Mythic tarot deck

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 19 Apr 2002, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Tigerwings	19 Apr 2002
Kia ora. I got my first tarot deck about two weeks ago, and yes, it is the wonderful Mythic deck, illustrated by Tricia Newell. I was just wondering how many of you also have this deck? i have no idea how well known or popular its, and tell me, is it ok for a beginner to learn with? I fell in love with the Mythic Tarot deck when I saw the Empress card on another tarot site online, and when i saw it in the shop I was so excited. All the illustrations are so beautiful, and my favourites are the wheel of fortune and temperance. Oh is it ok to have favourite cards, or would that muck up my work with the deck as a whole? Arrrgh, so many questions and so much to learn! Love,Erin

Aerin	19 Apr 2002
I have the workbook, which is very good, but not the deck. I do know someone who learnt on the deck, and values it highly as a beginner's and experienced reader's deck. (She recommended the workbook to me in the first place.) The workbook is well worth getting, and helped me to get familiar with the Majors for my own decks, even though all the illustrations are from the Mythic. Have a look here http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=0671658425/ref=nosim/aeclectic/ Aerin

catlin	19 Apr 2002
I got this deck as I am also very interested in Greek mythology. I also love the artwork of it.

Kiama	19 Apr 2002
I found the cards in this deck very flimsy, which kinda put me off shuffling it! This deck is veyr creative, and I love the way it uses the storylines of the Greek myths in the Minors... Very clever! But, this deck didn't really speak to me in the end. Kiama

arizonagirl	19 Apr 2002
I agree with Kiama - but I usually agree with Kiama. I really enjoyed reading the book that came with the deck, but I don't use the cards. I tried a couple of times, but I didn't connect with them. As far as it being someone's first deck, - well, most of you know I'm a conservative old fart, but I think that the Rider Waite or a clone is the best choice of a first deck. Knowing the basics lets you enjoy many other decks you will encounter.

lunar_rabbit	19 Apr 2002
I have the Mythic Tarot also. It *is* beautiful! As someone fairly new to learning tarot, I'm finding it easier to learn on the Universal Waite. But as I learn the basics, I find the Mythic tarot very nice to have as a supplemental deck -- as another way to see things. My sister worked with the Mythic Tarot for many years. I think she really likes it :-) Oh ... amyel?

Scorpion	19 Apr 2002
Hi, Erin! I do have the Mythic Deck and have worked with it. I have to say that it's not my favourite due to the artwork and the flimsy nature of the cards but I do love Greek mythology and find it works perfectly well for me. Mine didn't come with a book (only found the book and deck set later - and not much more expensive than the deck on its own, but I guess that's what I get for being impatient to have yet another deck!) but what I did find was the workbook, which I found enormously helpful. I would definitely recommend it if you haven't already got it. I can understand why people prefer the RW and clones for beginners - there's definitely a lot of resource material - but I too didn't start with them: I dived in with the Spiral (which you might enjoy if you like myth - the Majors are packed with it: and while not really a clone it is based on the RW) and the Osho Zen. My view is that the Mythic is probably as good as any for a beginner as you've got the whole Greek mythology for your resource material and some fantastic legends to remember the cards by. Mind you, I haven't yet told a querent drawing the Page of Cups that the story is actually that Narcissus drowned cos he was so in love with his own image! Or for the 4 Pentacles that they need to ensure they don't get so consumed with jealousy they feel the need to kill - and a child (and relative) at that! So, I guess the main problem with this deck is that it deals with really epic themes that you then have to translate into everyday life, where many other decks tend to show more ordinary scenes from "real life" in the Minors. That said, I'm firmly of the view that if you really love a deck there's a reason for it - in particular, that you'll have a good relationship with it and it will be accurate for you. So, enjoy - and get moving on that path to Mount Olympus!

Minderwiz	19 Apr 2002
Hi, My wife has the Mythic Tarot and I occaisonal will consult it just to see if I get a different feeling for a card. I like the artwork and the link to Greek Myth. I also find the deck a bit flimsy but the work book that came with it is co-authored by Liz Greene, whose work in Astrology I admire. I tend to use the Rider Waite deck most of the time - but have also tried the Mandala Astrological Tarot and the Osho Zen Tarot. As I said earlier looking at some of the other decks can help in getting a better feel for the meaning of cards, even if you end up going back to your favourite deck. Blessings Minderwiz

amyel	19 Apr 2002
Quote: Originally posted by lunar_rabbit I have the Mythic Tarot also. It *is* beautiful! As someone fairly new to learning tarot, I'm finding it easier to learn on the Universal Waite. But as I learn the basics, I find the Mythic tarot very nice to have as a supplemental deck -- as another way to see things. My sister worked with the Mythic Tarot for many years. I think she really likes it :-) Oh ... amyel? Yes, this is/was my first deck and I found it very easy to work with. I've also worked *mostly* through the workbook. I love the artwork and the myths worked well for me in learning to understand not only the individual cards' meanings, but also that Tarot spreads are meant to be read as a "whole" not just as separate cards unrelated to each other - if that makes any sense at all. It might be helpful to understand that: 1) I knew nothing about Tarot when I received this deck as a gift in 1986/87; 2) I'm a stroyteller by nature; and 3) I love Greek mythology & always have. So this deck was a good fit for me. But, I can also understand that because the depictions don't necessarily "align" with standard RW Tarot, it can be hard to use Tarot books not referring to the Mythic deck. I relied solely on the accompanying book for a few years before I found other books very helpful.

Tigerwings	19 Apr 2002
Hey thanks all, for your replies and advice. As a student of classical greece and rome, I am interested in Greek mythology, but dont know that much about it as yet! I cant wait to get that supplement book and read all the minor acarna stories. Yesterday i laid out all the suits to get a feel of how they relate to each other, and the continuity of the themes, and it was really interesting. As for this deck being my first, I have done a little work with the Rider Waite deck when i gave it to my friend and she was first learning to use it. I found it was great in that lots of books used it as an example or a basis for explanations, but I really didn't like the feeling i got when i turned over some of the cards like the Tower or Death etc. Even though i knew they werent meant to be taken literally, and that they have positive interpretations too I felt scared! That fear was just a gut reaction to the illustrations, and may have disappeared had i had more readings with the cards, but it did put me off this deck a little. Anyway, the Mythic deck will certainly not be the only deck i ever use in my exploration of tarot, and who knows, if I find it too difficult to learn from i may buy the Rider Waite or clone deck too. Erin

The Mythic tarot deck thread was originally posted on 19 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.