Good Golden Dawn Deck?

Grigori

There have been some really stunning GD decks online, but sadly not made it into printed decks. Of the ones available I like the Cicero's Golden Dawn Magical Tarot the best. The art is simple, but I find that part of the appeal, and it's well designed as a deck to 'teach' the GD tradition. The companion book is also excellent, and a useful resource for any of the GD/Thoth/RWS derived decks I think. I'd really recommend getting both the deck and the book (the full book, not the cut down version that comes with the deck). I especially like the use of the colour scales in this deck, it helped me a lot with understanding this area.
 

Zephyros

Grigori said:
There have been some really stunning GD decks online, but sadly not made it into printed decks.
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I'm curious, do you have any links? Alas for the gorgeous Amun-ra, which is really more Thoth than GD, but are there others?
 

Grigori

closrapexa said:
I'm curious, do you have any links? Alas for the gorgeous Amun-ra, which is really more Thoth than GD, but are there others?
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The majors are available for the Horus Hathor Tarot, and images of the minors are online http://nickfarrell.eu/nick-farrell-magician.html

There was the Ra Horakhty, which was complete and started to sell as a pre-order, and then the creator vanished, apparently along with everyone's money. Images seems gone now, but you can see some snippets if you google. I won't put a link in case someone hands over credit card details from it.

There is another deck that was stunning, and was available to view online in it's entirety. It later vanished as if it never existed, and single cards pop up on websites from time to time. I've forgotten the name sadly, so can't even find the random images still floating around sorry. Maybe one of the collectors will remember, was a couple of years ago it was really exciting news. Very high quality artwork, but with designs essentially the same as the Wang.
 

Grigori

I found it, sort of... It was called 'The Rosicrucian Tarot' and was at this URL which is now suspended. http://www.rosicrucian-tarot.com I don't know the way some folks can see old versions of a site, but maybe it can still be accessed that way.
 

sworm09

nisaba said:
They are both GD-influenced decks.

Robert Wang himself designed this Tarot deck, and I have a deep fondles for it because I have bit two degrees' separation from Israel Regardie <smile>.

We've been talking about another great GD deck, the Hermetic, which probably, if I didn't have personal loyalties, I'd like even better.

I disagree with your comment that it's impenetrable - rich and lush are words I'd probably prefer.
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I think I may have been a little unfair to the Hermetic, because from what I'm reading in Wang's book, it generally follows Golden Dawn symbolism, with other stuff added in. I'm still having trouble picking a direction to go in:

1) Should I stick with the RWS and Thoth and just study Wang's book?

2) Should I go for the much more simplistic style of the Golden Dawn Magical Tarot, since I'm only a beginner?

3) Should I go for the fantastic art style of the Hermetic?

I'm caught between these three option because there's something "off" about each of them. The RWS misses most of the important symbols, the Thoth is extremely complicated, and the Hermetic still seems sort of complex like the Thoth. Wang's Golden Dawn deck or the Golden Dawn Magical Tarot may be my best options.

If I get the Golden Dawn Magical Tarot without buying the book, would I find it difficult to follow along with Wang's book?
 

Zephyros

I think you should focus what you're asking, if you don't mind me saying. :)

If you're looking to study a deck, that's one thing, and the many sub-schools of the Golden Dawn afford a great many opportunities for learning.

On the other hand, if you're looking to study Kabbalah, then any GD deck is a viable choice, including the RWS which does have the Kabbalistic elements, albeit somewhat hidden. If you already own both the RWS and the Thoth, that's a whole lot of Kabbalah right there, and you don't actually need a special deck for it. Although he compares cards from four decks, Wang himself does not detail specific symbols in his book, instead dealing with the overall structure, which is inherent in all the decks. Dion Fortune isn't that deck-specific either. The Kabbalistic structure exists even in the TdM.

I study the Thoth, for example, but most of the study does not deal directly in Thelema, but in basic Kabbalah, as I am at present studying the paths, not necessarily the visual commentary to the Book of Law that is the Thoth deck. The elements that go into making the Thoth are identical to any GD deck, such as the astrological attributions that reinforce the Kabbalistic ones. Same goes for the RWS. Just start, and the rest will follow. Get one if you want, but I don't think you need a new deck.
 

sworm09

closrapexa said:
I think you should focus what you're asking, if you don't mind me saying. :)

If you're looking to study a deck, that's one thing, and the many sub-schools of the Golden Dawn afford a great many opportunities for learning.

On the other hand, if you're looking to study Kabbalah, then any GD deck is a viable choice, including the RWS which does have the Kabbalistic elements, albeit somewhat hidden. If you already own both the RWS and the Thoth, that's a whole lot of Kabbalah right there, and you don't actually need a special deck for it. Although he compares cards from four decks, Wang himself does not detail specific symbols in his book, instead dealing with the overall structure, which is inherent in all the decks. Dion Fortune isn't that deck-specific either. The Kabbalistic structure exists even in the TdM.

I study the Thoth, for example, but most of the study does not deal directly in Thelema, but in basic Kabbalah, as I am at present studying the paths, not necessarily the visual commentary to the Book of Law that is the Thoth deck. The elements that go into making the Thoth are identical to any GD deck, such as the astrological attributions that reinforce the Kabbalistic ones. Same goes for the RWS. Just start, and the rest will follow. Get one if you want, but I don't think you need a new deck.
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I think your right. It makes sense to learn the system inherent in all of the GD decks. Guess I'll study up on Wang and perhaps read Dion Fortune again. Then I'll get down to studying decks.
 
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