View Full Version : Wisdom of Avalon: Yay or Nay?
So this one is new to me. Just picked it up and the marker cards are kind of throwing me for a loop. I've read the other threads about it, and yes I can use them like pips, except that Death popped up just now and it didn't feel Pip-ish.
I love the art on the picture cards. Just beautiful. And I think this is my favorite card back. The colors are so me, but those darn marker cards....
I need to use it more....but wondered, if you have this one, how do you like it?
Also, Butterfly as Beauty is a bit....well totally not what I see for butterfly. I get it, obviously. Just that I've spent so much time thinking butterfly as transformation, as a kind of transmutation really, that to relegate it as beauty feels like a demotion in a way.
I don't feel strongly about the book.
I'm still looking this one over and don't quite know what I think yet. Will be back with more input....
... same here, I've had them for a while though and still wasn't able to really make up my mind.
I don't mind the markers, though I'd sincerely wish there was an explanation about the structure of the deck. I just use them as jumping-off points for more questions, or as advice, depending on the spread and situation.
The "suit" that bugs me most is that of the Animal Guides, seems like you're finding some of the same stumbling stones I do. For example, the meanings assigned to the Frog seem to stem from Native American shamanism rather than Avalonian/Celtic.
The book is so shallow I wonder why they bothered printing it.
The artwork is gorgeous of course, and while the cards are a bit thick, that does bring out the gold edging and makes for a nice look.
The part I like best is the suit of the Messengers. I've started to use this part of the deck only, as advice cards or meditation theme, and that worked great. I don't think it will become one of my main reading decks though.
I didn't really click with this deck and sold it on ebay. I loved the people/fairy cards but found the markers quite finite. I should probably have worked with them a little more but also found them a bit to big and thick.
The artwork is gorgeous, however, but for me it was gathering dust.
I bought this deck because I didn't know anything about Avalon. I thought having no pre-conceived notions of the stories, I would be able to find my own meanings a little more.
I can't get the box open... I even tried with a butter knife, but I don't want to ruin the box. so I gave up. LOL Guess they're not for me. :) Hh
I was thinking about the markers last night....when you are in the forest, at least if you were in Avalon and you were in the forest, a marker would come as a great comfort. Perhaps you are lost, you are not sure exactly where you are...and you find the marker. I imagine that would bring you reassurance. Knowing where you are, knowing someone else has been there before you and has cared enough to mark that place. Suddenly the forest isn't so eerily large or quiet or scary.
I think perhaps those cards are to remind one that when they do appear in a spread, you are on a journey, in a place that feels maybe isolating or that an issue is coming up that needs it's own space to be dealt with. Usually when you are in the forest you are travelling from one place to another place, with purpose. So the Marker cards are the signposts that pop up in the wild to aid you.
I think perhaps that might help when they come up...??
rachelcat
04-05-2008, 02:24
I just got the Wisdom of Avalon this week. I'm in the same boat as everyone here. (However, I had the box-that-wouldn't-open problem with the Celtic Messages. Broke 3 fingernails and got fingernail marks on the box, but I finally got it open!)
The cards are beautiful. The owl is breathtaking. And who couldn't love that dog? The cat is kind of scary, even though not on the attack like in the Druid Animal Oracle.
And the keywords seem a bit off especially for the animals. I have ignored the keywords and the book so far . . . The Messengers seem like a truncated tarot deck--Emperor, Empress, Priestess, Fool, Knight of Cups, etc.
On how to deal with the marker cards. I recently got Orphalese, and there is a great deck on it--a deck of questions. It helps you figure out what you should read about. I was thinking we could use the marker cards in the same way--draw one of them first and then use the rest for a reading on that subject. (But that leaves only 31 cards to read with. Or maybe you could shuffle the rest of the marker cards back in??)
I tried it last night, but didn't have much success. I drew "Joy" so I read on "What brings me true joy?" I drew three cards (since I only had 31 to choose from). I don't even remember what I got because I couldn't really make much sense from them.
But anyway, I just wanted to offer the marker-card-as-question-card idea. Maybe someone will have better luck than I did!
R.
Mellifluous
04-05-2008, 03:27
I got this one last month. I've only done a couple readings with it and so far I'm not impressed - with the artwork or the accuracy. However, that's happened to me before and eventually I come to enjoy and appreciate every deck, one way or another. I believe I'm drawn to buy the ones I buy for a reason, even if it's not clear at the beginning.
