Looking for Amano Deck
Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 16 Aug 2004, and now archived in the Forum Library.
| red120 |
16 Aug 2004 |
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Anyone have the Amano tarot, as I am looking to start into tarot card? I don't need the book, just the cards, as I believe the book is in Japanese...
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| fyreflye |
17 Aug 2004 |
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If you live in Hong Kong there's a Chinese version of the deck (allegedly a pirate) produced and sold right there. I can't see any difference in the scans; the book included in the Hong Kong set is in Chinese. It's a beautiful deck but definitely not useful for beginners.
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| red120 |
17 Aug 2004 |
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I just got off the plane a few days ago from Hong Kong to arrive Canada, so I guess it's bad timing.. but it wouldn't be hard to ask someone to find it for me.
But is there a reason it isn't good for beginner?
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| fyreflye |
17 Aug 2004 |
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The Amano is strictly an art deck; that is, it's one artist's impression of the visual themes of the standard tarot. So the Major Arcana contain no symbolism to cue you to the deeper meaning of the cards; the minor arcana are pips only with no images that will give you a hint as to the meaning of a card. An experienced tarotist can work with any deck because s/he already knows the meanings of the cards; a newbie needs to learn one card at a time and a deck with carefully thought out images on every card helps a lot.
However, if you really want the deck, and no one here has one to offer you, the Japanese set shows up regularly on eBay for around $30 USD or five dollars less for the Chinese version. That's where I bought one as a gift for a friend.
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| red120 |
17 Aug 2004 |
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I see.. do you have any decks to recommend for me as beginner then? Because I actually look at alot of other decks, but don't really feel any connection... or uncomfortable with the pictures or art.
Like, almost all the anime decks seem childish like a game.. some of the traditional ones seem too cartoony to me... no offense to anyone... and the ones that are done in the eastern style seem 'forced'... like, I remember I saw a chinese style deck, but the Chinese art looks like western imitation of Chinese art... I don't really like that. I felt a 'this is the one' feeling when I saw the pictures of the Amano tarot because the art seems... "serious'?
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| SongDeva |
17 Aug 2004 |
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Red,
If you had such a strong reaction to the Amano deck, you should definitely try to secure a copy for yourself. When people talk about beginner decks, they are referring to decks that have similar symbolism to what you will find in books that teach about the tarot.
It may be useful to find a deck like this for yourself (Rider Waite Style seems to be the most popular, followed by Thoth Style).
Decks like the Golden Tarot and the RobinWood Tarot are recommended in addition to the Rider Waite deck itself, for beginners who want to learn traditional symbolism.
However, there are many kinds of decks, and I've always felt it useful to procure ones that "speak" to me, the way this one speaks to you.
This is how I started, and didn't get a traditional deck for sometime after. I say, follow your gut instincts. And perhaphs get a traditional one as well, if you hope to learn from books.
Fyreflye makes another important point: pip cards in the minors can be hard to read intuitively. It can be done, but it's not as easy as a deck with fully illustrated minors. I still say get the one that calls to you, in addition to one or two others, as it speaks to you for a reason! :)
Sd
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| fyreflye |
17 Aug 2004 |
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Now you're asking a different question and you'll get many fewer answers here than if you post it in the "Tarot Decks" forum. You'll find many recommendations for beginners' decks already posted there, but no one will complain if you start a new thread ("What's a good deck for a beginner who prefers asian style decks?" for instance.) Your main problem will be in sorting out the many conflicting answers you'll get, but if you ask for online scans from each respondent you'll have a chance to see some of the recommended cards for yourself. I can tell you now that all the manga decks are useless for beginners and that even if you liked the art on the Chinese Tarot it wouldn't be helpful because few of its illustrations are relevant to the card meanings. Another problem will be that the basic tarot card meaning are based on ancient traditions and philosophies peculiar to Western culture and which have no equivalent in Chinese symbol systems. And as an oracle the yijing is far superior to the tarot.
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| Alta |
17 Aug 2004 |
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Hi all, I took fyreflye's suggestion and moved the thread to Decks. I also think you'll get more responses here.
