Customer Reviews

The Dragon Tarot

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This was my first deck. I was drawn to the beauty and coloration of the cards that you just don't find in most other decks. I like the drawn style instead of the decks of collaged photos and computer graphics. I connected to this deck very quickly and have had amazing results with this deck over the years. After getting this deck, no other deck has been the same. The deck is a good size, easy to handle, descriptions are short enough and concise, and the art is amazing.

I have heard so many things about this deck being hard for a beginner. Yeah right. What these people don't seem to understand is that each deck is different; some people will naturally connect with this deck and others might be better suited for another. It depends on you. The symbolisms are actually very close to the traditional cards and the names of the cards are still the same. You're only looking at beautiful dragons in a fantasy setting rather than humans.

For the advanced tarot reader, this deck is a beautiful addition to anyone's collection.

Beginners, I recommend that you worry more about learning your deck. That is the key. If you're looking for a good book, I highly recommend "Tarot for Yourself" by Mary K. Greer. This workbook contains everything for the beginner and advanced practitioner.

I found the deck to be vibrant and rich in the diagram department. The cards in the minor arcana follow a logical sequence of a dragon's journey, aiding the ability to work the cards and remember key meanings. I found the book to be useful in explaining the meanings of the diagrams but the actual divinatory meanings were incredibly basic (consisting of only a couple of words). This is bad for anyone new to the tarot but not esentially a bad thing for those experienced. The cards themsleves tend to be on the small side, more like playing cards and could have been sized just a little bigger. In all the deck is beautiful but the book is best in experienced hands as new tarotists would be extremely dissapointed in the lack of detail in the meanings of the cards.

I had the Celtic Dragon Tarot first, but I absolutely LOVE this deck. The images are beautiful and powerful and readings are very accurate for me. A friend of mine did one reading with my cards and has decided he wants a deck of his own. It is a very strong deck, but "welcoming," almost like coming home. If you like dragons, you will most likely connect with this deck and may keep it as your personal deck. Try it, you'll like it.

The dragon tarot cards have nice artwork on them, but they are not the easiest cards to read. Definitely not a good choice for a beginner, but a nice deck if you are a collector. For readings I suggest the following cards: Robin Wood, Hanson-Roberts, or Barbara Walker.

This deck has wonderful and detailed illustrations. As it is meant for meditation as well as tarot, every card is filled with symbolic pictures that trigger key images. Without the book, I can read these cards fairly easily, as the images are detailed enough to show the precise meanings.

These cards may not be for everyone, however. If you don't love fantasy or dragons and prefer a more realistic card, this is not the deck for you. But if you are a dreamer and a fantasy lover, you will connect with this amazing deck.

This was the second deck I purchased and by far the most accurate in its delivery of readings. The instructions offered are consice and offer a clear interpretation of the spreads. A very easy deck to become atuned to and use. The illustrations are fantastic and remarkably detailed. And if you like dragons even a little you're sure to fall in love with this deck. It's a wonderful deck for beginners or the more seasoned readers and very comfortable to work with. I would highly recomend it to anyone.

This deck is an interesting piece of work: if you love dragons, you are bound to love it as the artist has some very beautiful takes on dragon kind. If you are a fan of Peter Pracownik's artwork, you most definitely want this deck.

However, the symbolism is lacking the cards- as well as he draws dragons, it's rather plain he knew very little about Tarot itself beyond a surface glance at Rider-Waite. This is especially apparent in cards where he apparently opted to skip out on even trying to capture any kind of symbolism and simply drew the pips and then stuck a dragon in somewhere.

The card stock is of average sort- standard quality and size for a US games systems deck. It's a bit smaller than your typical tarot deck, but this can make it desirable for those who prefer small, easier to work with cards.

The book, sadly, is useless. Its advice is counter productive to learning the cards -you should never ignore a card's reversed state- and gives little in the way of useful info, even for a LWB. The only worthwhile thing in it is the Celtic cross layout they put in the back- one that is very common to many a deck's LWB. The larger, companion book (sold separately) is not much better.

