The Sacred Circle Tarot: A Celtic Pagan Journey [Paperback]

Anna Franklin (Author), Paul Mason (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 8, 2002

This Tarot isn't for Everyone, but it may be For You!

The Sacred Circle Tarot draws on the Pagan heritage of Britain and Ireland, its sacred sites, and symbolic imagery from that tradition. It's based on the idea (suggested by R. J. Stewart) that the Tarot had its origins with the bards of Celtic culture. Together with the included 336-page, full-size book, the deck becomes a virtual training course in Celtic Paganism.

Besides understanding the history and theories, there is lots of practical work for any Pagan or Tarot enthusiast. Included are instructions for six different spreads and how to use the cards for several types of meditation and personal spiritual development. The artwork, which combines photos, pencil drawings, computer colorization and enhancement helps to give a breathtaking feeling of extreme realism to the images. It should. The cards show actual landscapes and sacred sites in Britain and Ireland.

Pagans will enjoy the fact that many of the Christian or Kabalistic symbolism has been removed and replaced with symbolism of the ancient Celts. For example the Fool is now the Green Man, the Magician is the High Priest, the Emperor and Empress are the Lord and Lady, the Devil is replaced by the Underworld, and the World is now the World Tree.

The book is a veritable training course in Paganism and Tarot. The imagery on the cards is absolutely beautiful. It's no wonder that this has become one of the most popular decks around. You're going to love this as soon as you get your hands on it!

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Anna Franklin [England] has been a witch for 30 years, and a Pagan in her heart for all her life. She has conducted many rituals, handfastings and sabbat rites. She is the High Priestess of the Hearth of Arianrhod, a coven of the Coranieid Clan, a group of traditional witches with their roots in the New Forest, and branches in several parts of the UK. The Hearth publishes the long running Silver Wheel Magazine, runs teaching circles and postal courses as well as a working coven. Anna Franklin is the author of eighteen books on the Craft including the popular Sacred Circle Tarot, Midsummer, Lammas [with Paul Mason], and The Fairy Ring.

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Llewellyn Publications (September 8, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 156718457X
• ISBN-13: 978-1567184570
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 2.2 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (59 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #170,317 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Anna Franklin is the High Priestess of the Hearth of Arianrhod, which runs teaching circles and postal courses, as well as a working coven, a company of archers and the annual Mercian Gathering, a Pagan camp which raises money for charity. She regularly speaks at conferences, moots and workshops around the country.

She lives in a village in the heart of England, where she grows her own herbs and food, and tries to live in harmony with the earth.

Now a full time writer, Anna is the author of many books on witchcraft and Paganism, including the popular Sacred Circle Tarot and The Fairy Ring Oracle [Llewellyn], Midsummer, Lammas, Fairy Lore, Herb Craft, Magical Incenses and Oils, The Celtic Animal Oracle, Personal Power, The Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Fairies [Anova], A Romantic Guide to Handfasting, Familiars, The Oracle of the Goddess, Hearth Witch and The Path of the Shaman. Anna's books have been translated into nine languages.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

45 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful deck...but not for beginners., May 25, 2001

By 

Amy R. Nix "Aspen74 - just another bibliophile" (Dublin, Ireland) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Sacred Circle Tarot: A Celtic Pagan Journey (Paperback)

I am a Tarot beginner. I purchased this as my first deck and, to be completely honest, the reason for my choice was that I saw images from the deck on aeclectic.net and thought that the cards were "pretty."

I love the deck for a lot of reasons. The artwork is beautiful (though the photography doesn't blend well with the computer-gen art on several of the cards). The cards are large, so the details and symbolism are not lost. The choice of landscapes and plantlife depicted on the cards is always appropriate and, well, just lovely in general.

