Victoria Regina (or...god bless the Queen?)

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 08 Apr 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.

azuremariposa	08 Apr 2003
ok, so i've added yet another deck to my (small, but growing) collection...the Victoria Regina...:D now, i was not interested in this deck whatsoever to begin with (i mean, the 3 of cups is right there when you go into the "reviews" section and i never even clicked it...not once)...black and white? no colour? (my Taurean Venus shudders) anyway, so i made a little $$ recently and decided it was time for a new deck (hehe)...i go hunting, trying to choose from my list and start showing my hubby different decks, asking his opinion...he spots the Victoria Regina and asks to see the cards on display...my reaction, "are you nuts?"...his response, "it looks cool!" ok, so i clicked the link and the images come up...i don't even look really and he says to me, "you know, hon? if you were ever to teach me to read the cards, that is the deck i'd want to learn on!"...so, this catches my attention, no? ;) i look at him, glance at the cards, and the Fool hits me...Justice...3 of Cups...and the Moon!! omg...now *that* is a powerful deck, i say to myself...so, i google it and find the website devoted to it (click here if ya wanna look) and become infatuated w/the cards...the Devil is so fitting (that hideous clown!!) and i love the High Priestess...i could go on, but i'll shush now...so, i ordered it! and received it...and now i'm loving it...i don't know whether my hubby was serious or not...but, if he wants to learn, i'm gonna hafta get another deck! 'cuz this one's mine!! ;) anywho...does anyone else have this deck, and if so, how do you like it? i haven't done ANYTHING w/it yet (just in case he really really wants it)...but i wanted to know if anyone enjoyed it, and the "feel" they got from it? please let me know... many blessings to all!

Astraea	08 Apr 2003
azuremariposa, I do believe you are becoming a full-fledged tarotholic! :D I like the concept of the Victoria Regina deck, but I don't read with it because the Guns-as-Swords association makes me have temper tantrums. Also, I find the Mason jars clever, but somehow not symbolically rich enough for Cups. The Moon really is a beautiful card -- it's one of the main reasons I got the deck. And the black bag that comes with it is really nice, too. Enjoy your deck, and I hope that your husband will be intrigued enough by it to learn to read the cards -- with his own deck! ;)

Khatruman	08 Apr 2003
Quote: Originally posted by Astraea azuremariposa, I do believe you are becoming a full-fledged tarotholic! :D *whispers* Ahhh, Astraea, do you think we have done our job???? Muahahahahahahaha }). azuremariposa: Anywho, to you too, I was finally converted to this deck, but it comes at a major buy buy buy time... whew better stop and take in my new acquisitions... so I haven't really worked with it yet, but I do love the cards. I am getting ready to do a reading with them soon. I haven't even shuffled them yet. I think a study group has begun down in the general forum. Tell me how you do with them, and what hubby ends up thinking about them.

Melissa`	08 Apr 2003
Hey azuremariposa! My story is somewhat similar to yours. My other half and I were at the bookstore this past weekend and I was set on getting the Tao Oracle... but that wasn't enough. I just *had* to get another deck. So I let him pick. Between Inner Child Cards and Victoria Regina.. The Victoria is what he picked. So i was 'ehh..ok'. (still going to get those inner child cards one day darnit!) Anyways the first initial look through the cards.. in the car... 2 minutes after buying them. The Moon was the first card that jumped out at me as well. As for the devil I was kinda wondering to laugh or loft an eyebrow. It did get a rise out of me. As for the study group Khatruman mentioned, I'm going to have to check that out. I haven't had a chance to work with them yet either. I would however like to share experiences with you since we are both 'newbies' to this deck. :) blessings, Amaya

Ruby7	08 Apr 2003
Azuremariposa, I had not been drawn to these cards in the least before, black and white, no colour, not for me I thought. Your experience intrigued me, so I took another look. Now I have another deck on my Amazon wish list. I think I am officially a tarotholic! I hope that you continue to enjoy the deck.

