Customer Reviews

Rohrig Tarot Deck

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The Rohrig deck is a large format, artistic (artwork, not photo images) deck with photo color quality. A fresh new modern approach to the tarot. It is a great deck for those familiar with runes, astrology and the hebrew alphabet...as well as those who are not. The artist has incorporated handwritten notes denoting various card meanings into the design...in German, French and English, along with "titles." There is much to see for those who care to look. A highly recommended deck for the art collector, beginning and experienced reader.

This was the first deck I picked up, when first learning to read the cards. The images are so gorgeous and really "spoke" to me. I particularly liked the Emperor and the Princess of Wands cards. After working with the Rider deck to learn "the fundamentals" for about a year, I picked this deck up again to use in readings. At this point, I have 2 small complaints-I feel that the one word synopsis at the top of each card is somewhat limiting. The images are powerful enough to stand alone. Also, the racecar as the chariot really annoys me (clever, but doesn't convey much of the meaning of the chariot to me). Other than that, this is my second favorite deck (my favorite being a deck I ordered directly from Italy). The cards are somewhat oversized which makes shuffling difficult for someone with small hands (like me). The book (not the LWB, but a separate book) does not provide additional insight beyond the LWB which comes with the deck, in my opinion. I'd give this deck a 5 for aesthetic value but a 4 for ease of use in readings. Take my review for what it's worth, I'm still very much of a novice in reading the cards.

As something of a collector, I own roughly twenty tarot and oracle decks of various kinds, and of them all, the Rohring remains firmly my favorite and the only one I read from. This deck tends to produce strong reactions from people; very often the first thing they remark upon is the female nudity. It's not a deck I'd hand a five year old, but the twelve of seventy eight I counted that contain female nudes are not obscene unless the sight of a few female breasts, and painted ones at that, totally unnerves you. Of more concern is the obsessively modern imagery: the knight of wands bears a striking resemblance to James Dean, for example, and the chariot's horses have been replaced by an Indy racer. There is a page motif to most of the cards, and words in multiple languages abound. The majority of the cards have a decidedly urban fantasy, sci fi like feel to them, like something out of a trance or otherworldly journey. These traits will either do wonderful things for you or totally turn you off to the entire deck, depending on whether you love traditional imagery or long for a more modern interpretation of those themes. I love it myself, I can read intuitively from this deck without playing "Lets Look Up What Importance The Fool's Hat is Supposed to Have". My only real complaint is that all of the minor arcana cards have a title at the top--"Success" for the six of disks, for example. I generally ignore this, but many of the more dedicated tarot readers I know absolutely hate it and feel that this causes a reader to limit what the card could be meaning.

This deck is indeed beautiful. The larger cards also make the deck feel much more like I always imagined a Tarot deck should... But then, I always thought of the cards in Roger Zelazny's books when I thought of Tarot.

Aside from the beautiful pictures, the thing that sets this deck apart from all the rest is the updated imagery. Many of the cards feature more modern twists on ancient archetypes-- for example, the use of an automobile for the Chariot card. (This is by far the most extreme example.) Tarot cards are a means of accessing the diviner's subconscious through images of subconscious archetypes (like solving problems through a waking dream). As such, I found that the more modern pictures matched my own personal archetypal imagery much better than almost any other Tarot deck I have encountered. The deck therefore required less work to use, because it was inherently obvious what each card actually represented. I guess you could say "These cards really clicked!" ^_^

My favorite deck is still the Arthurian Tarot deck, because it was my first (you never forget your first deck! ^_^) and because I now know enough about Arthurian mythos to recognize the various archetypes as represented my Arthurian figures. (The Arthurian Tarot is actually quite useful as a way of keeping all of the Arthurian characters straight. ^_^) However, if I had to recommend a "first and only" deck to someone, I would definitely recommend the Rohrig Tarot. This is what a Tarot deck should be! The Rohrig Tarot is a beautiful deck, and the use of imagery is almost perfect. The ominous cards are suitably dark, while the lighter cards are, well, more cheerful. The deck is definitely *not* one of those "bunnies and sunlight" themed decks-- this is definitely a serious Tarot deck, worthy of much respect.

