Customer Reviews

The Goddess Tarot

5 star:		(39)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Goddess Tarot was my chosen deck when I first started out with the tarot. Its energy and imagery is gentle, soft, and lovely. There is no nudity and no 'scary' pictures.

As a beginner, cards such as the death card and the tower card were particularly disturbing to me, so to replace the images with pictures of great goddesses was the only way I could feel comfortable working with the tarot.

I've outgrown this deck for general purposes, but whenever I need guidance I find myself returning to this deck. This deck is more spiritual than any other deck out there and very gentle. It's really a very beautiful deck.

The reason I don't use this deck all the time anymore is that the imagery of the tarot is really what speaks to me when I do readings. The major arcana in this Goddess deck consists of goddesses, thus much of the imagery is hard for me to delve into and get a good 'vibe' from without spending hours researching and working with each goddess. Also, I grew less afraid of the scarier images, and once I put that fear aside, the traditional tarot blossomed since I wasn't hesitant to handle it anymore.

The Goddess Tarot is a beautiful deck. It's feminine in the best sense of the word. It's client friendly, children friendly, and beginner friendly with its gentle images. Sometimes when doing readings face to face with a querent, I'll pull out the Goddess Tarot deck with more jittery persons. There are some people that jump out of their chair when they see the death, tower, or devil card. It sounds and looks much gentler in this deck. Instead of Death you have Transformation. Instead of the Devil you have Temptation.

It's really a deck that anybody can benefit from, even if it's just to appreciate its asthetic beauty.

I could sit and stare at the artwork for hours. The cards are incredibly beautiful. It may take some adjustment for the major arcana as they relate to goddesses rather than traditional tarot symbolism. I suggest the book that goes with the deck. The minor arcana follow in the more traditional Rider-Waite style. The cards are positive, with no scary negative cards found in other decks. The cards are a bit larger than normal but feel very good in the hands. Overall, I highly recommend this deck!

I have only minor quibbles with this deck; otherwise it is a pleasure to work with. As other reviewers have said it has a serene, gentle quality and gorgeous artwork. I've been working with Tarot for years and I don't find the deck oversized at all. I can only guess that those reviewers who make that claim are new to Tarot in general. The deck uses the 8 Justice/11 Strength configuration, which I prefer and was happy to discover here.

Each card has an intricate border that adds to the overall feel. The border on each Major card is unique and related to its Goddess. For example, Tradition/Juno is surrounded by two peacocks and little olive trees. Beginnings/Tara is bordered by a thick green forest with a tiger peaking out. There are 4 types of borders for the Minors related to its element. Pentacles have flowers with doves flying above, cups have rough blue waves, staves (wands) have a red and orange volcanic landscape. I just wish the border for swords had a more prominent feeling of air. It's a landscape of arid, craggy mountains, with a waterfall to one side. Only the very top of the border shows a few clouds.

I love the inclusion of Goddesses that are less "popular" in today's Pagan community as well as drawing from multi-ethnic backgrounds. Personally I think Waldherr does a richer, more evocative job with her non-European subjects and those cards tend to be my favorites. I don't like Gwenhwyfar being included on the Judgment card, as she is a legend, not a Goddess, though her card is very beautiful.

My biggest problem with the deck is that the little white book strikes me as being written after the deck was completed and tries to paint the deck as being more feminist than it really is as well as being more imaginative in scope. The booklet claims the deck's intention was to tell "women's" stories instead of men's. This claim breaks down for me when it comes to the Minors. They are all based on the images in the Rider-Waite deck and the Court Cards depict men where traditional. There's nothing new or particularly more feminist than usual going on here. Yet the LWB says the Minors are dedicated to 4 Goddesses and depict women's journeys related to those Goddesses. So the book's claims bug me a little. I also prefer more symbolism depicted in the Minors to give depth to a reading but if you are familiar with Rider-Waite, these are easy to pick up. Swords are supposed to show the Path of Isis and all cards have an ancient Egyptian theme given to the traditional poses. Pentacles are the Path of Lakshmi. I consider these East Indian pictures to best of the group. Cups are for Freyja but show generalized Medieval-ish figures with pale blond hair. Staves are supposed to show the Path of the Roman Goddess Venus but instead of having a Roman theme, there are Medieval-ish redheads in each scene.

These issues related to the booklet are minor though compared to the cards themselves. I expect to get many years of enjoyment working with this deck.