azuremariposa	08 Apr 2003
Quote: Originally posted by Astraea azuremariposa, I do believe you are becoming a full-fledged tarotholic! :D ya think? ;) yeah...my addiction is growing...and all you people are enabling me...but it's ok, cuz i'm not complaining! ;) the guns-as-swords thing kinda weirds me out too, but i think i'll be able to get over that...the clocks are what really freak me out, if ya wanna know... Quote: Originally posted by Khatruman *whispers* Ahhh, Astraea, do you think we have done our job???? Muahahahahahahaha . }) yes, you have!!! naughty!! you started it...i swear you did!! ;) (j/k!) and i'll keep ya updated on any progress i make w/the deck... Quote: Originally posted by Amaya The Moon was the first card that jumped out at me as well. As for the devil I was kinda wondering to laugh or loft an eyebrow. It did get a rise out of me. As for the study group Khatruman mentioned, I'm going to have to check that out. I haven't had a chance to work with them yet either. I would however like to share experiences with you since we are both 'newbies' to this deck. i love the moon card...the devil...well, he's a clown and i never really liked them, and he really did look sinister to me...but the devil is a "power" card to me...and if you've ever seen the movie "It", i think you would agree w/the imagery i will definitely look into that study group, and look forward to sharing my experiences w/the deck w/you as well! Quote: Originally posted by Ruby7 Azuremariposa, I had not been drawn to these cards in the least before, black and white, no colour, not for me I thought. Your experience intrigued me, so I took another look. Now I have another deck on my Amazon wish list. I think I am officially a tarotholic! I hope that you continue to enjoy the deck. oh no!!! i'm a converter and an enabler!! *covers face w/hands in shame* whatever shall i do?? ;) hehe i hope i continue to enjoy the deck as well...it really is quite striking, and i'm looking forward to my first reading w/it... *ahem* and not that i think anyone is interested, or anything, but i had already planned on posting my thoughts on each card in the Victoria Regina deck in the tarot part of my weblog...i haven't done much w/it yet...(and i'm converting to a new weblogging system shortly) but i will definitely "cut & paste" my thoughts over here if i think anyone will get any use out of 'em...:) many blessings to all!! and thanks for your input, as always! ~azure

Trogon	09 Apr 2003
azuremariposa, Congratulations on your new acquisition! And welcome to the ranks of the Tarotholics! My wife bought me the Victoria Regina Tarot for Christmas (aren't I lucky to have such a wife! :D ). So far, I love this deck! I love those old engravings that the artwork is all taken from and I think it's great the way that Ms. Ovenall has put the artwork together. Several of the cards really jump out and grab me almost every time I look at them. The Moon, as you and others mentioned, is quite beautiful. I also love the Valkyrie as Justice. The woman on the bicycle as The Chariot is one of my favorites too. From the minors, the 7 of Wands has always struck my fancy too as does the 6 of Swords. Personally, I haven't had any problem with Ms. Ovenall's use of guns for swords, nor pens for wands, mason jars for cups or clocks for pentacles. They all still work for me. One thing I have had some trouble with is the court cards. I have a bit more trouble with these court cards than I do with the courts in my other decks. But I'm getting them, slowly but surely... I'm getting them. ;) I do use the deck for readings and get very good readings with it. However, a reading with this deck does take me a little more time than with some other decks. While I find the readings to be accurate, I sometimes have a bit more trouble making the mental connections I need to with the images... but I'm getting better. For instance, if I were to make a comparison between doing readings with my VR deck to readings with my Röhrig Tarot: Both seem to give me accurate readings, but with the Röhrig Tarot, the learning curve wasn't as steep. Hope you and your husband enjoy the new deck! :D

Riversea	09 Apr 2003
The VR was the second deck that I bought to learn Tarot with. I had meant to stick with just the Universal Waite until I got a firm handle on it, but then the VR came out, everyone raved http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?threadid=2426&highlight=victoria+regina Amazon had a good price on it, and well... there go the best of intentions! ;) It is either my second or third favorite reading deck. I haven't picked it up seriously in a while (I got a TON of decks on my birthday, and combined with other things, got a bit unfocused in my tarot studies). However, I do contect quite deeply with many of the images on these cards. And reading the biographies of the people on the courts has helped me understand a number of them quite deeply. It's a great deck and very striking. It is a beautiful, beautiful deck, one that I'd be proud to read for anybody with! :)

azuremariposa	09 Apr 2003
just a minor update: hubby has given me the go to use this deck for my own...says he has too much going on at the moment to dedicate time to learning...(works 12-14 hrs a day, *plus* he's in a blues rock band, soon to be playing the Bob Marley festival! woohoo!!)... so, it's MINE...ALL MINE!!! }) mwaaaahahahahaha... *ahem* ok, well, i'm happy! :D just thought i'd share! many blessings to all!!

Astraea	09 Apr 2003
Well, you wouldn't want to argue with a man whose mind is made up -- you'll just have to keep that bloomin' deck for yourself! :D Enjoy!

truthsayer	16 Apr 2003
i really like this deck and it's concept. the book and the art is very nice. in fact, imho this deck would lose some of its appeal if it were in color. doing nice pen and ink collage is difficult to do. if you look in the archives, there is a long thread on this deck in which sarah ovenall the artist/creator responds to questions, etc. about her deck. she also has a website you'll want to check out.

The Victoria Regina (or...god bless the Queen?) thread was originally posted on 08 Apr 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.