Customer Reviews

The Archeon Tarot

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"Had I lived in the late 19th Century, I'd like to believe I would have been a Symbolist. I'll never actually know, but I think I would have felt at home among those artists and innovators." - Timothy Lantz

In my experience, I have found that I have one of three reactions when I get a new deck:

1. I instantly love it
2. I instantly dislike it
3. I'm unsure how I feel about it, but I'm leaning towards #2

However, I always give decks a chance-putting them through their paces, seeing how they read, allowing for the possibility that they may grow on me despite my misgivings.

When I first saw online images from The Archeon Tarot by Timothy Lantz, I thought they were gothicly superb. When I got the deck in my hands, however, I had the #3 reaction. Would these ambiguous images "speak" to me? Was there anything to glean, intuitively, from these dark, Rorschachian depictions?

After working with the Archeon Tarot, I quickly realized that this wasn't a deck to be read with the left-brain. That is, I needed to dispense with the "OK, we got Wands here. That's masculine, indicates movement..." I'm not saying an individual *couldn't* read these cards by rote memory and logic. I'm just saying that I realized that *I* wouldn't be able to.

So I did something unusual. I corralled my husband who is NOT a Tarot reader (but is highly intuitive), to experiment with me. (Oh the joys of being a Scorpionic couple!) I don't do many readings for myself, often going weeks or months without pulling any personal cards. If I do consult the Tarot, it's always for "bigger" situations-the existential aspects of life.

I shuffled the deck and then invited my husband to ask a question, select the cards, and interpret them. His interpretation of the cards was unexpected and highly accurate. For example, The Devil-normally a card of warning or one indicating obsession-was interpreted quite differently by my husband. He saw the "wings" of The Devil as a "schematic"-a blueprint beckoning for realization and manifestation based upon his actions so that he could "fly". It was also card indicating that he would continue to transcend former religious taboos by his choice of reading material and personal worldview.

When it was my turn, I had some misgivings. I wanted to ask a question about my 7-year-old son, but I actually thought, "Do I want to waste such an important question on a deck I'm unsure about?" I decided to go ahead with it.

I interpreted the cards mentally and invited my husband to interpret them. His interpretation not only expanded upon what I picked up intuitively, but also delivered accurate, comforting wisdom. Amazingly, my son confirmed the reading within a few hours--based on something he said!

I was so impressed with the readings-and confident of the accuracy of the Archeon Tarot-that I asked about a health question that's been troubling me.

Now let me back up and say that Mr. Lantz has taking some liberties with the elemental aspects of the Minor Arcana. In traditional Tarot, Pentacles and Cups are feminine, while Wands and Swords are masculine. In the Archeon Tarot, Pentacles are masculine and Wands are feminine. Apparently "tradition" was more ingrained than I had suspected, because initially my thoughts screamed "What?! How can you deem Wands *feminine*?!"

Interestingly, my health question referred to a "female" issue and lo and behold, I drew all Wands. The color saturating these cards and the images-they all told a story...a feminine story and that was clear, appropriate, and scarily accurate.

Other than the masculine/feminine switch with the Minor suits, The Archeon Tarot employs traditional renderings. The Pages--often the "messengers" of the Tarot--appropriately becomes The Heralds. In addition, the intriguing card backings are fully reversible.

The Archeon Tarot comes with a 47-paged L(ittle) W(hite) B(ook), but Mr. Lantz often applies fresh interpretations to the cards (both upright and reversed). For example, the Ace of Swords shows a crystalline skull impaled with a sword. One of the keywords for this card is "clairvoyance", a concept I hadn't associated with this Ace previously. Yet, this idea made perfect sense to me!

In my estimation, The Archeon Tarot is a very intuitive deck. If you "read" best with detailed depictions, bright/cheery images, logic or regurgitated meanings, you may find this deck troublesome. However, if you're able to relax, reading from the heart and the right brain, you'll likely glean a whole host of richly layered, relevant information. (Personally, I think Water signs would "get" this deck most easily.)

(To see 9 card images from this deck, visit the Reviews--Decks section at JanetBoyer.com)

Janet Boyer, author of Back in Time Tarot

This new style set of tarot is done with such flawless grace that it is difficult to find fault with it. Tarot is not new, by a long shot. There is not much left to uncover for myself after looking at so many newer interpretations of the same old pack of cards. This pack moves to motivate myself once more!

At the very least, this set is worthy of gallery sized images. The Art is taken to a new occult level. The Death card is very effective! The Wheel of Fortune is so detailed, it almost moves on its own. The Moon is always my favorite and this one peaks my interest as well. The Sun is beautiful and playful. The human figure is done very tastefully. The nudity used can cause certain clients to blush so, use ones own discretion. The minor arcana is very interesting as well. Details usually overlooked by many artists. All the meanings are very traditional. Great for first time learners, a well as seasoned masters.

This deck is published by U.S. Games. A class act in presentation. Glossy finish makes shuffling the card easier. They are standard size making them easy to handle. I would advise readers who like a darker, more gothic style to use these. They would work well as a meditational tool as well. The Artist website offers the images in a large poster format. This would be great for advertising! Reasonably priced as well.

The artist must have some deep inspiration to do such an honor to this blossoming tool of mysticism. Imagine, digging through sands of some lost civilization and discovering these gems! Or one's own subconcious for that matter.

I first saw images of this deck online months ago, and added this deck to my wishlist. Now that I'm the proud owner of the Archeon Tarot I have to say that the wait was worthwhile.

