Customer Reviews

Merryday Tarot (deck of 78 cards)

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

 

 

I would highly recommend the Merryday Tarot deck and book set, if you are interested in nature-themed decks and stunningly beautiful artwork. Artist/author Louisa Poole uses various systems in her deck, including numerology, alchemy and qabalistic systems...the accompanying book is very interesting and worth reading.

Contrary to statements made by some *morally ambiguous* booksellers online, this deck is NOT rare or out of print...you can purchase the book & deck set directly from the author for only $45! Her website is http://merrydaytarot.com.

I would highly recommend this set to anyone who loves tarot, nature and colorful, beautiful artwork!

It's refreshing to see nature brought back to the somewhat rigid rules of the tarot. I understand a book is forthcoming about the numbers and explanations, but I love the colors, symbolism, and insights the deck imparts. The ancient tarot is the basis for all cards and it's clarifying to see some of the secrets revealed yet retaining the integrity of the original symbolism. Thanks louisa

This deck has me somewhat torn. I would award high points for the nice illustrations, colors and symbolism, but I'm dismayed by the lack of originality on the part of the illustrator(this deck "borrows" A LOT from the Ancestral Tarot). The cards themselves are a nice size and laminated, but the card stock is very thin and raises questions in my mind about durability.

The addition of key words to the cards was well intentioned perhaps, but it proves confusing in many circumstances. And the numerology references are VERY distracting.

Also, the black and white design on the back of the cards is the most eye-irritating I have ever seen - it was truly unnecessary to put the title of the deck there.

Overall, I do like the deck for the illustrations, but if I knew before what I know now, I most likely would not have purchased it.

This is one of the prettiest decks I own, and I own many! The only drawback is that it doesn't come with a book. But, there are keywords on each card making this a good deck for beginners. The colors and symbolism is great!

Louisa is one of the most magickal and talented artists in Massachusetts. This deck brings a magickal taste to each reading. With each reading one is transported to the realm of faeries,unicorns and beautiful places rich in symbolism,guidance and intuition. This is a fantastic deck,especially for timing of events to come. When can we purchase the book!!

Hi there! For those of you who love my deck, we have our 1st draft of the accompanying book..Thanks for all your good wishes and thanks for the lovely reviews louisa poole talisman shop rockport, ma. 10966

I recently purchased the Merryday Tarot as a gift to myself. I wanted to see more of the artwork on these cards, which I had seen used recently at a Renaissance Faire, and wanted to try to work with them myself.

These are standard larger size Tarot cards, with all 78 cards, and a small fold-out card with the Merryday Tarot cards referenced, some basic card meanings, and a small section about "The Four Seasons and You."

I was impressed with the art on these cards - very colorful and lively. I enjoyed the new pictures, especially those which I have not had much experience with. "The Fool," for instance, doesn't look as much like he's getting ready to step over a cliff into nothingness as he does in other decks, although blue sky is still visible under his outstretched foot. "Oracle" still looks enough like "High Priestess" to be recognizable, while containing new elements that enhanced readings. Some of the renamed cards, such as "Mentor", "Student", and "Teacher" had totally new images associated with them.

Borders are black, and contain the number of the card at the top, and the name of the card at the bottom, and under that a very basic interpretation of the card's meaning. There's also a small block at the bottom containing another number. As an example, at the bottom of the Seven of Wands we find the number "47/11" - meaning that the Seven of Wands is the 47th card in this deck and has a numerical value of 11.

The backs are one of the most disconcerting I have ever seen on any Tarot deck. It is composed of white line images on black backgrounds with a huge "Merryday Tarot Deck" logo in the center. This is the first deck I have ever used where reversed cards were obvious as you deal, a feature I did not like. I thought the logo was overdone and the reversed color calligraphic line art did nothing to impress me to say the least. If they ever redo this deck, the backs are the one thing I'd change.

Now about the features I found most challenging - the differences between this and any other deck I have ever worked with. First of all, Strength and Justice have been reversed. Although there are other decks that do that, this is the first one I've ever used that did.

In the Major Arcana, there are the following differences:
01 - "Magician" becomes "Apprentice"
02 - "High Priestess" becomes "Oracle"
05 - "Hierophant" becomes "Mentor"
07 - "Chariot" becomes "Student"
08 - "Justice" becomes "Strength"
09 - "Hermit" becomes "Teacher"
10 - "Wheel of Fortune" becomes "Lady Destiny"
11 - "Strength" becomes "Justice"
12 - "Hanged Man" becomes "Journeyman"
13 - "Death" becomes "Metamorphosis"
14 - "Temperance" becomes "Time Lord"
15 - "Devil" becomes "Tempter".

I can see why a change was made to turn "Death" into "Metamorphosis" - people I've read for who don't know a lot about Tarot can become concerned when "Death" shows up in a reading. I like the changes to "High Priestess," "Wheel of Fortune," and "Death," and I kinda like the "Devil" turning into "Tempter," although I believe I would have gone all the way and turned this card into "Temptation" if that change is made. But I have no idea why "Chariot" becomes "Student," or "Hermit" becomes "Teacher," or "Hanged Man" becomes "Journeyman". However, these changes made a big difference at a reading I did for college students, although it totally changes the meanings of these cards into something different entirely. Which is not necessarily a bad thing - just something new to get used to.

And in the Minor Arcana: "Knight" becomes "Warrior," "Page" becomes "Elemental," and "Ace" becomes "Dragon".

I like turning "Knight" into "Warrior" - this gave the deck a little more modern feel, despite its Renaissance look. I'm still not sure if I like "Pages" becoming "Elementals," or "Aces" becoming "Dragons," but I'll find out more once I take this deck to science fiction and fantasy conventions, which is one of my main venues for readings.

There is plenty of new symbolism to see in the Minor Arcana, just as there is in the Major Arcana. Turning to a random card, I find the Two of Wands represented by an African Shaman with two staves, and two zebras, two dogs, and two meercats looking on. A Japanese theme runs through Swords, an African theme through Wands, a Native American theme through Cups, and a mildly European theme through Pentacles. There are many references to seasonal aspects of the Minor Arcana - not the least of which is "Spring Warrior" for Swords, "Summer Warrior" for Wands, "King of Autumn" for Cups, and "Winter King" for Pentacles. But if one is going to do seasonal aspects of Tarot cards, I wish that the representation was consistent. Although Spring and Summer are Warriors, Autumn and Winter are Kings. I felt as though they should have been all Warriors or all Kings - or both.

This is not a deck I'd recommend to anyone just starting out - there's just too many differences between it and a standard deck of Tarot cards. However, accomplished readers may find this deck adds more to standard readings, and provides fresh new insights.

I have been disappointed at some of the low quality Tarot cards on the market. All too often this field makes big promises and limited delivery.
The Merryday deck is an exception. This is truly five stars at a reasonable price! The art is simply wonderful. The printing is unusually fine on high quality paper stock. I think anyone from beginner to professional reader will be happy with this deck and find it delivers many years of service!

These are very beautiful cards. The can be somewhat hard to find. Market place has some listed but you can buy direct here http://www.merrydaytarot.com/. Enjoy!