I should probably use it more before saying anything about it, lol, but I'm not enthusiastic about using it at this point. One of the readings I did with it seemed fairly kinda sorta accurate. The other one was at least half gibberish. The booklet entries for some cards definitely seem a bit rubbish to me. Maybe eventually I'll ditch the booklet or something. We'll see.
I don't like that some of them are basically tarot cards, only not. I already have plenty of complete tarot decks I like much better. Guess that's what I get for skimming threads about this deck. It was probably mentioned somewhere. :joke:
The marker cards don't really bother me so far.
I should probably just use it a bunch of times and see what's what. I might come to love it (hope so). But meh for now.
where can I see more pictures of this deck?
Adjustment
04-05-2008, 04:42
where can I see more pictures of this deck?
Here are some pics.
http://www.tarotchest.co.uk/pic.asp?uniq=1271
.traveller.
04-05-2008, 05:43
I went out today to buy this because several people have been using in the One card/One sentence game thread and it sounded pretty cool. The store didn't have it so I had to buy the Dragon Oracle and a bag made from a sack that used to hold fish crap instead.
Guess it wasn't meant to be.
I went through the marker cards and selected those that seemed to be the most pertinent to me. I kept all but 9 of them, and this may change as I use the deck more.
I actually have been enjoying the readings so far, but again, I'm using some of my own interps, not always sticking to what the deck creator uses. I have to say that I hope to see more from the artist of the deck, hopefully paired with someone else. I think that if the material had more substance as Aulruna said earlier, the artist could have really taken the material to a whole new level. As it is now, the artist is what saves the deck from being a total loss.
I say this because I don't really see much of Avalon in the deck. The idea is a great one, but other than Merlin and the The Lady in the Lake I don't get a sense of anything really steeped in the culture for which the deck takes it's name.
Part of the failure for the deck is that the system isn't discussed. So perhaps from this we must postulate there is no system. The Sacred Marker cards are given no special instruction or status. Just that 21 of the cards, nearly half the cards in the deck are no more than pictures of keywords printed upon signposts in a forest. To me this is either laziness or they ran out of money to pay the artist and settled on a quick fix.
Perhaps at some later date the artist or the deck creator will come over here to the forum and clue us in as to what the idea there happened to be, but it is what weakens the deck, imho.
Many of the people posting in this thread are names I recognize and several of you are pretty good readers, so we can probably squeeze some good readings out of the deck using our own ingenuity and expertise. I read professionally and I use found object oracles often enough to take a deck like this out and get a fairly useful reading out of it.
It is just that when you dig into the deck and really look at the pictures you don't feel that the artist and the writer of the book were in sync. For instance the Wasp card is really a great example. Anger and retaliation, jealousy are the keywords. What we see is a gorgeous wasp flying toward it's nest. Now to me the picture is about homecoming, protection and return. I feel that if the deck creator was really meticulous she would have looked at that picture and requested a change....
Both Merlin and The King stand for Justice...we already discussed Butterfly, and as for Horse, I understand assistance, but delegating authority? What about swiftness, messages, strength. Dragon was given the job of Strength, but isn't dragon about mystery, challenge, perhaps even an opponent? Also wasn't dragon somehow linked to Arthur's claim on the land??? The magical breath of the dragon and the heritage that was Arthur's genetic claim to the throne?
Also I wondered why Stonehenge made no appearance in the system, no Druids, no mention of Ogham, the Tor or of the Chalice or Grail other than the beautiful cardback. The Mystery marker would have been lovely had they used the scene on the cardback.
If I had this deck to do over, I would have asked Marion Zimmer Bradley to create it with Gary Lippincott. Wonder what would have come of that union.
Nay for me i put it up for trade in the trading forum. I didnt connect to it at all sadly.
sunflowr
07-05-2008, 22:31
I absolutely LOVE this deck! :) I got an idea on how to read with them, from someone on YouTube*. This is how she, and I, read with them:
You separate the markers from the rest of the deck. Now you have 2 sets of cards. Shuffle and fan both out. Pick one card from the marker pile, and one card from the other pile. You will now have a marker to set the tone of the reading, give you a direction and a message. The other card will give you more information. :) Together they read beautifully. Try it! Works well as a daily spread too!
* http://youtube.com/watch?v=lhL3E-Kqgdo
Mellifluous
26-05-2008, 09:08
Well, I did a ton of quick readings with this deck today and it's still only about half accurate (or less). I still feel no affection for it either, which surprised me.
Also, the back of one card is chipped now and appears to be peeling off, which I've never, ever seen happen before. :joke: :rolleyes: Shame because I think I like the backs a lot better than the fronts.
