overuse of black, grey and sepia tone. No bold, bright colors here. Very little color at all. Sometimes a touch of a dull maroon. Or a dirty lavender. I hope this was not a printing error, and the deck I got was a mistake. The artwork itself is nicely drawn. The actual art is nice. Just wish it could have been a bit more "happier" in color and appeal. Our spiritual paths are happy, not sullen and monotone. Take a look at any pagan festival, the key word is color, no matter how loud or garish. We revel in color. We celebrate color. Yet, this artwork is colorless in my opinion, thus rendering the lovely artwork lifeless. The cards themselves have the name of the card and the card number at the top of the card. At the bottom the name is in four other languages. I get this: a universal feel to the deck. That's good. The people in the deck are all wearing robes. Nothing pagan here, but again very "Wiccanish". Like someone who was not familiar with Wiccan rites and beliefs had heard or read a few things and was drawing the images based on second hand knowledge. At least, that's how it appears. As an example I looked at The Lovers card. Where is the usual young couple entwined with each other? Instead we have a young girl in a robe looking at two paths, one with a person with a child and a house, the other with what appears to be a coven. What kind of lovers is this? Does she have to make a choice between family and religion? That doesn't make sense. To say I am disappointed with this deck is an understatement. To say I don't like it personally is to be honest. As a Wiccan Priestess, I have to say the images are overwrought, and do not address actual Wiccan practices or beliefs, but merely suggest from an outsiders point of view. As a Tarot reader, the images are strained, not suggestive of anything traditional, nor are they easily interpreted from the images presented. I also do not feel my clients would find the deck attractive. I certainly do not. It has to appeal to the client, or the client loses interest. As a pagan, it feels very specific to something "Wiccanish" rather than embracing the earth aspects and freedoms we hold dear. Overall, I would recommend you give this deck a good looking at before you decide to order it. Based on the name alone it may spark some interest, but I found it lacking in appeal and questionable in content. boudica
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Very different...., 18 April 2008
To say that this is an unusual Tarot deck is somewhat of an understatement! Initially when I bought it (having only seen the cover art on the box which looked favourable) I was quite shocked to see some of the images on the cards (more on this in a moment) and very rather disappointed in that I had bought a "duff" pack. For a "Pagan Tarot" this was certainly not what I had envisaged or expected.
This pack would appear at first glance to be two totally different decks mixed up together! To clarify what I mean, take the Magician card for example (as pictured on the box) showing a woman in a cloak kneeling down amidst what looks like gnarled roots of trees bathed in moonlight, with traditional items such as book and pentacle on the ground beside her. This is an image that I found quite "in keeping" with my expectations, not just because it was on the box but because it fitted with the mental images that my mind had drummed up of what a "pagan tarot" would be like. A young woman in the woods working with the powers of nature. So far so good. However, I would say that one third of the deck contains images such as this where you can clearly see that it is a pagan (with the emphasis on Wiccan) theme that is being represented. But then you turn to another card - the Chariot for example...and hang on a minute!! It shows a modern (if not completely up to date) image of a CAR. Yes, a car. Not a majestic horse drawn chariot, or even one pulled by various mythical beasts or infact anything to suggest the traditional feelings of speed and travel or a decision over which direction to take. I have to admit the first time I saw this card, I just stared at it blankly...how did this get into the deck? About another third of the cards in the pack have modern day seemingly "out of place" images on them such as shops and computers. (Have a look at the wheel of fortune card for the ultimate in "What the?!!!" factor the first time you look at it! )In fact, as previously mentioned, this makes the pagan tarot feel like two decks mixed into one. The final third of the deck seems to combine elements of both of the above e.g a modern scene but with robed figures in the scene aswell as plain clothed people etc.
