Haindl Deck

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 27 Oct 2001, and now archived in the Forum Library.

witchywoman	27 Oct 2001
Hi, I've been using the Mythic Tarot for about 5 years now. I love the deck and will continue to use it, but recently I've had the urge to begin working with another deck. I have been looking on-line at different decks to see which appealed to me (which is how I found this site). The Haindl deck is at the top of my list so far. I'm just interested to get some opinions from anyone else who uses (or has used this deck). There is only so much you can tell from the on-line pics but what I've seen so far has impressed me. Thank for any help with this. Angela

Greenman	27 Oct 2001
i have this deck and i like it, especially the major arcana. the artwork is very ethereal, and i like the interpretation of the meanings. the minors are a bit confusing, and aligned as wands/air, which i don't like. this deck also has the advantage of Rachel Pollacks terrific companion books. i came to grips with the 'Temperance card' through the Haindl deck. it's deeper meaning had always eluded me until i understood it as 'Alchemy'. i find this deck works well for me as many of it's corresponences are rather 'Crowlian'.

truthsayer	27 Oct 2001
i think haindl is a better study deck than reading deck. the minors are a little bland--particularly the pentacles. it also would help to be familiar w/ the i-ching and runes b/c symbols from these systems are used. i like the majors. they are etherial like from a dream world. i particularly like the fool in this deck. i really get tired of seeing variations of a guy about to walk over the edge of a cliff.

JC	27 Oct 2001
I agree that the Haindl deck is powerful - too powerful for me! I couldn't get to sleep if it was in my bedroom. I had to keep it in another room of my house. What I appreciated most were the trumps. The artwork is beautiful. I do not find the minors as finely illustrated, however. And I could have done without so much blood, perhaps.

deso	27 Oct 2001
I love this deck! It has lots for one to ponder....and is very accurate. I have no problems sleeping with it in my room. :D

Solandia	27 Oct 2001
There is a recent guest review of the Haindl Tarot on Aeclectic Tarot, also. http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/haindl/review.html ~ Solandia

witchywoman	28 Oct 2001
Thanks for the feedback. I wasn't aware that the wands were aligned to air. I'm sure this may bother me as well, but I really feel the deck is 'calling me' so who can argue with that. I'll be interested to see how I feel when I spend some time with it.

Melting Snow	30 Oct 2001
Hello. The Haindl tarot caught my eye one day when I just got the urge to look at different tarot decks. I'm not sure why, but it just seems "right". However, I am a beginner, and since others say that this can be a powerful deck, I'm not sure if I should start with it... :P

witchywoman	30 Oct 2001
Quote: Melting Snow (30 Oct, 2001 18:55): Hello. The Haindl tarot caught my eye one day when I just got the urge to look at different tarot decks. I'm not sure why, but it just seems "right". However, I am a beginner, and since others say that this can be a powerful deck, I'm not sure if I should start with it... :P Hey Melting Snow Although I've been working with the tarot for five years, I still consider myself very much a beginner too. I think when you choose your first deck the most important thing is that you connect with it.....that it feels right. I have heard the Haindl deck can be difficult for a beginner though. It is a tough choice. Perhaps you should start a new thread asking for opinions about good decks for beginners and then check them out on the net to see if you like the look of them. I'm sure that this is the perfect place to ask as there seems to be a wealth of experience waiting to help newbies like us. ww

Lee	30 Oct 2001
Hi -- Greenman, are you sure about the Wands/Air thing? I've worked with this deck, and I have all of Rachel Pollack's books for it, and I don't remember anything about wands being aligned with air. As far as I know, the elemental correspondences are the same as for most other decks, i.e. Wands/Fire and Swords/Air. -- Lee

Greenman	30 Oct 2001
Lee, i stand corrected. i'm holding it in my hands now, and the wands are indeed bordered in red. where did i get the idea it was reversed? (the ravages of age!). i know that i've thought of it that way for quite awhile now. hmmm... i usually only work with the trumps from this deck, although i used the entire pack alot when i first got it. anyway, thank you for straightening me out on this. PS; this is interesting. i think that this deck is once again in my top three personal favorites. (i'm so fickle!).

catlin	31 Oct 2001
Hi, I got the Haindl tarot deck and some months ago I found the Haindl Rune cards in a bookstore in Heidelberg. I like the Haindl deck very much, especiallly the fool's card which represents Perceval killing a swan which gave me some new ideas for my further tarot studies.

Jewel	31 Oct 2001
Quote: witchywoman (30 Oct, 2001 22:39): Quote: Melting Snow (30 Oct, 2001 18:55): Hello. The Haindl tarot caught my eye one day when I just got the urge to look at different tarot decks. I'm not sure why, but it just seems "right". However, I am a beginner, and since others say that this can be a powerful deck, I'm not sure if I should start with it... :P Hey Melting Snow Although I've been working with the tarot for five years, I still consider myself very much a beginner too. I think when you choose your first deck the most important thing is that you connect with it.....that it feels right. I have heard the Haindl deck can be difficult for a beginner though. It is a tough choice. Perhaps you should start a new thread asking for opinions about good decks for beginners and then check them out on the net to see if you like the look of them. I'm sure that this is the perfect place to ask as there seems to be a wealth of experience waiting to help newbies like us. ww I felt drawn to this deck the moment I saw it. Although I have not worked with it, it was a "Have to Have" deck for me. If nothing else, you can always get it now and just look through it and as you learn with another deck you can refer back to the Haindl any time you want.

lawguy51	05 Dec 2002
I think it's the Nigel Jackson deck that has the Wands/Air alignment.

WolfSpirit	29 Sep 2003
*bump* The Haindl gets mentioned a lot at this forum, but there are not many threads exclusively for this deck - I had to go back in time a bit to find one and I thought it might be nice to have all your views and ideas on it in one thread :) I will get this deck in a trade, I had looked at it before and I suddenly decided I would like to have it. It will be my "darkest" (for lack of another word) deck so far, I usually fall for the gentler ("fluffier" ? ;) ) decks but the Haindl just seemed to call me. Could be the right deck at the right time maybe ? I would like to know what books you use (if any) with this deck ? I saw books by Pollack got mentioned a lot - are they the ones to have ? Is it a set of two ? *eagerly waiting for mail and replies to this thread*

Macavity	29 Sep 2003
I think the deck and book set is now distributed with the single "Reader's Handbook". Indeed previously, there were TWO volumes covering the majors and minors. Since I only have the latter single (RH) book, I did spend some time trying to find out what the differences actually were. My impression is that the RH concentrates more on "divinatory" meanings, rather than the Pollack-Haindl "philosopy" in the former two volume set? A comparison of text (online review) for one card (DEATH!) lead me to believe that with the single volume, plus the LWB, there would be very little missing if you were to only have the single, more modern volume. But I stand to be corrected on that assumption! :) Macavity

Emily	01 Oct 2003
I've just ordered the Haindl card and book set, it should be with me in a couple of days :) - I've noticed this deck before but always passed it over because it did seem very dark, done in browns and muddy colours and all the reviews I've read of it say that it has a gloomy feel to it or its uncomfortable to use - well not the cards I've seen of it lol - There is splashes of colour and the death card is one of the best I've seen, the Minors also look very interesting - I do think its a deck I can work with, its different to anything else I have, well except maybe the Tarot of the Spirit, and I'm looking forward to it getting here. :)

The Haindl Deck thread was originally posted on 27 Oct 2001 in the Tarot Decks board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Tarot Decks, or read more archived threads.