Sacred Rose, Haindl, or Robin Wood

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 15 Jul 2004, and now archived in the Forum Library.

TaranRavenfrost	15 Jul 2004
I will eventually buy all of these, but I am wondering: Which of these decks is the best to learn from? Which one will I be able to really learn and be able to read? Any ideas on the cards and how well they awnser? P.S.- I do not want the Stygian Darkness anymore. I love the deck, but its REAL nudity just gets to me. I dont read to get aroused!

HudsonGray	15 Jul 2004
Well, the Haindl is a Thoth based deck and there are a lot fewer books out on that style. The majority of the books on the market in the USA (Europe is different) are for the Rider Waite style decks, so if you start with the Robin Wood, I think you'll have an easier time. I don't have the Sacred Rose, have you read the review on the Aeclectic site about it? That should give you some idea. They also rate each deck with stars as to the ease of readability. Oh, and the Robin Wood does have a specific book done for it by the artist, if you get that I can guarantee you'll learn the cards faster because she explains WHY she picked the colors she did, why there are certain things in the card, and also tells some easy to remember background. After reading that I was a lot better at meanings, as a beginner, than I was with using the LWB and a regular Tarot Made Easy book. The Haindl has a two book set (majors and minors) that's very good. If/when you get that deck, try to pick up those for it, they're in softcover. EBay has them at lower cost than the bookstores do. (added) I could only find one review on the Sacred Rose, it seems sort of stylized. Read through this & see how you feel. http://www.tarotpassages.com/bursten9.htm

lark	15 Jul 2004
Robin Wood is by far the best learning deck of the three. It is the first deck I ever made an instant connection with right out of the box. And after all these years it is still in my top 5 reading decks. I have Haindl but it seemed like learning a whole new system of tarot to use it so I never used it much. Sacred Rose is pretty and easy to read with but the people on all of the cards have no eyes balls. It bothered me, so I drew them in. HEE HEE })

wildchilde	16 Jul 2004
I have never used the Haindl or Robin Wood...I looked at the RW deck online and was not at all crazy about it. Don't recall ever looking at the Haindl deck (?)... I have used the Sacred Rose deck for many years as my main deck, and have loved it. The colors and symbolism is very vibrant. Personally, I love that the figures have no eyes...I feel like it speaks more to the spirit that way. This deck may not be the easiest to learn from if you are "starting out" Although the answers are "dead on", the deck is heavily into Kabbalistic teachings. It can be a real challenge understanding the many layers of meaning. But the basic meanings are usually pretty clear cut. I think what is important is that you find a deck that resonates with you personally. It doesn't matter what others have experienced with a certain deck if you don't "feel" it when you hold and work with the cards. I just came into contact today with a new deck that has just completely blown me away. Yet it might not have the same effect on you are anyone else. If at all possible, I would suggest going to a local store where you can hold the different decks in your hands. Being able to feel if the energy of the deck resonates with you is an important part of understanding them and building a relationship.

Lee	16 Jul 2004
Just to update my Sacred Rose review a little bit, which was written a few years ago, the book that's included in the set is now a book written by the deck artist, rather than the book I mention in my review. The book by the artist provides much more information about what she had in mind when she designed the deck, so it makes some of the cards less obscure. Both the Sacred Rose and the Haindl go their own way, while the Robin Wood is solidly in the Rider-Waite-Smith tradition. So I also would recommend the Robin Wood, unless you feel extremely attracted to the Haindl or Sacred Rose. -- Lee

The Sacred Rose, Haindl, or Robin Wood thread was originally posted on 15 Jul 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.