The Original Rider-Waite® Tarot Set

The media could not be loaded. Overall the deck is quite beautiful. There was some interesting cards in the deck, and some cards I didn’t exactly enjoy. In the second large photo, with the magician in the top left, where are the cards that I didn’t exactly enjoy. Much of the shading was too dark for the pictures, this was a reoccurring theme in the suit of pentacles. And even on some more lighthearted cards, the depiction was very dark and gloomy. This might be an issue for somebody who doesn’t know the rider Waite Smith pictures very well, but as I do it’s really not an issue for me, it’s just a little annoying. The first pictures with the full on the top left, we’re cards that I really did enjoy. Whether it was the shading on the cards, or the hombre background. My favorites were probably the aces of suits, as they were all just gorgeous and had a lot of great imagery. I mainly bought this deck for the colors used and immediately fell in love with his personality as soon as I laid my hands on it, the deck has a very bright bubbly and optimistic energy. The back of the cards is also something I do enjoy. I did not want a jack with the “picnic table print” on the back, as I wanted something more unique and I think I got just that. The booklet that comes with the cards is extremely helpful, if you read it. A lot of information and tips are stored in the little book and it looks beautiful on the outside. I will warn you, the book is quite challenging to read. The font of the text hard on my eyes, and the text is quite small. I think it does include a lot of valuable tips and tricks and some cool numerology. It does also give you definitions of each card and a description of the imagery, although this might not be very helpful as it’s hard to locate in the book. So I would recommend making the book your own by highlighting and bookmarking what you need. The material of the car to some thing I also do you enjoy. I don’t know exactly how to explain it but I did include a video of myself shuffling the cards. I hope that would help some of you understand the texture as it’s quite unique not not something I felt too much before. Another thing is the matte finish of the cards, they do quite easily slide around well holding them and trying to shuffle. But I wouldn’t really expect anything else from the matte finish of the cards. I would honestly prefer this way more than cards that are really shiny and stick together, so I’m perfectly OK with it.For those of you who still stick around, I am going to go more in depth with the individual cards pictured in the review. In the first set of cards with the cards I really like, we can talk about the six of swords. I really love the shading on this one as well as the nine of swords. I just think it’s a really great take on it. For the page of swords, I love the clouds and how they are textured. And the knight of cups was something thing I found truly interesting, with a white background this could some symbolize the purity and loving emotion of the card. As this is the only card in the deck with a completely white background, I was confused at first. But now looking in the card and reviewing it’s definition it doesn’t make a lot of sense.Next I’ll talk about some of the features I didn’t like in some of the card, in the suit of pentacles you can see a lot of the image he is quite dark and not very light even and more lighthearted cards. The ternal pentacles, which is supposed to represent abundance, security, and wealth, has a eerie vibe with all the dark shadows in the picture. Same thing with the lovers card, it feels like a dark presence is bringing these two people together. The rest of the cards were just hard to tell a part, as a lot of the imagery was kind of mushed together with the lack of discernment. I do still really love the cards but if course they all have some downsides.

This is my second tarot deck used, the first being the Druidcraft deck (Carr-Gohm). In this review, I’ll be making comparisons between the two as these are what I have learned/ am still learning from.*To Beginners, symbolism is a large facet of reading and understanding, as well as making your own connections between cards in any given spread. You may benefit from taking a bit of time to understand which meanings and representations are commonly associated with popular symbols/ images.To someone genuinely interested in learning to read tarot cards, this deck is a great place to begin understanding the secrets of the tarot and the symbolism associated with the various suits and numbers. The simplified imagery helps to create focus on the symbolism present in each scene depicted, compared to art styles present on cards in other sets such as the aforementioned Carr-Gohm Druidcraft deck. The elaborate art styles can be pleasing to the eye, but can also be a distraction from the conveyed message. For this reason, I believe the simplicity of the images is excellent for individuals with a genuine curiosity of the art of tarot.As for convenient understandings of the card meanings this tarot deck had a small booklet included. Carrying on the theme of the cards, simplistic design was implemented to give you the information you need to make your interpretations. Though not quite as well organized and presented as the DC tarot deck booklet, the information you need is present at your fingertips after a bit of navigating. Being a man of considerate proportions, flipping through the tiny pages to locate the meanings associated with each card was a little inconvenient. Aside from the presentation, the information you’re looking for is all present in this book.The definitions and associations vary between these two decks of cards despite sharing common themes (suits, numbers, major and minor arcana). A personal viewpoint on the obvious differences lay within the art style and the level of personal connection involved. The Rider-Waite deck seems to hold symbolism more directly related to life events and the trials involved whereas the Carr-Gohm deck seems to relate to a more emotionally connected side of self, such as themes of relationships, love, and personal development. This being said the Druidcraft deck was designed with influences of Wicca, Paganism and nature.I would recommend this deck to people with a genuine interest in learning about the cards as something that is more than a “game” to play with your friends. To the individuals who cast shade on the design of the cards, keep in mind they were originally released in 1909. These are reproductions of originals which is something that is truly only going to be appreciated by individuals who are enthused by these types of things. There are plenty of spin off decks out there based around this collection of art. For this reason, I don’t believe it’s a fair judgment call to say these cards are in any way “bad” based on the simplistic approach to art.I thoroughly enjoy these cards, even down to the simplicity of the symbolism. Reading and understanding the Tarot is a process involving a flexible mind open to interpretation, meaning it’s not comparable to reading a magazine or cooking instructions for your dinner. For this point, I would strongly recommend this deck to someone looking for a hands on way to learn with minimal visual distractions involved. The cards are roughly 2 3/4″ x 4 3/4″, with the complete deck at about 1 1/4″ so they are relatively small compared to the Druidcraft deck. Ideal for small handed individuals, not so much for the visually impaired. I believe there is a “giant” edition with larger cards and imagery for the large handed and/or poor sighted individuals.Hopefully this was helpful to any potential plans for those hoping to acquire this deck or get started into doing your own readings/ spreads. I’m also not a fan of the expired mustard yellow that seems to dominate the majority of these cards, however that is something to be taken in stride with the art style and the time period these were originally produced in!