Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A worthwhile first deck, 1 Jul 2004
Unlike one of the other reviewers (and in no way am I insulting their review) but I found these cards to be very good for beginners.
I have quite a few tarot decks and these are extremely well drawn with lots of wonderful imagery in them. The deck has slightly changed from the more traditional Rider Waite based decks. The four suits are Wands, Spears, Stone and Grail, and instead of knight and page for the court cards, it is knight and maiden.Why I liked this deck and accompanying book which comes with it is that it had the right balance of information. Some booklets have nothing less a description and some can go into the cards in so much detail that it can be baffling. Caitlin and John Andrews have got it right. For every Minor card there is a description of the cards imagery, a piece of background related to the stories of Arthur and then the divinationary meanings of the card. Because of the small piece of background however, I found these cards extremely easy to memorise and understand their meanings even though I know very very little of the Legend of Arthur. The reason I say this would be a good first deck is that some of the images in the major arcana have changed slightly which could confuse people who are familiar with the more traditonal greater powers: For example, The Devil is the Green Man in this deck, The Hanged Man is the Wounded King, Death is The Washer at the Ford. The meanings are pretty much the same of course, but it can slightly throw you off at the beginning. If this is your very first deck however I do think you could pick it up and enjoy it very quickly.
And if it isn't your first deck and you can get over the initial hurdle of some of the major cards going under different names then I am sure you will enjoy this deck immensly as I have, whether you know anything about the legend of Arthur is irrelevant as you'll learn as you follow the quest
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Outstanding deck for anyone working within the Celtic or Arthurian traditions, 9 Dec 2006
This is far and away my favourite deck, and has stood the test of time. For me, the images and connections work even better than the OBOD "Druidcraft Tarot".
I am not a diehard fan of the Matthews by any stretch of the imagination: certainly I have taken issue elsewhere with the dubious scholarship and mistranslations that underlie some of their published work. However, in developing the Arthurian Tarot, I believe they have played to their strengths, and produced a deck of stunning beauty and deep insight.
The images resonate profoundly with anyone familiar with the magical places of Britain and Ireland: on many of the cards I just know that I recognise the background, even if I can't quite place it. There is an uncompromising combination of ethereal beauty and almost matter-of-fact savagery in the deck, reflecting the realities of life and death which have bound both us and our ancestors to the wheel of incarnation.
The acccompanying booklet, as other reviewers have noted, balances the need for brevity with sufficient information to allow even a beginner to dig below the superficial and start to make their own connections as they work with the deck.
I also recommend the companion "Hallowquest" book for further study, particularly the year-long course of meditations based upon the cards. Although I would not agree with some of the conclusions the Matthews draw, the approach they advocate definitely brings an understanding of the relationship between the suits, the Major Arcana, the passing of the seasons and the Land itself: this is highly charged and very effective. For pagans and Druids in particular, the correspondence between the outer world and the Inner / Otherworld will become clearer and deeper as they work with the deck through the year.
Very highly recommended - all in all a first class tool for divination, ritual, and personal growth.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
not for beginners, 17 Jan 2002
By A Customer
My friend told me that these cards were perfect for medition so i brought them. The art work on the cards are very beautiful and i enjoyed using them, but the handbook the came with them was not very informitive.Then i used them as tarot cards and being a beginner, i found them very hard to read.I then brought the book 'Hallowquest' The Arthurian Tarot Course. And this helped me to get the most out of my meditation with the cards, but being a beginner at Tarot i found that i had to buy a simple tarot deck and books.
The Arthurian Tarot and Handbook are great if you are experenced at Tarot.And great if you want to use them for Meditation. But i would also recommend The 'Hallowquest' book.
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