Shadowscapes has arrived!!!

I just received this deck... if anything could be described as magical, it would be the Shadowscapes Tarot! Immediately upon opening this deck I was in awe! This is certainly not a "light" deck, Amanda described it as soft but powerful, I love that! (Thank you, Amanda!) The artwork, the representation of the images is generally soft... but the images themselves, the content is powerful.

This is not a review, I am too bias, this is a promotion! The thread created before this deck was produced contains comments at the end from posters who have received this deck:

Click here to view the posts in the thread: Shadowscapes Tarot

The cardstock is thin and the lamination is light, not glossy. I compared the Shadowscapes Tarot to my current favorite deck, The Legacy of the Divine Tarot, and the decks are the exact same size, width, length, and height. The borders are very thin and silver. Some have said they have seen a slight color in the borders, when viewed in the light. However, I think the borders just may reflect the dominant color of the card's image. I think the border color is absolutely fantastic and adds to this deck's magical feel. And the card's back design is exquisite as well!

The Deck follows A. E. Waite's ordering of the major arcana, Strength is 8 and Justice 11. The names of the suits are the same as Waite's as well, Wands, Cups, Swords, and Pentacles. And the suits have a very interesting construction, which I obviously really love! Not all the numbered cards have an identical number of the suit's object in the card. For example, the 4 of Wands does not contain 4 Wands in the image, but there are four animals with horns on their heads that could be a substitute for Wands. And the 9 of Cups, has one cup and eight (colored) fish. (Or can the little fish at the top be considered a 9th fish?) Also, the suits contain a color theme, but not all cards adhere strictly to the theme either. The suit of Cups has a blue theme. When fanned out the cards are obviously all blue, except the 2 of Cups, it is more green, or blue-green. The Ace of Wands is the only card in the suit of Wands with a very red tone.

All the cards can be viewed on Stephanie's site. However, looking at the images online, the images seem almost flat and dead compared to looking at the vibrant, powerful images in my hands. (And I certainly appreciate Stephanie allowing us to view all her cards in detail on her site!)

Click here to view the major arcana on Shadowscapes.com.
Click here to view the suit of Wands on Shadowscapes.com.
Click here to view the suit of Cups on Shadowscapes.com.
Click here to view the suit of Swords on Shadowscapes.com.
Click here to view the suit of Pentacles on Shadowscapes.com.

I think that Death is an example of how these images are soft but powerful. That was the card I initially had the most "problems" with when evaluating this deck.

Click here to view Death on Shadowscapes.com.

I initially assumed the bright colors were an attempt to make Death appear less... menacing or dark. But that is not the case at all! I believe the menacing or frightful power of Death can certainly be seen in this card! Stephanie wrote all the card descriptions, so that adds to my perception that this deck is a wondrous look at the Tarot through a remarkable and expressive artist's eyes! I am incredibly anxious to go through the book at learn more about this fantastic deck!

Get the reprints ready Stephanie, this deck is certainly going to #1 of the year, or more! (And that is a prediction! )

Now if I can just get my other favorite deck, The Legacy of the Divine Tarot together with the Shadowscapes Tarot, maybe they will give birth to the greatest Tarot deck of all time!

Related links:

Click here to view Stephanie's blog.

Click here to view an image of the back design from Stephanie's blog.

I agree with you that this deck will almost certainly shoot to the top in terms of popularity. It will take some doing, perhaps, because a lot of people seem to feel that a beautiful deck is a shallow deck. I think if those people take the time to really study the images they'll find the sorrow and pain, wisdom and insight, joy and pleasure, hidden behind behind the guise of art. I think this deck has the potential to appeal to a wide variety of people, from those that insist a deck be pretty and fluffy, to those that insist a deck reach inside you and twist your insides. I truly believe this deck is THE ONE for me, and many others may feel the same.

It's interesting that you thought Death was a bit fluffy at first I'm very much into symbolism and learning the reasons that symbolism came about, and from the very first moment of seeing the phoenix as Death, it took my breath away. How very appropriate for the symbol of pain and anguish, yet new beginnings...

