opinion

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 28 Nov 2002, and now archived in the Forum Library.

paradoxx	28 Nov 2002
These are the decks i have and how i would rate their beginner to advanced status based on my expierence with teh art of Taort. Elemntal Tarot, very basic although not very traditional it covers several topics all at once and gives basic explanations of the major arcania. Rider Waite, my newest deck so this may move around in the list, useful, traditional, not the most unique deck i have ever seen but it won't be the last either. Egyptain(los scarabos), my first deck, although the instructions are lackign in definition, it definitely opens the doors of egypt, the premonitions are very strong from this paticuallar deck and yet, like egypt, very vauge. and excellent transition deck. Shapeshifter, despite the xtra cards that so many dislike, this 81 card deck sheds new light onto certain cards and their meaning, teh extra major arcania can all relate to the world card, the courts are different but also shed new light onto old concepts. Sacred Circle, once again this deck sheds light onto the meanings of the cards, the reason i place this after shapeshifter is becaue the extra cards int eh shapeshifter deck are useful, whreas the explanations of the cards here are more long-winded and not as entertaining but very educational. of course at this point there are overlapping concepts that move from deck to deck, in this case: Faerie Wicca. another deck with extra cards (this time easily removed) the symbolisim in this deck is actually enhanced by some of the explanations in teh Sacred Circle deck. The trout and hazel wand are what comes to mind. I have the slipcase deck(which according to the reviews is much better than the full boxed set) and the book is a pain to find the information in (i think these books need the thumbnail directories) but i do like the 15th card of the major arcania for various reasons. Osho Zen, this is a fun deck. The Zen excerpts are exciting to read, very telling, teh colors of the deck are bright, colorful, energetic. Although the history of OSHO is questionable, it is full of zen, with that in mind-I refuse to comprimise and be confused on the issue any more than i need to be. Celtic Dragon, This deck is full of rich symbols, some of which are not immedietly noticed. the book is useful (although there could be more to it) i place this one higher up the list becaue of the nature of the deck itself, once you start to use it, the knowledge coems very quickly and it changes like the chaos dragons themselves. Tarot Nova. A simple little deck, bright colors on black. strange symbolisim that doesn't always work, interpretations that are alwas vauge yet very telling. This deck is facinating to use although the mini-deck version is more of a novelty item than anythign else (although magick is very useful with this mini-tarot) Mythic TArot, using the gods of ancient times, coming with a silk cloth the energy infused here is not for the weak of mind. the stories in the suits are excellent for study and do in fact relate to everyday life, this is one of the best and most complicated decks i have yet to see. Cosmic Tarot. Norbert Losche msut have had some premonitions when creating this deck. The olt-tyme, modern, and futuristic feel is blended so well its like a Tarot of science fiction except that it is our world yet to come. reworking some of the basic concepts (namely the court cards), integrating astrology (jupiter and saturn glyphs appear alot) and utilizing concepts that i myself have uncovered with other versions of the tarot verified with this one (unfortuantely i cannot concieve what i am talking about at this moment.) This deck is the end and teh beginning, the interpretations of the deck are useful (although limited) and can be used by all taroists (not to be confused with Tarot Terrorists) new and expierenced. This deck is a must.

fairyhedgehog	29 Nov 2002
I don't know all these decks, but I have a few of them. I was very struck by your words on the Tarot Nova Quote: A simple little deck, bright colors on black. strange symbolisim that doesn't always work [...] That is just how I see it :) But I do like that little deck. I didn't like the look of the Rider Waite, so I have one in the softer colours of the Universal Waite, and it seems pretty easy to use. I can't say I use my Cosmic Tarot much. Some of the images seem slightly odd and I don't know how to interpret them. Although, my Renaissance tarot (artist: Trevisan) has even stranger pictures but I find it easy to use.

The opinion thread was originally posted on 28 Nov 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.