Olympus Tarot : your experiences and opinions

[easyboy82]

I've done a research on the forum before posting this, but in spite of the 140 results I noticed there was not an extensive single thread on the Olympus tarot... I'm considering getting it since I love so much (and studied extensively) greek mythology, litterature and culture , so it really appeals to me and I think I could connect fairly well with it...

I really like the artwork, depicting the world of ancient gods and heros as I imagine it, with muscular and masculine men showing their naked chest and attractive ladies..so different from the artwork found in the Mythic Tarot, which I already own and that I like for the conception but not as much for the artwork, which I find too feminine and weak..

But some cards leave me a little puzzled, such as that Hestia representig the Tower...I'm afraid such an important major's meanings get lost in a reading with this deck...
Then there is the completely original system used for the 4 minor suits...expecially whent it comes to the court cards...

I'm not one of those who think that each and every deck should have a companion book , but I think this is one of the cases where one would be really helpful and needed...also considering the concision of Lo Scarabeo's booklets..

Anyone here has experience with this deck or uses it regularly? Did you find difficult to use it for readings?
How do you get on with it?
Thank you!!

 

[rwcarter]

While the Olympus is in "my" collection (it's actually my partner's), I haven't actually used it. But glancing through the LWB at the meaning of the Tower, it's apparent to me that the Olympus is not a RWS-clone, so it can't be approached with RWS meanings in mind. Glancing through the synopses in the LWB for the Minors only reinforces my belief that this deck can't be approached with RWS framework in mind.

Hopefully that helps a little bit.

Rodney

 

[easyboy82]

While the Olympus is in "my" collection (it's actually my partner's), I haven't actually used it. But glancing through the LWB at the meaning of the Tower, it's apparent to me that the Olympus is not a RWS-clone, so it can't be approached with RWS meanings in mind. Glancing through the synopses in the LWB for the Minors only reinforces my belief that this deck can't be approached with RWS framework in mind.

Hopefully that helps a little bit.

Rodney

Thank you for taking time to check the Lwb and reply.
Well, nor with the Marseille framework in mind I'd say...
I suspect it should be aproached as a whole new system, partly tarot and partly oracle deck, above all when it comes to the minor arcana..so different from the standars RWS or Marseille meanings..it can be an interesting challenge..

 

[spoonbender]

I suspect it should be aproached as a whole new system, partly tarot and partly oracle deck, above all when it comes to the minor arcana..so different from the standars RWS or Marseille meanings..it can be an interesting challenge..

Yes, I think so too - it's the case with many Lo Scarabeo decks. I have this deck as well, but I haven't gotten around to actually reading with it. I guess because I feel that I couldn't just go with what the images tell me, but I'd also need to know more about the story behind each card - so it's more of an effort somehow. I was quite interested in Greek mythology when I was younger, but now I'd really need to brush up on it.

The choice for Hestia as The Tower is definitely strange - a result of the decision to equate the trumps with the Olympians, no doubt. I guess the card emphasizes the moment after the storm, after the lightning's hit, when the tower can be rebuilt with more experience and better knowledge of how to prevent what went wrong the first time. And it's definitely got Hestia's blessing, because she overlooks the scene VERY kindly.

(By the way, I once tried to translate the text behind Hera, on the High Priestess card. I got a little bit out of it - it's definitely an actual text - but it was hard to make out what it was about exactly.)

Spoon

 

[easyboy82]

The choice for Hestia as The Tower is definitely strange - a result of the decision to equate the trumps with the Olympians, no doubt. I guess the card emphasizes the moment after the storm, after the lightning's hit, when the tower can be rebuilt with more experience and better knowledge of how to prevent what went wrong the first time. And it's definitely got Hestia's blessing, because she overlooks the scene VERY kindly.

(By the way, I once tried to translate the text behind Hera, on the High Priestess card. I got a little bit out of it - it's definitely an actual text - but it was hard to make out what it was about exactly.)

Spoon

Thanks for this interesting insight!
So if this card shows up in a spread do you think that it keeps the original meaning of the tower but focusing more on the possibilities to rebuild what has been destroyed, or would you underline only the new positive message?

I've been studying ancient greek for 5 years at school..as soon as I have ten minutes I'm curious to try to translate that text too..