This is the first time EVER that I have been able to say I like the Hierophant. It is the one card in tarot that I have generally disliked, sometimes even hated. In fact, it is one of my favorite cards in this deck. It portrays the wisdom and learning of establishment, without the stigma of church dogma.

Really though, there's just TOO many cards that take my breath away for me to choose my absolute favorite. So many make me say, "Wow, this is the best *insert card title here* I've ever seen!

On the suits/representations thing -- if you look closely (her site with the details links show this if you really wish to study closer) you will notice the representation of a cup in the side of each fish. So those 8 fish are indeed the cups, like you surmised. If you have the room on your hard drive, and really wish to study deeply, saving the site in its entirety isn't amiss.... (I have done this, if she ever loses her site I could provide a backup...LOL) The Majors book is also good, although even that doesn't have quite the closeup view as the site. I am hoping the Minors book is equally as large.

This deck entered my life at the exact moment that I needed to step up my tarot practice, and it's very welcomed I, too, thank Stephanie for such a wonderful work of art that touches me so deep inside.

~Yira

So, this is the deck & book set?
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=0738715794/ref=nosim/aeclectic/
ISBN-10: 0738715794 - ISBN-13: 978-0738715797

Yes ma'am that's it In fact, my backup set is that exact set, from amazon.com, it came in yesterday. Same box etc as my other set. (I've not opened it though, it's backup lol)

If you get that..you won't be sorry!!!

~Yira

yirabeth said:

On the suits/representations thing -- if you look closely (her site with the details links show this if you really wish to study closer) you will notice the representation of a cup in the side of each fish. So those 8 fish are indeed the cups, like you surmised.

Click to expand...

Thank you! Now that you point it out I can see it clearly! But isn't that the way it is with most things.

Hmm, I posted and it like, ignored me or something...LOL! ANYHOOO!

Glad I could help Usually it's me not seeing all the things I need to see and the rest of AT pointing them out to me, so I'm glad to be helping this time

~Yira

yirabeth said:

This is the first time EVER that I have been able to say I like the Hierophant. It is the one card in tarot that I have generally disliked, sometimes even hated. In fact, it is one of my favorite cards in this deck. It portrays the wisdom and learning of establishment, without the stigma of church dogma.

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I was about to write "I agree, and..." but then I realized that I agree with everything you said, exactly! I've never liked the Hierophant much, but I absolutely love Stephanie's interpretation. It makes it a lot less... mm... evil and overstimulating to me than the usual version.

Actually, before I looked through the deck, I remember reading something--probably here on Aeclectic--about the Hierophant being about the wisdom of the past, and I thought, "I bet it's a tree in Shadowscapes." I was right!

Another card I particularly like is the Ten of Wands. It depicts a dryad--the spirit of a tree--half bent over, with her tree supporting a small village. As Stephanie explains in the book, she is freely giving of herself to support the village, but it is a huge burden and strain on her.

I just received ShadowScapes in the mail the other day.. What a beautiful deck it is! Today i wil go thru it more in depth.. But from what i have gone thru, this deck is incredible. i may have to buy a second deck and put it away not to used

Clare-Dragonfly said:

Another card I particularly like is the Ten of Wands. It depicts a dryad--the spirit of a tree--half bent over, with her tree supporting a small village. As Stephanie explains in the book, she is freely giving of herself to support the village, but it is a huge burden and strain on her.

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This is one of my favorite cards in the deck - I love how Stephanie has interpreted it. It's so apt, and so beautiful.

I think this deck has a lot to say if one simply takes the time to look beyond its pretty face...

OctoberGwen said:

I think this deck has a lot to say if one simply takes the time to look beyond its pretty face...

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Oh, I agree, OctoberGwen! (Obviously! )

Did you see Justice? I think that is fantastic! A heart being weighed against Ma'at’s feather of truth. That is an analogy that I had also assigned to Justice as well. It is a powerful analogy! And Stephanie captures it so very well with the white-eyed Justice!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_the_Dead

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maat

Justice may just be my second favorite card, after The Devil of course. But then, The World is just too captivating! And I really, really love The Fool as well! But I am still studying/learning the deck…