The reason that some of these images were "shocking" was not so much the actual content of the images themselves (such as sexuality or death) but the fact that every time I came across a "modern" image after soothing my mind with the more expected ones was that it was like a jolt to the senses, suddenly bringing you back into the modern world with a bump. I thought about this for quite a while (whilst alternatively disliking the pack then finding another image that drew me in) until suddenly some of the cards stopped feeling quite so "off" and I started looking at the modern young girl in them and imagining doing some of the rather boring every day things she appeared to be doing, and I realised that this is exactly the whole point of this deck. Sometimes many of our ideals become so rooted in how our wonderful and vibrant imaginations want them to be, that we cease to see the Chariot, the Tower or the Lovers in the many guises that they can actually appear in our own lives. Not only are they abstract ideas and archetypes to help us understand the inner workings of our mind, but if we do not directly relate them to our everyday reality "out there" we may feel somewhat isolated from what a deck of cards is showing us and how and what it really means in "real life".
While this deck can be seen as alternatively either visually soothing (soft muted colours) or disturbingly odd, this is actually a deck that helps one to question many of our pre-conceived notions about what something "should" be depicted as, and perhaps we tend to get a little too used to always having traditional interpretations for cards, sometimes to the point that some of these traditional cards may even become a little tired. If you are feeling in need of something that departs quite radically from the Tarot norm, then this deck is sure to give you the cold shower - whether you then feel chilled and disturbed and hate the deck, or whether its differentness is something that you will find refreshing and awakening is not for me to say. As a final note, don't get me wrong, for as someone who is a collector of tarot decks and as a pagan myself, I still love all the vivid and mythically themed bright cards of other decks very much, and whilst I would not count this deck as being among my favourites, it has certainly grown on me, if I want to get another perspective on something or just challenge myself with these very different cards.
I have given this deck 3 stars, but it probably deserves 3 and a half. Or perhaps 4 on a good day and 2 on a bad day. That is the way this deck affects me. It is different things on different days. Just like the cards within the deck are different, reflecting life as it really is, not always our conceptions of what it should be like.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Pagan Tarot Pack - WOW Brilliant, 16 Aug 2008
I picked these cards up today quite by chance to use them to do a reading for my son (21). I could not find my usual trusty old prediction pack and these were staring at me. My son said, mum, just use any old pack, surely they are all the same!! Having put him right! I decided to give them a go. Firstly, I was amazed at how quickly I was able to relate to them. They are quite strange and unusual, but I loved them straight away. There is a modern mix with traditionalism. Not sure if Pagan is the correct title to use though, as it may unintentionally give people the wrong impression, for they are mixed with the old, the new and the 'way out'. However, if you like a challenge, and are looking for something which is refreshingly different, these are for you. The cards may not suit a beginner although each card does tell a story and that can be helpful when you are first starting out. As the last writer commented, the wheel of fortune is tad off the wall, but if you are a reader with some years of experience, you won't find this a difficulty.
Each card, pictorally does show a definite story and one in which you can add to. The colours are a little muted, however, I felt that added to the atmosphere of the cards, for example, the 9 pentacles, where the girl sits there chilling with a drink, her pink top looks great, standing out amongst the other muted colours. I feel the artist and designer have worked well together mixing the traditional with the modern.
Also, one comment about the lovers, one of the previous writers mentioned. The lovers, for me, is not necessarily about 'lovers' although it can be it can also be about choice... the choice we have in life, about anything, not necessarily about a lover, it has a much broader meaning, and I feel, again, it makes a refreshing change not to have a naked man and woman entwined. The girl in the card is making a choice, not necessarily about religion either! for example: Do I stay at home? or go away? do I buy that house or that one? Which man do I love? shall I take that job or that one? you see my meaning. The cards themsleves could help those who find it difficult to tell the story from meaning, because these cards each tell a their own story within the picture.
Anyway, I love them, and have taken to them immediately. I love the fact that they are so different and can jump from the old to the new. I particularly like the pictoral representation and how they are able to tell the story and how it can all relate to every day life as we know it now. Very clever.
I have rated them a 5, for use, colour, representation and individuality and that is because I have taken to them like a duck to water and enjoy the challenge of something a little different.
Irenabee
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