Customer Reviews

The Undersea Tarot

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The art in this deck looks like it was done by a mediocre comic book artist, the colors are frequently flat. The content of the cards themselves isn't terribly complex, nor does it contain a lot of symbolism to work with. The pictures lack depth of meaning, and they don't even compensate by mirroring the standard tarot scenes. The underwater setting seems mostly like an excuse to draw a bunch of mermaid boobs, since often the characters are posed as though they were on dry land. The renaming of 3 suites doesn't compensate, and isn't terribly clever.

If you are a collector you might care to have a copy, but if you are limited in funds choose something else. And hey, if all you want are mermaid boobs try Tarot of Mermaids (Lo Scarabeo Series).

I was looking for a deck to use for cartoon enthusiasts, and also for something that delighted mermaid and undersea lovers. And I must say, it does fulfill those goals. But I find the deck to be a very flat read, uninspired and trite. Perhaps this is due in part to the lack of symbols found on these cards unlike most of the other decks I own which impart rich, layered meanings. The combination of these missing elements and the 2-D comic book format just doesn't work for me at this time. I've gotten decks that at first I can't read well for others, so I use them for meditation and self readings. Eventually they sort of "come into focus" for reading others and that's fine. But this deck doesn't lend itself to any work for me and it gives a superficial read for others, so I will probably move it along to a good home and appreciate the wisdom learned about it.

"Here be monsters!" Quote from the Little White Book.

The Undersea Tarot is a loosely based RWS theme based deck designed for those who have a fascination of what lies below the vast waters that cover nearly three-quarters of our great planet. Many of the creatures depicted in this deck, actually exist in our waters today. There are also many mythical creatures living in this deck.

The suits in the Minor Arcana, in this deck, have been changed from the original Swords, Cups, Wands and Pentacles to Swords, Shells, Tridents and Starfish. The Major Aracana all retain their original titles. The Strength card is number eight in this deck and Justice is number eleven.

The deck is 2 ¾ inches wide by 4 ¾ inches tall. The back of the cards are reversible friendly. There are very narrow sea blue-green borders. There is great use of primary colors, as focal points, in this mostly blue-green deck.

With this deck, we are gaining some insight below the surface, in order to enjoy this deck, one must not have any challenges with nudity, as a majority of the mermaids are top-less.

The creator of this deck, Frank Fradella recommends Eden Gray's A Complete Guide to the Tarot as a well balanced place to start for beginners and offers his Little White Book as a shorthand exposure to divination. Other work by Frank Fradella include the following books The Complete Idiots Guide To Drawing Basics and Valley of Shadows.

The Little White Book included with this deck mentions the Celtic Cross, the Zodiac Spread, and the Kabbalah method of approach after one becomes familiar with a single card reading daily. The LWB mentions a copy of the layout for the Celtic Cross that is included in the package, however this was not included in the copy I received.

The deck itself is made of a quality card stock with very little lamination. The cards are a bit rough on the edges, so do take care of your hands while shuffling. However, with little effort one could easily break this deck in, quickly.

Anyone who is an enthusiast of DC or Marvel Action Comics would find this deck to be a nice addition to their personal collection. This deck will also be attractive to anyone who enjoys diving, snorkeling or those who are fascinated by Mermaids and other mythical sea creatures.

"With the seas and oceans covering nearly three-quarters of our planet, there's little surprise that mankind has always had a deep and abiding fascination with what goes on below the waves. In our earliest recorded histories, the sea and her denizens have held an almost mythic awe." - From the L(ittle) W(hite) B(ook)

The creator of the comic-tastic Fradella Adventure Tarot turns his imaginative eye towards the watery depths with his newest deck, the Undersea Tarot. Teaming up with the late artist Jeziel Sanchez Martinez and colorist Rick Hitbrunner, Fradella offers his Rider-Waite inspired take on the animal and humanoid creatures that might prowl in the undulating murk below.

From buxom mermaids to strapping sea men, menacing tentacles to brandishing tridents, the Undersea Tarot glows green with shimmering underwater scenes, as well as rocky alcoves, sandy beaches and topside tumultuous blue waters.

Octopi and schools of colorful fish make appearances, as do sea turtles, eels, and a monstrous angler fish (found in the Hermit) card. Armored seahorses bear the Knights (of course!), while the Queens and Kings sit upon stony thrones of their domain.

In the Undersea Tarot, the Swords suit remains intact, but the three other suits of the Minor Arcana have morphed into Shells (Cups), Tridents (Wands) and Starfish (Pentacles). Lacking the glossy coating of recent U.S. Games decks, the matte cards measure approximately 4 ¾ x 2 ½ inches with a simple reversible backing displaying a dark gray-blue "wave" banner with word "UNDERSEA" printed both directions.

An unfortunate oversight renders the Eight of Shells slightly blurry. However, Lynn Araujo from U.S. Games tells me that they are examining the files to see why this happened, and will be correcting it.

The 22-page LWB provides a very basic, but solid, list of meanings for each card, but probably not enough information for absolute Tarot beginners (same goes for the card imagery). However, for those comfortable reading with Rider-Waite-inspired decks--as well as fans of comic book style art and underwater realms--the Undersea Tarot is a fine addition to any collection.

(To see 15 images from this deck, visit the Reviews--Decks section at JanetBoyer.com)

-- Janet Boyer, author of The Back in Time Tarot Book