Alchemical Tarot Deck

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 10 May 2002, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Violet Gargoyle	10 May 2002
I saw this one (by Guiley and Place) and was interested. I saw the one review here by Lynn, and a few at Amazon, but was looking for additional opinions about it. Does anyone have this deck? How does it read for you? How is the companion? Does it focus on historical information on Alchemy?

purplelady	10 May 2002
I have this deck and I like it , although I really haven't really done a full reading with it yet. The book has a lot of information about the ancient art of alchemy and beliefs about it that I probubly would never have known if I hadn't read it. Also , it is going out of print (All Thorsons books and decks are)so I would consider getting it now.

faunabay	10 May 2002
I have it too. Really like it but can't seem to do readings with it. Probably because I know nothing about alchemy except for reading the book (which is very good too by the way - very informative). But I haven't read the whole book yet and feel I'd probably have to study it closely to beable to really understand the cards enough to read with them. Which no telling if that'll ever happen. :) But I really like the deck. Maybe it is one I'll work with later when I have more time. I like all the animals Place put into the cards. The only card I don't really like is the star. Blood and Water coming out of her nipples - kind of weird!! I understand the meaning behind it, but it doesn't make for a very settling picture. :)

VGimlet	10 May 2002
Ah, I didn't know it was going out of print, this one has been on my top 15 list for awhile. Guess I'll have to order a copy soon. Oh, darn. :D

Violet Gargoyle	11 May 2002
Quote: Originally posted by faunabay The only card I don't really like is the star. Blood and Water coming out of her nipples - kind of weird!! I understand the meaning behind it, but it doesn't make for a very settling picture. :) Whoa, thanks for the heads up on that one. It still sounds like an interesting deck. Maybe not one to show the kids, huh?

Marie	11 May 2002
Hi:) This is another one of those decks I really love. I also consider Robert Place to be one of my tarot heros. He is incredibly smart and really knows his tarot and he is an excellent artist. The deck is beautiful and is one I would consider masculine. There is some nudity but I would consider it tasteful. I don't think you need to know alchemy to appreciate or use this deck, the symbols translate very well. :)Marie

Violet Gargoyle	12 May 2002
You know what is funny: I just picked up Tarot of the Saints by Place today (I am having one of those rare mass deck acquisition weeks to celebrate my raise at work) and didn't even put together at the time that it was the same name. I was just reading the intro to that companion book and checking out the bibliography a couple of hours ago. He looks like he does a heck of a lot of research for the deck! If he does nearly as much research for the alchemical one I'll be sold on it for sure.

Marie	12 May 2002
Yes. he does a lot of research for the Alchemical. The book explains it in a very easy to understand way. You might want to take a look at his website: http://thealchemicalegg.com/ He is working on another deck called the Tarot of the Buddha. So far the images blow me away. I am really looking forward to this one coming out. There are some pictures of it here: http://thealchemicalegg.com/PrintBuddha.html :)Marie

Zhritza	12 May 2002
Quote: Originally posted by purplelady it is going out of print (All Thorsons books and decks are)so I would consider getting it now. crud... Anyone know of any other Thorsons decks that are must-haves, or that you like?

Violet Gargoyle	13 May 2002
The Buddha cards do look beautiful- I think I am beginning to like this guy! Someone brought up a point that I can agree with, Place's card do seem to lend an air less feminized, but still neat to look at. Not that I don't like the feminine decks, cause' I do, but I also like the "male" take on the same themes....

purplelady	15 May 2002
Quote: Originally posted by Qolus crud... Anyone know of any other Thorsons decks that are must-haves, or that you like? Yes "The Celtic Tarot" by Helena paterson.

Zhritza	16 May 2002
OK, I looked at that one, pretty nice but not something I'd hunt down right now... I've got the Alchemical on its way from our warehouse. Thanks for the heads up, purplelady! I had to bump this one up a few notches on the Long-Ass Wish List. :)

The Alchemical Tarot Deck thread was originally posted on 10 May 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.