Animal-Wise Tarot

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 23 Jul 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.

dolphinprincess	23 Jul 2003
I was torn between this deck and the Medicine Cards.. I love animals and was looking for a deck to help me learn more about them. I decided on the Animal-Wise first since I am really concentrating on learning TArot right now..(figure I can move on to Medicine CArds in the future when I more comfortable with Tarot)... Anyway, just wondering if anyone has experience with this deck and what you think of it.. Also, if you do own both this deck and the Medicine Cards, which do you prefer and why? THANKS..

WolfSpirit	23 Jul 2003
I have both the animal-wise and the medicine cards, but I must say I have not used the medicine cards much yet, as I have mostly concentrated on tarot instead oracle decks. Both have a very good companion book :) Both decks use animals to explain human qualities, but I think the biggest difference is that animal wise is still tarot, and not only talks about the querent but also about the situation surrounding him, I think the medicine cards are more for self-exploration, the animals are used for showing qualities you need to develop. But as I said, I have not used the medicine cards to their full potential yet. I can really recommend the animal wise, I was a bit disappointed at how the cards look at first (those big pink borders !) but now I don't really notice that any more and I think it is a great deck. Sometimes when I do a spread with another deck I lay out the spread with the animal-wise to get another perspective. The deck follows the traditional tarot meanings, but concentrates more on action you can take yourself. The creator of the deck, Ted Andrews, knows an awful lot about animals and explains it all very well. If you want to know more about the medicine cards, you could check out the oracle decks section, I know there have been threads about this deck. In my opinion, yoy can't go wrong with either one !

Baby Owl	23 Jul 2003
I have had the Animal Wise book (the huge 400+ page one) for quite some time and recently ordered the cards. Like WolfSpirit, I have always found the borders a bit off-putting, but I finally decided to get the cards anyway. I do not have medicine cards but I do use a number of other animal-related decks (nontarot). I am looking forward to using one based on tarot. Baby Owl (I just stopped and realized that here we have a dolphin talking to a wolf and an owl...I like it!!!!)

truthsayer	24 Jul 2003
the medicine cards have an unrealized depth that come out when you work with them a lot. they seem rather simple at first glance-don't be deceived. the other deck(i think it's the sacred path) works very well with the medicine cards. i learned quite a bit from them. the animalwise is even more complex with more to learn than the medicine cards.i haven't worked with it as much since i've only had them a few monthes. i've had the medicine cards nearly 10 years. recommend both as fine decks.

dolphinprincess	24 Jul 2003
well, i'm now really excited to start working with the animal wise! I love learning about animals and think this is a great way to do so while exploring tarot and oracles. I also have the wolf song cards / book, which I haven't even looked at yet.. but I know the medicine cards will probably be in my future too :o) hehe! Baby Owl - I loved the comment about a dolphin talking to a wolf and a owl !!!!!!!

WolfSpirit	24 Jul 2003
Dolphinprincess - has anyone mentioned the empress in this deck is a dolphin ? You really have to get this deck ! })

dolphinprincess	24 Jul 2003
Yes, I saw that! I thought it was a perfect match!... and don't worry, the deck will be arriving very soon! I can't wait!... (also got the wolf pack tarot and the wolf song cards, ugh $$ )

Logiatrix	25 Jul 2003
dolphinprincess, You will not be dissapointed! I absolutely LOVE this deck. It has a very healing personality, and wonderful animal photographs. I don't usually like photo-type art in tarots, but this one works for me. I think the appeal is mostly because of the key words, animal attributions and depth of study so evident from the creator. Whatever it is, it works for me, and I'm quite sure it will work for you. Peace, Tauni :)

dolphinprincess	30 Jul 2003
okay, the deck arrived - and i LOVE IT !!! truly the perfect deck for me! The use of animals put the tarot in a whole new perspective - and I find it much easier to learn! :o) This will definitely be my main deck... !

Baby Owl	30 Jul 2003
Quote: Originally posted by dolphinprincess okay, the deck arrived - and i LOVE IT !!! truly the perfect deck for me! The use of animals put the tarot in a whole new perspective - and I find it much easier to learn! :o) This will definitely be my main deck... ! Mine should be here any day now. I will be interested to see if the cards use any of the same symbols as traditional tarot cards or if they come from a completely different perspective. Baby Owl

Baby Owl	31 Jul 2003
I'm so disappointed! I ordered my Animal Wise for a great price through a seller at Amazon. The description said "book and cards," but all I got was the book. I called the seller and they immediately placed a refund to me through Amazon, saying there should have been cards but they didn't have any! So I got a free book, but now I have to figure out how to get the cards. Baby Owl

