Crystal Visions Tarot - By:Jennifer Galasso

[Hemera]

Thanks for your response Jennifer

The card size is just perfect and the white borders are in no way intrusive. I think I will trim the white off simply because I love trimmed decks and I think the gorgeous colors will really pop out after the white is off. I also trimmed my Vision Quest earlier (which has similar coloring) and the result was really good.

[frac_ture]

I went to my local New Age/occult bookshop yesterday, in part just because they're closing at the end of the year, and I want to be sure to visit them as often as I reasonably can before they're gone. As it happened, they're now running a big sale...so while I didn't feel like I absolutely *must* have more new decks, it seemed like a good time to pick one or two new ones up if anything jumped out at me (I also got a couple of books I'd been pondering: "21 Ways to Read a Tarot Card" by Mary K. Greer and "Tarot for Writers" by Corrine Kenner).

I had nothing specific in mind, other than thinking I might want something more RWS-based. In my current small-but-growing collection, I've been kind of feeling attachments to the few RWS-leaning decks I have, to the extent that I think I want to keep those for my own personal use. In terms of reading for others -- which I do want to do more of -- I'm mostly left with a Thoth deck and a couple of other decks that are more Thoth-like in nature as well...and I have to confess that Thoth is in no way coming as readily to me as the RWS model seems to be! So anyway, that was the only sort of parameter I had in mind when cruising the shelf full of decks.

And not a lot did seem to be jumping out at me. I like dark things, but the darker decks were just striking me as kind of pretentious or silly yesterday for some reason. I have two Lo Scarabeo decks I really love, and all of the other LS decks I was looking at yesterday, even the most appealing ones, seemed like they would have been somehow a bit redundant if I were to bring them home. The straight up RWS itself and its clones don't excite me too much, and then again, decks that veer way off from the main RWS template also lose me.

And then during my sixth or seventh pass through the shelves, I found the Crystal Visions Tarot. It had been turned sideways, so I'd missed it. I took out the Reading Copy they make available there (they do that for pretty much any deck they sell, which is a fantastic practice, I think!), and I sifted through it, drawn immediately by the gorgeous colors. The imagery *really* sucked me in deeper -- fantastical and dreamy, and as someone noted upthread, very rich with not only primary figures, but also other animals and orbs and crystals. The design on the back of the card is beautiful, too.

I bought it and brought it home and did an introductory session with it, and I loved it immediately! The cards feel just outstanding in my hands. The size and thickness of the cards is almost perfect for my tastes. I'd bought another deck, too, and its cards felt a bit flimsier, and they all stuck together, and the design on the back was nowhere near as pleasing to the eye. The Crystal Visions Tarot flowed like happy water as I shuffled, and it produced cards that seemed just brimming with meaning -- not just in the images by themselves, but also in connection with what I was asking. I love the "Unknown Card" (which came up in answer to one query, and was so appropriate that it made me laugh out loud), and the imagery was even more captivating when I got the deck home. I think there might be more female figures in evidence as primary characters than what would be found on average in a Tarot deck, but while they're all totally beautiful, and even alluring at times, there's not a hint of exploitation or lewdness about it -- they're just lovely females. I love the abundance of animals and plants and crystals and such, and again, the colors are just sensational. Oh, and I'm not a big one to get upset about issues with borders, but I'd say that this deck does have some of the smallest and least intrusive borders of any in my collection -- I'd be surprised if people had special issues in this regard with this particular deck.

And as a cool post script: the name of the deck ("Crystal Visions") prompted my mental disc jockey to start playing Fleetwood Mac's "Dreams," which stuck in my head all the way home. When I arrived at my place, I logged on to my computer to check my e-mails, and my sister had just posted something on Facebook about having just visited the exact studio where Fleetwood Mac recorded their world-renowned "Rumours" album...the album that includes the Stevie Nicks-penned "Dreams," whose lyrics I believe are where Jennifer Galasso drew her deck's title. That struck me as one of those things that's way too improbable to *not* be rife with meaning!! And then I logged into Aeclectic and found this thread, which I hadn't been paying too much attention to before, as I'd been essentially unaware of this particular deck...so I wanted to add to it now that I've become an instant convert! I highly recommend the deck based on my initial impressions!

