Customer Reviews

Native American Tarot Deck (Religion and Spirituality)

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

 

 

This is the first deck with which I learned to do readings - and it is still my deck of choice. The meanings and illustrations provide more room for intuition and personal interpretation than traditional decks. It also gives Native American views, teachings, and history. If you feel drawn to the Native American way of life (Shamanism, animal teachings, etc) or are looking for other interpretations for traditional tarot cards, this is the deck for you. The companion book will offer even more information and insight.

I've used this deck for years and love its multi-tribal themes, its colorful artwork, and the intuition with which it was designed. Better balance of feminine and masculine images than the Rider-Waite.

This deck is good once a person has some experience. I collect Tarot decks and books, and do professional readings. This deck is better left for those with more background kowledge. The artwork and colors are terrific and true to the Native American themes of the various tribes.

This was published in 1982 when US Games were busy producing multicultural themed decks that showed the universal nature of the tarot. I purchased it in 1985, worked with it some and packed it away. I dug it out today and realized that it is vital to my collection. Why? The box and LWB is very retro-not the slick, modern, clean presentations of packs published after 2000. This deck was educational and sheds a glimpse of light on Native American spirituality. Sadly, it was just a glimpse. I wanted to learn more.

The art is primative, drawn and colored from an untrainted eye, giving it a "folk-kitch" appeal. Most of the majors are accurate to traditional images. My big question was how did the white buffalo befome the devil? I would have used the European imperialists arriving on a steam engine, destroying the natural environment. Otherwise, Geronimo is the King of Sword! How accurate! The various tribes and symbols are tossed together randomly presenting a culturally eclectic blend of all indigenous North Americal people.

This is not a deck to begin learning to read the cards with. Only experienced readers could interpret it and work with it effectively, particularly readers with a Native American background. Otherwise, it is a valuable collector deck that makes a serious collection complete.

First, let me say that I like this deck and do not find it is any way disrespectful to Native American culture. I own about 30 decks and, with rare exception, they are all patterned after the Rider-Waite-Smith deck as is this deck. Because I use tarot more for self-exploration and meditation than divination, I am always looking for imagery that is different while still following the RWS model.

I recently, first, purchased the companion book, Star-Spider Speaks, and, then, purchased the deck and, only after that, became curious and began reading the reviews at the tarot websites and was amazed at the controversy surrounding Native American themed decks. As I said, I like the deck but especially liked the companion book which has a lot of fascinating information both about tarot and Native American cultures.

The deck follows the RWS format (78 cards, 22 major arcana, fully illustrated minor arcana and RWS card meanings) but not completely: if there seemed a conflict between "the spirit and feeling of the Native American Way" and "standard interpretations," the meanings given reflect her understanding of the former and does not always match RWS. (See refernce to the deck's Devil card below.) This was explicitly stated and clear. The cards' imagery is composed of line drawings filled in with mostly pastel colors and black; the border is a delicately geometric black design. So, even though the colors are soft, there is contrast. The intricately detailed back is reversible for those of you who read reverse cards - I don't. The narrow card size is comfortable to hold. The 105 page "little white book" that comes with the deck is clear and very generous with details.

You should know that the controversy afoot, with much evangelical fervor on both sides, is about the ethics of having tarot with Native American themes.

Since each tribe has a somewhat different spiritual tradition, it is said, there can be no such thing as a single Native American spirituality and so it is misleading to have a deck that is not tribe-specific. However, though the author of this deck, who is described as having done a very serious study of Native American culture in general not just of the tribe of her family, presents "lore" from many North American "nations," she IS quite tribe-specific.

Some challenged the right of some deck authors to design a Native American tarot deck if they were not sufficiently Native American. The author of this deck is part Native American, identifies as Native American, went on her first of three Vision Quests (maiden, mother, grandmother) when she was 16 years old and did not begin to "teach" until she reached the life stage in which her tradition permits her to do so ( grandmother quest). In other words, she takes it all quite seriously. That said, we would lose too much good history and anthropology if people could only write about themselves.

Finally, much to my surprise, one reviewer (Valerie Sim-Behi at tarotpassages.com) was so intent on condemning all such decks that she accused the author of this deck of presenting the revered White Buffalo in the Devil Card as the symbol of "bondage and materialism" which is the standard interpretation for this card. In reality, the opposite is done, i.e., the author talks about the role of the White Buffalo as spirit guide, the history of labeling as devil or evil "the horned gods of all peoples" and the real meaning of the Devil card in this deck as "the main principle of all magical work - the unity of opposites." Check it out and judge for yourself.

If you want more information about this controversy, check out advancenet.net/jscole/tarot and look for A Picture Is Worth 1000 Words and click Native American.

Nice....includes the corn maiden...Native American Tarot Deck (Religion and Spirituality)...a nice spin on this entertainment deck or cards!~arrived quickly bought as a gift for a friend!~

I baught this deck as a gift for my mother, who is into native spirituality. it is a very nice deck and she liked it very much. The quality of cards is really nice, and has pictures and symbols of many different kinds of native tribes. The diversity is really nice. this item came in a timely manner, and was packaged nicely.

This is a clever adaptation of the traditional patriarchal medieval tarot. It maintains the basic structure so as to be useful to those used to the old Rider-Waite European deck, but it sets the cards beautifully in Native American culture.