Customer Reviews

Tarot of the Secret Forest (English and Spanish Edition)

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

 

 

On one side of the deck, black charcoal or ink-wash style illustrations with a different slant than the painted color image on the other side. The deck is like receiving two decks for the price of one.

If you like somewhat mysterious paintings that show natural images--this includes bugs and insects--with winged sprites and leaves and twigs, this is a beautiful example. Lo Scarabeo heeded requests and in this deck, each card is mainly pictures with a simple number or suit symbol and a large picture space for the atmospheric, limited color palette on each card.

The LWB is suggestive, but the viewer is invited to make their own associations for the cards. I'm not certain this is an ideal deck for the beginner or those looking for bright, childish babes among small flowers.

Instead, I recommend the deck for those who like fine illustrations with a slightly mysterious touch. If your heart yearns for a naturalistic sensibility that allows for small shadows and light, perhaps the soft color interplay is interesting to you. For a bit of humor and a different take, turn the card over and see not the same image, but a similar sketch! What does this different take say to you?

This is also a great companion for 'mixed deck' or imaginative reading. Sometimes when I like to make story-line readings, I would use one or two cards the Animals Divine, Well-Worn Path and Secret Forest. Always, the cards from the Secret Forest invite me to rest my eyes, reflect a little and linger in my imagination for a thought or memory...

Hope it feels good to you, as well.

I love this deck- the artwork is stunningly beautiful. Although the colors are muted, as some reviews mention, I believe it is to retain a natural versus artificial appearance. The colors used are ones you can see in a dimly lit forest, and the black-and-white sides are stunning in their clarity and subtle changes from the colored side. This deck does have fairies, and soft flowers, animals, and foliage growing uncontrolled over each card. I wouldn't recommended this deck for the beginner- but I believe that many nature lovers with some Tarot experience would cherish and be able to use it quite successfully!

This deck has some very beautiful and intriguing pictures.

They are, however, very difficult to interpret, which tends to leave me staring at the very skimpy booklet with the deck. It includes some facinating artist info, some suggestions on reading the deck using the colored side and the black and white side, and then has one line card meanings. One line. This way, they can print one booklet with five languages in it. This is a problem with all of LS's decks that I've purchased.

It may be that with a full book, this would be a deck that I can read, but for now, it's just pretty pictures.

This deck is pictures, nothing but that. There are no words on the cards, only roman numerals and symbols. If you don't know your basic tarot cards, I don't think that you and this deck will get along at all.

I LOVE this deck, I have two cards from it tattooed on my calves. I knew the moment I saw it I wanted it to be my deck, and I purchased a different deck (Llewellyn by Ferguson) first knowing that I wouldn't be able to properly use this deck until I had a little more experience.

The pictures on the cards are lovely, both sides are usable, which is another thing I like. Depending on my whims, I can cast in black and white or in color.

The booklet that comes with it is pretty much useless, so again, I don't recommend this for beginners.

As I quickly scanned through the deck, I thought - oh, it's a fairy deck. No, they are not fairies, they are insects. They are bugs! Upon closer examination, I also saw salamanders, and owls and bushes and foxes... there are even people on some of the cards.

This deck can be worked as two decks, as each side of the card has a similar design, one in "color" and the other in black and white. There are subtle variations in the designs, and in some cases they are opposites, in others they are the same.

Let me say that this deck is very similar to other Lo Scarabeo decks in it's lack of use of bright color. I think it was supposed to be "earth toned" but the colors seemed drab. The artwork, watercolor and wash, is "suggestive" in some areas, yet very well defined in others.

There were designs I got right away, and some that I failed to see the association. Working with the cards also proved to be a "challenge" and I found myself referencing the book and looking at how to interpret the designs rather than having the usual flow and ease of working with a deck. Even after a few readings, some of it clicked, some did not.

If you really want to work with this deck, there will be a learning curve. The images are interesting, intriguing for some. The meanings can be found, but for some it will require digging. Some of the designs are clever and unique and well thought out.

But the deck lacks consistency in my opinion. And color. Some of the insects could have been rendered a bit more colorfully and maybe with a touch more detailing. The figures are mostly abstract, and I understand that in many cases.

You should look at this deck completely before purchasing it. It has pros and cons, and that is probably the biggest issue with this deck. It does not seem to be consistent in design or content. And again, my own issue with the color choices which diminishes its interest value even more. It might appeal to a small market but overall it is a curiosity and not a practical, working deck. boudica