Not that these resemble the Rider deck a lot. I just think these could completely replace them as the standard. They're that good. I'm not trying to write a book, but this is how much I liked these cards. They really surprised me and if you are a Tarot enthusiast, let this amateur explain why he thinks this deck is so great..
First off, you have to know some things. I'm just an average dude who doesn't delve too much into the metaphysical but one day in my teens, I tried a set of tarot cards. The usual, standard, Rider-Waite deck that's mass distributed to every book store. The crazy thing is, they worked. Consistently. It's not like you can "read in" your own meanings because that simply can't work. There are 78 cards, and each have specific meanings. The odds of a random generation of a spread that makes sense to a specific question is pretty much...moot. I dont believe its magic, but it is...something. So I've always used them, off and on. While traveling on leave in the military, a new deck found me in the streets of Rome. I wasn't even looking for them but the Tarocchi Del Stelle deck became my new deck. Used it ever since. So when I say this Silicon Dawn deck surprised me, it doesn't happen often.
I consider this the new standard that every intelligent, modern Tarot reader should explore. Why? Well I wasn't born in olden times when the Rider deck was first created. So I don't connect with the images well. But they did their part in teaching me Tarot so they'll always be the old standard. Emphasis on old, though.
Most tarot cards, even my beloved Tarocchi Del Stelle, are just copies and reproductions of older designs.
The Silicon Dawn deck is what it is. It is not a copy if anything else. It's printed on the paper it was designed to be printed on. It is pretty much the only "real" deck you can buy, brand new. I'm not talking about antique cards because you just can't find them easily. Antique cards don't have cool phantom designs you can only see in the correct light, either. They are also...used. Bad juju.
Of course there are other newly designed decks, but none with this kind of depth and intricacy. And for some reason, none of those ever seemed real to me. There was always something lacking in newly designed decks, as if they were mere shadows of the Rider deck or alternatively, completely "out there" and unrecognizable. The Silicon deck is the only new design that never seemed like it was trying to be something else, while still recognizable to everyone who's used a Rider deck.
So this is how they surprised me: they worked right out of the box. I hadn't read in years. That's not common, if not impossible. You usually have to get to know the cards, and this deck has new additions like Void cards. I didnt know any of these, and had to look things up in the awesome little book. But it worked. The book is sort of a trip, too, and speaks to you (messes with you) in modern English complete with slang and cursing. Awesome.
My friend and I are both scorpios born on the same day, a year apart so if you believe in that sort of thing...maybe that helped. Anyway, he had never tried it so we gave it a go. I told him to shuffle, think of a question, etc, etc.
Celtic cross spread, my way. I didn't know the question. First strange thing: he dropped the cards and flipped them all around while shuffling. When I dealt, I didnt move the deck. Just flipped them toward him. They were ALL facing him, none were inverted.
In general it started with wands, then transitioned to swords, ended in pentacles. There was a scattering of 4 of the 5 new black void cards, mainly in the cross itself. The odds of this was small. They don't seem to be good cards, either. Their positions made sense, too. Death was in the 8th place, external influences. The last card was the 4 of pentacles, completion. A card meaning a false sense of security, from what I can tell. The question was: "are we as a species, headed for a time of huge upheaval and change in near future?"
I laughed and didn't expect such a deep and profound question. I was expecting some personal question. No I don't think it means it's going to happen for sure, just because Tarot cards predicted it but it was interesting. And like I said, Tarot works for me. Always has. The cards pretty much spelled out the current times. War and post-9/11 life (wands and swords, void cards). huge changes (2 of wands, death card) and it even joked with the 4 of pentacles as the last card. "completion". Not a single card from cups, unfortunately. This deck is funny, and it does seem as if it's messing with you...telling you not to take anything too seriously.
Then he asked something about a girl that began in fiery, passionate cards, and ended in the 10 of swords. A card I consider worse than death. Which is pretty much what he suspected anyway. Again, he didn't tell me the question till later.
The only thing I didn't like was that almost all cards are now female. Which is fine, but not very masculine. Tarot is not very masculine. Anyway, once I decided that the deck itself was female, it was easier to assimilate and get to know. Upon reading about the artist, the deck has every right to be female, or whatever the hell it wants to be really! Egypt created a masterpiece, by today's definition.
Again, I feel this could be the modern standard in every way. I think it could even replace the old Rider-Waite for most people. Those times are long over and we need new tools to read the new times. The addition of the Void cards and four fools is interesting as well. I almost took all the new cards out, but after that first reading for my friend, and every other reading that just seemed to work, I'm glad I left them in! They expand the possibilities and depth of readings to whole new levels!
Very, very glad I gave these beauties a try!
