Modern Spellcaster's Tarot

Absolutely amazing artwork - just got this deck a few hours ago. I've been studying the imagery and it is absolutely beautiful. Yes, it is printed on flimsy cardstock :( But the cards have a nice matte finish to them and feel great to hold and shuffle. I love the cardback design. The box is very nice with a magnetic cover and pull-ribbon to easily lift the book or cards out. I am in love with all of the symbols and my naturally curious nature wants to know what they are (I am not familiar to the meanings behind pagan/wiccan/celtic symbols). I flipped through the book to see if I could decode some of the symbology, but alas, there's only card meanings/interpretations and no mention of the symbols/images of the cards. Perhaps there will be some mention, but it doesn't seem to be the case. However, I've been googling the symbols and learning more about them. The designer definitely chose symbols to align with the card's meanings. For instance, on the Eight of Swords, the man has two circles with a dot in the center, one on each hand. This is the circumpunct and is a symbol that represents pausing, re-assessing your situation, withdrawing inside oneself and looking for spiritual answers from within. This aligns very well with the Eight of Swords as it is a card that gives a sense of feeling trapped, but needing to use your intellect or reasoning to see the path forward to a better situation. (I'm also seeing that this symbol has many other meanings in other traditions such as Kabbalah, so I'm not sure which the deck designer was going for - but I enjoy looking this stuff up and learning) I saw this deck online and you can easily find images of every card in the deck. I fell in love with it online and paid for next day shipping - it was worth the money. I have an instant connection with this deck and the lovely, gorgeous images in it. Don't worry if you don't know pagan/wiccan symbolism - I largely do not and each card is very easy to read if you're familiar with the Rider-Waite-Smith system. If you're even considering this deck - then get it! You will not be disappointed! PS: I also like that there are diverse people depicted in the deck (Asian, Indian, Black, Native American possibly) as well as different types of relationships (2 men on the 2 of cups, 2 women on the 4 of wands, and hints of polyamory on some cards). But there are still white people and heterosexual relationships depicted too - it's a great balance, just like real life! This is a breath of fresh air from the many white hetero-normative decks that exist today.

This deck is gorgeous. The art is so vivid that you get a great sense of the meaning behind the card. I will readily admit that the whole reason I bought this deck was the picture of the Knight of Cups and I was not disappointed with the rest of the artwork. As far as the physical aspects of the deck, be aware that the card stock is very thin; thinner than a deck of Bicycle playing cards. If you're used to using a deck like the Waite-Rider, you'll be thrown off by the feel of them in your hands. They're glossy and slick, though, so they deal very smoothly. I don't have any issues with them sticking together. One definite advantage to the thinner stock is that they're bendy compared to my other decks. I have tiny hands (I wear a size 4.5 ring and even that is loose at times) and the bendy, thinner material used for these cards means I can actually shuffle them without the usual difficulty I have. So if you have small hands and get frustrated at trying to shuffle the larger, stiffer decks, you'll love how easy this is to work with by comparison. The deck comes with a heavy, high quality guide book full of enlarged, color pictures of each card for easy interpretation. There are suggestions for spell work in the book, as well, but I don't much care about that (I use Janina Renee's "Tarot Spells" book for tarot spell work). The book and the cards come in a really sturdy storage box with a ribbon that helps you pull the cards out without having to dig. The box has a magnetic flap that holds it closed. To sum up, I love this deck. I already feel a good connection with it. I've shown it to multiple people and my friend's mother has ordered a copy. Yes, it is thinner. But so long as you don't intend to manhandle your cards, I don't see that as a reason to not buy them.

