Customer Reviews

Egyptian Tarot Deck

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

 

 

This is the only Tarot deck I use. There are a few reasons why this is the best Tarot deck. First, it's a traditional tarot deck, in that is has the required 78 cards. You'd think that would be a must for any Tarot deck but surprisingly, many Tarot decks don't even have that going for them. Second, it's non-interpretive, insofar as the minor arcana cards have only a picture of two swords or two pentacles (I prefer this deck's pentacles to pentagrams and coins) and NOT a picture of someone doing something with two swords or pentacles. Third, the drawings are in black and white line, which I believe conveys the proper aura of mystery that Tarot cards should have. Finally, the little booklet that comes with it is well written and useful. I've been doing Tarot card readings in public for years using only this deck and have never had any complaints.

This strange, vintage deck has finally entered my collection. I have always been attracted to it, simply because of the title. I love all things Egyptian. Granted this deck was copyrighted in 1978. It belongs in the serious collectors library. I wanted to believe this was the deck was copies of the original papyrus discovered in some forgotten temple of Egypt. It is not. This theory has been disproved since the discovery of the Rosetta Stone. Yet, Papus and others keep this train of thought alive. Indeed, the romantic view still favors an Egyptian connection. After much study and research on my behalf, I cannot accept the evidence that these images came from Egypt. This pack is part of the reason.

Lets begin to look at the images. The major arcana is stiffly drawn with similar poses found in the classic Marseilles deck. The titles are all renamed and embellished with mysterious names that could never be translated to the Egyptian. Honestly, Saint Germain was a contemporary of "Etteilla" who was basically a fool. These earlier "Occultist" did one thing-they brought many elements of the "Western Tradition" to the tarot. The Hebrew alphabet, astrology, and other cross-cultural elements that that may be seen as coincidence.

This pack presents theory and not hard evidence that a series of papyrus was recovered from the Library of Alexandria. Indeed, the ancient Egyptians daily life included divination in one form or another. Something similar to Tarot cards may have been used. This deck is one of the best models you may find of this "tarot". Egypt has yet to give up all of its secrets. It may never. We cannot speculate, however...

These cards really are not all that great. Here are my notations: 1. Many of the Major Cards have their names changed from one of the standard two that are common place in real tarot decks; 2. These cards are pretty small for being Tarot (like skinny playing cards); 3. You can't relate to most of these cards because the Minor arcana is just the stuff drawn out and not being applied; Pretty meaningless for an Expert and hella confusing for a Beginner! 4. The instruction booklet is TERRIBLE, and I mean complete BS! Almost every single card description is not just off, but completely random most of the time! Its like the author knows NOTHING about Tarot! These will be fine cards for Tarot CARD GAMES, but NOT for Divination!

I bought this cards online along with another deck at a much more expensive site, and am pretty disappointed overall. What attracted me to this deck was the very crude, but simple drawings along with Roman numerals being used on every card instead of just with the Major Arcana. I thought perhaps they would help me in a different way, but I agree with another reviewer that these cards do have a slightly negative vibe to them, and its not coming from the person in question! The instruction booklet is VERY negative, WRONG, and just useless...I am thinking about burning it because its so small that I can't even write in the real meanings.

I have worked with these cards for a while now, and found them to be very negative. People do not want to hear the negativity that comes along with this particular deck. Also there is no corresponding book. There is, however, a little booklet that comes with the deck, but it is very general.