Legend: Arthurian Tarot

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 17 Mar 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.

KelarSkye	17 Mar 2003
OK, since I am new and only have one deck I thought I would start a post on it to get some insight. I didn't see an old one hanging around (thought I must admit I am not much of a backscroller). Anyway, impressions of the deck? I actually inherited mine (unopened, in the box) from my ex when he left. I figured it was definitely meant for me then! This is my learning deck, which might not be the best, but I like it so.... One thing I don't like are the Knights (pages). The images are NOT helpful at all in interpretation. Plus, the book meanings are rather black and white...so I have purchased 78 Ways to help...but then I have the translation from Rider-Waite to Arthurian to get through too. Anyone else wanna sound off on this deck? Nice to meet everyone BTW...I have been purking for a while and decided to get my rear in gear and post and learn something. :-) Kelar

Kirali	17 Mar 2003
Hey nice to meet ya KelarSkye. This is one of my favorite decks and the first deck that I actually learned anything out of. If it leaves you cold, you might want to use the Rider Waite Smith or the Universal Waite (if you don't like the RWS colors) for your learning/study deck. Yes the pages are rather lacking in symbolism but I sort of like them for some weird reason. If you have trouble with Rachel Pollack's book, you might want to think about getting Janina Renee's book Tarot For a New Generation. It's very nicely done and explains every card into little sections and has the Legend: the Arthurian Tarot as one of the displayed decks. When I like a deck, I tend to be totally biased to it and can't find anything wrong with it so I can't really be impartial. hehe There are a couple reviews at Wicce's and at Tarot Passages Wicce Review Review 1-Tarot Passages Review 2- Tarot Passages Compare Contrasting 2 Arthurian Decks by Lee There are a couple past threads on this deck, I'm think you can find them using search somehow. It is confusing however since there are two decks called Arthurian Tarot. Hope to see more posts from you. :)

KelarSkye	17 Mar 2003
I am not enthused by the typical "learner" decks people suggest I use. I have looked at them and just don't like the imagery or something all that much. I just find that I need more interp suggestions than the deck's book gives. Many times they are two one-dimensional for me to feel comfortable with. I will have to search out that new book. While I love the Rachel Pollack book, sometimes she is too into describing the card, rather than its meaning. I mean, my card has a different picture on it! :-) I will do a hunt and search for old threads. I know I haven't seen one from the last 30 days. Kelar

truthsayer	17 Mar 2003
legend is one of my fav decks. i just love the soft watercolors and dreamy feeling of the deck. while it's a readable deck, i wouldn't recommend it for a beginner. there are several threads here where decks we suggest are named. this question comes up often so there should be a recent thread. i have a strong background with the rider waite and arthurian legend. so i'm able to remember the story on the card and then mix that with the way i'd interpret that card with the rws. it's kind of tricky but can be done.

lunalafey	17 Mar 2003
Quote: Originally posted by KelarSkye One thing I don't like are the Knights (pages). The images are NOT helpful at all in interpretation. PAGES or KNIGHTS???? which one??? Start reading all the GOOD books about Camelot and Merlin, etc. here is a website that will break down the characters http://www.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/mainmenu.htm This was my second deck, VERY different than my first and so I had to sort of re-learn(not to mention that ALL those years with my first deck I did not look to any other recources about tarot). But my first deck(and I did not know at the time) was fairly different than most decks. Legends got me closer to the 'true' tarot, by way of a more traditional sense. I was already familiar with the stories, so I was at an advantage of association with the legend and the cards. the first thing to remember about this deck is that it reverses the elements in the suits swords and spears(wands)...swords is fire, wands is air in the Legend deck...keeping this in mind.... Pages... spears, air, spring....page 'hare' a rabbit, in spring we have Easter, the bunny comes, This tradition was a way for the Christians to mask over the Pagan tradition(which it was during the time of Camelot that the Christian doctorine was coming to power and trying to squeeze out the Pagan ways) The hare is about rebirth (ressurection) swords, fire, fall....now think about the snake's part in the bible. It was his actions that caused the fall of Adam and Eve. cups, water, summer...salmon, again what is a symbol the christians use? a fish. shields, earth, winter...badger...this is an earth burrowing animal, very protective of it's territory. take what I mention here and look again at the meanings given in the book....do you have the BIG book or just a little deck sized book? that could make all the difference in the world. I will return to offer more help.... will find some threds for you to...