If you really want a deck of unique dragons to read and are heavily familiar with Rider-Waite already: this deck makes for an interesting alternative deck. If you're a collector of Tarot or Pracownik- it's a must.

If you're new to tarot or prefer decks that were made to be true to Tarot symbolism- you'll want to move along and find a better deck. This one fell prey to the usual issues of using dragons as the centerpiece. Fine art, little to no depth.

I originally bought this deck for the art, thinking I wouldn't use it much because I was using another deck almost exclusively. I'm glad I bought it for the art . . . it's getting near uselessness as a reading deck. I bought the companion book to help with the intended meanings, but they read more like fortune cookies. I began to use the deck with another booklet of meanings, but it doesn't work too well with the cards. They're supposed to be highly intuitive, but a lot of them aren't. However, the art is lovely, and some people are able to use the deck. It's not something I'd recommend for someone looking for a reading deck, but it's a very nice collectible.

~~~

That was my review from October of 2000. After three years later, I'd like to discuss this deck in a better, more thorough way. Sometime after writing this, I decided to give it another shot. I still think the meanings in the Little White Booklet (LWB) and accompanying book read like fortune cookies: "Gaining recognition in the eyes of others" for the Nine of Coins, for instance. Of course, that's only if the card is upright; what if it had been reversed? The LWB doesn't offer reversed meanings for the Minor Arcana; neither does the companion book. The author does, however, mention that there is a question mark over the meaning of the card, indicating something is different with the energy.

The companion book does describe the picture, which is, in this case, a dragon between a black tree and a white tree. Apparently, the white tree is supposed to represent a downward flow of power, while the black shows an upward flow. I'm sorry, but what exactly does that have to do with gaining recognition? I suppose I can see in an extremely vague way, but that's not very insightful, nor does the image evoke any emotional or intuitive response.

If you compare the image to a standard Rider-Waite deck, the Nine of Pentacles is a card of abundance, prosperity, wealth, etc. You can see this in the card (I am using the Waite as my example) because the central figure is surrounded by an abundance of grapevines. There is a large, stately manor that looks like a castle in the background. It's a card of personal triumph and appreciating what has been achieved.

I can accept if the Dragon deck doesn't correlate with traditional meanings, even if gaining recognition could be applied to the standard meaning. I just wish the card would SHOW me the recognition.

The Dragon Tarot is not quite like a Marseilles deck that has pip cards for the Minor Arcana; there are SOME scenes. Maybe it's a cross between the two, but the scenes don't do anything for me.

Aside from how much I dislike that, I do really enjoy the art of the deck. It's beautiful and detailed and rich-looking. The dragons are pink and green and all the colors between.

If you're willing to memorize the meanings or already have a knowledge of tarot, this deck just might work for you. I don't recommend it for the beginner, but it's a great deck to have in a collection, or if you're especially fond of dragons.

Gorgeous artwork! This is the kind of deck that speaks to anyone with a love for dragons and dragon lore. I fell in love with it when it first came out, and I haven't used another Tarot deck since. There is room and depth for the reader to expand on the basic meaning of each card in many, many ways. A definite winner in my books. Those looking to purchase the accompanying book should bear in mind that the author gives very little room to card meaning and significance. I believe this is a deliberate thing, so that the reader is forced to explore each card and assign to it his/her own interpretation beyond the basic concept.
Enjoy!

I just received this deck and already love it! The dragons are most elegant, intelligent, powerful but not *terrifying*! The
combination of dragons and Tarot symbolism may not always be clear for Tarot beginners, but Tarot folks who have a little imagination and love dragons will delight in this deck, and they will come to understand and value its unique messages. I did not care for the Celtic Dragon deck, think it's a bit sappy. By
contrast, Pracownik's work has sophistication and edge, and the dragons are just simply gorgeous.