Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent, 21 Aug 2001
I spotted this deck on the shelf in a bookshop and as soon as i saw it i knew i had to get it. I'm familair with Ms Hertz works (Fantastical Tarot) and so bought it and went straight home.This deck is not really for the light hearted, so if you only sort of like the vampire myth , or dont like decks that are quite dark i dont recommend this deck. I'm quite a dark/gothic in nature so this deck suits me down the ground. The deck isn't exactly a Waite clone, but it keeps to the traditional meanings somewhat. The art isn't for everyone tastes, but if you like the Fantastical Tarot or the Londa Tarot, but with a vampiric twist then this is the deck for you. It doesn't run like an Anne Rice novel or Dracula, but if you live in a fantasy world of vampires in general, then stop reading and get buyin! The booklet contains a descriptive paragraph with divinationary meanings and reversed meanings with the Majors. Hertz refers to the vampires in the cards as "Bat" which is a nice term i've never heard used before. The Minors have some symbolism to them and thus have a quick sentence explainin the symbols with divinationary and reversed meanings. Since gettin the deck i've had good readings, both for myself and for other people, though you'd better check its their cuppa tea. Blood, fangs, darkness, pale faces are rife in this deck... yummy! Blessings and Happy readings! Bat ~0~
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Tarot Chiropterrix, 8 Jan 2005
This is not your standard RWS or Swiss tarot, accept that and we shall get along splendidly. The images often bare little of the traditional symolism which seems to upset one reviewer, however I call that an advantage. It gives one cause to look at the pictures, to examine the personal meanings of each card. Using this deck one cannot simply lay a card and recite it's meaning by rote. I am quite the vampirophile and on this fromt I cannot comlain either, the vampires (or 'bats' as the artist calls them, hence the title of my review) are stylish and unique, yes, but that is no bad thing. The Fool and Magician are particularly superb. The pip cards each have their own style, the Swords all show tormented stone statuary danced around my swords whilst the wands show portraites of vampires. All of the major arcana images are splendidly macarbre from 0, a painted harlequin licking blood from a razor to 21, a vampiress at large in a dormitory of sleeping maids. As for the sun, well, use your imagination, I think you know what it is. Personaly, I'd hang the sun image on my wall if it were large enough.If you expect to get bad nerws from a reading and your Rider-Waite-Smith just doesn't seem man enough for the job, this is the deck you need.
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12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
A deck not loyal to the principal concepts of Tarot. Bad., 16 Oct 2002
By A Customer
I waited weeks for this deck, and was terribly disappointed when I finally received it. I am a freak about vampires (you can't name a film I haven't seen about them etc.) and adore Tarot so I was well fired up when I heard about this deck. What I received is a deck with very poor, childlike artwork. For example, the vampire's teeth are often simply drawn over the top of the lips with no effort to make them look as if they are coming out of the mouth! The artwork is also such that the vampires look more like elves with big teeth! As someone steeped in everything vamparic from the old Bela Lugosi classics through to the Hammer Horrors and right up to today's versions such as Blade - I can honestly say I have never seen a vampire that looked like an elf! You get the feel that the author hasn't done their homework on the vampire front at all.
In terms of Tarot itself, it seems the author has put even less effort into making this an authentic Tarot deck with imagery true to the cards' meanings.
The imagery appears to have not been thought out at all as many cards bear almost no relevance to the traditional meaning. In fact, most cards simply have one central character of a large vampire, with perhaps some tiny additional imagery in the very background if you are lucky. What evolves from that, is a deck that offers little in the way of imagery to aid card meaning recall, and a very boring deck where the author simply trys to display a single vampire in 78 interesting ways. This is really more like a collectors card deck about vampires than it is a Tarot deck. In fact, it doesn't even look or feel like a tarot deck and I could hardly see a distinction from one card to the next. I challenge anyone to lay down the Fool card next to the Death card and really FEEL the vibes and the contrast you would see with, say, the Rider-Waite; the central characters could swap cards and still be at home! Most cards look the same as any other in this deck and beginners will not be able to do a reading with it.
Any serious tarot reader wants a deck that is principally about Tarot and is not spoiled by the secondary subject (i.e. vampires in this case) overwhelming the purpse of the Tarot deck. You also really need a deck that has been designed by someone who is a master at Tarot themselves (like the Rider-Waite) or you inevitably end up with essential components missing from the imagery. Try, for example, to find anything that even points to astrological or Kabbalah connections, the elemental signs and numerology. It's just not there. Also not there is that little something within each card's image that provokes a meaning, an atmosphere or sensation as to the card's general message. There is simply nothing within the cards about meaning on any level and it is one of the most unreadable decks I have come across; you just can't connect with it.
I obviously cannot say if the author is a Tarot master, but the point is the deck gives the impression they are not; there simply seems to be no love of or understanding of Tarot injected into this deck. Preference is given to the vamparic artwork and even that is done badly and without apparent appreciation of vampire legend.
I would never recommend this deck for Tarot readings - whether by beginner or master.
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