Thank you ciro
I'm a bit embarrassed having this deck as a beginner - Ciro's email said it would be collectors and devotees buying it. In my defence I do know the Tarot bug is in my system to stay, even though it bit me only recently... I'd decided to get the Gilded as the first purchase to make since deciding to take All This Stuff seriously, and then on the artist website I saw the Royale and couldn't not. The Gilded was ordered but hadn't arrived at that point!
Then when the Royale arrived, bearing in mind this was my first online buy, I shouldn't have been surprised but was by the way the pictures aren't as 'obvious' as I expected because the cards are smaller than my computer screen! Looking at them they are just as beautiful though. I am still trying to get them to tell me anything; we're getting to know each other. I've said on another thread somewhere that the very beauty of them distracts me from tuning in, like someone being too drop-dead gorgeous for me to take in what they say! I'm sure we'll get there though! They make a lovely view to look at when laid out.
And then the Gilded arrived (costly shipping to the UK but I gather Ciro didn't have any say in that), and they are everything everyone has said here, so I won't say it again. And apart from simply (and complexly) wonderful, they do speak to me.
Already, right out of the box. I'm a useless shuffler so I have done one or two very small spreads by my deal-into-piles-over-and-over-again method, and will mainly use this deck for meditation. Wouldn't want it to get that 'used' look anyway.
I particularly love the Magician, the King of Cups, the Hermit, Temperance, Judgement – those last two I'm not normally very fond of – the Ace of Wands... and others... I have the Kind of Swords gazing down at me this very moment as it was today's card. I drew using the Gilded and found him in the Royale to set up in view for the day (is that silly?).
Anyway, just another gush
but I'm not at all sorry I went for the extravagant aficionado purchase iykwim and the Royale adds something to my understanding of the Gilded deck. Someone said something about Aslan's worlds beyond; that captures it perfectly.