KelarSkye	17 Mar 2003
Quote: Originally posted by lunalafey PAGES or KNIGHTS???? which one??? I meant Pages :-) I was thinking about something else where a different name is used. I realized as soon as I posted it was wrong...guh! :-) Kelar

KelarSkye	17 Mar 2003
Quote: Originally posted by lunalafey take what I mention here and look again at the meanings given in the book....do you have the BIG book or just a little deck sized book? that could make all the difference in the world. I will return to offer more help.... will find some threds for you to... I think it is the big book. It came with the deck, but isn't deck sized. The thing about the Pages is just that I don't have the image to draw inferences from. But I guess that doesn't matter because I don't really use the images much as the reading tool, but more of a recalling tool. I actually feel comfortable with this deck because I am familiar with the legend aspects, those that I don't know I still grasp in context. Thanks for your help, I look forward to any other resources you point me too. Kelar

WolfSpirit	17 Mar 2003
Hi KelarSkye and welcome. I love the Legend arthurian, the pictures are beautiful. Must say I don't use it a lot for readings though. The cards don't always symbolize the meaning very well IMO.The meanings follow the rider-waite tradition so if you can read with this deck you will also be able to read with the LAT once you are familiar with the pictures. About older threads: the third thread from the top down is a table of contents of the most popular decks, you will find threads on the arthurian there. Happy reading :)

HudsonGray	17 Mar 2003
Wait--there are two Arthurian tarots, which one is being talked about here. I have the one by M. Ferguson. The other is called the Hallowquest sometimes and has cards done by a different artist. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- "What brought that on?" "Heavy load barmaid." "They all are dear..." Buffy, season 6

lunalafey	17 Mar 2003
gray, you have this deck. http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=861 http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=2582 http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=2291 In threads about 78 degrees, there are alot of refferences to Legends

Logiatrix	18 Mar 2003
kelar, "Legend" is one of the very first themed decks i ever tackled. i thoroughly enjoyed the artwork, book and general feel of the deck. however, i ran up against a bit of confusion when i realized that this is a wands-air/swords-fire deck, at least according to the book. i didn't realize these assignments until i read it in the deck's book, but i never picked up on any discrepancy about it in my readings. nevertheless, i stopped using "Legend" because i was still learning the cards; i was studying the RWS with the "Pictorial Keys" and the Thoth with "The Tarot Handbook." these are both sword-air/wands-fire card systems, which i preferred at the time--for comfort's sake, i suppose. any-hoo, my question... do you find the sword/wands issue to factor in to your studies with this deck? now, after a few years of study, i'm thinking that it really doesn't matter, and i'd like to get the "Legend" tarot deck again. what do you think?

KelarSkye	18 Mar 2003
Quote: Originally posted by metaz kelar, any-hoo, my question... do you find the sword/wands issue to factor in to your studies with this deck? now, after a few years of study, i'm thinking that it really doesn't matter, and i'd like to get the "Legend" tarot deck again. what do you think? I haven't gotten to that really. I am still grappling with the basic meanings of the cards...and fighting how I will utilize reversals (straight opposites just don't feel right). The elements assignments haven't been an issue because I haven't refined my card interpretations that far. Hmmm, I probably should refine my course of study to be more methodical, but right now I study as the interest takes me. I have been working with Legend for about 6 months now...not quite. I think I might want to get another deck so the dual study can help me balance since I apparently have stumbled on a deeck that might not be a good beginner deck. unfortunately I don't really like any of the rider-Waite ones. I will have to check out Thoth, but I don't recall liking them either. I guess I am just too picky :-) I should be disciplined.] Funny though, I guess the itnerpretations of Legened have led me to the wand/air, sword/fire thing. Now that I knwo it is different elsewhere....uh oh! :-) Kelar

Demonesse	19 Mar 2003
I have both the Thoth and Legend, and I must say despite my best efforts I throughly dislike both of them. I thought I would be able to connect to the pretty watercolours (and nice borders) of the Legend as well as the vibrant Thoth but they leave me cold during readings. I'd love to be rid of them, anyone interested? :D