This book wonderfully accompanies Ms. Waldherr's tarot deck of the same name; it discusses the story of the goddess associated with each of the cards as well as each card's divinatory meaning. The book alone is informative, wonderfully inspiring and empowering, and it has inspired me to learn more about the goddesses featured in the book and its companion deck.

I love the art of the talented Kris Waldherr, especially her Book of Goddesses that this deck is based upon. This is a wonderful Tarot deck that bases its symbolism on the Rider-Waite deck but it has transformed the symbols into female, Goddess centered mythos. The artwork is very beautiful, detailed and evocative. The cards are larger than a standard deck but it seemed that my hands just got used to the size after a while. The Major Arcana cards each feature a different goddess and include this line-up: Tara, Isis, Sarasvati, Estsanatlehi, Freyja, Juno, Venus, Rhiannon, Athena, Chang O, Lakshmi, Oya, Kuan Yin, Ukemochi, Yemana, Nyai Loro Kidul, The Wawalak, Inanna, Diana, The Zorya, Gwenhwyfar, and Gaia. As you can see, the deck introduces many of the less familiar goddesses. The small paper pamphlet that accompanies the deck offers a sampling of their lore. A helpful workbook is available separately. The Minor Arcana is divided up into four different cultural stories each corresponding with one of the four elements, water, air, earth and fire. Each card except for the court cards shows a woman as she undergoes the journey symbolized by the suit. The suit of Cups is the Path of Venus, Staves is Freyja, Swords is Isis, and Pentacles is Lakshmi. The court cards show the querant's psyche in different times and areas of life and can also be used to represent different people.
I think the deck is very user friendly and I enjoy its different focus. So many women seek out Tarot readings to help them work through and understand the influence of the men in their lives upon their lives. This deck is so useful for keeping querants focused on their own issues and their own well-being.

The Goddess Tarot is an attractive, feminist deck. It's appropriate for children because there is no nudity or undue sexual content, but it can change your life with its powerful symbolism. The Minor Arcana uses the symbolism of the Rider-Waite Deck with many of the main figures recast as women. The Major Arcana isn less traditional. Each card in the Major Arcana is changed from a specific archetype to a principle--for instance, the Empress becomes Fertility and the Hanged Man becomes Sacrifice. This makes the cards easier to interpret. Also, each Major Arcana card is associated with a certain ancient goddess. However, this deck is not just for Pagans or women-anyone can identify with and appreciate its symbolism.

I've been using the Daughters of the Moon tarot deck for the past several years, and was looking for another woman-centric deck. I didn't like the drab colors and sketchy artwork of the Motherpeace deck, so that was out. Luckily, a friend of mine alerted me to this deck, and I instantly fell in love. The artwork is stunning and evocative. There's no doubt what each card means. And it is crammed with Goddesses from all over the world, so despite my many years of Dianic reading, the Major Arcana were still a learning experience for me. I really feel like this is the deck that will get me to set aside Daughters of the Moon. DoM is vibrant and powerful, but the Goddess Tarot feels more grown up, which is exactly what I need right now. If you love the artwork on this deck, go to the artist's Web site--she sells postcards, prints, and t-shirts with her Goddess art.

there were no dark goddesses in this deck. i was sad to see queen gwenyfar in the deck but not morgan le fay. where are Kali, Morrighan, Hecate, Pele and the like. the tarot is about a journey and lessons learned along the way.

This is probably the first deck of Tarot cards I own that actually "feels right." Many of the tarot decks out there are decidedly male and the energy of them can feel very aggressive. But not so with the Goddess Tarot. With the mind centered and concentrating on the question, it will answer with such accuracy that it's almost scary. There are times when it will answer the question you will not ask, showing that it gently taps into the unconscious mind and gives what is needed, not what is desired. The four suits enlist the imagery of Isis, Freyja, Lakshmi, and Venus in a way that don't overwhelm or cause upset when the meaning of a card is revealed. For those seeking a deck that is both gentle and powerful, this is the deck for you.

Absolutely beautiful. The artwork contains enough symbology for easy interpretation while giving insight into the characteristics of the goddesses portraied. I personally use the deck for meditation more than divination and in that respect it is invaluable. The cards are very large and a little difficult to shuffle, which I consider the only drawback of the deck, and this prevents me from using it frequently for divination. I would recommend this deck to anyone interested in the Tarot and Goddess spirituality or Wicca.