'Witch' deck?

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 24 Nov 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.

craghopper	24 Nov 2003
Pardon the pun! I am thinking of buying one of the following decks and would value your opinions: Hudes Cosmic Witches Tarot (Martin Cannon, Ellen Cannon Reed) Spiral Tarot of the Old Path Morgan Greer I would love a deck that I can really immerse myself into. I like the above because of their deep imagery. I like the way the Cosmic images seem to be real people but would be put off by the look-a-likes implied in some reviews. I love the Hudes because the world they portray looks real(ish). The spiral looks great too but don't know whether they will look as good in real life (as it were). Finally the Tarot of the Old Path may suit (another pun, sorry) me as a Wiccan man - same with the Morgan Greer. Anyway, I would really love to hear what you think! Cheers!

Lee	24 Nov 2003
Hi craghopper, I personally didn't care for the Witches Tarot, but from what you describe, I think that may be what you're after. The images are definitely ones you could immerse yourself in. Be aware, however, that the pip cards (Ace through Ten) are very different both in image and meaning from the R-W-S standard. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but some people don't like having to learn new meanings for the Minors. Also, there are a few cards which show bodybuilders in bathing suits, and some people find these cards silly. If you can get over these hurdles, it's a fascinating deck, and the people are drawn in a realistic style. -- Lee

Sulis	24 Nov 2003
I have experience with 4 of the decks you mentioned: I got the Witches Tarot by Elen Cannon-Reed as my first deck, couldn't get on withit at all, it's too far removed from traditional tarot for me, the court cards are all the same just different colours and wands are air, sword are fire - not for me so I traded it away. Cosmic - love this deck. It works well with Thoth keywords - I think it's more Thoth that RWS based. Spiral - A lovely deck but the artwork's a bit busy for my taste. Another peeve with this deck is the borders - I hate them, don't like the blue backs either. Morgan Greer - lovely - this is my favorite deck of them all. It's got a lovely retro 70s feel to it, no borders and the artwork is very good. Loads of symbolism in the cards, IMO it's a modern classic - I could go on and on but I think you get the picture. Have fun deck hunting Love and light Sulis xx

Thea Lynx	25 Nov 2003
Hi Craghopper, I have all the decks you mentioned in your post. The Hudes does not lose any of its beauty throughout. It was a joy to work with. I really like my Cosmic, but I do think of it as Thoth light (Thoth being my power deck) The Witches you referred to is borderless, just like the Morgan Greer. I haven't worked with it directly, have only pulled a few random cards to get the feel of it. Esoterically speaking, it is a bit darker than any of the others. I just did not want to stop working with either Spiral or Old Path. (I have 31 decks, with three more on order, and am making sure I do real work with each deck before I make a final sort into working and non-working[as in having them just for the beauty of it] types and go back to those that really seem to want to be worked with.) Spiral has a lot of purple which is what I think appeals to my senses greatly and Morgan Greer is deep rich colors. That plus the borderless design really pull you in to each card. Old Path is much lighter, not at all the type of deck I am usually attracted to, but it felt very good working with it. Bottom line: get them all! I would do Morgan Greer first since the imagery is closest to the Rider and makes it a really good learning deck. You really can't go wrong with any of them. Thea

Dee	25 Nov 2003
I have all the ones you mentioned except for the Hudes. The morgan-greer has great colors and imagery - it really speaks to me. Cosmic- I love this one - there is a mysterious feel init for me and I like that it has the astrological signs; planets. Tarot of the Old Path - I love th emajor Arcana and I dislike the minors - I feel teh same for the Spiral Tarot - for this reason alone I have not traded these away; I just love the Majors too much!

Shadow Wolf	07 Dec 2003
I had the witch's tarot you mentioned. I ended up trading it. I loved it when I first got it, but I seem to have lost my connection with it !!!!

Emily	07 Dec 2003
The Spiral is a nice deck if you can get over the borders which are very obvious - it is a Rider Waite clone deck but the Majors are gods, goddess's, figures from mythology - the book which goes with this deck is very good for describing the Majors. The Minors are more 18 Century, still very attractive to use. The Morgan Greer is a good all-round deck, a beginner could use it - you could very easily learn with it - and then go further than the Rider Waite deck that it is based on. The images might date it a little, its very like 70's poster style but nicely drawn with good expressions on faces. Some of the cards are very different to the Rider Waite but just by looking at them you can understand. There are no keywords or borders on the cards, roman numerals are used. Its a nice feeling deck, the Devil is in to shock, once you've seen it a couple of times the impact goes and its just another Devil card lol.

Jewel-ry	07 Dec 2003
Hi craghopper, I can vouch 100% for the Morgan Greer. Its just as everyone says, a real gem in my opinion. You can see the whole deck here http://www.angelpaths.com/decks/morgangreer/index.html. I also have the Old Path and I think the Majors are amazing, but there is something about the minors that doesn't appeal so much. There has been a study group on the Old Path which I really enjoyed reading through. It explained a lot of the symbolism. Unfortunately by the time I joined this forum they had finished the Majors and I dont think they have continued with the minors as yet. J :)

Moongold	07 Dec 2003
Greetings Craghopper, The Witches deck (Cannon Reed) was my first deck. I read a library book about Tarot one weekend and flew down to the Esoteric Bookshop on Monday to get a deck. HAD to have one. They did not have the RWS so I got the Witches. However, it is not for a beginner! Some of the images are stunning, although i am not wrapt in the body builders! The book that comes with the deck Is well worth reading. I still use the deck on occasion, for personal readings and for the beauty of some of the images. I also highly recommend the Morgan Greer, having essentially learned on this deck. The images are great and the deck speaks very clearly. The OLd Path is also just stunning. There was a study group here which did some excellent work on the Major Arcana which you might like to look at. I love the delicacy of the Old Path. Why not get them all? :laugh:

13thFaeChylde	09 Dec 2003
My first deck was Tarot of the Old Path. It is a beautiful, gentle deck. I had a dream after Ellen Cannon Reed passed away about the Witches deck - I was actually inside it! Which was weird b/c I'd never really looked at this deck before. After looking at the Morgan Greer, I really like that! And if you like the Spiral, you might like the Gendron...I have it and love it.

Le_Corsair	09 Dec 2003
The only deck on your list that I have is the Morgan Greer. It's a good deck to use if you want an RWS-type deck with much better art than the RWS uses. As a matter of fact, when I first joined Aeclectic I reviewed the deck, you can see my review in the deck listing. There was a very long thread (almost a book! ;) ) about the deck recently, you can see it here. Have fun with whatever you end up purchasing! Bob :THERM

The 'Witch' deck? thread was originally posted on 24 Nov 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.