[MysticalMoose]

I am thrilled and relieved to hear that the white borders are tiny!!!

[moonbear]

Originally Posted by frac_ture

I highly recommend the deck based on my initial impressions!

frac_ture, that was a great story. Thanks for sharing it. Reading it seems to suggest that you and this deck were just meant to be. And the Fleetwood Mac thingy...well, that was just the icing on the cake

I can't wait to get this deck.

On a sadder note it's as shame the shop is closing. Sign of the times I suppose

[frac_ture]

Originally Posted by MysticalMoose

I am thrilled and relieved to hear that the white borders are tiny!!!

Hi, MysticalMoose! I should be careful to repeat here that so far in my own Tarot explorations, I haven't been finding myself to be too concerned with the sizes of borders (the larger ones just don't really bother me, I'm finding, although I totally respect anyone's right to not be happy with them if that's how they feel!)...so if your own Tarot-wiring is such that border size is a more significant issue with you when it comes to choosing decks, you might want to take my assessment with one or more grains of salt! I looked at your collection of decks listed in your profile, and the only two decks you and I have in common are Deviant Moon and the Tarot of the Sweet Twilight. The Crystal Visions Tarot doesn't have the same word-filled borders like Sweet Twilight and other Lo Scarabeo decks, so I think you'll like its borders better than Sweet Twilight's (although I do *love* that deck!). I think Crystal Visions and Deviant Moon have almost identical borders in terms of the size of the white space around the edges...the only real difference I can point out is that inside their white perimeters, Deviant Moon cards each have a sort of very slender "picture frame" kind of image acting as an inner boundary, and depending on your viewpoint, that could make it seem like either part of the borders or part of the artwork. Crystal Visions, on the other hand, doesn't have a frame like that, so its artwork starts immediately inside the white space. Um...hopefully what I just tried to say makes sense...?

Originally Posted by moonbear

frac_ture, that was a great story. Thanks for sharing it. Reading it seems to suggest that you and this deck were just meant to be. And the Fleetwood Mac thingy...well, that was just the icing on the cake

I can't wait to get this deck.

On a sadder note it's as shame the shop is closing. Sign of the times I suppose

Hi, moonbear! Thanks for the kind words! Yes, I'm definitely feeling the sorrow with respect to that store closing. It's pretty close to my home, which is one great element, but in addition to the convenience of it, it's also just a really great store! It's very well-stocked in terms of book selection in multiple areas of subject matter, and they also have tons of things like candles, incense, paraphernalia for both, Tarot and Oracle decks, crystals, jewelry, scarves, DVD's, essential oils, journals, they offer readings and events...I love it! I feel especially bad for the employees, because there have been multiple attempts by people to buy the business and move it to other locations, but these keep falling through, and one or two possible deals are apparently still at least somewhat on the table...so while they need to be out of the current space by year-end, their ultimate fate still remains unknown! This was the shop where I first started delving into Tarot and other related fields, too, so I now have a very sentimental attachment to it. "All things must pass," I guess, but it's sad in this case...

But on a happier note, yes, I hope you love the deck when you get your copy! I haven't had much chance to work with it further after posting my account of stumbling upon it and bringing it home, but I plan to get busy with it again this weekend. I hope you'll consider posting your own reactions here when you've had a chance to get acquainted with it -- I'm very curious now to hear how others respond to it!

[BeyondtheVeil]

Originally Posted by frac_ture

I went to my local New Age/occult bookshop yesterday, in part just because they're closing at the end of the year, and I want to be sure to visit them as often as I reasonably can before they're gone. As it happened, they're now running a big sale...so while I didn't feel like I absolutely *must* have more new decks, it seemed like a good time to pick one or two new ones up if anything jumped out at me (I also got a couple of books I'd been pondering: "21 Ways to Read a Tarot Card" by Mary K. Greer and "Tarot for Writers" by Corrine Kenner).

I had nothing specific in mind, other than thinking I might want something more RWS-based. In my current small-but-growing collection, I've been kind of feeling attachments to the few RWS-leaning decks I have, to the extent that I think I want to keep those for my own personal use. In terms of reading for others -- which I do want to do more of -- I'm mostly left with a Thoth deck and a couple of other decks that are more Thoth-like in nature as well...and I have to confess that Thoth is in no way coming as readily to me as the RWS model seems to be! So anyway, that was the only sort of parameter I had in mind when cruising the shelf full of decks.

