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20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
An excellent deck, buuuuuuuuuuuuuut..., April 6, 2002
This review is from: The Secret Tarot: Renaissance Symbols of Science, Magic and Myth Now Reveal the Future (Paperback)
I bought three copies of this deck when it was in its previous incarnation as the Renaissance Tarot; now renamed, I suspect, to avoid confusion with Brian Williams' deck of the same name. Why was I willing to buy it thrice? In a word, it is one of the best decks I have ever come across (and I own over 50 decks). This deck manages to borrow several influences from the Rider-Waite, but unlike other run-of-the-mill Rider clones, it actually breaks free from the Rider deck's shadow --- to be regarded as an artistic and conceptual original in its own right. The use of symbols and color-codings in the images is downright intuitive --- making this deck a real pleasure to read from. BUT --- alas it has one MAJOR failing. And this is its build quality. If you are used to the fine plastic-coated decks produced by professional card-printers like US Games, AGMuller and Lo Scarabeo, etc... this paper quality of this deck may shock you. The cardboard stock is extremely thin, and there is definitely none of that AGMuller-ish flexible plastic film placed inside each card to ensure firmness (I tore up the cards of one of my copies up to realize this). The protective coating is also non-existent, and a few months' of heavy use will be witness to the flaking off of the handsome back design --- leaving tiny white holes. Also, the gold/bronze ink on the cards' backs will, over time, vary in shades of darkness amongst themselves --- which means that, when laid face-down in a spread, they will take away some of the suspense and thrill a reader would normally experience before flipping the cards over. "Oh, this unflipped card can't be the Wheel of Fortune, the gold ink on its back isn't THAT bright. The ink on this one has faded!" Any wonder why I bought three copies? :-( The new editions of the Secret Tarot I saw in the bookstores, despite the name change, still bear the same country of manufacture as the previous "Renaissance" edition --- so chances are, the build quality of the cards may be retained. So beware... If you find yourself falling in love with the excellent artwork of this deck, and therefore bought yourself a copy, I strongly recommend laminating each and every card; if you wish to avoid any of the above-mentioned perils I experienced with my copies. Good luck. Despite the horrible print quality, this deck deserves a place in any tarot enthusiast's collection. The magnificent artistry of Helen Jones is most admirable, and just as iconic as the classic Visconti-Sforza cards. I am just keeping my fingers crossed that US Games or AGMuller will someday buy the rights to this deck from this publisher, and then reissue a magnificent, professionally printed edition!!! (ps: the publisher of this deck also produces the Mythic Tarot. If you would look at the various Amazon reviews for that deck, you will also find a same, recurring complaint about the poor quality of the cardstock.)
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
*Beautiful*,Excellent Deck; Okay Book, April 18, 2002
This review is from: The Secret Tarot: Renaissance Symbols of Science, Magic and Myth Now Reveal the Future (Paperback)
The deck is an example of simply elegant artwork. The understated design of the cards allow Helen Jones' painting to do all the talking. She uses gorgeous metallic tones against richly colored backgrounds in a clean, uncluttered style that truly speaks to the bare essence of the individual cards. There is no other deck like it. And they have incredible accuracy. Because the cards are, design-wise, somewhat "stripped down", (compared to Rider, Crowley, etc.) the user will find it helpful to use a companion book such as Rachel Pollack's Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom. Eden Gray's Mastering the Tarot is a good pocket-sized quick reference. The book has great basic Tarot information and a good discussion of the Elements as they relate to the Suits, but the overall spin (especially on some Swords, Wands, and some Major) is just a little too optimistic for accurate, realistic interpretation of a spread. The paper quality of the cards, as someone else mentioned, is poor. I am now on my third copy. Hopefully they'll do something about it eventually. But don't let that stop you from getting your hands on them; they're truly a work of art- and spirit!
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Beautiful Cards, Effective, March 11, 2003
By A Customer
This review is from: The Secret Tarot: Renaissance Symbols of Science, Magic and Myth Now Reveal the Future (Paperback)
Although I own a number of decks, this is my favourite. The cards are beautiful photographs of 3D art. I can also usually feel how the spread will read with one glance. The illustrations are effective. The explanations of the cards are some of the best I've encountered and give great history and description. I've found many decks that use rather biased readings of cards like the Devil and Death. This works fine for some, but I've never liked it. The readings are also rather positive. If you don't use the book at all and do your own readings, this won't matter much to you. If you're starting out, though, or like to use an author's interpretations with his or her deck, it's a consideration. It's not all happiness and light, but constructive advice is given on most cards, making even gloomy situations seem surmountable (as they surely are).
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