The Hermetic Tarot [Cards]

Godfrey Dowson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1979

Back in print by popular demand.... This deck is one of the few that easily reveals the planetary influences at work in a matter. 78 cards in the black & white deck.

Product Details

• Cards: 78 pages
• Publisher: U S. Games Systems; Cards edition (January 1, 1979)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 091386692X
• ISBN-13: 978-0913866924
• Product Dimensions: 4.8 x 2.9 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #215,997 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

104 of 111 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Are you kidding me?, November 23, 2006

By 

E. Godfrey (Eastish...) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Hermetic Tarot (Cards)

The re-printing of this beautiful Tarot deck is utter rubbish. The amazingly intricate drawings of Godfrey Dowson have been blurred and pixilated to an embarrassing degree. Also, the cards themselves were cut irregularly, so no two cards were even uniformly shaped. Seriously, I could go down to Kinkos and make better replications of these cards! In this day and age of technology there is no excuse for blurry pixilation and irregularly cut cards. If you think that you are getting the inspiring original printing of these cards, you will be sadly mistaken.

I've contacted U.S. Games Systems and they have ignored me. I tried to warn customers on their site but they didn't post my review. If I were to speculate, I would think that they are trying to retain the inflated value of the original printing by releasing a disgustingly low quality representation in their latest re-printing at the expense of you, the customer. Buyer beware.

Update: I have posted two pictures which capture the quality issues I mention; one of the poorly clipped corner and one of flagrant pixelation. Please note that this pixelation is not due to my scanner but is an exact replica of the shoddy quality. In the original printing, these lines were razor sharp and clean. They are now a blurry mess. If someone could post a similar picture of VIII, Fortitude, I would be grateful, just to make sure I didn't get a shoddy deck.

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Most wanted deck..., August 24, 2005

By 

Richard K. Kostoff "karmarich" (columbus, oh) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Hermetic Tarot (Cards)

Many years ago, I was given a reading with this deck. I was frightened and amazed by what I saw. Sheer Magic in its purest form. This is THE occult tarot deck. More so than the Crowley-Thoth. I thought someday I would like a copy of this precious artifact. I guess I waited too long as it is now out of print. What a shame when the folks at U.S. Games have multiple renditions of the Rider-Waite deck for sale, among others that do not hold any interest to me.

Maybe it is because of the black and white presentation. It could simply be too scary for many! It is no less dark than others on the current market. I really wish someone else would pick up rights to this masterwork and get it back in publication. Or better yet, how about U.S. Games doing so. They are great at what they do. Except holding back this classic and others.

I finally purchased my copy of this deck from the publisher and love it. The LWB presents nothing new here. The deck itself is not ideal for beginners, 12 and older would do best. Astrologically, this system soars! It is also fun to see these images up close. Its possibly the most detailed tarot ever created.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hermetic Tarot is great for those interested in Golden Dawn, November 3, 1998

By 

Violette d'Epees ([e-mail]) (New Orleans) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Hermetic Tarot (Cards)

This deck reminds me of Crowley's. Its black and white drawings are crammed with so much symbolism, it can be overwealming at first. But it all becomes very clear with experience. I use this deck for meditative purposes. The little booklet is a bit sparse on interpretive meanings, check out Wang's book on the Golden Dawn deck.