Customer Reviews

Initiatory Tarot of the Golden Dawn Deck (Lo Scarabeo Decks) (English and Spanish Edition)

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

 

 

This Tarot deck is an interesting new rendition inspired on the Golden Dawn's tradition as intended by its designer, Giordano Berti. Patrizio Evangelisti`s beautiful artwork resembles contemporary comic book style. Black inked outlines and tones define the imagery, while contrasting colors and soft shadows fleshed out the scenery.

In the Golden Dawn Tarot, the suites are evidently associated with the four elements: wands with fire, chalices with water, swords with air, and pentacles with earth. This association is more prominent within the court cards, showing figures within flames for wands, on a shore for chalices, within clouds for swords, and on a grassy field for pentacles. These have been labeled Princess, Prince, Queen and Knight like in the Thoth Tarot.

The Major Arcana are labeled the same way as in the RWS or Marseilles Tarots, and the imagery shows evidence of both traditions for most of these Trumps. However, a few lean more toward one tradition than the other. Such are the case of The Chariot, Death and The Sun Trumps which leans toward Marseilles, while The Wheel of Fortune leans toward RWS. There are a few Trumps that are beyond RWS and Marseilles traditions. For example: The Fool depicts an innocent child sitting on the grass with a wolf watching over, and The Lovers depicts a warrior coming from a cloud to confront a sea serpent which is about to attack a chained maiden.

An interesting feature of this deck is the inclusion of an additional set of Justice and Strength cards, swapping 8s and 11s on these cards to allow you to match either RWS or Marseilles ordering. At least that was the intention. My deck contains a card with a scene of a girl standing by a lion which is Strength (8), and another with a woman sitting on a throne with a sword and scales at hands which is Justice (11). However, a second card with a girl standing by a lion was labeled Justice (11), while a second card with a woman sitting on a throne with a sword and scales at hands was labeled Strength (8). This is an error as the names should have not been swapped. It may be just my deck, but beware.

I recommend this deck for tarot collectors in general, and for those interested on the Golden Dawn tradition in particular. It comes in its own fitting box and includes the usual Little White Book.

Other decks by Patrizio Evangelisti:
Initiatory Tarot of the Golden Dawn Deluxe (Lo Scarabeo Decks)

From a cursory review of the market, it would seem there are almost as many Tarot decks out there as there are people seeking them. Thus, the process of selecting one's Tarot should be gradual and painstaking, analogous to the selection of a therapist, lawyer, confidante, or even a religion. Often, one cannot describe adequately the sensation of "fit;" one simply knows that the particular person, entity, or deck speaks at a level deeper than mere words.
So it is with the "Initiatory Tarot of the Golden Dawn." I cannot adequately describe why I have chosen this deck; or better, why it has chosen me. The symbolism is profound; the "fit" cannot be denied. And though there are other Golden Dawn tarot decks available (most notably the work of Robert Wang and the "hermetic" tarot of Godfrey Dowson), this particular deck embodies better than any other that I have seen the "Great Work" of the Golden Dawn, and of hermetic thought in general: the transformation of the individual.
Viewed in this light, Tarot is not merely a tool of divination, or a cheap party game of fortune telling. It lays out in deep symbolism the soul's journey, from the moment it recognizes itself as an entity, to self-actualization, that time when the soul is able to fulfill the measure of its creation and find joy therein. While modern research has disproved the notion that Tarot came from ancient Egypt, it still has a 600-year pedigree in Western esoteric thought. Tarot would have long since perished, but for the undeniable fact that it fills a deep human need. Many writers have taken a page from Jung and articulated the Tarot's symbolism and relevance to postmodern humanity. No deck I have seen better accomplishes that feat than this one.
I must admit a certain reluctance to anything bearing the Llewellyn mark; too often Llewellyn markets "fluffy bunny" New Ageism at its most trite. But nothing could be further from the truth here. Not only is the artwork gorgeous, the accompanying essay from Giordano Berti provides a succinct history of Tarot within the Golden Dawn tradition, particularly in the pioneering work of Samuel L. M. Mathers. Berti's brief but solid interpretive notes for each card also provide a solid foundation upon which one can begin his or her spiritual journey. And if one succumbs to the temptation to do a quick round of fortune-telling for friends, Berti's notes are entirely adequate for the task. Regardless, I recommend Tarot books by Lon Milo DuQuette, Robert M. Place, and Rachel Pollack for further research and enlightenment. For those like me who are drawn to it, Tarot is important enough that one should proceed past mere dilettantism and seek to master its symbolism, and its potential to serve as a true spiritual guide.
To put it bluntly, I love this deck. I own many; doubtless I will acquire more. But this will be the one I use for personal study and guidance. I cannot recommend it too highly. Bravo to all concerned!

I think the art to this is outstanding. I hope that there will be a
companion book out soon, with more information on all the symbols and
differences in this deck. It is easy to read with, but I want to learn
more for more depth in the readings.

For you who read or use the Golden Dawn rituals will know that some of the tarot cards are described beyond just Liber T. Some are actually used in rituals that give a vey good desciption of the cards that were used. For the most part the cards are pictured correctly with only a few details missing. I think that is why it is srtessed for students to make their own.

