2009 Llewellyn deck, Wizards Tarot

http://wizardstarot.com/
I'm surprised I haven't seen any chatter about this deck.
I like the premise, wonder if there are any minors samples anywhere?

LOL I love that Judgement is the "Proctor of Final Exams."

That is nice - I like the premise, the artwork and the Hogwartsy feel. But I would need to see something of the minors before I make up my mind.

The Star and the High Priestess are just beautiful.

This deck had a name change and a bit of a concept change midstream, I think.

Corinne showed me prints of the Majors as they were being iillustrated and the deck was more overtly wiccan. In fact I remember the name as being something like ther "Magical Wicca" or Enchanted Wiccan." Obviously it didn't stick in my mind, which is probably why it needed to be changed. Still, I'm a little bummed with this Harry-Potter-Lite direction it's taken.

So with apologies to people who are into this thematic choice, I'm going to come down on the other side, but I want to explain myself.

I'm never enthusiastic about the "deck=story" model, which always seems like a simplistic failure of imagination. And in a modern deck, it bums me out a little that every Trump image seems to be of a mesomorphic white person sitting in a generic fantasy landscape... not to mention the retitling of Devil & Death (one of my big peeves). Why is the Hanged Man called the Master of Runes, aside from the Odin connection? And more importantly why isn't he, umm, hanging?!

I'm sure it will sell, because it's pretty and nonthreatening and will appeal to the tween set that learned about esoterica from La Rowling. But I cannot imagine pulling out this kind of twee deck to answer someone's question about their divorce or a career change. Realize that I say this as a collector of decks, but I can't figure out WHY this deck needed to be created except that Llewellyn had a slot for a deck in 2009. What is fresh about it? I know how hard Corinne worked on getting the details into those Majors... I saw her notes and the tear sheets... but why does it all look so empty and slick? Where is the spark that SHE brings to the work she does? In essence: where is the Magic in this (god-are-they-tacky-enough-to-hitch-a-ride-on-Harry-Potter's-coattails?-you-betcha!) "Wizards Tarot"?

Llewellyn strikes again. I'm glad they posted all the Majors, but they certainly are not having the intended effect. Who wants to bet that the minors are Waite-Smith meanings with vaguely magical illustrations? I'm betting on bland postcards with lots of generic Lit 101 symbolism but no esoteric content and no purposive design choices that go beyond advertising aesthetics... Oh, wait-wait: how about Golden Dawn meanings in aspic without explanation or grasp of the structure that produces those meanings? But then again, that's almost every Llewellyn deck. Like a fax of a xerox of an email of someone else's ideas. Magick as metaphor. Divination as mood ring. Scratch-n-sniff mysticism. Grrr.

I don't mean to sound sarcastic, but everytime one of this fluffy pseudo-magical decks gets printed, I feel like a part of me dies. Corrine is a friend. I know she is a smart cookie and a savvy businesswoman... I think I hoped/expected this would be more: more interesting, more inventive, more reflective of her experience and insight.

Scion

Really like what I saw. I would also like to see some minors. I hope there are as beautiful as the majors.

Another deck to look forward to?

Kathy

Just wow! These are spectacular, they call to me as much as the Legacy of the Divine Tarot does. I'm getting a wish list that is scary long it seems.

Scion said:

Still, I'm a little bummed with this Harry-Potter-Lite direction it's taken.

So with apologiues to people who are into this, I'm going to come down on the other side, but I want to explain myself.

I'm never enthusiastic about the "deck=story" model, which always seems like a simplistic failure of imagination. And in a modern deck, it bums me out a little that every Trump image seems to be of a mesomorphic white person sitting in a generic fantasy landscape... not to mention the retitling of Devil & Death (one of my big peeves). Why is the Hanged Man called the Master of Runes, aside from the Odin connection and more importantly why isn't he, umm, hanging?! I'm sure it will sell, because it's pretty and nonthreatening and will appeal to the tween set that learned about esoterica from La Rowling. But I cannot imagine pulling out this kind of twee deck to answer someone's question about their divorce or a career change.

Llewellyn strikes again. I'm glad they posted all the Majorrs, but they certainly are not having the intended effect. Who wants to bet that the minors are Waite-Smith meanings with vaguely magical illustrations? I'm betting on bland postcards with lots of generic Lit 101 symbolism but no esoteric content and no purposive design choices that go beyond advertising aesthetics... Oh, wait-wait: how about Golden Dawn meanings in aspic without explanation or grasp of the structure that produces those meanings? But then again, that's almost every Llewellyn deck. Like a fax of a xerox of an email of someone else's ideas. Magick as metaphor. Divination as mood ring. Scratch-n-sniff mysticism. Grrr.

I don't mean to sound sarcastic, but everytime one of this fluffy pseudo-magical decks gets printed, I feel like a part of me dies. Corrine is a friend. I know she is a smart cookie and a savvy businesswoman... I think I hoped/expected this would be more: more interesting, more inventive, more reflective of her experience and insight..

Scion

Click to expand...

Scion, I agree with every word. Not for me.

Well, I kind of like it, and will buy it. I think it is interesting and I do like the HP feel to it, though I would rather see a nicely done HP tarot, instead! My only hangup is that though the titles of each card are interesting, they often fall far from the tree when it comes to the meanings of the majors. But again, a leap of faith bringing in new ideas to tarot and I think we will be seeing more and more of this. I thought some of the cards were quite lovely, actually. Llewellyn is putting out some fabulous decks in 2009!

I like the artwork, but am not fond of the Harry Potter feel to it all, not because I don't like the theme or a story tarot, but because Harry Potter is just soooo trendy. I'm on the fence about whether or not I would buy it. The fact that Corinne Kenner is involved with it in any capacity is probably what would push me over into buying it.

I think the artwork is really lovely . . . but I, too, HATE the concept. Why, oh why, with the Harry Potter thing? You know, I hope Llewellyn has their copyright . . . right, becuase if I had anything to do with the Harry Potter camp, I'd be looking for our lawyers. Even the music!

Shallow. I could stab that Moon card.

\m/ Kat