90 lines
4.8 KiB
Plaintext
90 lines
4.8 KiB
Plaintext
Name: The Witches' Tarot
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Artist: Martin Cannon
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Publisher: Llewellyn Publications
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P.O. Box 64383-660
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St. Paul, MN 55164
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Art Quality: **** (* = poor, ***** = excellent)
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This is a very nicely designed deck of 78 cards (22 Major Arcana,
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56 Minor Arcana) in which the theme Qabala and Paganistic
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symbolism. A book titled "The Witches Tarot" by Ellen Cannon Reed
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is also available from Llewellyn Publications, but is not actually
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included with the deck itself (you must order it extra). The deck
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was originally released in a box that was too big for the deck and
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had a piece of styrofoam stuffed to fill out the box. Now the deck
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is sold in a front-opening box. At one point there was an
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incorrect card, when the deck was first released in the
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front-opening box. If you purchased one of the incorrect decks you
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can contact Llewellyn to get the correct card.
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The back of the cards is a solid black with a silver pentacle in
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the center of the card, and the Llewellyn symbol in the lower
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right hand side. The pictures on the cards take up the entire face
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of the card with no border. The number of each card is printed in
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unobtrusive black print at the top or bottom of the card. This
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sometimes makes it hard to find the number or title.
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The artwork on this deck is suffused with a luminous quality. The
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cups glow, the swords appear to reflect a bright light, and often
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the human figures appear to radiate an aura. The human figures are
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mainly realistic without being distracting, and in good
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proportion. An added plus is that (apart from the Court cards) all
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the human figures appear to be different, unlike many decks in
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which the artwork may be superb but you get the feeling you are
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seeing the same person over and over dressed in different
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costumes. The Court cards are the same four individuals (Princess,
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Prince, Queen, and King) with minor differences in background
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season or clothing. The Prince of each suit, for example, carries
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the symbol of his suit, but other than the stream that flows by
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only the feet of the Prince of Cups, and the different colors of
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their clothing, it appears to be the same painting done over four
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times. An explanation of this will be given in the Minor Arcana
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description.
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THE MAJOR ARCANA
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The Major Arcana figures follow the traditional Rider-Waite
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symbolism with minor differences relating to the Qabalistic/ Pagan
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theme. Odd colored circles are shown on each card. Even after
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studying the book, I'm not certain what these colored circles
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actually mean. Possibly something to do with spheres of existence.
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THE MINOR ARCANA
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The Minor Arcana moves away from the traditional Rider-Waite
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symbolism with few exceptions. An interesting deviation is the use
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of the Court cards as "modifiers" of the cards following them. For
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example, if the Queen of Pentacles is dealt, it is laid down and
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the next card is laid directly on top of it. The card laid on top
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of the Queen of Pentacles is then "modified" by the influence of
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the Queen of Pentacles (if reversed, things have not yet proceeded
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to become a concept, not yet manifested past the stage of the
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creative urge).
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The scenes on the cards lend themselves to different
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interpretations for the individual reader. For example, the Two of
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Cups shows a male figure climbing the side of a cliff toward a
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female figure who holds two cups. But is she sitting there in wait
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for him, or is she walking away briskly? It could be either.
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Even in the suit of Swords, where usually depressing scenes are
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found, an emphasis is made on scenes of action rather than
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aggression.
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SPECIAL NOTES
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While the book is interesting, it is mostly useful to the reader
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who is heavily into Qabala. The notes about spheres and symbols
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will mostly confuse anyone else. For those persons, the pamphlet
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enclosed with the deck will be sufficient.
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This deck is beautifully conceived and illustrated. It has a warm
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feeling to it which will commend it to most readers and
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collectors.
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