Oh, well. :neutral:
NightQueen
29-05-2008, 08:53
I like this deck but havent used it in a while, I normally just use my oracles as guidance cards I pull a few out here or there, I had a dream about them last night, perhaps its time I played with them again:)
shamoness
19-06-2008, 14:51
I go this deck in a trade and figured I'd look it over and then give it to my daughter. She seems to enjoy oracles much more than Tarot. The first part of the deck is lovely but those marker cards are the pits. I decided to come over to this forum to see if anyone had nice things to say about this deck. I thought perhaps it was just my perception. I guess not. The majority of those who have this deck don't really love it.
I suppose I can still give it to my daughter as she might not feel the same way I do. But I don't think those marker cards are going to help her any as she has difficulty with pips. I think I'll try Sunflowr's idea. I want to have something to more to share with my daughter than what is in the book!
thorhammer
19-06-2008, 15:07
Hello, trade-buddy :D;)
At first sight, I hated them, too. But in the end, I actually did get a lot out of them - they're not as bad in a reading situation as you think when you just go through the deck.
I only traded it away because I don't connect all that well with Oracles and only want to keep a very few. It did read quite well for me.
I hope that you or your daughter get something out of it!
\m/ Kat
I have actually used the two pile system, and even taken the markers out totally and just used the picture cards. I have to say tho that the points I made in my previous post about the pictures, their meanings and the orientations still stand. The deck doesn't make sense.
I think the deck is sloppy. I don't blame the artist. I blame the deck creator and Hay House. To me this is a perfect example of throwing a deck out there and hoping it will make some money. Unfortunately, they did get my money. And I have to say that I am now suspect about the offerings from Hay House. I will be very careful about what I purchase from that label in the future.
shamoness
20-06-2008, 09:43
Back at you Trade-Buddy!
I actually think my daughter will love the cards. She isn't into Tarot like her mom. lol So I think she will enjoy them. I hope you are not offended in any way! She might even just take the cards and frame them with dollar store frames to decorate her room. The artwork is pretty enough.
I had a thought about the marker cards. Perhaps a collage of what the user "sees" as the proper scene for each marker would be in order. Design each card yourself so to speak. If I were to keep these for myself I think that is what I would do. I'd either scan the card into Paintshop or I'd actually collage smaller images straight on the card. Just a thought. Of course, we all have concepts beyond what the writer gives us so I'm not to worried about what is in the book.
Finally I had thought about what I'd do if my daughter doesn't like them. (Which is unlikely.) I think I'd use them to decorate my Book of Shadows. Some of the images would fit quite nicely. And the others might be good for Books of Light and Shadow. Real meditation pieces. So despite my initial reaction I think they will find a good use, even if it isn't what they were originally made for.
thorhammer
20-06-2008, 13:10
I'm not in the slightest bit offended :). I'm just glad that the deck will be made use of, no matter what form that use takes! Because it really is very pretty, all told.
\m/ Kat
shamoness
20-06-2008, 14:01
Well, tonight I gave the Wisdom of Avalon to my daughter, Tanya. She absolutely adores it! The marker cards were no big deal to her. She read them off with glee and doesn't seem to mind their sameness in the least. She told me she loves oracles and much prefers them to Tarot. I am so pleased she likes it so much. The fact that I picked them with her in mind meant a lot to her. She insists I spoil her and clutched them to her as she rushed of to her room to study them more and find a special place for them. I am just as happy she likes them as she is to get them. Thanks Kat!!!
thorhammer
20-06-2008, 14:16
Oooh! *wriggles with glee* That's just peachy! I'm so happy for you and her! It's so nice when you find the perfect gift for someone :) Bless.
\m/ Kat
shamoness
20-06-2008, 15:04
Especially a "just because I love you" gift.
raventepes
21-06-2008, 03:25
I'm honestly nowhere close to being impressed by the Wisdom Of Avalon. My first impression of the deck after I had seen it after hearing a LOT of hype about it is"Where's the Wisdom"?
To me, the deck seems like it's on repeat or something. Every other card seems to say the same thing, making it a very irritateing deck, IMHO. I think the only saving grace this deck has is that the art is decent.
shamoness
21-06-2008, 14:36
My daughter is very intuitive and is finding her own meanings for these cards. Taking what she knows about Arthurian Lore, she has decided what the animal cards mean to her. These meanings are before what is written on the cards in her mind. She hasn't told me everything she has come up with for each card as she hasn't had them more than a day. It will be interesting to hear what else she sees in them.
