16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Lovely Cards But..., October 27, 2008
This review is from: The Truth-Seeker's Tarot: Oracle Cards of Insight, Clarity and Wisdom (Hardcover)
"Whatever the Tarot's original purpose, usage over the centuries has identified the inestimable value of their symbolism as a psychological and spiritual tool." - From the companion book to The Truth-Seeker's Tarot
Packaged in an exquisite, sturdy gold-foil box, The Truth-Seeker's Tarot contains a 78-card deck with an 80-page full-color, hardcover companion book by David Fontana. With its soft yet vibrant illustrations, the specially commissioned artwork by Sylvie Daigneault is adorned with special gold foil touches that accent the lovely imagery without being overdone.
For example, in the Strength card (Trump 8), a gold lemniscate forms the maiden's hat, while flowing gilt lines flow down the lion's mane. Solid golden coronas glow from the head of the Hanged man and the Temperance angel, while the Queen of Cups stands immersed in a flowing river holding a shining chalice, her blue dress decorated with over a dozen shining goblets.
As I went through the Truth-Seeker's deck card-by-card, I was thrilled to see each Major Arcana not only lovingly illustrated by colored pencils, but also decorated with these intricate foil accents. However, my excitement turned into disappointment once I got to the Minor Arcana.
Like many decks with an outstandingly rendered Major Arcana, the Minors merely show mostly the suit signs against a colorful backdrop. For example, the Eight of Pentacles show eight golden pentacles with a green background in what looks to be a church. The Ten of Pentacles shows the exact same image, except the pentacles are arranged into the tree of life diagram.
Some of the other minors throw in a bit more imagery, such as courtyards, birds, ships, trees and buildings. Although the author encourages the reader to meditate on the cards to absorb the symbols and receive intuitive guidance, there's not much in the Minor Arcana to "meditate" upon--especially for those brand-new to Tarot who may benefit from fully-illustrated Minor cards that show actual archetypal motifs or individuals engaging in some type of action.
In the hardcover companion book to The Truth-Seeker's Tarot, Fontana gives solid insights into the Major Arcana, but only covers the Minors according to numerological theme. Since the Minors mostly feature only suit symbols (i.e. cups and swords), this might be problematic to those new to Tarot, especially since he doesn't offer card-by-card meanings or examples. The same is true for the Court Cards.
For those who enjoy reading with Tarot of Marseilles-style decks with minimal Minor Arcana illustrations, as well as those who do readings with only the Major Arcana, the Truth Seeker's Tarot is truly a beautiful deck (the only illustrative mistake is the Seven of Pentacles, where the gold foil considerably overshoots all seven of the symbols). However, those preferring an animated Minor Arcana will likely be disappointed.
Fontana provides a few interesting esoteric tidbits in the companion book, such as correlating the four Minor Arcana suits with the four symbols of the Hindu god, Vishnu, but it is by no means thorough as either an introduction to Tarot or an adjunct to current Tarot knowledge for seasoned users.
(To see 15 card images from this deck, visit the Reviews--Decks section at JanetBoyer.com)
-- Janet Boyer, author of The Back in Time Tarot Book: Picture the Past, Experience the Cards, Understand the Present
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Perfect for Me, But Not for Everyone, February 1, 2009
This review is from: The Truth-Seeker's Tarot: Oracle Cards of Insight, Clarity and Wisdom (Hardcover)
As noted in other reviews, these cards are very sturdy - almost a poster board thickness (much thicker than typical playing card). This might make it difficult to shuffle, but for me - a person never able to shuffle well - I like it. They are sturdy and I believe will last longer because of it.
I believe the colors, gold foil, and illustrations are beautiful and I feel the deck was well worth the price I paid ($20 at Barnes and Noble, with a $3 member discount). I use Amazon most of the time, but wanted these right away. On Amazon they are only $14, so a very good price.
Be aware the minor cards are not illustrated in the detail many would like. They six of cups will show 6 cups with a background. The 3 and 4 of cups may have the same background as well. So one background is used for several cards in the suit. If this is not desirable, this is not the deck for you.
Other reviews say these cards are not for beginners, but I am a first timer and am quite happy with them. I almost bought the Mystic Faerie Tarot. It comes with a huge/detailed companion book and is quite good from my neophyte perspective. I used these with my sister (her deck), but chose to get something else for myself just so we would have variety. I knew the book would be limited, so I got 2 other tarot books so I don't think that will be an issue. I personally like the simplicity of the minor cards. Many other decks overwhelm me...they are way too busy and way too much on the cards for me. I get "lost" in the deck, so to speak. I feel the minor cards are still lovely in their simple way, and plenty for me as a beginner (to use or meditate on). After using these and familiarizing myself with them, I might try a more complex deck later.
I just bought yesterday, so cannot speak further to their sturdiness/longevity. But my guess is they will last for some time, but I will not be a heavy user (for my personal use with friends/family, I do not do readings on a regular basis). I see no issues/flaws with my cards - no bends. The 7 of Pentacles gold foil issue was either fixed or a flaw that occurred randomly.
So just be forewarned and consider the type of deck you like. These are sturdy/thick, colorful, and lovely. But they have a simplicity that is disappointing to some. For me, a perfect first deck that I am excited to use.
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