Tarot of the Mermaids: Fire and Earth suits switched

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 10 Jun 2005, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Hermina	10 Jun 2005
I am thinking of buying Tarot of the Mermaids. I saw the deck and it is beautiful and stunning. The only thing that bothers me is that the suits of Pentacles and Wands seem to be reversed. "Pentacles" are red and fiery, and "Wands" are muted and earthy. This really goes against how I'm comfortable interpreting these 28 cards. The color schemes of the other two suits fit spectacularly with the over all tones they indicate. But do "Pencatcles" represent Fire while "Wands" represent Earth? I was wondering how those who use this deck feel about this switch. Exactly how do you interpret these cards? Does anyone know why the creator chose to do it that way? Is the Queen of Pentacles a fiery passionate woman, while the Queen of Wands is a domestic motherly type? I would love to hear your thoughts... -Hermina

catti	10 Jun 2005
I have had this deck a few years now. I almost exclusively use it to read for relationship based questions. Or emotional ones. I find the overwhelming energy is that way. I dont want to say water, because obviously a tarot of mermaids is devoted to water. I dont find this deck "light".There are grotesque images available and of course death is death and the story of the swords are based on RWS and most of us dont want to see these cards come up in a " what is my general future" reading. It is fantasy. The wands are yellows/ochres. The cups violet/pinks. The swords indigo/grey . The pentacles orange /red. I think of them as colors of the sunset. The most detracting aspect of the deck is the unfortunate habit of Lo Scarabeo to put the lovely artwork imprisoned in 5 languages. But you can trim your deck. Do a search and Imagemaker will tell you all you need to know! I could not advocate this deck as a first or primary deck. I think that there is a lack of symbolism, especially where pentacles are concerned. Yet , I like it. I would only trade it for something very,very special. I just found it a very deck from the day i started. If you know RWS there is no learning curve. Just a set of graceful , fantastical and sometimes weird images to sing to you. Catti

The Tarot of the Mermaids: Fire and Earth suits switched thread was originally posted on 10 Jun 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.