I was not personally impressed beyond the artwork, but the cards are working for her. I find in using Tarot I am more likely to intuit the meanings than follow what is written in a companion book. I am pleased to she her doing the same with an oracle.
Up to this point she has purchased all of her own oracles and every one has been by Doreen Virtue. I have given her 4 Tarot decks but this was the first oracle I gave her. I have Froud's Fairies put away for her birthday. I know she'll love that!
Hi Shamoness,
I think that your daughter sounds incredible! Now I'm not a huge D. Virtue fan either, but my old Healing with the Angels is in the hands of my 9 year old, and she does use it occasionally. Which I think is fine, as it is a good deck for a child.
I love that your daughter is going beyond the meanings on the card and using her own information for the deck. And as for Froud's, well I love it and think that yes, it will put her in a new place altogether. Isn't it nice to share stuff with our kids and see them so responsive??
FaeryGodmother
30-07-2008, 21:03
I'm a little surprised by the general lack affection for this deck. I recently got it and I like it. I did some readings on the Oracle exachnge board and got some good reactions. I wouldn't say its the easiest deck in the world to use but I like the way it feels.
At first, i did get frustrated with the Marker cards. The very first reading i did was for my mum who got three marker cards (in a 3 card reading). It did stump me at first, but the longer we talked about it the more I realised that the reading was right for her. Admitedly, it would have been nice if they had been more imaginative about them- its not like its even a very nice strecth of road, :P But it worked well enough for me.
I hadn't thought of seperating them into two decks- might give that a try and see how I go. Anyway- I vote Yay, I like the deck and seem to be able to work with it. :)
Not liking this deck at all - very disappointing. It's been padded out with the 'signpost' cards. I ordered it then found all the pics online, so quickly cancelled it!
I cannot see the point of buying a deck and then dumping half the cards. It's great if someone can connect with it (signposts 'an all), but definatly not for me.
Just my opinion....
Bee :)
bengalwood
25-08-2008, 11:14
I don't plan on buying these because, like many of you, I find the marker cards to repetitive. I do like the artist, though. Only I can't find out who it is. (unless Baron-Reid is the author AND artist, which I doubt). Can somebody who has this deck see if the artist is credited? Thanks in advance, Bengalwood
sunflowr
30-08-2008, 23:32
I'm a little surprised by the general lack affection for this deck. I recently got it and I like it. I did some readings on the Oracle exachnge board and got some good reactions. I wouldn't say its the easiest deck in the world to use but I like the way it feels.
At first, i did get frustrated with the Marker cards. The very first reading i did was for my mum who got three marker cards (in a 3 card reading). It did stump me at first, but the longer we talked about it the more I realised that the reading was right for her. Admitedly, it would have been nice if they had been more imaginative about them- its not like its even a very nice strecth of road, :P But it worked well enough for me.
I hadn't thought of seperating them into two decks- might give that a try and see how I go. Anyway- I vote Yay, I like the deck and seem to be able to work with it. :)
How are you doing with them lately? I havent used mine in awhile but it's one of my favorite decks. I use them as 2 decks. 1 pile of the markers and another for the images. Have you tried doing that yet?
I connect well with word oracles, so I actually really like the markers.
I briefly met Colette Baron-Reid at the "You Can Do It" conference in Toronto this weekend, and I asked her about the marker cards. Making them all the same was apparently her choice, so that people would not get bogged down by the imagery on the cards when interpreting them. I'm guessing she and Hay House received lot of comments about those cards because they reissued the deck a few months ago with unique scenic marker cards.
If you like the deck but are put off by the repetitive marker cards like I was, I'd recommend the new version (she also added symbols to all of the cards in the new version of the deck). I feel much more open to the deck now than I was.
Nice update Motsa. I ended up giving this deck to a friend of mine who has never even thought about owning her own deck. She really likes it, and I think that she uses the book most of the time, but I plan to talk to her about using her own ideas as well, when and if she feels like she should.
I will keep my eye out for the new edition, just to see if I like it any better. I too love the artist and would like to see more from this person.
Mellifluous
06-04-2009, 08:39
So, interesting that this thread is up. I was just coming to do a search for it.
I resisted the urge to throw this one out, just put it away for later. Pulled it back out a couple days ago and I think I'm finally starting to connect with it. It's giving accurate readings and I don't feel so critical towards it. I think I'm slowly starting to love it actually, which vindicates my general opinion that I'm drawn to buy certain decks for a reason. So, yay to that. :)
I'm curious to see how the cards have been changed if anyone comes across links to scans of them.