This deck is stunning. I'm a "very beginner" in the world of tarot, not at all sure of the meanings of the cards, and not at all aware of what the traditional meanings of a particular card are meant to be. But this deck speaks - no, it sings! It's glorious. From the dark first impressions burst forth amazing colour and light, and such texture as you wouldn't think possible in a flat card.

As someone on her own tarot creation journey I have to say that this is probably my most favourite deck. At least until my own is complete I can't see any other deck possibly taking it's place as my deck of choice.

Friends who've looked through my copy of this deck have also been enthralled by it. It's wonderful, and much much more than just a pile of pretty cards.

The Archeon is a very personal deck. It contains the personal mythology and beliefs of visionary artist Timothy Lantz. The Archeon Tarot defines and explores Lantz's symbolism and mythology in a very contemporary and graphic fashion. The cards and the imagery are absolutely stunning. Lantz uses a digital canvas to create the cards and explore the very depths of his soul. Long before this tarot deck was even published, I had seen images of the cards on his website. And I was impressed with what I saw. The cards are a wonderful blend of dark, gothic, carnivale mixed with elements of the mystical and fantastic. But don't let the darkness of the deck's imagery fool you because within each card there is a strong sense of light and beauty. Each card's image contains dazzling backgrounds and characters expressing realistic emotions; each layer thick with symbolism. Even the cards' back include snippets of Lantz's personal mythology and symbolism.

The little white book(LWB) that accompanies the deck helps guide the reader through Lantz's world. It begins with a personal definition on his art. He defines the title of the deck, Archeon, as having a relationship with archeology, where "those who consult the Archeon Tarot sift through the layers of the cards, thus finding a way to harvest order and meaning from chaotic or seemingly unrelated events of life." Which is a perfect description of what a tarot reader these days seeks to do. The LWB continues on to describe the cards, helping the reader peel away the mystery of these gorgeous cards. Lantz describes the Major arcana in detail beginning with quote that best fits the card's mood. He goes on to describe the card's imagery and offers suggestions for both upright and inverted meanings. All of which help to add and elaborate on the personal mythology and symbolism contained in the deck.

It's hard to find any faults in this deck. I would have liked to see the minor arcana and court cards covered in detail just as much as the major arcana but this only begs for an expanded book to be written about this unique and creative deck. I strongly recommend this tarot deck for enthusiasts who admire the beauty of decks like the Vertigo Tarot or readers looking for a very modern interpretation of tarot. I know I am very much looking forward to working with the Archeon Tarot and exploring the personal mythology of Timothy Lantz and how it relates to my own life.

I'm more of a traditionalist - I like my Rider Waite deck because I feel most "modern" decks lack immediate visual recognition, or ability to easily discern meaning from the image. Lantz's Archeon Tarot, however, is the first newly released deck that I am truly excited about. I've had some truly great and accurate readings using this deck. Lantz did an excellent job creating BEAUTIFUL imagery that harks back to our collective psyche, making for easy interpretations. I sincerely hope he writes a larger companion volume to the deck. Some may consider the images and interpretations a lot "darker" than traditional decks like the Rider Waite or Thoth.

The art work of this deck is so phenomenal that I never tire of looking at the individual card pictures. This is the standard by which works of art become classics: They always seem new, vibrant, and relevant. This Archeon Tarot deck is a keeper, and is surely destined to become a classic.

Another thing I like about the pictures of this deck is that they lend themselves to various interpretations. For my own use, I have created card meanings for many decks, and over the years I have come to favor certain information units over others. With this deck, I was able to include the most valuable and useful of those information units. As a result, I have a collection of seventy-eight card meanings for the Archeon Tarot that not only harmonize nicely with the pictures, but go straight to the core of anything asked about. I had only limited success doing that with other decks, as the pictures did no lend themselves to that sort of flexibility of interpretation.

The cards of many tarot decks leave much to be desired. They are sometimes too thick and stiff to shuffle easily, and with extended use become sticky and hard to work with. The cards of this deck, by contrast, are nicely supple, and have a nice finish to them that keeps them from getting sticky with extended use.

By any yardstick whatsoever, this Archeon Tarot is a class act.

This deck is my favorite deck that i own. I instantly connected to it, and get great results when i use it. The art is very dark and seductive. Every picture is very romantic and eerie and breathtaking. Each time i use this deck, there is a new meaning to the cards. I highly recommend this deck.

Lantz has created a deck that combines fantasy, goth, magick, wisdom, modern art, and flare to create a new and exciting Tarot deck. The deck is on the darker side, but in a very natural, non-obtrusive way. This deck combines traditional Tarot images with new, yet applicable, imagery that gives the Archeon Tarot its own unique readability.

Conventionally, the deck has a very high-gloss finish, and its the perfect size for shuffling. Because of the glossy finish, the cards are very durable and will last a very long time.

Go for it if your hesitating--you won't regret it.

This tarot deck is simply wonderful. The cards were made carefully and it's possible to go inside them, breath the magical atmosphere and extract deeper meanings. It's not a typical deck, in the sense you have to pay attention about what they are saying between the lines. This may seems obvious, but it's not so; the reader may read the substract in each card, which sometimes tells a different way of the main figure (taking into account the relationship with all the game, of course). In this way, the history told by the cards are, many times, less illustrative and more learner than usual. This deck is a very good one. No doubt.

This is a fabulous deck. Those experienced in Tarot, will find this deck really appeals to the shadow side. There is some nudity, however, this would only offend the most sensitive and the use of modern faces mixed with the old artwork really gives this deck a mysterious feel. Surprisingly, the booklet included gives the most down-to-earth interpretations I've ever read, without unnecessary waffle. Definitely a deck suited to Tarot reading in this modern time and age!