Aerin	19 Mar 2003
I have both the Legend Arthurian and the Hallowquest Arthurian. I really don't like the Legend much, I only hang on to it because I've always liked King Arthur stuff. For me, I don't think it hangs together very well as a system (unlike the Hallowquest). I also don't like the over-romantic Hollywood like interpretation: it doesn't seem to ring true somehow. Everyone is different though. This is one of my first decks, and I rejected it to learn on. Aerin

Bings	19 Mar 2003
This has become my favorite deck. It's the one I really clicked with. The Pages did give me some difficulty. Each time one comes up in my readings I have to think of the characteristics of the individual animal shown. As an example, the Page of Spears, The Hare; Hares are fast, energetic, excitable... Playful, fun. Good natured. Badgers are tenacious. The Salmon, smart. There are also spiritual beliefs attached to the salmon. The Adder, a snake, makes you a little bit weary. A snake can twist back on itself making me wonder what lies ahead, what kind of twists and turns. I get some wonderful readings with this deck. This deck is the first one that gave me enough confidence to leave the book at home. The colors, the artwork, and I can see the meanings in the pictures. They flow well for me. I just love this deck. Dianne

Rose	19 Mar 2003
The Legend-Arthurian is one of my favorite theme decks. However I find that the stories and legends in many theme decks can be limiting when trying to read them. I sometimes use the Rider-Waite deck in a reading, and then choose a theme deck and lay out the matching cards from the theme deck next to the Waite cards. It's fun and interesting to see how the second card compares with and modifies the card from the Waite deck. For example, the Two of Swords in the Waite deck shows a seated, blindfolded woman holding two crossed swords in front of her. Some common meanings of this card would be a stalemate, refusing to face the truth, not wanting to choose between two alternatives, etc. The Legend-Arthurian Two of Swords tells the story of a knight who kills his brother in a joust because they failed to recognize each other. The Legend-Arthurian card seems to stress the importance of removing the blindfold and carefully looking at the situation. The Tower in the Legend-Arthurian is illustrated by Vortigern's Fortress. Constructing the Fortress was impossible because each night the previous day's work was in ruins. Merlin pointed out that they were trying to build the Fortress on top of a pool holding two warring dragons. If you compare this with the image on the Waite deck, The Arthurian card seems to emphasize that whatever is crumbling in your life might be caused by a poor foundation. This method is called the comparative method as developed by Valerie Sim-Behi, the owner of the comparative tarot website. Two websites that offer card meanings along with pictures of the Rider-Waite deck are www.learntarot.com and www.biddytarot.com. Learntarot.com is the online version of Joan Bunning's book. It's a free complete course in reading tarot cards. Biddytarot seems to be excerpts from various books and internet postings for each card. It's one way of learning both decks without having to buy a copy of the Rider-Waite deck. Since many other decks, including the Legend-Arthurian, are based on the Waite deck, learning that deck makes it easier to pick up other decks and read with them immediately. I noticed on another thread that the Spiral Tarot is on your wish list. That deck follows the Rider-Waite deck closely both in meanings and images (particularly in the Minor Arcana) so if you don't like the Rider-Waite deck that might be a good alternative. I do have to admit that I do like the Rider-Waite-Smith deck. Rose

Alissa	19 Mar 2003
I have this deck and use it exclusively for my husband and myself. It's a private deck, for me. However, I use it rarely as a result. I studied Arthurian literature extensively so I was drawn to the theme. I like many of the illustrations (and I love the Faeries around Nimue, as the High Priestess). Overall, I like using this deck quite well. But ... I hate the fact that the Hanged Man shows a man hanging from the neck, dead. It completely ruins the card to me. And I really hate the Pages too, but have still gotten some amazingly good messages from them ... but more intuitively. The swords/wands thing doesn't bother me, personally.

Icestorm	22 Mar 2003
i love this deck, it is sooooo romantic! The hanged man makes no sense according to traditional RWS meanings, and I usually have to refer to another deck's interpretation of that card, which is a downside. Again, the Element/suit association bothers me a fair bit too, but otherwise, it is without doubt my favourite deck! You can quite often get deeper meanings if you have an extensive knowledge of arthurian and celtic legend, and having studied those two areas casually in my spare time, I can say that the deck definitely connects and gives me great readings! ;-]

The Legend: Arthurian Tarot thread was originally posted on 17 Mar 2003 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.