Yes, I was just wondering what Solandia does with a reissue if the cards have changed. Does she just add the second deck? I know this sounds a bit ridiculous.
I would have asked the deck creator about that Wasp card. That card was one that really bothered me...in fact it was the card that convinced me to let the deck go. But something about the deck must intrigue me because I still think about it. I love the name, the idea, just wish it had been more thoroughly researched and thought out.
Interesting news about the re-issuing.
So far, the marker cards haven't really bothered as much as I think they would, because like others said, they didn't show up too often yet.
However, I do like visual stimuli and clues, so this might make me go for the new release.
faunabay
07-04-2009, 01:04
Well I guess I'll be buying another copy of this deck then. }) I like the first edition, but the marker cards did both me as well. So I'm really curious to see the second edition with different scenes on these cards.
It'll be interesting to see if I end up using the second, or if I just stick with the first - since I'm used to it now.
faunabay
07-04-2009, 01:43
I wonder how we'll know whether it's a first or second edition? Is there any differences on the box to beable to tell?
I'm quite excited to read about the second edition of the deck; thank you for sharing this information with us, motsa! :)
I really do like the deck - the beauty of the deck spoke to me at first and when I bought it, I instantly felt a connection to it.
I don't know if you guys put any significance into which card is the first you see when you open the box for the first time. Well, I do - and the first card I saw when I opened the box was Merlin (strangely enough since it's the first card of the deck... :P ).
I call one of my spirit guides Merlin - so that just confirmed that this was a deck for me ;)
Of course it's not that strange either that there's a Merlin card in an oracle deck with the name of Avalon, but still - the deck seemed to speak to me, and it still does, half a year later :)
I wonder how we'll know whether it's a first or second edition? Is there any differences on the box to beable to tell?Unfortunately, there is zero difference in the boxes themselves (not the layout or UPC or even the prices) so you won't know which it is until you open it. Bad production on Hay House's part, IMO.
I bought my second deck directly from Hay House at the conference so I knew it was going to have the new cards. Unfortunately, I've just now noticed that it also has a mistake -- it's missing the new 50 (Birth/Rebirth) and 51 (Truth) cards and has duplicate 11 (The Hawk) and 12 (The Swan) cards instead. So I'm going to have to nag them to send me replacement cards. Hopefully it's just a bad batch.
I've attached scans of a couple of the cards.
avalon49_new_old.jpg shows the new (on left) and old (on right) versions of card #49 (Forgiveness)
avalon52_new_old.jpg shows the new (on left) and old (on right) versions of card #52 (The Mystery). You'll notice that the picture that used to be on all of the marker cards is now just the picture on card #52.
Unfortunately, there is zero difference in the boxes themselves (not the layout or UPC or even the prices) so you won't know which it is until you open it. Bad production on Hay House's part, IMO.
I bought my second deck directly from Hay House at the conference so I knew it was going to have the new cards. Unfortunately, I've just now noticed that it also has a mistake -- it's missing the new 50 (Birth/Rebirth) and 51 (Truth) cards and has duplicate 11 (The Hawk) and 12 (The Swan) cards instead. So I'm going to have to nag them to send me replacement cards. Hopefully it's just a bad batch.
I've attached scans of a couple of the cards.
avalon49_new_old.jpg shows the new (on left) and old (on right) versions of card #49 (Forgiveness)
avalon52_new_old.jpg shows the new (on left) and old (on right) versions of card #52 (The Mystery). You'll notice that the picture that used to be on all of the marker cards is now just the picture on card #52.
Could you also ask them to write "second edition" on the box now that you're at it? ;)
Because it really sucks if one has to buy numerous copies of the set just to find the right one... :bugeyed:
Of course, I guess it's very good for their sales! :rolleyes:
As I wrote earlier, I really like this deck (though I really get all of your points), but apart from that I'm not a great fan of Hay House - I think they are making money too easily compared to the quality of their products. Well, just an afterthought ;)
As I wrote earlier, I really like this deck (though I really get all of your points), but apart from that I'm not a great fan of Hay House - I think they are making money too easily compared to the quality of their products. Well, just an afterthought ;)
Mathki I could kiss you for that. I resoundingly agree with you about HH.
The bling strikes again! I got this deck because I love gilt, on anything. I am like a magpie; if it sparkles or glitters, I will take it! The edges of these cards drew me in.
