Alchemical Tarot (5th Edition)

This was my first serious Tarot deck. I found it by accident and was very strongly drawn to the artwork and heavily symbolic imagery. The Alchemical Tarot isn't a particularly intuitive deck. I didn't find many of the images to be very intuitive without the context provided by the artist's book. That said, Robert Place does an excellent job of maintaining consistency throughout his artwork's images and symbolism. Similar symbols and images are used throughout the deck, opening up new ways of interpreting cards as a unified message.

The more I use this deck, the easier it is to read intuitively. Unlike the Spiritsongplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigSpiritsong Tarot

Spiritsong Tarot and Shadowscapesplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigShadowscapes Tarot

Deck Notes

I absolutely adore the artwork in this deck. It's ethereal and soft and magical. It's also very finely detailed, so it's not very good for intuitive reading. The artist follows the RWS standard for the most part, but a lot of the meaning is lost for me in the finer details of the artwork. I love doing short readings with this deck (three to seven cards), but I definitely rely on the accompanying book to understand the symbolism in the cards. decks, Place's use of symbols is fairly clear - while there are a lot of elements to each image, the elements themselves aren't overly subtle or ambiguous. Much of his symbolism comes from real Western philosophy and history, which for me makes this deck more intuitive than the Kabbalistic Rider-Waite-Smithplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigSmith-Waite Centennial Tarot

Deck Notes

Pamela Colman-Smith's artwork has become the de facto standard for Tarot symbolism, mostly because her deck was published at the height of esotericism's popularity at the end of the 19th century. Her artwork is informed by the writings of Arthur Edward Waite, whose perspective on the Tarot was heavily influenced by the Kabbalah mysticism of the era. deck.

The aesthetic of Place's artwork demands an academic approach. I spent several months working through his description of each card, taking into consideration the known history of a card's imagery. This made it easier to start reading with the cards, but I still find myself referencing both my notes and Place's book regularly.

This is a deep deck, and it's excellent for deeply introspective self-readings. The style isn't for everyone, though, so if the aesthetic doesn't do it for you, there are other excellent decks out there.

The fifth edition of this deck is well worth the money. Robert has been producing his decks under his own publishing brand for awhile now, and his latest iteration uses heavy, thick cardstock with a matte finish and gilded edges. The cards are boxed in a fabric-covered case. These cards are definitely thick enough for daily use without sleeves. I also have the 4th edition deck, which is printed on medium-weight glossy cardstock. The cards are higher quality than the Llewellyn decks I own, but I still have this deck sleeved, just to be safe.