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ISBN 1-56718-558-4
78 full-color cards, 5 1/4"x8" illus. book, layout sheet (21x24")
Price $34.95
A standard in the commercial Tarot world, this
beautiful and vibrant deck offers beautiful, borderless (the better to
talk to other cards) card with rounded edges and expressive illustrations
that fairly beg the reader to interact with them. The Witches Tarot
roughly follows the standard Rider-Waite illustrations and progression
through the suits, occasionally throwing in a wild card (no pun intended)
illustration that also more than aptly represents the authentic
translation of the card.
 The only
complaint I have about the actual deck itself is the lack of variation in
the court cards. Although they, too, reflect the beauty inherent in
the deck, the only difference between the four kings, for example to the
left, is the color of each king's robe and the object he holds in his hand
(pentacle, sword, etc). The background remains identical king to
king. This does not offer much in the way of inspiration toward the
different aspects of the court cards, particularly for the novice reader.
The book itself has only a minor blurb about the court cards other than
the brief interpretations that are also given and does not, in my opinion,
adequate explain their usage in a reading or the direction the illustrator
is taking regarding their significance in
 the
deck itself.
The back of the deck (right) is wonderful in its
simplicity, black with a pentacle. While it does not allow for
anonymous reversal reading, it does tend to draw one in.
The book itself is an ambitious effort to use the
Tarot not only to connect in with the Tree of Life, but also to explain
the premise of the Qabala and the Tree of Life to dumbasses such as myself
who have no lilt toward ceremonial magic. There is also a drift
toward equating out the Tree of Life to Wiccan and Pagan spirituality.
It accomplishes what it sets out to do for the most part, but definitely
reaffirmed to me my own total disinterest in the subject, which is, well,
subjective. I did find the discussion of the spheres of the Tree of
Life to be objective while the parths between are subjective to be
interesting. It was also intriguing to read the author's thoughts on
the the spheres themselves. I also found it to be of interest that
Reed asserts that whether the reader appreciates and accepts the premises
of the Tree of Life, it exists, nevertheless. This caught my
attention because it mirrors my feelings on the Wiccan degree system...
that even if a group or individual does not recognize level changes, they
follow the progression, nonetheless.
Guided meditations are provided for each of the
paths that are useful and insightful regardless of whether or not one has
Qabalistic inclinations. The descriptions of each card are given in
three different decks: The Witches Tarot, The Waite Tarot and The
Golden Dawn Tarot. The index of the book is one of the most
extensive I've ever encountered and the interpretations of the reversed
cards are noteworthy in that they overall tend to remain of a positive
nature rather than waxing into the dark side of the upright interpretation
as do most Tarot books.
The interpretations of the Major Arcana cards are
given special significance and are quite extensive and enjoyable as an
exploration of the card itself. Several different attributes are
given for each Major Arcana card with those attributes consolidated and
included in an appendix in the back of the book.
The deck itself is one of the few I would recommend
to a novice reader, but the book might go over the head of a newbie and
the court cards would not be of particular distinction to the non-seasoned
Tarotologist.
Four pentacles
out of five
Review by
Delena Rasbold |