 

[elvenstar]

The text is from Oedipous Tyrannos by Sofocles verses 787-793, not sure if it'll print properly:

ΛΑΘΡΑ ΔΕ ΜΗΤΡΟΣ ΚΑΙ ΠΑΤΡΟΣ ΠΟΡΕΥΟΜΑΙ
ΠΥΘΩΔΕ, ΚΑΙ Μ' Ο ΦΟΙΒΟΣ ΩΝ ΜΕΝ ΙΚΟΜΗΝ
ΑΤΙΜΟΝ ΕΞΕΠΕΜΨΕΝ, ΑΛΛΑ Δ' ΑΘΛΙΑ
ΚΑΙ ΔΕΙΝΑ ΚΑΙ ΔΥΣΤΗΝΑ ΠΡΟΥΦΗΝΕΝ ΛΕΓΩΝ,
ΩΣ ΜΗΤΡΙ ΜΕΝ ΧΡΕΙΗ ΜΕ ΜΙΧΘΗΝΑΙ, ΓΕΝΟΣ Δ'
ΑΤΛΗΤΟΝ ΑΝΘΡΩΠΟΙΣΙ ΔΗΛΩΣΟΙΜ' ΟΡΑΝ,
ΦΟΝΕΥΣ Δ' ΕΣΟΙΜΗΝ ΤΟΥ ΦΥΤΕΥΣΑΝΤΟΣ ΠΑΤΡΟΣ.

copied form here:
http://homoecumenicus.com/Classical_Greek_Library/Sophocles/Oedipus_Tyrannos4.htm

So privily without their [my parents] leave I went
To Delphi, and Apollo sent me back
Baulked of the knowledge that I came to seek.
But other grievous things he prophesied,
Woes, lamentations, mourning, portents dire;
To wit I should defile my mother's bed
And raise up seed too loathsome to behold,
And slay the father from whose loins I sprang.

Translation of the passage by F. Storr from this website:
http://classics.mit.edu/Sophocles/oedipus.html

 

[elvenstar]

About the deck, I don't have it so can't offer a very informed opinion. The reason I don't have it is that the choices in associating cards with gods, myths etc. don't make a lot of sense to me. I wasn't too crazy on the art of Mythic either, but at least the way Greek mythology is matched with tarot is very inspired and well done for the most part (imo). I slowly came to like the art as well, if you care about meaning more than pretty art, my suggestion would be to dedicate some more time to the deck you already have.

 

[spoonbender]

Easyboy82: It would have to depend on the reading, really, but I'd keep the more traditional Tower-meaning in mind as well.

Elvenstar: Thank you so much for the reference and the translation! VERY interesting. You know, I LIKE that the Olympus Tarot is untraditional - it makes it innovative and original, and especially because of the suit cards, the collection of myths is draws from is so much more diverse than the Mythic. And the artwork of the Olympus is a big plus IMO... there's something naive about the Mythic's art; it reminds me of children's book illustrations.

I guess it depends on how you look at it!

Spoon

 

[sapienza]

About the deck, I don't have it so can't offer a very informed opinion. The reason I don't have it is that the choices in associating cards with gods, myths etc. don't make a lot of sense to me. I wasn't too crazy on the art of Mythic either, but at least the way Greek mythology is matched with tarot is very inspired and well done for the most part (imo). I slowly came to like the art as well, if you care about meaning more than pretty art, my suggestion would be to dedicate some more time to the deck you already have.

I LOVE the Greek Myths. The Mythic was my first deck so I guess it holds a special place in my heart. But I have to second what elvenstar said. I'd spend some more time with the Mythic before you dismiss it. The artwork can be dodgy in places but it grows on you. And the book that comes with the mythic isn't everyones cup of tea but it's co-authored by Liz Green (who is to astrology what Rachel Pollack or Mary Greer are to Tarot) and offers a wealth of knowledge if you are prepared to spend some time with it.

 

[easyboy82]

Hey, don't worry, I'm not going to dismiss the Mythic Tarot

Yes, I can't say the artwork of this deck is my favourite one...I wouldn't say it is ugly, because it isn't, but the first time I saw it it reminded me of children's drawings and I definitely find it quite feminine...but I see it is a great deck for its structure, for the way it uses the myths and the characters and for the insights given through the cards and in the companion book..
So I will certainly continue to study and use it.

The Olympus on the other hand is very attractive (for me) for its comic-like and "stronger" artwork (the touch of a man comic strip artist is evident in the way heros and women are drawed), but it is probably less consistent in its structure than the Mythic, at least for what concerns a classical tarot frame: this is why I was saying that I consider it something between a traditional tarot deck and an oracle deck...which is not necessarily a flaw..I would say the Mythic inspires me a more serious and introspective approach, while the Olympus a more imaginative and somewhat light-hearted one..