Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Spectacular Tarot Deck, 2 May 2004
I have seen many Tarot decks and currently have six sets that are very different in their artistic styles. Nathalie Hertz has created an absolutely beautiful deck with the Fantastical tarot. The cards are of a high quality and it is obvious that a lot of time and energy went into this deck. Each card is unique, unlike many other decks where the minor arcana cards are of the same format as normal playing cards. The artwork is spectacular, especially on the major arcana cards (the lovers is my particular favorite, to the point of having had a tattoo of it done). Even the reverse side of the deck has a design that has been nicely done, this is a refreshing change as a lot of decks have very basic or even plain backs. There is a slightly gothic, although not too dark, feel to the whole deck - particularly in the major arcana cards. In use, this is a deck which I personally have found to be very easy to use and connect with, the only real downside is the booklet that is supplied with the cards. The meaning of each card given by the book is a bit "thin", but this can also be said of many other sets. Even if you do not use them often or at all this is a perfect deck to add to any collection.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
It could have been so much more!!!, 3 Aug 2007
I fell in love with images that I had seen of this deck. Usually I stay away from decks with a gothic feel but this one drew me right in.
Until I got it. It arrived this morning and looking through it, I knew that what I had was another beautiful and unusual addition to a vastly expanding collection but not a deck I would be able to read with.
I love the artwork on these cards, some of them are just so unusual and otherworldly - perfect for stimulating the imagination if writing and great for meditation. However, with regards to reading ability, some of the cards left me cold.
I feel as though the artist put 110% into some of the cards and then ran out of steam for the others - the famous 3 Swords, the iconic image of the swords piercing the heart in this deck becomes 3 swords hanging over... nothing - a cloud of white mist. This totally alters the meaning of the card for me and becomes no more helpful than an non-pictorial pip card. Others, like the 5 pentacles, instead of being beggars outside in the snow, they are two dudes sitting in a pub with a drink sitting next to a cosy fire - again, too different to interpret in the normal way.
I would not trade this deck, I really love the feel and atmosphere of the cards but I would probably use them for something other than reading. I don't think that this would be a suitable deck for beginners because of the alternative card images.
The cards themselves are a good size, easy to shuffle and are of medium card stock, nice and sturdy but not stiff. The artwork is just beautiful and, in typical US Games fashion, laminated to within an inch of their lives giving the impression that each image is compressed beneath a pane of glass (which I really love).
Overall, I think a must have for collectors - if you use your decks for reading only, try to research this and see if you can find a way of looking through all the card images before you invest.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Just not for me..., 6 Sep 2007
I got this deck after seeing some samples of the cards online, which I was really drawn to, but unfortunately when I got the deck itself, it just left me cold.
I just couldn't connect with the images and didn't feel I could read with the cards. Some of the more traditional Tarot archetypes have been re-drawn to fit the style of the deck (e.g. The Empress is cold and gaunt, in comparision to the typical pregnant and glowing...) and I found the new interpretations difficult to work with.
In the end, I gave the deck to a friend, who loved it...!
The idea behind this deck is quite wonderful but I think that the execution just needed a bit more attention. It could have been brilliant, but it just left me disappointed.
On a side note, I found that the gold borders of the cards were quite easy to chip, so they need careful handling.
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