Looking for Opinions on the Sephiroth Tarot

[Jewel]

I just purchased this deck and received it yesterday. I got it due to my interest in the Qabalah and was wondering if any of you had worked with this deck in this context ... and if you had what was your opinion. At first glance the deck appears to be a nice learning tool. Thanks for sharing your opinions.

 

[jmd]

I noticed there were as yet no replies... so I thought I'd add a response...

I haven't worked with the deck, nor do I own one. The Qabbalistic associations made with the Tarot are many, though the most popular ones are those based on the Golden Dawn, which links 22 connecting 'paths' between the Sephiroth and the major arcana... this you no doubt already know, given your interests.

One of the interesting aspects of the Qabalah is that some versions of the Tree only have 16 'paths', and the Sefer Yetzirah clearly states that the letters of the Hebrew alphabet are placed either in a circle, or in three concentric circles (depending on which version of the text one reads). This does not correspond with the Golden Dawn's version, which is partly based on the Zohar.

If I was working with the images of this deck, my first question would be to be clear as to which associations are made (for example, and following the most common GD form, take the Magician as connecting Kether and Binah, the letter Beth, which is a double letter, with the sounds B & V, which the GD also connects to Mercury. In this example, the depiction will somehow depict the way the Higher realm connects mercurially to constraints - Saturn - prior to eventually been given form).

The artist of the cards has undoubtedly gone through the same process, though in reverse to the one I would go through if meditating on the card, whilst also allowing the element of revelation to manifest within the artistic endeavour.

How rich is the Tarot!!!

Have a great time with the deck.

 

[purplelady]

I have not really studied the quaballah , and I don't own this deck . However, I found myself attracted to the deck when I first saw the pictures. Truthfully , I am waiting for a companion book to come out before I buy it, to perhaps help me understand the quaballah in connection with the deck . I was at Amazon.com the other day , and I Think there is a book and deck set coming in the future, but not yet for sale.

 

[Jewel]

Thank you both so much! From first glance I would say that this deck definetly follows the Golden Dawn tradition, as I said before I have not gotten into it yet.

Puplelady, I think that this deck could probably be easily used in conjuction with the Robert Wang book. Again, at first glance, the Qabalistic associations on the card seem very straight forward and clearly marked.

When I begin my detailed work with this deck (which will probably be next year) I will follow up on this subject. If any of you do get the deck and do work with it I would be very interested in your opinions. Thanks again for responding!

 

[raeanne]

Tarot of the Sephiroth is somewhat similar to the Witches Tarot by Ellen Cannon Reed. One of the things I don?t like about the Witches Tarot is that it switches cards ten and eleven (10 is Justice and 11 is Wheel of Fortune). The Tarot of the Sephiroth has these two cards in the traditional order. Both decks have these cards on the same paths even though the numbers are different. Another difference is that the Witches Tarot has Temperance on the path between Hod and Netzach (Glory and Victory) and the Tower between Tifareth and Yesod (Beauty and Foundation). The Tarot of the Sephiroth has these two paths switched. Personally, I think the Tarot of the Sephiroth is more in line with my view. I have gotten some good readings from this deck and it works very well for meditation and spiritual work.