And not a lot did seem to be jumping out at me. I like dark things, but the darker decks were just striking me as kind of pretentious or silly yesterday for some reason. I have two Lo Scarabeo decks I really love, and all of the other LS decks I was looking at yesterday, even the most appealing ones, seemed like they would have been somehow a bit redundant if I were to bring them home. The straight up RWS itself and its clones don't excite me too much, and then again, decks that veer way off from the main RWS template also lose me.

And then during my sixth or seventh pass through the shelves, I found the Crystal Visions Tarot. It had been turned sideways, so I'd missed it. I took out the Reading Copy they make available there (they do that for pretty much any deck they sell, which is a fantastic practice, I think!), and I sifted through it, drawn immediately by the gorgeous colors. The imagery *really* sucked me in deeper -- fantastical and dreamy, and as someone noted upthread, very rich with not only primary figures, but also other animals and orbs and crystals. The design on the back of the card is beautiful, too.

I bought it and brought it home and did an introductory session with it, and I loved it immediately! The cards feel just outstanding in my hands. The size and thickness of the cards is almost perfect for my tastes. I'd bought another deck, too, and its cards felt a bit flimsier, and they all stuck together, and the design on the back was nowhere near as pleasing to the eye. The Crystal Visions Tarot flowed like happy water as I shuffled, and it produced cards that seemed just brimming with meaning -- not just in the images by themselves, but also in connection with what I was asking. I love the "Unknown Card" (which came up in answer to one query, and was so appropriate that it made me laugh out loud), and the imagery was even more captivating when I got the deck home. I think there might be more female figures in evidence as primary characters than what would be found on average in a Tarot deck, but while they're all totally beautiful, and even alluring at times, there's not a hint of exploitation or lewdness about it -- they're just lovely females. I love the abundance of animals and plants and crystals and such, and again, the colors are just sensational. Oh, and I'm not a big one to get upset about issues with borders, but I'd say that this deck does have some of the smallest and least intrusive borders of any in my collection -- I'd be surprised if people had special issues in this regard with this particular deck.

And as a cool post script: the name of the deck ("Crystal Visions") prompted my mental disc jockey to start playing Fleetwood Mac's "Dreams," which stuck in my head all the way home. When I arrived at my place, I logged on to my computer to check my e-mails, and my sister had just posted something on Facebook about having just visited the exact studio where Fleetwood Mac recorded their world-renowned "Rumours" album...the album that includes the Stevie Nicks-penned "Dreams," whose lyrics I believe are where Jennifer Galasso drew her deck's title. That struck me as one of those things that's way too improbable to *not* be rife with meaning!! And then I logged into Aeclectic and found this thread, which I hadn't been paying too much attention to before, as I'd been essentially unaware of this particular deck...so I wanted to add to it now that I've become an instant convert! I highly recommend the deck based on my initial impressions!

Wow! That is such a great story, frac_ture! I am so glad that you found this deck. I am also very grateful that you shared your impressions on the deck and how you came to find it. I have several decks like that and I still actually have them. lol It is great to hear from someone who doesn't normally like this type of deck to really connect to it. That in and of itself is something special!

I can't stop thinking about this deck and it isn't that expensive either. I think I may end up buying it sometime very soon. You guys are a great bunch of enablers! I also like that everyone says the cards are so pretty and the backs are as beautiful as they look in scans.


Enjoy your deck, frac_ture! I am so excited by everyone's posts in this thread!

BTV

[moonbear]

Originally Posted by frac_ture

I hope you'll consider posting your own reactions here when you've had a chance to get acquainted with it -- I'm very curious now to hear how others respond to it!

I'll be getting this deck sometime early in the New Year (yippee!) and I'll definitely post my thoughts on here.

And I have my fingers crossed for your store. It sounds like the sort of place I'd never want to leave

[frac_ture]

Originally Posted by BeyondtheVeil

Wow! That is such a great story, frac_ture! I am so glad that you found this deck. I am also very grateful that you shared your impressions on the deck and how you came to find it. I have several decks like that and I still actually have them. lol It is great to hear from someone who doesn't normally like this type of deck to really connect to it. That in and of itself is something special!