Little Baron	31 Jul 2003
That is so disappointing Baby Owl; I feel for you. What a horrible surprise! Well, at least you have the free book! I bet you wander in a new age shop one day and find that deck at a great discount; then you'll have saved lots of money! Hope your search is fruitful. Best wishes Yaboot

dolphinprincess	31 Jul 2003
Baby Owl - that just stinks! i use amazon marketplace quite a bit... so many of those sellers are used bookstores that don't even realize that cards come with half the books they list.. i am always emailing them when i see a really low price, just to be sure.. .... But yours specifically said said it did come with cards!.. i would have been so disappointed too! ... you could always try to re-list the book yourself, and specify *no cards*... its still a great book on animals... if someone buys it you can then re-purchase the set... ! or maybe someone on amazon or half.com will just be selling the cards! Good Luck :o) btw, my wolf song cards and book came and i luv them :o)

Logiatrix	31 Jul 2003
Baby Owl, You may have gotten the big pale-beige book with "Animal Wise" in red letters, which is not directly related to the "Animal-Wise Tarot," but is also created by Ted Andrews. The tarot set is sold in a big pinkish/lavender box. The book looks just like the box, has a portrait-type photograph of a wolf on the front, and the title has "Tarot" in it. Truthfully, I've never seen the cards sold seperately. Hopefully you got that big book, and not the book from the set, somehow inadvertantly separated from the cards. If what I THINK happened is the case, then you still just need to find the set. The big "Animal-Wise" book is a keeper, especially if you like the tarot set. I'm sure this is not the order in which you intended to spend your money, but I'm pretty sure you would have wanted this book anyway. I will keep a search out for an extra set of cards for you in my neck o' the woods. Anyway, here's hoping your deck will come to you soon... :)

Baby Owl	31 Jul 2003
Hi, Tauni! I already had the big Animal Wise book. The one I just got is the small one that comes with the deck. I saw the deck offered on e-bay but I dropped out because the price went up too high. Good idea about selling the book, dophinprincess! I may try that. Baby Owl

WolfSpirit	01 Aug 2003
Baby Owl I'm so sorry for you - when you were expecting a deck and you don't get it :( I hope you will soon find someone with just the cards, so you can either buy the cards or sell the book. I'm sure you will find the deck *some day* but I know exactly how disappointed you are...

Baby Owl	01 Aug 2003
Thanks. You guys are great. I realize this isn't any big deal compared to other problems one could have, but I still appreciate your sympathetic attitudes. The deck shall come to me in its own good time. :) Baby Owl

punchinella	05 Feb 2004
Hi everybody. Baby Owl--I feel for you. & now I'm a bit worried--I just found a very discounted deck/book set & ordered it, the first tarot that I've purchased in . . . *gasp* . . . 4 months . . . feeling down, the time just seemed right to order animal-wise. I need the comfort. But gosh--I sure hope I get the whole thing! Well, if I don't (if for example I get cards only) perhaps (Baby Owl) we can work something out. Oh, things like this don't happen too often do they. Why anticipate trouble? ??? :)

punchinella	14 Feb 2004
Well, my set came today, intact, & I just want to say that I LOVE this tarot. Sorry BabyOwl, not a chance that I'm going to give it up . . . ever . . . (!!!) The only disappointing thing about it is that on most of the cards the print runs slightly crooked to the way the card is punched . . . this is a (very) minor flaw, typical of so many decks, but I'm borderline type-A & it does bug me a bit. Oh well, in nature nothing's perfect either. So in a way the flaw fits. My immediate impression is of a serious, serious deck. Something to use every day. Something to add to my top 5--possibly even top 3--list . . . this is absolutely, & in every way, THE DECK FOR ME . . . (well that's what it feels like at this point in time, anyway) . . . I don't think I've ever gushed this much over a deck before, ever (Tarot of Prague excepted, but . . . well, I don't really need to elaborate here on that point, do I . . . ) There's some poet--I can't remember who it was--who said that, when writing a poem, one needs to be aware that the natural image will ALWAYS be the strongest because nature resonates more deeply in the human psyche than anything 'civilized'/artificial can ever hope to do . . . I think this is what makes this tarot so powerful. My root-self says, yes. Bear. Cicada. I know who/what you are. Recognition is overwhelming & instantaneous. Even as the brain saunters pompously along behind . . . Another first impression is of a surpassingly gentle deck, possibly because there's no such thing as an inherently bad or negative animal . . . Each animal, & therefore each card, has something positive to contribute or convey. --Which means that, in order to read more 'objectively' (if that's the right word--& if one believes that negative potential is essential for objectivity . . . ) one needs reversals. Or elemental dignities, I suppose . . . (the card backs are not reversable, although T.A. covers reversed meanings extensively in his book . . . Hmmph. This doesn't make a lot of sense does it. :mad: ) Well, so much for my thoughts right now. I'm SO excited about working with this deck . . . (First reading was one card only: 6 of Shapeshifters/Cups: Cicada. Mmmmmn. This made me feel very, very happy *aaaah*) Punch

The Animal-Wise Tarot thread was originally posted on 23 Jul 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.