Universal W versus the Original RW.

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 27 Feb 2002, and now archived in the Forum Library.

aeonx	27 Feb 2002
CORRECTION: I've written in my post that I've compared the RW to the UW, but the deck I believed was the UW, is really the Universal Tarot by De Angelis. My mistake! :P So all of you considering buying the Universal Waite; go ahead! It's a beautiful deck with all the symbols there. ;) Greetings. Yesterday I sat down with my 78 Degrees of Wisdom and started studying Ch. 1. I have both the UW (Universal Waite) and the traditional RW, so I laid both of them down in the diamond pattern (0, I, II, 21). I noticed something I've never seen before: a lot of the symbolism differ in the two decks. I bought the UW because of it's nice colours, but now I got really disappointed! The symbols are either changed (i.e. different colours) or not there at all. (And I think they belong there as in RW.) Examples: RW: Fool: white rose in his hand, eagle head on bag. He is also carrying his wand relaxed and almost without caution. UW: Fool: red rose (kinda miss the point...?), no eagle head. Also, his grip on the wand is very firm, and I find that contradictory to the point. (That he's not clinging to hard to his baggage. Short version. :) ) RW: Magician: symbols on table (Does anyone know what they mean by the way?) UW: Magician: now only one of the symbols remain, the rest is hidden RW: High Priestess: dressed in blue, which signify wisdom and spirituality. different pattern on the pillars (on the top). UW: High Priestess: dressed in green and purple. To me the colour green signify growth, and it doesn't seem like a fitting colour for her. I see her as a person that knows, not as a person that is growing (short version :) ) Also, now the patterns on the top of the pillars are symmetric. The background differ. It also seems like she's growing out of the pillars. Seem kinda stupid. ^_^ RW: World: a vivid person, content and free. The symbols in the four corners of the picture also seem content. UW: World: here the animals seem angry/aggressive, especially the lion. The bull reminds me of a chess-piece: hard and unvivid. The woman's hair is very wild, and that make the card seem a bit chaotic (I perceive the World: free, complete, balanced etc, not chaotic). ??? I don't feel very confident with the UW after this 'investigation' :D Any opinions?

catlin	27 Feb 2002
Hi, Merry Meet and Bright Blessings, That is a good point! I was meditating about getting the UW for me just because I was fond of some pic of it but now I have changed my point of view. I thought that the UW is just another version in colour of the traditional RW but that there is so much difference?! B/W I like your Kalil Gibran quote! His "Prophet" is one of my fav books.

aeonx	27 Feb 2002
Greetings catlin. :) You know, now I'm getting really confused here! *l* I searched the aeclectic for Universal, and found only one possible match. But, here the Magician-card does have those symbols I mentioned, and the World is just like the one in RW, but with different colours. So now I'm wondering what deck I really have. It's a Universal for sure, but I can't find any other deck named something Universal and looks like mine. Hmmm. Have to check it out when I'm off work. Really strange! Update: found it on amazon: the Universal Tarots by Roberto de Angelis (quite expensive as well; almost 20 dollars :o )

dolphingirl	27 Feb 2002
Hi I think you might be comparing the orginal Rider Waite and the Universal Tarots by Roberto De Angelis put out by Lo Scarabeo, which is a redrawn verson of the Rider Waite not to be confused with the Universal Waite which is the same Rider Waite deck with *Just * color changes using the same exact drawings of the Orginal Rider Waite. Why do they have to name all the decks so that they sound the same? :) Samantha

catlin	28 Feb 2002
Hi Samantha, Thanks for the comment. If I can remember it correctly, the deck by de Angelis is in Germany called "De Angelis Tarot" so I thought the Roberts decks was discussed. Now I can try to get The H-R Universal Waite deck without having a bad surprise similar to the one I had with the German edition of the Elemental deck. It has the same name, same borders and titles in English and German but the pictures are completely different!!!

magdalene	01 Mar 2002
:D And does anyone really know the "original" Waite-Smith? It is unknown whether the "original" colors were what the artist herself had chosen. Are you familiar with the Albano-Rider deck? Most people hate it. I kinda like its quirky colors. magdalene

Emily	02 Mar 2002
I've just read through aeonx's post and thought I'd made a major mistake lol - I use the Original Rider Waite but because the colours are a little bland I ordered the Universal Waite (still waiting for it) - but I like the symbolism on the Original so if they wasnt there on the Universal Waite I wouldn't want it - I also didn't know there were two Universal decks - glad I ordered the right one :)

aeonx	05 Apr 2002
*BUMP* :)

The Universal W versus the Original RW. thread was originally posted on 27 Feb 2002 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.