I just got home with this deck, good timing with this thread!
As a matter of fact, I may be doing the Hermetic a disservice, as I don't intend to read with it, strictly speaking, but needed a "purer" Golden Dawn tarot for occult studies, so it's really just a companion deck for the Thoth.
Well, the edition I got is the Italian one, and some of the cards do look a little pixellated, but it doesn't really bother me. It somehow fits in with the rest of the deck, and like I said, I'm willing to overlook a few flubs like this. The actual artwork is magnificent at times, and less at others. Some of the faces look a little caricaturish, and overall the quality of work is uneven. However, this, again, fits in the somewhat Victorian atmosphere, and does not detract (some faces may be better, but I have yet to really study them).
It is difficult to discuss this deck without mentioning the Thoth, and while comparisons may be unfair, the Hermetic could be the answer to those who say the Thoth is "merely" an esoteric deck crammed with symbols. The Hermetic is just as crammed, but all in all it is not as gripping as the Thoth. It doesn't have the same sweep and majesty, but does look like a great deck to study from. One thing I saw immediately was that much of what I thought Golden Dawn was Thelema, and vice versa. I am excited about being able to compare the two. One of the things that make the Thoth different is the undercurrent of Thelema running through it, which makes for a radically different overall message to the deck, i.e., it is"saying" different things. After breaking my head about it, by the way, the Emperor as Heh seems jarring to me, but I'll take 'em as I see 'em, and try to understand that, maybe it'll help me get my head around that double loop.
The Courts are well done, and are different than what I am used to: Knight equals King in other decks while King equals the Prince in the Thoth and Knight in other decks. This is a little confusing, but I'm sure there is a reason for it. In addition, I found a mistake in them, perhaps the first of several as I heard there are a few of them in the deck: Both the Knight (King) and the King (Prince) of cups are marked as Air of Water. Merely a line in the fire-triangle, so I'll fix it with a marker some time.
The minors are "moody pips" and some of them look very nice, others seem copied from the Thoth (they do share the same roots, so this isn't meant to disparage), while there are others I like less, like any deck.
The LWB looks good, but I probably won't pay that much attention to it and will concentrate on Book T, although I will give it a read-through and comparison to the cards, to see if there is anything of interest. The cards are glossy, which fits in well with the whiteness and starkness, but I haven't seen the matte, so I can't compare. Depends on the printing quality, I'm thinking of getting a new Thoth on glossy paper, I kind of like it. The whiteness doesn't bother me, it gives the deck an unusual feel, and makes it special.
I recommend this deck to anyone who wished to study a more or less pure Golden Dawn deck without the added baggage the Thoth lays on, or as a complimentary deck to aid in studies. All in all, I am happy I got it, it will help me with the Thoth, Golden Dawn, Kabbalah, angels, alchemy and... all those dull things I find interesting. This is not the Thoth and will not be my main deck nor will I even read with it, but I feel it is an important deck for any student of the Thoth in particular and the Golden Dawn in general. Also, to anyone with a passing knowledge of any of the popular Golden Dawn decks the Hermetic will be readily accessible, being based on the same esoteric and symbolic vocabularies.
This deck will mark another first for me, I plan to write on it, and perhaps even color some of it
