For Mary Hanson-Roberts fans

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 17 Apr 2002, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Kellinator	17 Apr 2002
Do you consider both the Universal Waite and the Hanson-Roberts Tarot important parts of your collection? How much overlap do you see between the two? Thanks! Kelly

Andryh	17 Apr 2002
I have both of these decks, and I like them a great deal. Certainly the Waite deck was the primary source for the symbolism of the Hanson-Roberts deck. There is a great deal of similarity between the two decks as far a symbolism is concerned, yet, artistically they are very different. I prefer the Hanson-Roberts deck, because the people in these cards express a lot more humanity. The Waite deck, although very appealing with the Hanson-Roberts recoloring, has in my opinion somewhat generic people. P.C. Smith's art is very intriguing, yet is not detailed enough to engender a very personal feel. Although the Hanson-Robert's deck is sometimes considered to "cute" and idyllic, I find it a great deck. For years I poo-poohed this deck as being a shallow, overly simplified version of the Waite deck. Then one day it spoke to me. It has been talking ever since! This little deck packs quite a wallop when it wants to. As is probably clear by now, the Hanson-Robert's deck is my deck of choice between the two, but really I love them both

truthsayer	17 Apr 2002
i prefer the hanson roberts b/c mary's warm personality comes thru her drawings. the universal is excellent but it's still a rendition of the rws. the colors of universal are easier on the eyes than the rws. due to all the attention to detail and symbols, the rws is a less emotionally appealing deck. the universal warms the traditional rws up. i consider hanson roberts to be a compassionate deck but it knows how to tell the truth tactfully and symbollically pats you on the hand and fixes you a nice cup of herbal tea to calm your nerves. the universal is sorry to tell you bad news and tries to do it kindly but it's unable to help you more than that. rws says--this is the way it is--deal w/ it!! do these images help?

Emily	17 Apr 2002
I'm still waiting for my Universal Waite to arrive but I do have the Hanson Roberts. I like this deck because of the colouring of the cards and the facial expressions. The cards seem to go into a lot of detail in keeping with the R/W but done more finely. I have only seen online scans of the Universal but am hoping that it is as nicely done as the Hanson Roberts :)

Cocobird55	17 Apr 2002
I have both of these decks too, because I like watercolor. I tend to use the Universal Waite deck when I am in learning mode, i.e. working through exercises in a book based on the RW deck. It is easier and less confusing to use the same images. However, if I were to do a reading, I would choose the Hanson-Roberts deck, because I like it more. The pictures are more humanizing, I think. Sue

Zhritza	17 Apr 2002
Here's a related question: How much overlap does everyone see between the Robin Wood and the Universal Waite, and by extension the Hanson-Roberts? I've always thought that having the Robin Wood made the other two redundant - the art feels so alike and the RW seems richer in intuition-awakening symbolism - but I'm guessing some of you all would disagree with that. :) For people with the RW and one or both of Mary H.-R.'s decks, do they feel similar to each other when used for divination and/or self-exploration? What parallels and differences are there?

arizonagirl	18 Apr 2002
I only have 7 or 8 decks. The Hanson Roberts deck was my favorite until I got Robin Wood's. I connect better to Robin Wood's deck, but if doing a reading for someone else I would probably use the Hanson Roberts if I didn't know them well. Some people are really conservative and there's no nudity in Hanson Roberts. I wouldn't want someone being so focused on the unclothed people that they would not see the symbolism in the cards.

MeeWah	18 Apr 2002
I also connect better to Robin Wood's deck for personal & other readings. I basically use Hanson-Roberts for readings for other people. Besides the artistic differences between those decks & the Waite decks, there is also a different feeling--but that is how I see them.

The For Mary Hanson-Roberts fans thread was originally posted on 17 Apr 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.