Customer Reviews

The Truth-Seeker's Tarot: Oracle Cards of Insight, Clarity and Wisdom

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"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

The colors in this deck are beautiful, but the plastic coating on the cards did not last through a single reading. I hope the publisher releases a second deck with a better plastic coating on the cards.

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.

I was really impressed with this set the cards & the book
So much so I bought a second deck to have a spare if it's ever
needed, can't say much more than that - A1 in my opinion

This deck wasn't so much a bad deck as it was just... really cheaply made. The corners of most of the cards were cut unevenly, and while there was gold-leaf detail on every card, the wax placed on the cards to protect the detail-work wasn't thick enough or solid enough to truly protect it. The cards were clunky and sticky, and very difficult to shuffle. Sometimes the gold leaf overshadowed the artwork. The colored-pencil drawings were kind of nice, but reminded me of the kind of work a kid in middle-school could have done, and the details even on the images of the Major Arcana were rather bare. The minor arcana are done in the Marseille style - there's some detail, but not enough - a simple background with the suit pips placed on top. Occasionally a minor-arcanum card will have something extra, but it's minimal - such as a table for the three cups to sit on. Because the cards are so naked of symbolism, scrying with them is next to impossible - leaving the practitioner to fall back on numerology alone.
Oh, and my deck had two "4 of Cups" cards, and NO "7 of Cups" card. I kid you not.
The book was even more of a disappointment - the author started out with a strong case for Tarot to be used in psychology - as a professor of psychology himself, he discussed the archetypes represented by the tarot, and his own fascination with it beginning early on in his own career. However, having made an impassioned case for a mystical tool to be used in modern soft sciences, he dropped the ball entirely. The rest of the information provided in the book was less than minimal - you get more information from the LWB of other decks.
I think this deck was made to capitalize in the boom that's happened in Tarot lately - and as a money-making venture, they cut corners everywhere they could - the best I can say about this deck is that the box it comes in is very sturdy and made to travel - the box will last longer than the cards.

I didn't expect to get sometchng so beutiful and unique for the price I've paid for this deck and book set. The pictures just draw you in and come alive, feelings I get from them are very intense, meditating with these cards comes easily. I have put some pictures of these cards in my website at www.praktinemagija.lt if you would like to see. The pictures have gold foil embelishments. Card backs are similar to the geometric box background, and looks great. The card paper is thick and the whole pack is quite dificult to shufle with my miniature hands, but thats a minor complain. I have to mention that the Minors don't have ilustrations, rather a suit specific background and an arangement of suit simbols. The author of this deck associates Wands with Air and Swords with Fire, but that does not meen you can't use different asociations. The book is great and all cards are ilustrated in color.

Well, if pretty colours is your standard for a tarot deck, then 'The Truth Seekers Tarot' is for you. However, if you're looking for some semblance of substance, look elsewhere.

While I enjoyed the 'colouring' of the artistry, this deck leaves everything to be desired as far as 'reading' a deck is concerned.

The 'Pips' (MINOR ARCANA) are UNILLUSTRATED---> Ten of Cups shows, you guessed it, '10' cups... Four of Swords shows '4' swords. Thus, this deck is really a MARSEILLES-type deck. If that's your thing, then great. If not, you will be SORELY disappointed when you get this deck home.

Even the MAJOR ARCANA cards, which are fully-illustrated, are nothing to write home about. I have purchased full-decks in the past, (and will do so again), just to get my hands on an outstanding Major Arcana; alas, not so here.

All-in-All, I found this deck 'UNINSPIRING' at best, and 'CHEAP' in its execution at worst---> what I have come to call, 'Paycheck Decks'---> authors and illustrators looking to capitalize on the 'Tarot' theme and make a quick buck in doing so.

The best thing that can be said about this deck/book set is the very nice and very sturdy outer box it comes in. Unfortunately, the contents makes quick work of plunging the whole mess into the abyss of, 'All Hat, No Cattle', as in---> 'Where's the Beef?' *lol*

You can do better... keep looking.


p.s. I gave 2 Stars because:

1. It's not the most horrible deck out there;
2. The colouring is lovely; and
3. It's a Marseilles-type deck of which many people happen to fancy.

This high quality deck and book are created on very durable papers and print! Just beautiful. Deck can be difficult to schuffle, but for the pro, it just takes a little practice and feel. The book is a bargain!!! The deck & book come in an awesome box that is so nice and sturdy to keep the set together and looking just like new forever! LOVE this set. It is a MUST for the Tarot card enthusiast for sure. LOVE IT !!

This is a great deck for beginners and experienced Tarot Readers. Colors are bright, easy to do readings with. However, pip cards are only symbols. A great deck to add to anyone's collection.

This is a truly beautiful deck and is especially well-suited for those who like to read from an astrological or numerological perspective because of the lack of illustration on the minor arcana cards. Don't get me wrong ~ the cards are illustrated, but simply and quite beautifully. What they don't have are scenes of people interacting with one another. If you're working with decans of the zodiac or the meaning of numbers, unillustrated decks may serve your purposes well. Possibly better.

You get a nice feel for the element of each card ~ wands are done in fiery reds and orange, cups are blue, pentacles are green, and swords are yellow. The gold foil is a gorgeous addition. The 7 of Pentacles in my deck doesn't have the flaw mentioned in the first review. The majors are very, very nice.