Soul Mandala Tarot

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 14 Apr 2004, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Jewel	14 Apr 2004
I was just browsing through Tarot Garden and came accross the deck Soul Mandala Tarot. I did not see a review on either Tarot Passages or here so I thought I would see if any of you can provide me with some additional info on the deck, its user friendliness, etc, etc, etc.

Khatruman	14 Apr 2004
Sorry, nothing to say on that deck... I don't know it...but I just wanted to say how wonderful it is to see the sweet mermaid herself, after so much time...*s*

dolphingirl	14 Apr 2004
Wow I hadn't even seen these cards before :) They look really interresting and would love to see more. Wonder what the erotic cards look like.

dolphingirl	14 Apr 2004
I bet if you emailed Jeanette at Tarot garden and they might be able to show ya some more pics or give you more info

Star Spirit	15 Apr 2004
I've seen this deck on Tarot Garden and sort of have it on my wishlist. I think it's very nice looking but I'm not sure how readable it would be. The cards are all numbered in sequence instead of being divided into 14 per suit, which is a less common method as well. I'd like to see a review on it so I could learn a little more about it.

Asher	16 Apr 2004
I have this deck, and find it quite beautiful. The cards measure about 2 1/2 by 5, non-rounded corners, non-reversible backs, and only the front appears to be laminated. The cards seem to be able to stand up to shuffling and use, although I haven't done so, yet. I have just looked through it so far. Thanks for the thread to get me started working with it. It come with a substantial LWB - too bad I don't read Polish! The deck is a photo collage deck (my favorite kind!) and pretty well done. The Majors include Runes, Hebrew letters, astrological associations (I have not examined these to see if they use a particular system like the Golden Dawn, or are unique to this deck), and a depiction of the card's path on the Tree of Life. Strength is 11, and Justice is 8. The card titles are in Polish (I believe) along with some keywords (for those who don't like keywords, if you don't read Polish, no problem...smile!) The illustrations take up most of the card, so the extras are small and need not be used. Anyone with a familiarity with tarot will have no problem reading these. (One caveat: the Sun card, uses the ancient sun symbol which was reversed by the Nazis and became the swastika. This might be off-putting to some.) The Minors, as has been mentioned, are numbered sequentially, beginning with the King of Wands as number 22, ending with the Ace of Pentacles as number 77. I have a few other decks that do this and do not find it problematic. The background of each suit is color-coded, elementally: Wands=Fire=Red, Cups=Water=Light Green, Swords = Air=Blue, and Pentacles=Earth=Orange/Sienna. It is very obvious which suit is which. As with the Majors, the Minors also include Hebrew letters, astrological correspondences, and the card's location in the sephira on the Tree of Life. Again, titles and keywords in Polish. The Minors I would call semi-illustrated. The show the requisite number of suit symbols (a la pips) but yet include a background scene or figure which helps with interpretation. They do not appear to overtly follow the RWS meanings, but to me seem more Thoth-like. One need not use all of the extras to read this deck (I personally do not like all the add-ons which many decks seem to be including). But if you enjoy using these, they are there for you. For me, the images are evocative enough to allow for a deep interpretation. I think I'll take this to my Tarot Circle tomorrow and see how it reads. Asher

Jewel	21 Apr 2004
Asher thank you so much for such a complete description .... I might have to seriously consider this deck ... elemental, moody minors ... sort of Thothy ... sounds like something I might have to have some day. I would love to hear about your reading experience with it.

contrascarpe	23 Apr 2004
I am sort of interested in this deck, but not sure if it is worth the price. I kind of like the Quest Tarot but as Asher has pointed out, sometimes too much IS too much in regards to the symbols, etc. I am graviting toward decks that can be read intuitively (such as alot of the Lo Scarabeo decks) and was wondering if this is for me. Anyone have good luck reading with this baby? Thanks, Dan

The Soul Mandala Tarot thread was originally posted on 14 Apr 2004 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.