Celtic Dragon Tarot

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

alexis	17 May 2003
hey guys, i was looking at the celtic dragon deck and i kind of like it. but will u guys recommend this deck for a beginner. Are there enough books out there that will allow me to understand it to the point that i can give proper readings? I mean, look at the RW, there are so many books on it so it becomes a very comprehensive deck. Also, i am not the kind that likes to conform to religions and certain set of beliefs. (i am a free thinker) . Thus if i dont really want to conforn to celtic beliefs do u guys think this deck is all right for me then? or.. hmm. maybe i should just start with a RW huh?? thanks thanks thanks for any info and guide given!

Emily	17 May 2003
Hi Alexis, I too have the Celtic Dragon Tarot, its a nice deck - not a straight Rider Waite clone but very similiar. The art work is very pretty with a good mix of dragons and people, its nicely drawn. The book that goes with the deck should be all you need to be able to read with it. The book gives good insight to every card, including the minors but there nothing stopping you using standard Rider Waite books with this deck. The book does go into candle magick, meditations, spreads etc. If you like the scans of it online then you'll probably be able to work with it, it is, IMHO, a good deck for a beginner but if you decided to go with the Rider Waite the Universal Waite is another nice deck. Hope this helps :)

alexis	17 May 2003
hey Emily thanks for your reply. i like the scans indeed. eg, the 7 pentagons, instead of the usual pentagon signs, they have 7 cute little dragons. i thought that was absolutely cool and i like the Aces too.. but i was worried that i couldnt read it well enough. think u sooth my fears. in fact, i like the dragon tarot too.. i like the pictures too.. (haha i like dragons u see) but i dont understand the way they draw it and what meaning they may give... so i will give that a miss. but hey.. thanks for your reply indeed! :)

krysia322	17 May 2003
Quote: Originally posted by alexis hey guys, i was looking at the celtic dragon deck and i kind of like it. but will u guys recommend this deck for a beginner. Are there enough books out there that will allow me to understand it to the point that i can give proper readings? I mean, look at the RW, there are so many books on it so it becomes a very comprehensive deck. Also, i am not the kind that likes to conform to religions and certain set of beliefs. (i am a free thinker) . Thus if i dont really want to conforn to celtic beliefs do u guys think this deck is all right for me then? or.. hmm. maybe i should just start with a RW huh?? thanks thanks thanks for any info and guide given! I own this deck, and I love it. I highly recommend it for a beginner (I consider myself a beginner, even though I've been studying tarot for 15 years). However, with this deck, I wouldn't put too much stock in its "Celtic" qualities (I feel very little actual "Celtic" vibe from these cards). I fell in love with this deck for its dragons; my favorite card in this deck is the Ace of Cups. I use this deck almost daily; I play various solitaire games with it as well. It continues to amaze me with its accuracy, and as an Anne McCaffrey (Dragons of Pern) fan, I love the idea of dragons as spirit guides. The only thing that bugs me about it, is the author's switch of Wands and Swords (I don't agree with her that Wands should be for Air and Swords for Fire). I've discovered over the years, that you don't choose decks... They choose you. If this deck appeals to you, it's calling to you. Go for it. :)

Emily	18 May 2003
Hi Alexis and Krysia, I bought this deck because I'm a dragon fan too, I didn't buy the Dragon Tarot because I didn't like the poses the Dragons had been drawn in, they were much too human and un-dragonlike lol. The Celtic Dragon is different, it shows them much more on an equal footing with the human figures, like guides and advisors - which is what the Celtic Dragon tarot is about. It did remind me of Anne McCaffreys Pern books, of which I'm a fan :) Just to add, at the back of the book there are some very nice spreads that you won't find anywhere else, also candle magick to use with the deck.

paradoxx	20 May 2003
This is one of my first tarot decks i bought. Of my favorite cards that come to mind: teh four aces, the hatching dragons fit perfectly to introduce a new suit 6-7-8 of cups, i believe that these images convey what the rider-waite cannot in terms of artistry, meaning, and symbolism. page of pentacles/page of swords Im not going to ruin the neat little suprise on the lower left of the page of pentacles but the page of swords really does show how massive the Celtic Weapons are. These two pages are connected (as they are both male) and convey many new adventures to come. three of swords, a slightly different view on the three swords, but very well drawn and colored. five of wands, one of the few times that a 5 card actually resonates with me. there are others, but these are what came to my mind

alexis	22 May 2003
hey to all :) thanks for replying my question on the celtic dragon deck... wanna ask one more thing. the deck is not suppose to be read in the reversed way but do u guys still do that? and how does the reading turn out usually? thanks thanks again!

