New aquisition; Universal Tarot

[Trogon]

Hi all... Went to my local Bookman's (used books) to check for any decks or books. Lo' and behold! They had The Universal Tarot with companion book on the shelf! Just love these used-book places. ;)

Interesting deck - at first, when I counted the cards to make sure they were all there, I thought some were missing... there were only 74 cards! But on doing some checking, I found that the author has not included the Knights in the court cards. I believe I now understand the term "moody minors" which Juice and Lee and others have used. The pip cards, while not fully illustrated as in the RWS - type decks (and others) do have some illustration so they are not simple pip cards. Very interesting... It remains to be seen whether or not I "connect" with this deck...

This is The Universal Tarot by Maxwell Miller... pictured here; http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/universal/index.html. I am curious about anybody else's opinions on or experiences with this deck...

[Melvis]

That is so funny, Trogon...I just got this deck a couple days ago! I haven't had much of a chance to go through it yet (At least 6 new decks in the last couple weeks...aahhh!) but the book looks interesting. I like how so many religions are represented in the deck, too.

Have fun with your new deck! It's nice that you could get it at a used bookstore, which is my favorite place to shop!

Peace,

Melvis
:TSTRE

[magipixie]

Hi,
This is the deck I got for Christmas, my first tarot deck. I ran asearch for the deck name and lo and behold someone else does own this deck!:) I was begining to think I was the only one, only because I never really see anyone else write anything about it. Personally I love it....I've always been really interested in theology and different cultural rituals so really it's perfect for me. And I absolutely love the artwork...the Desire card is my favorite. I was wondering about the differences between this deck and the standard RW deck, I posted in another thread that I thought the only difference was that there were only three court cards in each suit and that some of the Majors were renamed......was I right? Anyway, for some inexplicable reason, I'm just giddy that someone else has this deck...I really hope you like it!:)
Blessed Be, Pixie

[Trogon]

Hi Magipixie...

Actually... I haven't had much of a chance to actually use this deck yet. However, I have looked through it a little bit and have a couple of observations.

There are some similarities between The Universal Tarot and the Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot as well as some striking differences. The cards, Desire (VIII) and Karma (XI) do (roughly) correspond to Strength and Justice in these same numerical positions. The meanings do not, mostly, depart greatly from the RWS meanings with which we are already familiar. However, the symbolism in the cards tends to be significantly different in many cases and will, I think, color how a person reads the cards.

Of course, you already pointed out the fact that there are only 3 court cards in each suit (King, Queen and Knave) which aligns it with "standard" playing cards. I'm not certain how that might change the way I do readings, if at all. The other big difference is the fact that the other cards of the Minor Arcana are somewhere between fully illustrated and simple "pip" cards. In fact they seem to me to be closer to "pips" than to illustrated Minors.

But the artwork is striking and I would think it would work extremely well for readings. The Minors are illustrated to the point that they are (as I mentioened earlier) "moody Minors" and do portray some mood or emotion and hence should help to portray something more than a simple pip card would.

I'm looking forward to reading more of your impressions on this deck. I do agree that the "Desire" card is very striking, but I'm intrigued by The Fool because of the blending of imagry from several different cutlures (far east & Egyptian among others).

[Icestorm]

Hmm....

Does anyone know the author's reason for taking out the knights? Ive been looking at this deck recently (discounted at my bookshop) but if its only 74 cards im not certain I want to buy it. It just wont feel right.

[magipixie]

Hi........
I haven't been around in awhile, but i thought i would pop in and try to answer your question. The explanaton he gives in the book which came with the deck is that by having only three court cards in each suit, each one can be clearly linked with a corresponding Zodiac sign. He goes on to note that some people may consider this an unacceptable break from tradition, but some early tarot decks numbered sixty-two cards (he dosen't say which) and that the Florentine Tarot contained ninety-six cards......presumably illustrating that the numbers are not written in stone. As for it being strange to read with, I can't say.....it's the first deck I ever used, and the only until my recent acquisition of the Cosmic Tribe tarot which I am tip-toeing into slowly but surely. Anyway, I think it's a great deck, I know I've really connected with it. Hope I helped, it's on my to-do-list to get on the Forum more often so see ya around! Oh, and Hi Trogon :) thanks for the reply!
Blessed Be, Pixie

[darwinia]

I seem to be resurrecting threads this week.

How this deck escaped my notice is puzzling. I have two old catalogues from US Games with this in it, and I never bothered to look it up. Perhaps as my own collection and interest has moved toward I Ching and Hindu and world mythology/religion, this simply appealed to me now.

I ordered a used copy from amazon--doesn't seem to be the US Games version, it seems to be an older printing from 1996 by Atrium Publishers Group, but it's a package with the deck including the extra 9 index cards, and the book.

I very much like the art and his semi-illustrated pips remind me of the Wheel of Change Tarot which is one of my favourites.

[darwinia]

The other threads on this deck:

http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=8329&highlight=universal+tarot

http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=5873&highlight=universal+tarot

The missing Knights issue seems to bug people. Hmmm, I see the point about trying to fit tarot with astrology and leaving cards out, but it doesn't bother me. I have quite a few playing cards too, so I just like it if I like it.

[Abraxus]

The Universal Tarot by Miller is the deck I use for the majority of my readings. I was sorry to see it discontinued. The Universal combines the familiar elements and structure of the Rider-Waite with a wide range of elements and themes from world mythology. The ecclectic designs make for a more illuminating read in my opinion since you can draw on so many different cultural intepretations. It fueled my interest in doing my own research into symbolism and archetypes and I'd be happy to purchase (or market!) another deck like it.