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Tarot Deck Reviews
I own or have previously owned all of the decks listed here. As of July 2023, all reviews of digital-only decks and books have been removed.
All decks
Filtered by publisher=U.S. Games
| Deck | Artist | Author | Publisher | Artwork | Intuition | ↓ Book | Quality | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tarot of the Witchesplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigTarot of the Witches Deck Notes This is a famous deck, having originally been featured in 1972's 007: Live and Let Die, as well as X-Files season 3 episode Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose in 1995. I ended up finding this deck as a complete set with Stuart R. Kaplan's book for $30 on eBay. | Fergus Hall | Stuart R. Kaplan | U.S. Games | 3 | 2 | 3 | 4 | https://amzn.to/3AETcj7 |
| Ethereal Visions Illuminated Tarotplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigEthereal Visions Illuminated Tarot Deck Notes This is essentially a remake of the standard Smith-Waite Centennial Tarot deck, so if you're already familiar with that imagery, you can read with this deck pretty easily. That said, the imagery isn't particularly inspired. It's beautiful artwork, but I don't think there's much depth to the symbolism in each card. If you really love Art Nouveau, you might find this deck more aesthetically pleasing to use than the traditional RWS deck. | Matt Hughes | Matt Hughes | U.S. Games | 5 | 3 | 5 | 4 | https://amzn.to/2ZyjbHr |
| Smith-Waite Centennial Tarotplugin-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. | Pamela Colman Smith | Arthur Edward Waite | U.S. Games | 4 | 3 | 5 | 5 | https://amzn.to/2OuIpQC |
| Spiritsong Tarotplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigSpiritsong Tarot Spiritsong Tarot | Paulina Cassidy | Paulina Cassidy | U.S. Games | 5 | 2 | 5 | 5 | https://amzn.to/2CdhUwx |
| Herbcrafter's Tarotplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigHerbcrafter's Tarot Deck Notes I purchased this deck specifically as a reference for herbal correlations, as part of my research into magical uses for plants of all kinds. The images are very beautiful, but unless you already have an existing deep, encyclopedic knowledge of magical herbalism and nature magic, you're probably going to have a very hard time reading with this deck. | Joanna Powell Colbert | Latisha Guthrie | U.S. Games | 5 | 1 | 5 | 3 | https://amzn.to/305uGVG |
| Dreamkeepers Tarotplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigDreamkeepers Tarot Deck Notes This deck liberally uses Pamela Colman-Smith's interpretations as its foundation, but the surrealist style is a big departure from the traditional Smith-Waite Centennial Tarot deck. The imagery is very woman-oriented: many male characters have been replaced with women, aside from the knight and king of each suit, as well as cards depicting couples (Two of Cups and The Lovers). This deck makes no attempt to conform to modern notions of | Liz Huston | Liz Huston | U.S. Games | 5 | 4 | 5 | 3 | https://amzn.to/3wH3uMQ |
Ten most recent reviews
Filtered by publisher=U.S. Games
| Deck | Artist | Author | Publisher | Artwork | Intuition | ↓ Book | Quality | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tarot of the Witchesplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigTarot of the Witches Deck Notes This is a famous deck, having originally been featured in 1972's 007: Live and Let Die, as well as X-Files season 3 episode Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose in 1995. I ended up finding this deck as a complete set with Stuart R. Kaplan's book for $30 on eBay. | Fergus Hall | Stuart R. Kaplan | U.S. Games | 3 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| Ethereal Visions Illuminated Tarotplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigEthereal Visions Illuminated Tarot Deck Notes This is essentially a remake of the standard Smith-Waite Centennial Tarot deck, so if you're already familiar with that imagery, you can read with this deck pretty easily. That said, the imagery isn't particularly inspired. It's beautiful artwork, but I don't think there's much depth to the symbolism in each card. If you really love Art Nouveau, you might find this deck more aesthetically pleasing to use than the traditional RWS deck. | Matt Hughes | Matt Hughes | U.S. Games | 5 | 3 | 5 | 4 | |
| Smith-Waite Centennial Tarotplugin-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. | Pamela Colman Smith | Arthur Edward Waite | U.S. Games | 4 | 3 | 5 | 5 | |
| Spiritsong Tarotplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigSpiritsong Tarot Spiritsong Tarot | Paulina Cassidy | Paulina Cassidy | U.S. Games | 5 | 2 | 5 | 5 | |
| Herbcrafter's Tarotplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigHerbcrafter's Tarot Deck Notes I purchased this deck specifically as a reference for herbal correlations, as part of my research into magical uses for plants of all kinds. The images are very beautiful, but unless you already have an existing deep, encyclopedic knowledge of magical herbalism and nature magic, you're probably going to have a very hard time reading with this deck. | Joanna Powell Colbert | Latisha Guthrie | U.S. Games | 5 | 1 | 5 | 3 | |
| Dreamkeepers Tarotplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigDreamkeepers Tarot Deck Notes This deck liberally uses Pamela Colman-Smith's interpretations as its foundation, but the surrealist style is a big departure from the traditional Smith-Waite Centennial Tarot deck. The imagery is very woman-oriented: many male characters have been replaced with women, aside from the knight and king of each suit, as well as cards depicting couples (Two of Cups and The Lovers). This deck makes no attempt to conform to modern notions of | Liz Huston | Liz Huston | U.S. Games | 5 | 4 | 5 | 3 | |