I don't love this deck, but I do not love oracles in general. Most of the ones I use are playing card type oracles, or the ones that more closely resemble tarot. Some of the art in Wisdom from Avalon is gorgeous to me, and some of it is just "meh". Even though I have the second edition, I do not care for the markers, and they do not seem to fit the rest of the deck.
I love all things Celtic and Arthurian, so I really wanted to like this deck. I just can't connect with it, and it is likely to head to the trade forum soon. I am glad that some people seem to really enjoy it, though!
Mathki I could kiss you for that. I resoundingly agree with you about HH.
You're very welcome, Satori!! :laugh:
I'm not sure the 'renewed' deck is any better than the first one.
Hay House products are on my Never Buy From list.
Bee :)
I like the construction of Hay House decks for the most part (harsh fumes aside), but I agree with the comments about Hay House in general. I dislike how, well, money-grubbing Hay House frequently appears. But it doesn't stop me from buying some of their products. With this deck, I wanted to see the changes for myself. Whether I'll actually use the deck now, I don't know, but I'm glad I have both versions.
faunabay
08-04-2009, 07:37
hmmmm.....just had a look at your scans. (shrug) And am not sure I like the new one better. I mean what does mushrooms have to do with forgiveness? Am I missing something?
I wondered if I'd do this. I complained about the sameness of the marker cards but now I'm used to them and the new ones look......wrong. :laugh:
Miss Divine
08-04-2009, 07:39
From the 2 scans I've seen, I can't really say I like the new version better than the first.
The other "new" card images are as generic as the two I scanned previously. My guess is that they just commissioned some general outdoor scenes to fill in the cards without giving a great deal of thought to how much the scenes embodied the actual marker concepts. The updated booklet doesn't explain the reason behind the images. They're nice illustrations but pretty much of the same nondescript calibre as the all-the-same original marker cards. Maybe that was the intent. I got the impression from the very short conversation I had with Colette that she would rather have just had the original version and perhaps that affected the actual implementation of the new version -- if she was defensive about her original vision, perhaps she didn't take a great deal of care choosing images for the new one (or maybe she didn't even get to choose). That being said, I like the new marker images more than the original ones and that in and of itself will probably make it easier to tune into the deck. For me, anyway.
Mellifluous
12-04-2009, 04:53
Thanks for posting the scans, motsa! Think I'll stick with what I've got. lol
I don't plan on buying these because, like many of you, I find the marker cards to repetitive. I do like the artist, though. Only I can't find out who it is. (unless Baron-Reid is the author AND artist, which I doubt). Can somebody who has this deck see if the artist is credited? Thanks in advance, Bengalwood
There are two:
Gary A. Lippincott - www.duirwaighgallery.com
Denise Garner - www.towerwindow.com
(Links came from info on the copyright page of the booklet.)
Golden Angel
12-07-2009, 05:37
Okay,
After reading all of your reviews on this deck, I was too afraid to post my own! Unlike many of you, I am not into the Celtic stuff at all. I don't relate to it, so that is why I never thought of buying it when I saw it before and one day I was drawn to it.
I get the BEST reads from this deck. I totally click to it, probably because I come to it with different expectations than what many of you do in the hopes of getting a true Avalon reading. I just wanted a deck that worked and that's what I got. We all know not all decks work for everyone. There were many decks I didn't vibe with before I found this one.
I like this one because its a small little Tarot deck... kinda tones down the complexity of the royal court cards. Yep, some of the marker cards are repetitive or weird... but I am sure they make sense to someone who's into the Avalon thing. Like I always get The Mystery card for my personal readings. Not for others. I don't know what the Mystery means. Maybe someone can help me with that one.
Downside, my readings with this deck doesn't always predict a final outcome because of how things are worded in the LWB. So you always have to refer to another Oracle or Tarot deck for verification but Satori's tip is good to look at the Marker cards for the theme in a read.
I really do love this deck. The keywords are useful, you don't have to pull out a big Tarot book for help, I think this is the most accurate Oracle deck I've ever had (I've been a Doreen Virtue junkie before and her cards aren't always consistent in giving clear cut reads that pertain to your question).
I hope everyone has a better time with this deck.
Mellifluous
09-11-2009, 07:13
Unfortunately, there is zero difference in the boxes themselves (not the layout or UPC or even the prices) so you won't know which it is until you open it. Bad production on Hay House's part, IMO.
i came across some more pictures of the changed cards (on facebook). i'm really surprised they didn't have to issue a new ISBN for the second version.