Lord Of The Rings Tarot Deck & Game

by Vintage Sports Cards Inc

Product Features

• Every card is a glimpse into middle-earth with scenes from The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit books
• Ages from10 years to adult
• Instructions are included for a card game for 2 to 6 players
• Deck unites two great traditions: the spiritual, mystical tradition of the tarot, and the world of folklore and fantasy which J. R. R. Tolkien brought to life in his timeless works

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 1.2 x 3 x 5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: 1572810173
• Item model number: LR78
• Our recommended age: 12 years and up
• Manufacturer recommended age: 12 years and up
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #128,010 in Toys & Games (See Top 100 in Toys & Games)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)

Product Description

This deck unites two great traditions: the spiritual, mystical tradition of the tarot, and the world of folklore and fantasy which J. R. R. Tolkien brought to life in his timeless works. Every card is a glimpse into Middle-earth with scenes from The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit books. Instructions are included for a card game for 2 to 6 players. Ages 10 to adult.

This is a special order item and usually ships within 5 business days. Please contact customer service to inquire about faster delivery options if desired.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars more of a novelty deck, November 29, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Lord Of The Rings Tarot Deck & Game (Toy)

This deck's symbolism makes sense if you are familiar with Tolkien's the Lord of the Rings, however it does not have any traditional Tarot symbolism in its pictures. I don't agree with most of the interpretations in the sketchy booklet. I can't get detailed readings from this deck, although I can get accurate general readings. The cards are good for telling the atmosphere of a situation, but little else. As for the artwork, the pictures are beautiful, but small. Most of the scenes are of landscapes, and people are not usually the focus. However, I LOVE the Queen of Swords card - Eowyn is perfect!!!! If you are a deck collector or want a Tolkien novelty, then this would suit you. A serious reader should look for another deck.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I <3 this deck, April 8, 2004

By 

indira fallen (random, Ohio USA) - See all my reviews

= Durability:4.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:2.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Lord Of The Rings Tarot Deck & Game (Toy)

First off, judging a tarot deck based on the religion of the man who inspired it is ridiculous. Judge it based on its merits as a TAROT DECK. And secondly, yes, Tarot is quite the Catholic tradition. I swear when I went to Italy, everyone I asked had a deck. But back to the topic at hand... I have yet to play the card game that this deck also functions as so I can't really say anything as to its quality, but I can most certainly say this has been the best tarot deck I have ever had the honor of owning. I've had these cards for i think 10 years and have never been let down by them. They've given me the most detailed and accurate readings out of any of my decks. I know many might not consider the artwork "beautiful", but it is still well done (certainly better than the godawful rider-waite) and stays true to the movies/books. For those of you who are concerned that the cards aren't exact replicas of the classic rider-waite symbolism, remember that tarot started based on playing cards which lacked all those pictures you're used to. I recommend you try listening to the cards rather than relying on the confining interpretation of some book or cliche symbols. It has been exactly this, the deck's noncomformity and originality, that has provided me with more detailed readings than any other.

6 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Profound, Mysterious, Disturbing, October 10, 2005

By 

Gregory Lewis "Tropicalia" (Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Durability:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:4.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Lord Of The Rings Tarot Deck & Game (Toy)

I thank my ex-girlfriend Juno, with whom I shared many a psychic revelation, for the gift of these cards. The deep substance in the imagery of these cards, the symbolism of Tolkien profoundly integrated with the use of the Qabalistic Tree of Life, evoke astral journeys to the very gates of heaven. If you own one of these decks, don't listen to the fuss about Crowley's Thoth deck: your LOTR tarot deck is extremely potent, and deserves a serious student's full consideration in the matters of psychic divination.

Allow me to explain a reading: I array the cards in a "Tree of Life" pattern, starting with Kether, working down through the other nine sephiroth, finishing with Malkuth. At each card, I stop to contemplate the meaning of the card. Because the cards are so disturbingly beautiful, like a Nazareth song, I can contemplate the deeper meaning for long periods of time.