In most Wicčan Traditions the Wand is a Fire Tool and the Athame is an Air tool. This is an ideal that was borrowed from the Golden Dawn, the first Magical Order to assign Elements to Magical Tools. And most Tarot decks are based on the Rider-Waite deck, which was created to be a Golden Dawn Tarot deck. And so, most decks have Wands as Fire cards and Swords as Air Cards. However, there are some Wicčan Traditions that use Wands as Air tools, based on the idea that it should not be possible for a tool to be consumed by it’s Element. Wooden Wands burn when you set them on fire. Wood comes from trees, which produce air. On the hand, Blades are forged in Fire. So having the Athame be a Fire tool makes more sense to some. But if you are one of these people who use Wands as an Air tool and Swords as a Fire tool, it can sometimes be difficult to find a Tarot deck to fits your tradition. The Modern Spellcaster’s Tarot is one such deck. It uses the Wand as an Air tool and Swords as a Fire tool. It has beautiful illustrations on each card. And comes with a book printed on glossy paper with full sized pictures of the cards and a full page of explanation of how to interpret each card. Unfortunately, although the book spends a full page on how to interpret each card, it tells nothing about what is in the picture of each card or who these people are. If the Lover’s card is a picture of Perseus and Andromeda or Samson and Delilah, knowing that and the story behind that couple adds a whole layer to the possible way to interpret that card. On the other hand, if the author gives not clue as to who the people are on the card, then my interpretations are more difficult. Another problem with the cards is that the labels that tell the name of that card are in a very small font and printed in black on a dark brown background. This makes it very difficult to read the cards in dim light. And finally, I wish that the cards had astrological symbols on them. Other decks, which have these on them makes it easer for me to interpret because I have another layer of meaning beyond the picture on each card. For example, in this deck, the The Five of Wands has a picture of a group of men playing pinjata with a hornet’s nest. For me, this is especially funny because I know that the Five of Air is one of the Aquarius cards, which are ruled by Uranus and that the Five, specifically refers to the first decanate of Aquarius, which is ruled by Venus. But overall, in spite of its’ faults, I recommend the Modern SPellCaSteR’s Tarot.

The first thing I noticed with this deck was the Knight of Cups, the knight riding a giant fish. That one card spoke to me so much that I bought the deck largely sight unseen. And I regret NOTHING! The cards are so vibrant and beautiful! They mostly follow the RWS with just enough differences to keep it interesting. The images speak clearly to those who are used to the more traditional RWS yet still hold plenty of mystery for those still wanting to learn more. Card stock is good, the magnetic lid on the box is quite nice, and the box itself is very sturdy, unlike the old flimy cardboard that most decks come in. The book, which I haven't had time to read through thoroughly yet, looked very nice and informative at a thumb through. My biggest, and currently only, complaint is that the cards themselves do not come with a pouch or tuck box. I do hate that. But since it's the only negative thing I have to say about this set so far, I guess I can live with it.

I got my copy of this deck, which I have eagerly awaited for months, a couple of weeks ago. The artwork is amazing. I loved every one of the cards. The colors are beautiful and the painting for each card is gorgeous. The companion book is detailed, thoughtful, and wonderfully helpful. This is a deck that begs to be used. It was everything I'd hoped for. With one exception--the card stock. It's woefully thin, barely better than notebook paper. It creases, bends, and marks so easily that I can't see it holding up at all with use--the edges are already fraying and I haven't even been reading with it, just handling them and getting to know them. It does shuffle well and reads beautifully so I will enjoy it and see how it does with use. I truly hope Llewellyn will use a better card stock on the next run.

I love these cards, theyre beautiful, easy to shuffle. I bought these cards because in my local metaphysical shop, the reader of the day came up to me while i was looking at the tarot card options for sale, and she helped me find a deck based off my energy, she actually had this deck herself and told me it would fit me well. and honestly, i love the energies of the cards and personally these cards are much easier to interpret based off the meanings i do already know etc. beautiful artwork, perfect size in my opinion, borderless deck. i already have 2 tarot decks and an oracle deck, and I had one tarot deck I had given away. So I'm pretty versed with reading tarot based off how long I've been practicing. I don't like the thin cards. Other decks I have are fairly sturdy card stock, not too thick to where they aren't maleable. But not so thin that you're scared to mess with them too too much. These cards are thin in my opinion. I don't like that, I get scared shuffling these. And along with that point, they bow very easily. I currently have my cards pressing under a whiskey bottle with several other items stacked on top to flatted them back out. They were delivered an hour ago. Don't get me wrong I absolutely love the energy, the art, the super informative and thorough guidebook. So maybe the cards bowing sets off a little piece of OCD in me but otherwise absolutely stunning deck. I'm in love. Just wish the cards were a little thicker 🤍