Things that are missing: The Shem ha-Mephoresh or 72 names of gods is missing in the minor cards 2-10. Also missing the the accendants and deacons. I find this, in fact, a relief. There are many questions to the actual attributions and for many of us, it good to see them gone. The Moon, Star, and Sun cards are missing the "rays" that add up to certain cabalistic numbers. Personanly, I miss that there is no rainbow or Irises (or Greek Goddess of the same name) on the card Temperance since the Goddess Iris truelly summed up that card beautifully. Perhaps the winged angel depicted is Iris. Somehow I don't feel that this card was drawn with that in mind. Finally, (and i know its not fair to compare) but the deck seems to be missing the "visionary quest" that Pamela Colemen Smith depicted so wonderously in her decks. Meaning a hill or stream pictured in the background will recur in an other card having a magnicifict significance that leads one to the idea and feeling of initiation. Each card in this deck is to viewed seperatly with having no relations to the other cards in the deck. Again, personally, I find this lacking characteristic instead of a promoting one.

On the cards themselves: They are beautifully drawn and use for the most part the "picture ideas" from Smith-Waite/Thoth decks. The art work is spectacular. Some will notice the Fool and the Lover cards are straight from liber T and the initiatory rituals themselves. Cards I found "odd" where the 5 of pentacles and 6 of swords. 5 of pentacels is usually depicted a "loss" of revenue or hard financial difficulties. In this deck the 5 of pentacles depicts a older gentleman in a very ripe grape orchard harvesting from the vine. Storm clouds can be seen in the distance. The 6 of Swords usually depicts a picture of water travel/serenity/acceptance and moving to ward a goal. In this deck it dipicts a lovely young nude female standing in a circle of swords laying on the ground. She is holding a decapitated man's head on a plater and you see the body lying in the back ground. Not that this is perhaps "wrong". I love new artistic idea added to the Tarot and definitely these cards due that. I was truely estactic when I first saw the pictures of this deck and thought "OMG, someone finally did it." Nonetheless, I still consider the Smith-Waite deck superior in imagery than this one even though the artwork is better.

Other things of interest: The Empress, Emperor, and Hierophant if placed side by side make a pretty cool triptych. The cards from knight, queen, king all contain their constellation designations and a few other cards as desribed by MacGreggor Mathers. The Some cards actually depict their kabbalistic attribution such as the cards "the Hanged Man" and "Death". Other cards have neoplatonic/occlult ideas expressed but it is very subtle. On the whole I thing the cards are well made. Thought has been put into them and they are beautifully drawn. But is it Golden Dawn?? Sadly I think not. Go pick up Smith-Waites deck.

This review is from: Initiatory Tarot of the Golden Dawn (Cards)
This is a beautiful picturesque deck, that tells the story with striking images! A modern comic book feel for the modern Tarot Reader! Some Images are Sexy or nude, some are heroic in nature. Easy to use if you are familiar with Rider Waite decks, or just use intuition. In my opinion this is the best looking Golden Dawn deck if you like your images with a graphic novel contemporary modern feel that reflects the art style of today's comic book artist.

I haven't studied Golden Dawn symbology much, so i can't say for certain how accurate they are but this is one hell (or heavenly) deck especially for admirers of the female form <ahem> !

The Mythical Theme also brings passion to the imagery, highly recommended!

Me ha gustado mucho esta baraja, pese a que hay otras que me gustan más que esta. Los símbolos representados en las cartas y lo que representan viene a ser muy similar al Tarot de Arthur E. Waite, Rider Waite Tarot por lo que aquellos que conocen esta baraja verán ciertas similitudes en esta baraja, no tanto en algunos arcanos menores pero sí en la mayoría de ellos.

I've been reading tarot cards for about 25 years. I moved recently and have lost all 3 of my decks in the transition. I'm hoping my cards will resurface but in the meantime, I decided to try this deck, based on the pictures Amazon has. I hate them. The illustrations are very sketchy and comic-bookish. The majority of the females depicted are slutty looking: exposed breasts, tiny waists, mini-skirts. I think the female form is beautiful, but this deck makes the women look cheap, even the high priestess is some kind of nymphette. The 4 of swords is carrying a mans head on a platter while wearing a full-length see-thru black negligee-- nothing underneath. My initial reaction to this card was "honeymoon gone wrong?!" In other decks its a card of recovery after a long project, recuperation from an illness, mental-recharging; its a quiet, rest card that a lot of time signals the end of something hard or unpleasant. I don't get that from this card at all! Decapitating a man? Is that supposed to be a feminist statement? Yuck! The men are depicted in mideval clothes or as superhero-muscular, slaying dragons and that sort of stuff. I also don't like that the Sun card's Sun is small and white and in the background. In the foreground are children playing in front of a maze, the maze is gray, the sun is white and the sky is light blue, it feels cold to me--nothing like the sun card in other decks. For new tarot card readers, I would think this would be a very confusing first deck. Thinking of the title "initiatory" I found it really hard to match up the description in the little white book that comes with the deck, with what is being depicted on the card. A better option would be to just throw the booklet out, come up with your own interpretations for each card and do your readings from your own 'dictionary.' Better yet, get the Hanson-Witt (I think thats the name) deck, the drawings are charming and the symbolism is much clearer. but if you spend your time playing video games, reading comic books, or watching super hero movies, and your ideal woman is a cheerleader, stripper, or centerfold model, this is definitely the deck for you!

The deck appears to be well made and the cards show much of the symbolism you would expect to find, but I found the images too cartoony looking to take seriously.