HOLMES	22 May 2003
i have always used reversals since day one so when i used the celtic dragon it worked good for me. but if you a beginner it is up to you to decide does it feel natural to use reversals or not ? if it does then i would recomend tarot reversals. and if you are a total beginner, 78 degrees, of wisdom, tarot for yourself. spirtual tarot 78 paths of devlopment. tarot as a way of life , the jungian approach. tarot and tree of life every day wisdom in minor arcana (here take note though that i personaly dont' agree with their court cards from qabbalah ) and there is a court cards (those are hard to understand still for me ) book coming out in july by innerlight traditions. for myself, back when i started in 1990 the first book i saw was a rider waite (now called waite smith deck ) deck type, by eden gray . so i started on the waite tarot and applied every other deck using that as my basis. the celtic is a beutiful deck i agree, and i havne't read the book that much (nor her book for her other deck called the shapeshifter ) so personally i reccomend the waite , while others would reccomend the toth (for me that is an advanced deck ) that being said i realize this is now a differnt age the when i started so now this my freind. the first deck you use that really agrees with you i found that all other decks i have i compare them to the waite meanings. so the celtic dragon if you take it as your deck to learn on will be ok, but it doesn't take in account astrology and kabbalah like the rider and thoth does, and that is ok for some believe that these systems can't be applied to the tarot anyways :O) in other words go for it , only you will know if it is good for you or not :O)

Shade	26 May 2003
If you liked this deck you'll prbably also enjoy Conway's Dancing with Dragons which is the 101 for drgon flavored witchcraft. I never thought if the deck as being particularly Celtic, I suppose the people in it are supposed to look Celtic, but I'm not convinced. Trhe deck has been called fluffy by some but thsoe folks tend to find most theme deks fluffy. The use of people in the deck helps I think. the Dragon Tarot has been difficult for some people who liked the art but don't really connect with a dragons only deck. My only complaint is that the wands are air and the swords are fire. This of course fits with Conway's magical philosophy (and of many others, the Alexandrian tradition and what-not). I personally am very attacted to my wands/fire swords/air interpretations and I didn't want to give them up. Normally I hate decks that want to re-name the devil or death but I was able to get over the change of devil to chains in this deck. Chains is a broader term than say "materialism" (Connoly) and is easier to read with. And the baby dragons are just so damn cute.

Sobeknofret	26 May 2003
I unreasonably started coveting this deck about a week ago, after swearing I'd never in a million years buy it, lol! The art looks good, and from the cards I've seen it doesn't look like it should be difficult for a beginner to learn on. I learned on a RWS, but that's because in 1984 it was either that or the Swiss 1JJ deck. There weren't a whole lot of other decks readily available. If the art appeals to you go for it! The most important thing is that the deck needs to resonate with YOU and your instincts. If this is the deck that grabs you, go for it. I have also advised people that if they think that the deck that they love might be too hard to learn on, to buy the RWS and the deck that they love. That way you have a classic deck to learn on, and one to "grow into" as well. A friend of mine did this with the RWS deck and the Crowley Thoth deck, which is the one that called out to him. I bought the Shapeshifter yesterday, and the Swords are Fire and Wands are Air in that deck also. Kind of disconcerting, because I prefer it the other way around, but not a major hang-up for me. Good luck --Sobe

krysia322	27 May 2003
Quote: Originally posted by JohnnyVoodoo The use of people in the deck helps I think. the Dragon Tarot has been difficult for some people who liked the art but don't really connect with a dragons only deck. My only complaint is that the wands are air and the swords are fire. This of course fits with Conway's magical philosophy (and of many others, the Alexandrian tradition and what-not). I personally am very attacted to my wands/fire swords/air interpretations and I didn't want to give them up. And the baby dragons are just so damn cute. I agree. The use of people in the deck, IMO, helps a lot. I looked over the Dragon tarot, and just couldn't connect. As much as I love dragons, I guess I need more. That drives me crazy too, J.Voodoo, having the wands and swords switched. That's my main complaint --actually, I think my only one-- with this deck as well. Or the Shapeshifters. I like my wands to equate with fire and my swords to equate with air, and that's it. LOL And those baby dragons are so damn cute! LOL! And I (may be solo in this opinion, we'll see), have never liked the RW deck. I don't know why, but I dislike it intensely. Something about it just bugs the hell out of me. The deck I started out with was The Enchanted Tarot. I felt it to be positive, user-friendly, and sweet to look at. To each their own. Oh, and I also found (and continue to find) it easier to not read reversals. For me, whenever I tried, it always confused and cluttered up the issue(s), so I stopped trying. But I do recommend trying both methods and learning what works best for you. Some people are excellent at reading reversals. I am not one of those people, LOL! :D Peace. :)

Sobeknofret	27 May 2003
I read reversals because I find that they add so much depth and richness to my readings, but it took me years to get comfortable with them. Also, I don't read reversals on decks where they are specifically excluded by the creator of the deck, e.g. the Crowley Thoth deck and the Shapeshifter. If this deck is not meant to be read with reversals, then I advise not reading with reversals. You'd probably get a confused mess if you tried. If you're interested in reversals, there is a reversals study group starting in the Study Group forum. The intent is not to debate whether or not to read reversals, but to discuss ways to successfully incorporate reverals into readings and discuss meanings for reversals. Good luck, --Sobe

krysia322	27 May 2003
Quote: Originally posted by Sobeknofret If you're interested in reversals, there is a reversals study group starting in the Study Group forum. The intent is not to debate whether or not to read reversals, but to discuss ways to successfully incorporate reverals into readings and discuss meanings for reversals. Good luck, --Sobe Thank you for the heads-up about the reversals study group, Sobe! :) I would love to be able to learn more about reversal interpretation... Especially considering I suck at it now. :) LOL! Off to go find the thread... Thank you again! :)

The Celtic Dragon Tarot thread was originally posted on 17 May 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.