Thanks for that but my deck has since arrived so I have been able to see it up close. Nice trimmming job!
I have to say, I love this deck. I really, really love it. Tiny reservations pale when I think about the multiplicity of layers and symbolism and just how much there is in it that I do love. It is such a cerebral deck. Funny, but in the hand it doesn't remind me so much of the Tarot of the Spirit. It has its own identity, very much so. I love the colours and the beautiful courts. The imagery is fantastic, surreal, thought-provoking, dense and layered; it has that same richness as the Navigators of the Mystic SEA; I feel quiet delight that there is so much to discover, so much to unravel and I relish the excitement. It feels like one of U.S Games' more daring efforts. This artist really knows what she is doing - images you can swim in -and the way she has transmuted tarot into her own very odd universe which is still somehow recognisably RWS and universal, Court cards apart (but they have such personality that they seem quite readable).
There is so much to look at. U.S Games sell all those RWS decks so that they can take a risk and do something like this, a little removed from the mainstream. It really is quite a special deck. Thank goodness this deck became a reality. I do get a bit grumpy sometimes with the mainstream decks that I see around. And I despair of the Doreenization of tarot. But there is hope! Somebody recognised the potential in this project and saw it through to completion and I think this is such a significant contribution to the tarot world. My hands itch to read with it; off to shuffle and do a sample spread.
Great book & packaging too. Everything about it ticks boxes for me (Ok, wish it was borderless and perhaps the backs could be different but I can live with that - these are insignificant gripes.)
Thank you U.S Games! You've restored my faith!