Illuminated Tarot Owners?

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 27 Mar 2005, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Joermit	27 Mar 2005
Does anyone own the Illuminated Tarot? It's a handmade recoloring of the RWS by psychic artist Carol Herzer. The deck can be found at www.soul-guidance.com. I've been eyeing it for a while and have some sample cards on the way. I was wondering about the physical quality of the deck itself, because it is handmade. It's laminated and I was worried about the possibility of there being a glare. The recoloring is very unique and on some cards I find this very attractive, but on others I'm just not sure. If you've never seen images of this deck before it would be worth just checking out. Hopefully I'll be able to make up my mind here... I'd be interesting to see how it reads.

lark	27 Mar 2005
Hi Joermit. I have the Illuminated. I have the medium size with the illuminated paint on the cards. I chose the green marble backing for the cards. They shuffle like butter and there is no glare with the lamination. I ordered some sample cards too and that is what cinched the deal for me. They are very durable and I think will last almost forever. The medium size would make a great carry around deck. Carol made me a beautiful sage green tarot bag with peach lining to match my deck. The colors are different and very beautiful, and the deck reads beautifully. If you want to know anything else I'd be glad to help.

collielin	28 Mar 2005
I have the mini sized Illuminated and they are quite beautiful. HOWEVER! I was very disappointed in the durability of this deck. Very flimsy. I doubt if I will ever use them regularly, the card stock is just too thin. No glare from the lamination though. I was happy to hear that the medium sized deck is made from sturdier stuff. I might consider that size in the future.

lark	28 Mar 2005
Yes, having the extra marble green backing on the cards makes them thicker and much more sturdy. If I remember right the compact size just has a white back and no addition of a colored backing. And the medium size is still a nice compact size for carrying around. The beautiful addition of the illuminated hand painting is really what makes the deck special.

Joermit	28 Mar 2005
I have some sample cards on the way in the medium size and I hope to be able to decide then... I appreciate your input!

dolphingirl	29 Mar 2005
I have a medium sized deck with the extra iridescent paints on it and while I love the deck dearly I really wished that I hadn't done the iridescent colors. I find that in some lights they obstruct the printed card but my biggest peeve is that there are big blobs of paint under the laminate (some cards are really lumpy). So love, love, love the cards, but really dislike the extra paints on them.

lark	29 Mar 2005
Oh Dolphingirl I'm so sorry to hear that. Mine aren't lumpy at all and the paint is put on in a very light glazed way so I can see all the detail underneth. Maybe she was in a hurry when she did your cards? She might do another set for you if you're not happy with the way this one turned out. It is an expensive deck and you should get what you payed for and be a happy customer hey?!

The Illuminated Tarot Owners? thread was originally posted on 27 Mar 2005 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.