I’m absolutely in love with them! I went through each card analyzing its symbolism and use of imagery and I’m very impressed! I connected with the cards immediately after spending some time with them. They showed me tough love right away and spoke to me very deeply. One of the things I enjoyed most is the diversity of the deck! Both the major and minor arcana have people of all different skin tones. That was one of the initial reasons I was drawn to this deck and it didn’t disappoint. Also the artist kept many of the same elements of a more traditional deck (mountains, bodies of water, sun and moon phases, and animals) anybody with a basic understanding of tarot will recognize them right away. This allows for a quicker and more meaningful divination! With others they chose to have a bit of fun! For example all of the knights are riding a different animal (swords - buffalo, wands - hawk, cups - fish, pentacles - squirrel) the first kinda makes sense but the former 3 are more silly and playful. I don’t mind this though because it lightens up the dark undertones of the deck. Some of the negative reviews talked about discomforting imagery. Scott Murphy is a great artist- his work is very detailed and realistic. The beautiful art was the MAIN reason I chose this deck. The Devil and Death card are the creepiest but they also capture the complexity and discomfort of the human condition. I don’t know about you but I know MY LIFE isn’t all lollipops and rainbows! This deck, like life, illustrates both positive and negative experiences. Great buy! Highly recommend!

I absolutely love these beautiful cards! They shuffle nicely even for small hands. The cards are gorgeous and they have such a nice feeling in my small little hands. Great cards and book! I'm so glad to have this. Thank you! I didn’t have these cards and the book when my children were small. We would have had so much fun reading about the cards and probably created stories of our own every night using the tarot system. If I live long enough, it’ll be happening with my grandchildren! It would be so nice if these are made in a pocket version as well for smaller hands and the road.

C'est simple, j'ai une 20aine de tarots (autant d'oracles) et celui-ci est directement passé dans le peloton de tête... Les cartes sont présentées dans un très beau coffret (14x21cm = cadeau idéal !!!) accompagnées d'un vrai livre explicatif avec photos couleur (même dimension coffret). Ça change du mini livret illisible ;o) !!! Les images sont très inspirées et la matière des cartes est de qualité. Ces dernières sont effectivement fines (commentaire récurent) mais très résistantes (style cartes visites plastifiées mais flexibles) !!! P.S : petit détail qui a son importance = les personnages sont métissés (toutes races confondues) ce qui le rend totalement actuel mais surtout UNIVERSEL ;o) !!!!! P.S (ajout 1 an après : juillet 21) : les cartes sont bien résistantes et leur aspect faussement fragile rejoint (je l'ai remarqué en comparaison réelle) bien d'autres decks "modernes" tels le "Light Seers" ou le "Symbolon" par exemple. Mais attention aux decks vendus sans coffrets ni livrets (11x6cm au lieu de 12x7cm). Il me semble (sans aucune certitude donc) qu'il s’agit de contrefaçons. Les couleurs sont franchement moins vives (vibrantes) mais bon, il est franchement pas cher 8-11 euros...

Carte perfette e molto belle, adatte sia a lettori di carte che a collezionisti; unica pecca : la scatola è molto grande. Giorno di consegna rispettato.

I’ve used a few different decks and when I found out not only is this deck inclusive and very visually descriptive, the wands and swords elements had been swapped. It resonated so strong with me. Wands are now air, and why haven’t they been? Trees breathe and give us air so wouldn’t it make sense to be associated with wands, that which is typically made of wood and swished through the air. Next, swords are now fire - swords are forged in fire!! This deck feels more accurate and open than any deck I’ve used. They are a very powerful tool.

amei o tarot, as cartas são finas mas são de boa qualidade e parece que vão durar. o livro é muito bom, tem a explicação das cartas de forma clara e direta, muito diferente de livros de outros decks.

Beautiful set of tarot, with classic Rider Waite format and card names, but in a fresh modern style and art work. The human characters in the set as a whole are diverse in many ways, including age, ethnicity, body type, gender, and so on. The symbolism of each card is not lost or overshadowed by this or the art work, as some themed tarot can fall victim to, but is in fact retained and complimented by it. I personally found this a very good tarot for me to work with after learning the basics from my Universal Rider Waite set. The cards and accompanying guide book come together in a sturdy and beautifully designed box. However, I feel it a _small_ shame a smaller separate box for the cards alone was not included. This means to transport them without scuffing I have to take the whole book+cards box, which though not much bigger than a VHS (or 4-5 DVD cases), a small separate cards only box would have been handy. That smallest of complaints aside, I am still very happy with my purchase, and look forward to practicing and reading with my set.