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| Cerulean |
18 Aug 2004 |
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1. For Amano, www.sasugabooks.com and The Tarot Garden stock the deck for the best prices.
I do not know of any links that show all of Amano's images.
2. If you like the moody style of anime tarots but want to be able to read with Western concepts, many people find the Secrets Tarot from Lo Scarabeo a good alternative. This is supposedly a best seller in Japan, according to a review last year with Riccardo Minetti of Lo Scarabeo.
a. All cards pictured:
I have the 1998 version of the Secrets Tarot, but the 2001 seems to be the same. Here you can look at all the cards for the discussion and study:
http://www.gambler.ru/sukhty/decks03/d01541/d01541.htm
b. an imaginative review:
http://www.spiritone.com/~filipas/Masquerade/Reviews/secrets.html
3. If you like softer anime, the Fey Tarot from Lo Scarabeo has a book/deck set.
Those are my 'beginner' suggestions if this is the art style you are looking for...if you name some illustrators or artists that are mainstream or historic that you favor, we might be able to also help you pick a deck...many beautiful ones out there. Also, do say if you prefer deck/book sets in a certain language.
Best wishes,
Cerulean
P.S. If you like the idea of Buddhist concepts with tarot, there's another category of recommendations, although some of them may seem quite strange to you. I tend to like odd art decks from Italy, Japan and the U.S., so I am uncertain if my information is too far out for you.
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| roppo |
18 Aug 2004 |
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I just tried the amazon.co.jp and find the Amano tarot with book sold at 2,310yen(about 22 dollars). Is it possible to get the Japanese book through American amazon? At least the reversal process is possible; I buy many American books through Japanese amazon. (perhaps the best way is to get it from Japanese amazon, but I'm afraid you have a difficulty in typing Japanese letters...)
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| Eco74 |
19 Aug 2004 |
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I found this link to the artists own website, showing the major arcana and the courtcards;
http://www.naimoka.com/index.php?rub=amano&page=tarot
While the images are very telling for someone familiar with the meaning of the cards, I may be difficult for a beginner since there is very little direct reference to the standard RWS-meanings and this makes it difficult to draw parallells to the existing "learning tarot books" that are available.
Also the pips are not illustrated which calls for a bit of numerology learning which makes it even more of a challenge.
However, for someone whom the artwork speaks with learning should not be too much of a problem. A willing and eager student can learn from any material after all, but with more of a challenge ofcourse if more "obscure" material is chosen.
Do get the deck if you like it, but also consider getting a RWS deck to use as a learning reference if nothing else.
Comparing the cards will most likely make it a lot easier for you to learn the cards, and shorten the learning period quite a bit...
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| Alta |
19 Aug 2004 |
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There are now 2 copies of this deck in TarotTrading.
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| red120 |
19 Aug 2004 |
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Thanks for all the responses, everyone :)
I am going to order two decks, one will be the Amano tarot from the Taiwanese site Cundi posted, as it is very good price for me. I am not sure the second deck yet, but I hope I can learn from it more easily... I will save the Amano tarot for once I am more familiar, as many of you recommended.
And Cerulean, for the art I am favourite, I don't know too well. I am fine with deck instructions for English or Traditional Chinese.
I like:
Painting (Watercolour, Oil, Ink)
Artistic Style
Romanticism
I don't like:
Anime (Long explanation.. basically I feel it is just doing it as an anime product)
Cartoon (ie. Cartoon style colour, blending, etc. This is my main problem with the RWS)
Oriental (It seems unnatural and forced)
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| cundi |
19 Aug 2004 |
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Originally posted by red120
I like:
Painting (Watercolour, Oil, Ink)
Artistic Style
Romanticism
How about Tarot of Prague, Gilded Tarot, Thoth?
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| red120 |
19 Aug 2004 |
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Thoth doesn't look bad :)
I read that some of the names of cards were changed though, and Egyptian mythology was important to understand the deck. Would it be difficult to learn?
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| red120 |
22 Aug 2004 |
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I guess I will buy it there then if I really end up get the Thoth tarot...
Anyone have more recommendation for tarot deck?
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The Looking for Amano Deck thread was originally posted on 16 Aug 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.
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