Take this first card I drew, placing it over Kether, "the crown": "The Lovers - Aragorn is reunited with his love, Arwen." How awesome! Aragorn is not only male, but an earthbound creature, a man (human). Arwen is Elven, she personifies the spirit world. Because Aragorn, the corporeal and earthly, has united sexually with his love, the spiritual realm, you can tell this makes a happy situation within the center of our intellectual existence. It is Tai Chi - the Great Ultimate. It symbolizes the very Gates of Heaven, which are indeed within us.

In the position of Chockma - wisdom - I lay an Ace of Cups -- "Galadriel's mirror shows many things, but wisdom lies in understanding what is shown." Chillingly personal. Sam kneels on a toadstool sprinkled lawn, while Frodo gazes into the mysterious vision well, under an erie and luminous moon. The Elven Queen spreads her arms over her dominion. The saying written on the card about wisdom, and this spot being the sephiroth of wisdom, is just amazing providence.

To complete the trinity of the "head" cards, I drew the Queen of Swords for Binah, understanding. This is the Lady Eowyn, Theoden's warrior daughter. She has slain the chief of the Nazgul, and holds in her hand the severed dragon's head. The Queen of Swords in the position of the Tree of Life's sphere of "Spiritual Purpose" indicates to me a psyche whose thinking is quick, decisive, and without guile. Quick to judge, and quick to execute judgement, the female intellect is "hidden" knowledge, occult. How interesting that in the story, Lady Eowyn loves Aragorn, but Aragorn loves Arwen. Lady Eowyn takes the energy of that unrequited love, and channels it into "killing dragons". This is a metaphor for problem solving by using single minded attention, and focused energy.

My drawings of the remaining cards on the Tree of Life were equally impressive. I believe this reading has revealed to me strengths, and weaknesses. Take for instance, the "heart" sephiroth, the sephiroth of beauty, Tephiroth. Over it I drew the Five of Swords. The card shows "Pippin and Merry are captured by the Orcs, and are bound and carried away." This is an amazing revelation, that the heart can be darkened by forces that occlude its brilliance within us. For myself, this is probably not such a good card to have placed over the heart/beauty sephiroth, and is therefore a good card for me to study what is wrong in myself. These forces can be actual devils, which act upon the heart the way storm clouds change the mood of an afternoon. The beauty of the innocence of Merry and Pippin is concealed in ugliness.

The other seven cards were equally revealing and meaningful to me.

I love the selections of scenes from the LOTR books, which predate the movie trilogy. They capture not just the essence of their ordinal card, but harmonize symbolically at successively deeper levels. One could really go to a deep level of psychic wizardry by studying these cards, I'm inclined to believe. With that, I'd finally like to say that my acquaintance with Lord of the Rings is strong and long, and the world of Middle Earth is a mythology which I take very seriously. Having read the books several times gives me some comfort with the cards, so that I don't have to struggle to understand who is whom, and I can view the story in its Gestalt, forming new and interesting relationships between cards fairly easily.

If you are new to the world of Tolkien, the guide book by the great and famous Terry Donaldson is superb. One could read the book on its own, and gain understanding, even without the cards. The package itself is a magical combination, it is not kid stuff. Also, I tend to think the artwork slants on the shady side of the mountain, if you know what I mean. There are no sunny days with white, poofy clouds, as there are a-plenty in the Rider-Waite deck. Here, we have lots of overcast, pall, dusky twilight, and lunar mist. Also, almost all of the trees in any of the cards of this deck are without leaves. The whole deck looks like it was painted in the month of November, which, if you live in the northern region of North America, is rather bleak, and we tend to party more to compensate for the gloom. The 3 of Cups, 4 of Coins, 8 of Coins, and 6 of Swords appear to be the only cards where I can find foliage growing on trees in the art work. Even these cards show grey, pale, and misty backdrops.