What I do NOT like about this deck is the book. This is not a deck geared to beginners and, though it has its merits, the book is confusing at times. The deck is not a traditional tarot deck, and several broad liberties have been taken in renaming and redefining parts of the Major Arcana. Only the barest descriptions and explanations of spreads are given (though quite a few are shown). More time is spent on the meditative qualities of the cards than on their use and/or meaning in divination. The divination paragraphs regarding each card are often wordy and full of "fluff" that goes with the lore and symbolism that the author put into the imagery. There is no discussion of the placement of different cards in the spread or the relationships between cards. In short, it is a book written with the idea that its reader will already know quite a bit about Tarot.

This deck is nicely done. I've truly enjoyed it. I feel connected to the deck, and I'm glad it was my first choice. My advice, however, to any other beginners, is that you start elsewhere (like the Rider deck which has SO many books and tutorials written about it) before diving into a "different" deck like this one.

33 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A mixed bag, not for beginners, December 2, 2001

By 

wysewomon "wysewomon" (Paonia, CO United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Sacred Circle Tarot: A Celtic Pagan Journey (Paperback)

The Sacred Circle tarot is a lovely deck with beautiful, rich colours and a decidedly British Neo-Pagan slant. I would not recommend it for beginners, either beginning Tarot readers or those just starting on a Pagan path.

Five stars for the Major Arcana! There has been some re-ordering with which I do not necessarily agree, and some of the image substitution is difficult to integrate, but generally these cards are easy to understand and welcoming as well as beautiful. Easy to understand, that is, if you've been a practicing pagan for a while and have a good grounding in the underlying mythology. Oherwise you might have trouble.

The minor arcana is not so well done. Although they purport to show full images, many of the numbered suit cards are little better than pip cards and very hard to read. There are little one-word definitions on each card, but I find this annoying rather than helpful. There are inconsistencies in the imagery -- e.g., wands might appear as spears or arrows or wands depending on the card. Sometmes this is explained in the book, but I'm a firm believer in internal card logic, so I found the necessity of explanation irritating.

Throughout the deck the imagery and symbology is extremely personal to the makers. In most cases their actualy interpretations haven't changed so, once again, an experienced reader will be able to get it fairly easily but a beginner may not get the connections. There are also places where the main symbol of the card is either practically invisible or pretty much unintelligible without recourse to the book. This is something I really don't like. You can read these cards intuitively, but it takes some doing.

The book is a thick one and it gives detailed descriptions of every card, as well as an overview of the fool's journey and several new spreads you might want to try.

I probably would not have bought these cards if I had been able to examine a full deck in advance, but they are turning out to be quite popular with clients. Readings with them so far have stressed personal responsibility and introspection rather than outward action, and they tend to have a gentler feel than readings with some other decks. This is a good addition to a Pagan reader's toolkit -- not a starting point, but a deck with which to explore a particular focus more deeply.

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great imagery, concise readings..., April 11, 2000

By 

HJW "o8Heather8o" (The High Desert...) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Sacred Circle Tarot: A Celtic Pagan Journey (Paperback)

It's funny how every tarot deck works a little different, with a somewhat different character & personality about it... My Sacred Circle tarot readings seem to have a certain economy, brevity, & succinct quality about them. I seem to get complete answers in much fewer cards, sometimes only one, which manages to speak volumes... It's hard to explain why this is (maybe it's because it's generally a "swordsy" deck containing crisp yet surreal imagery?), but this doesn't often happen with the other decks I own (eg. The Mythic Tarot) though I like using them for different reasons. Also, though I have small hands, I *like*, prefer, & seek big tarot cards like these, and the non-symmetrical beautiful imagery on the backs of the cards doesn't distract or influence my readings in any way whatsoever. Expect to get the truth & a reality check from your readings with this deck, and not to be filled full of a lot of new age/pop-psych. fluffy stuff. If you're looking for a powerful oracle that will cut to the chase & "get real" with you & your querents, unafraid to bring seekers up short on occasion, this is it. I could feel a potent metaphysical energy about this deck while it was still wrapped in the box. Anna Franklin & Paul Mason, you've made this seeker a very happy customer... : )