Customer Reviews

The Enchanted Tarot (Tarot Card Deck)

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

 

 

This is a most appealing deck for those interested in nature spirits and fairy folk. I picked up a copy of this deck in 2003 and have used it off and on since. This was released in the U.S. from the great and often misunderstood tarot publisher Lo Scarabeo.

This in my opinion is their best deck. The illustrations spark ones imaginations no matter your age. This is not for everyone and the deck has nudity and some disturbing imagery. 12 and over please. The perfect age to use this deck is when you feel you need to get back in touch with your whimsical nature or inner child.

There are many images presented here that inspire and stimulate one to imagine the fairie realm as real. The Strength card depicts a spritely figure wrestling a frog and the Temperance card is a mermaid. The Tower shows an ant hill being destroyed. The artist himself appears as the Hermit. Very clever.

The minor cards are accurate as far as the traditional Rider-Waite references are concerned. This makes the deck easy to read from a seasoned users perspective. The court cards is where things get a little confusing. Astrological references are given inacurately if one follows traditional elements. This is either intentional to give the audience a playful feel for the fairies invoved or the artist had no previous or little background with the symbols.

Altogether, the deck looks great when put together. Some of the court card are spendid as far traditional refernces. The Queen of cups is flawless as some sort of water nymph. The queen of swords is strangely brutal with a severed head on her lap.

The very frugal booklet that accompanies the set is almost useless. Either it is a poor translation from the Italian or it is trying to be too esoteric and mysterious. There is no handy layout for the cards. What is given is not good for readings. There are plenty of books out there to help with this, or make your own up.

The cards speak for themselves with very little error. I really enjoy them when I am out in my garden. They have a very natural feel to them.

I agree that the artwork is superb. I did study it for a little bit and the majors were okay but I couldn't get a handle at all on the meanings of the minors. I found my self wondering excatly what the little pics were trying to say in regards to the suit/pip. The lwb is hardly useful and I'd rather not get a book to support a deck that is unclear to me in the first place. This isn't rider-wait but more like a golden dawn style, in my estimation. I pefer more expository minors rather then some picture that may have something to say. It's imagery didn't really congel with me. I found myself more confused then enlightened with this deck. There was some cute stuff and the minors were cute but I couldn't go any further then that. There are plenty of decks that speak to me on 'child' levels and can be used by kids if they so chose. Lo Sacbero has a bad habit of making lwbs pretty useless so it may take a bit of work to get their decks down and it is usually worth it, but not this time. If there was something to get, it got lost in all the 'cutesy' stuff. I also agree with some others. Vent your legal angst in some other forum, reviews are not the place to do it. But I do understand, but don't approve.

I love these tarot cards so much. I bought them secondhand almost 10 years ago when they were still the Tarots of the Golden Dawn, and I have used that deck ever since. The box is falling apart, the cards are bent, a few are missing, and I searched for years to get my hands on a new deck. I finally found one here and I can't tell you how happy I am that I will now have two of these decks.

Also, in regards to the people claiming to have trademarked the name "The Enchanted Tarot", you could have easily sued them for using your name. It's incredibly inappropriate to post personal legal details as a product review.

Ignore him, these cards are beautiful, of very high quality, and, of course, enchanting.

I had to see this deck displayed before I was interested in it, and I am primarily interested based on the fine art work. It is fun to see the fairy folk in this "Tarot of the Hidden Folk," caught in this artist's lovely illustrations. A basic interpretation guide is included - just 1-2 sentences per card. I keep it at our summer cabin, purely for fun and for exploration with the children and grandchildren, who find these whimsical images - and the futures anyone can dream of - precisely what they need before dropping off for bed. It certainly beats TV - and the internet. Besides, it has, as every Tarot deck has, its own set of moral lessons, for those who would like to heed them.

My name is Monte Farber and I am, with my wife, artist Amy Zerner, the creator of the original "The Enchanted Tarot." We even have the U.S. Trademark for "The Enchanted Tarot" and we pointed this out to Llewellyn Publsihing before they tried to publish this infringing deck back in 2000 and they gave us their word that they were going to change the name. Well, either they decided not to keep their word or something else is going on here and in either case, it's not fair and it's not legal and I've written to Amazon to get them to stop selling this deck. It may be the greatest deck in the world - I of course think our "Enchanted Tarot" book and card set is a lot better ;-) - but it cannot be sold under our trademarked name. <Sigh> Can you believe it? Even in the world of tarot there are people who do things like this? I hope I can get Amazon and Llewellyn (if these new decks are coming from them) to remove this item but if they want to play like that, we'll be taking them to court. Our "Enchanted Tarot" has sold well over 250,000 copies in five languages and we and our US Publisher, St. Martin's Press, have to defend what is ours. I hope something like this never happens to you. Take care. Monte Farber