I can't stop thinking about this deck and it isn't that expensive either. I think I may end up buying it sometime very soon. You guys are a great bunch of enablers! I also like that everyone says the cards are so pretty and the backs are as beautiful as they look in scans.


Enjoy your deck, frac_ture! I am so excited by everyone's posts in this thread!

BTV

Hi, BeyondtheVeil! Thanks so much for your kind thoughts! I hope my little account of finding the deck, and my "mini-review" of it were helpful. Not to be too much of an aggressive enabler, but I'd say that if you don't often find yourself in a space where you "can't stop thinking about" a given deck, you really might want to consider listening to that inner voice on this one! I did a bit more work with mine here since I last posted, and the deck is just fantastic. I've adopted a practice of taking one of the cards that factored most significantly in the last draw(s) I did, and leaving it at the bottom of the deck when I put it away -- sort of my odd way of "honoring" that little round of work -- and this time, when I did that, the card I used was that Unknown Card. When I picked the deck up to do a fresh bit of work a day or two later, I shuffled very thoroughly, did my draws, did some writing in my Tarot journal based on what transpired, and then on a whim, I decided to look at the Shadow Card now at the bottom of the deck...and it was the Unknown Card again! I had just shuffled the deck very vigorously at least half a dozen times! I felt like the deck was winking at me. "Much power here!" I thought. Anyway...I'm not trying to spend your money for you here! Just saying that I've already been having some very fascinating experiences with the deck in a very short time (oh, and the few draws that I did in that little burst of divination gave me some very smart and applicable advice, like getting counsel from a wise and trusted friend who will be caring of your feelings, but won't hold back the truth). And yes, the cards are just beautiful to look at!

Originally Posted by moonbear

I'll be getting this deck sometime early in the New Year (yippee!) and I'll definitely post my thoughts on here.

And I have my fingers crossed for your store. It sounds like the sort of place I'd never want to leave

Hi, moonbear -- thanks for the good wishes toward my favorite store! I do hope some awesome buyer swoops in at the last minute to rescue them, even if it means relocation. I'd totally drive a good ways just to go on patronizing the place, as it's that great! And I hope you really love the deck when you pick it up in 2012!

[BeyondtheVeil]

Originally Posted by frac_ture

Hi, BeyondtheVeil! Thanks so much for your kind thoughts! I hope my little account of finding the deck, and my "mini-review" of it were helpful. Not to be too much of an aggressive enabler, but I'd say that if you don't often find yourself in a space where you "can't stop thinking about" a given deck, you really might want to consider listening to that inner voice on this one! I did a bit more work with mine here since I last posted, and the deck is just fantastic. I've adopted a practice of taking one of the cards that factored most significantly in the last draw(s) I did, and leaving it at the bottom of the deck when I put it away -- sort of my odd way of "honoring" that little round of work -- and this time, when I did that, the card I used was that Unknown Card. When I picked the deck up to do a fresh bit of work a day or two later, I shuffled very thoroughly, did my draws, did some writing in my Tarot journal based on what transpired, and then on a whim, I decided to look at the Shadow Card now at the bottom of the deck...and it was the Unknown Card again! I had just shuffled the deck very vigorously at least half a dozen times! I felt like the deck was winking at me. "Much power here!" I thought. Anyway...I'm not trying to spend your money for you here! Just saying that I've already been having some very fascinating experiences with the deck in a very short time (oh, and the few draws that I did in that little burst of divination gave me some very smart and applicable advice, like getting counsel from a wise and trusted friend who will be caring of your feelings, but won't hold back the truth). And yes, the cards are just beautiful to look at!

I don't mind the enabling. I think I am heading over to push the "order now button". It seems to be a great deck, so i don't want to miss out.

I also would like to start the practing exchange and study thread that Hemera suggested. I hope that others will be interested. I will order them and then let you guys know when they arrive.


Thanks again for helping to describe your experiences and what you thought about the cards. I truly appreciate it!


Hugs,
BTV

[EightWands]

What's the name of the store? I'm from California. Is this Southern or Northern?

Crystal Visions sounds like a lovely deck. I was flipping between that or Joie de Vivre, but Joie De Vivre won. However maybe I'll get Crystal Visions in the new year.