Lord of the Rings

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 18 May 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.

MsIsis	18 May 2003
Ok, I know it's a clone deck, just by reading information in this forum. But so far I actually like the deck for it's artwork. I noticed someone else commented they thought the artwork was ugly.... but then again, I find it's a totally different STYLE of artwork as any other deck I've seen. Some of the decks with links I've seen here are quite attractive. Others appear to me as childish type art - which softens the entire deck, and is most likely the purpose behind that. :) For those who haven't seen them, a few cards are shown here: http://www.illuminationtarot.com/insights/lotr_tarot.html Part of the reason I like this deck is the ease of learning. The quote's on the cards are helpful to determine the meaning of the card. Add to that the characters are more well known than almost any in fiction. While it may not be as traditional as other decks to learn from, it seems to me as if it calls to me on an interest level as well as spiritual. So I was curious what others felt about this deck. So far it has worked well for me, which I know is the most important factor. My next deck will probably be Egyptian Isis Tarot - if I can find it. I found a reference to it on one website, and it looks beautiful. But I have yet to see it for sale anywhere.

WolfSpirit	19 May 2003
I do not find the deck ugly at all, I would probably like it very much if it was just a fantasy/mythical deck. But it is meant to be Lord of the Rings, and to me there are some disturbing contradictions with the book: hobbits wearing shoes for instance. And Gollum as the fool, Gollum does not strike me as a very free spirit, with his enslavement to the ring he could be on a devil card (although there are other obvious choices for the devil, plenty of evil in the story). For me the deck just does not really capture the spirit of the LOTR very well.

Khatruman	19 May 2003
WolfSpirit hit on a lot of key aspects of the deck. I think the artwork is fine, and maybe one day I will play the LotR game that is suggested with the deck. I really don't think that a lot of thought went into the correlations. I don't think that it will work as a learning deck at all. You will not get any tarot symbolism or a good sense of the tarot from this deck. It is a nice novelty deck, but doesn't work as a reading deck. Perhaps something more like the Universal Waite? Just a suggestion.

Amber Monarch	28 May 2003
I find them quite grand! Of course I really like LOTR too! lol

Khatruman	28 May 2003
Quote: Originally posted by Amber Monarch I find them quite grand! Of course I really like LOTR too! lol Yes, I very much like the LotR also, which is what disappoints me with this deck. I waited a while before buying it, and always wanted it. When I finally got it, I found that I really couldn't use it. It just seems to me that the deck was created to attract the gamer type, i.e. Dungeons & Dragons players or Magic: the Gathering, without much thought to serious tarot study, which is unfortunate and disappoints me. I have not seen the Lord of the Rings Oracle deck and wonder if that is any deeper than this one.

Two of Wands	28 May 2003
I actually like this deck a lot. (Although I agree about the shoes on the Hobbits - that just drives me mad). But to say this is an ill thought out deck is just wrong. Terry Donaldson, the man behind this deck is a very accomplished Tarot reader and writer and actually the book that goes with this deck is one of the most in depth Deck Companions you will find. It truly does do into the images used in each card and there is a lot of thought and symbolism behind each both of a Tarot level and on a LotR's level. I think the artwork is very pretty and I like the intricacy of the whole thing. I agree that there is some commercialism behind this deck and that it has it's problems. But it does work as a deck and can be very fun to use. A.

The Lord of the Rings thread was originally posted on 18 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.