Sacred Circle

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 30 Jul 2002, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Mateo06	30 Jul 2002
I wanted to hear the boards views on the Sacred Circle deck. its the next book/deck set i am thinking about buying when i get some money, which at the moment is quite scarce!!! I just wanted to know if it was worth it. if u enjoy the deck. or is it a waste of money?

Thirteen	30 Jul 2002
There have been quite a few threads on this deck already. If I may be so arrogant as to try and sum them up, the general feeling on this deck seems to be: 1) The images are lovely, but distant. Lone figures, a lot of landscapes, and a border that gives you the feeling that you're looking at the image through a castle window. Photo-art so there are many pictures with backgrounds of real ancient places--standing stones, burial mounds. Meadows, forests, lakes and rocks dominate. Result: Some people find the images too distant or cold. I once described this as an "earthy" deck and I stand by that. It feels rock solid, but also heavy and not really warm--no pastels and very few hot colors--and very "real" photos. But if you like that poised, almost pre-raphaelite painting feel to your cards, you'll like this deck. It seems very cool and "fey." Like you've wandered into an ancient, Celtic forest filled with old, wild, pagan magic. 2) Very Pagan. Images, symbols, names defintions--all highly Celtic and pagan. Result: If you have problems with paganism, then this is not the deck for you. If you love it, or are interested in it, this deck will be very satisfying. 3) Major Arcana does not follow the Rider-Waite line up exactly and names for certain cards are different (Hierophant is #1 and called "The High Priest"--Magician is #5 and called "The Shaman"). Some cards seem to be missing altogether (like Temperance). And there are some cards that are there that aren't in RW. Result: A bad choice if you're a beginner as this deck can confuse. But fine, even challenging and interesting if you're bored with the same old RW clones. It does come with an excellent book. And the changes give it a very strong and individual personality. Conclusion: People have mixed feelings about this deck. Usually, they like the images, but once they have it in their hands, they either find that they just can't use it, or they adore it. Recommendation: This is not a deck to get off line--not like some decks which you see, love and when you get it its even better than you imagined. This is a deck that you see, like, and then either love or don't once you've gotten it. So it's best to go to a store if you can and check out a sample deck. Feel it, really look at it, shuffle it and even try a layout with it. Hands on is the best way to decide if this deck is for you. At least, that's what I've gathered from all that others have posted on this subject.

Lee	30 Jul 2002
Click here to read a recent thread about the Sacred Circle. -- Lee :)

cjtarot	30 Jul 2002
Hi, I LOVE MY SACRED CIRCLE...but, I have a poor memory of what the card meanings are (book meanings). so the pictures in this deck talk to me LOUDLY...I dont find the majors distracting because I am looking at the card more than the number and trying to apply the book meaning. I agree, you should see it, feel it and even meditate on a card (even if it's only for a minute) to see if it suites you. The one bit I should add is I'm not Pagan and had to study the book that comes with the set to understand what the monuments I was looking at ment - learned a lot from the book..different animals, plants and stone meanings..I still read the book after about 8 months of using the deckas my primary. Good hunting, Cj

WolfSpirit	01 Aug 2002
I have the Sacred Circle and I would not want to part with it, though i don't use the deck for reading. Some cards are like stepping into a landscape, or just show such a lively scene (like the Shaman and the Moon) for me it's a good deck for meditation. I found some of the minors disappointing, it looks to me as if they took a lot of time to get the imagery on some cards just right, then on other cards they just seem to copy it from another card. I also don't like the court cards much, they look so unnatural and posed. But I agree the book is very good.

truthsayer	01 Aug 2002
i think that in order to read this deck, you've got to be willing to read the book to become familiar w/ the archetypes/mythology behind each card. some of the cards are lovely like the high priestess but others seem kind of bare to me. the bare ones are generally the pips. if you read the book, you'll see the cards are rich w/ symbolism but you've got to learn to see what the creators see to read them.

Mateo06	01 Aug 2002
Well i am willing to read the book, if the books worth reading, but the main thing that turns me away from the deck is the cards, i read somewhere on here that they're pretty big. And my hands are small, so i don' t think i could handle them easily!!!. why oh why can't the make decks to fit the small handed? decks should be sized!!! small medium and large

Thirteen	03 Aug 2002
Quote: Originally posted by Mateo06 Well i am willing to read the book, if the books worth reading, but the main thing that turns me away from the deck is the cards, i read somewhere on here that they're pretty big. And my hands are small, so i don' t think i could handle them easily!!!. why oh why can't the make decks to fit the small handed? decks should be sized!!! small medium and large Have to agree with ya there. They are fairly large--though not, as some decks, enormous. Not easy for us with small hands to readily deal. Have you checked out Zerner-Faber. Don't know if you'll like the cards, but they're nice and peitite.

The Sacred Circle thread was originally posted on 30 Jul 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.