Radiant Rider Waite

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 06 Apr 2005, and now archived in the Forum Library.

shadowdancer	06 Apr 2005
Has anyone any information they could share regarding this deck? I am looking at how it compares to the more traditional cards from this collection. I can only ever find a few images online to evaluate, but would like to know how people feel about the deck having used it in readings. In particular would it be recommended for beginners in any way? Thanks in advance. Davina PS still stuck to my resolution of only buying 6 decks for the year! 3 down and only 3 more on my wish list. I am soooo proud of myself.

Fulgour	06 Apr 2005
The colours are very pretty, and even the backs are nice. It's easy to shuffle, which means it feels good to handle, and it has that special magic of being newer and exciting.

Starlily	06 Apr 2005
I love mine; it just came in the mail a couple of days ago and I connected with it at once. The colors are vibrant but not overly so. It compares to the Universal Waite only it's less soft and the outside figure lines are less pronounced in the Radiant. I find that for myself I notice more of the RWS symbolism with the re-colored decks. I think it would work well for anyone: novice all the way through advanced readers. Starlily

Deana	06 Apr 2005
I don't like it as much as I'd hoped. I don't like the recoloring as much as the Universal Waite, and in fact I even prefer the Rider Waite to the Radiant. The colors are stunning, especially some of the purples and oranges. Radiant is truly the word for the colors. But the faces are redrawn rather poorly and it gives a very amateur look to the deck. It works best by candlelight, where the facial features are less obvious and the colors get a chance to shine.

Deana	06 Apr 2005
I just pulled them out to look at them again and compare them to the Universal and the Original. I was comparing the Queen of Cups. She looks more vibrant in both the Universal and Radiant than she does in the Original. Her face looks harsh in the Radiant, which is the way it looks in the Original. Mary Hanson-Roberts has softened the expression to almost a dreamy smile in the Universal, which I like the best, but the Radiant is actually truer to the original in this case. The artist is not as skilled as Mary Hanson-Roberts, but the deck has its good points and I'm glad to have it in my collection. Hope my wishy-washiness helped some. What I'm really trying to say is that it's a good deck but not the astonishingly good deck I'd expected.

WolfyJames	06 Apr 2005
Deana wrote: I just pulled them out to look at them again and compare them to the Universal and the Original. I was comparing the Queen of Cups. She looks more vibrant in both the Universal and Radiant than she does in the Original. Her face looks harsh in the Radiant, which is the way it looks in the Original. Mary Hanson-Roberts has softened the expression to almost a dreamy smile in the Universal, which I like the best, but the Radiant is actually truer to the original in this case. I don't have the Original, the Universal or the Radiant but I have their scans in my tarot notes. I admit the Radiant is indeed closer to the Original than the Universal in many cases. Universal is a softer version of the Original while the Radiant is almost as harsh as the Original. I find that strange knowing that the Universal was a recolored version of the Original while the Radiant is a redrawed and recolored version of the Original, which means that technicaly, the Universal should be truer to the Original but it is the Radiant that is truer. I don't like the Universal at all and I'm glad I didn't buy it, I was tempted but it was before the Radiant came out and that I could check the scans and compare. I find the Universal fluffy bunny by altering severe traits and replacing them with soft smiling traits, I think it changes the meanings and dynamic of the cards. I'm eager to put my hands on the Radiant to really check them out.

Sulis	07 Apr 2005
If you want the original line drawings of Pixie Smith but you like bright colours how about the Albano-Waite? My copy has just arrived and I have to say, it's lovely. The colours used match with Paul Foster-Case's BOTA guidelines so they actually men something. The black lines aren't as heavy as the 'Original RWS' and more detail is visible on the cards. I don't own the Universal Waite but I don't particularly like pastels so I can't see me liking it. I haven't had chance to get to know my Albano-Waite yet but so far I think it could be my favorite version of the RWS deck (I also have the Original and the US Games pocket version with the plaid backs). Here's what Holly has to say about it on her site: http://home.comcast.net/~vilex/Albano.html Love Sulis xx

shadowdancer	07 Apr 2005
thanks for the replies. I certainly am drawn between the Universal and the Radiant having now compared the images from those suggested. Davina

Sulis	07 Apr 2005
Here are some images of the various RWS recolourings for you to compare. Rider-Waite - U S Games version Albano-Waite Radiant Rider-Waite Universal Waite Original Rider-Waite And here's a comparison of all of them (except for the Radiant RW) on Tarot Passages: http://www.tarotpassages.com/waite.htm Love Sulis xx

bassetized	07 Apr 2005
The Radiant RWS is my main reading deck (I began with the Original). I too like it better than the Universal, finding that it maintains the essence of the Original better. I also agree that the artist was not as gifted as Smith, but I like the new coloration better. It shuffles easily and has held up very well to repeated use and a good bit of travel. I think it would be a fine deck for a beginner. I've never been fond of the Universal, although I own it, but that may be because I'm not a fan of softer-colored decks (unless they pack a hidden punch like the Tarot of the Dead) or of softening the meanings of some cards. I have to say I don't like the Hanson-Roberts at all, so this may simply be my personal preference (although Mary Hanson-Roberts is a gifted artist). --bassetized

Emily	07 Apr 2005
I didn't like the Radiant when I first opened it - the colours were fine - its not overly radiant just colourful. It was the faces and expressions that I didn't like. I remember thinking even the horse in the Sun card looked cheesed off. I named it the 'Sullen' tarot for a while because of all the sulky faces and I left it on the tarot shelf and got it ready for trading off. But I didn't trade it and its a deck that grows on you - the faces aren't sullen or sulky, but they are intense. I used it for a few readings, noticed just how good they feel to shuffle and before I knew it the Radiant had turned into my favourite re-coloured RWS, infact its hard for me now to remember just what I didn't like about it because if you compare it with the Universal Waite or the RWS the expressions are the same. I'd recommend this deck for anyone who wanted a more colourful RWS. :)

The Radiant Rider Waite thread was originally posted on 06 Apr 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.