I've been using this deck in my work for the past 15 years and it is my preferred deck. In my opinion the cards are wonderful and my clients and I can all relate to them. The imagery on the cards is beautiful and acceptable to today's adults, be aware they are adult oriented and do depict some nudity. The imagery and color selection elicit responses and reaction from the sitter and the reader and serve as a wonderful conduit of connectivity. There are some many themes embedded in the images, Jungian, traditional, even some Crowley. Additionally, there are other systems embedded into the card, numerology and astrology just to name two. Every time I use the cards I notice something new, something I've missed even with 15 years of use. These cards are wonderful.

Hopefully they will be republished. I personally believe they are well worth the $25 price tag that was affixed to them and would be willing to pay up to $50. BUT I would not support the opportunistic profiteers asking more than TEN TIMES the original commercial price tag.

This is a really beautiful deck. The cards are big comparing to the average size bit still can lay nicely in a hand. The images are thought provoking and beautiful. Every card looks like it came from a dream. Some images are scary and confusing, but others are light hearted and joyful. This deck is great for meditation and daily card draws.

Its been my favorite deck for a while now, so i give it 5 stars.

This is not the first deck I have ever worked with, but it is the best. The artwork is exquisite, well rendered, and emotioanlly evocative. Some may say that it is an overly sexualised deck, and even go so far as to say that the use of the human body ofrm may even be gratuitous. I disagree, for it speaks to me in an entirely differnt language, and really, when you are chosing a deck, it all about how it speaks to you, isnt it? For me, the art work is divinly feminine, not in a sexual, objectified manner, but more so as to convey the sacred creative and symboliv poweres of the human woman. They are dressed differntly as well, but each outfit depicts a different aspect or charachteristic that goes allong with the interpritation of these cards.

I also love the larger size of these cards, the bold, rich colrs and textures, combined mediums in the cards. The Lovers, and the (I believe it is the 9 of swords) Cruelty card are so well done, that after simply loking at them in a shop one day, I knew thay had to be mine.

I have owned many decks in my time, but as far as trying to get a deck to intuitively inspre me to unlock that which I can not unlock by myself, as a tool and a gateway to further knowledge, it gets a big two thumbs up from me.

This is a difficult deck for beginners. The art is evocative, but there is little traditional symbolism here. I am confused at the artist's interpretation of the 2 of Swords as "Peace"; and perhaps switching the images of the Empress and Princess of Disks cards would have made more sense.

Clearly, the artist is wishing to impart to us that sex is a divinely sanctioned act, not to be confused with our lower urges. As this seems to be a main theme, I would not recommend this deck for anyone with sensitivity to the artistic rendering of genitalia.

Overall, this is a fascinating deck, and one that encourages readers to use the Tarot intuitively. To fully appreciate the artist's intent behind each image, I recommend purchasing the companion book.

The Röhrig Tarot takes its imagery almost straight from Aleister Crowley's Thoth deck. This is excellent for a new reader; since Crowley wrote so much and so well about the meaning of his deck, it's possible to get his books, such as the Book of Thoth, and apply his writing to the Röhrig deck.

An unusual Tarot, in that it's based on the Crowley deck rather than the near-universal Rider-Waite-Smith model. Thelemites will probably be especially attracted to the style of this interpretation (technology, sex, and power feature heavily), but nearly anyone can appreciate the excellent artwork. The symbolism overall is well thought out, though again, it might seem odd to those unfamiliar with Crowley's take on the cards. The Fool (pictured on the cover of the deck), in particular, is a brilliant piece of work, both technically and symbolically. For those with a technical interest in artwork, there is an unusual use of collage and texture effects throughout the deck; I'd love to see some of the original art, which I feel probably lost something during the transition to a printed, two-dimensional card format.

Not for everyone,I admit, but it's one of my personal faves.