Witches Tarot

Beautiful and useful deck very helpful book gives great details into reading the cards, meanings and tips. I love how Ellen explains her history of when she started reading and how she learned. The cards are works of art, lovely in details. colors and hints to help you understand meanings.

It’s the combination of the beauty and detail of the images with the adherence to RWS that makes this deck so attractive and useful. Despite the (mostly welcome) changes to the original, either it’s in the name (karma instead of judgment or the dark side instead of the devil) or in the imagery itself (5 of swords), the overall feeling of the deck is fantastic and the special pagan symbolism that is present in every card (and explained elaborately in the booklet) adds a lot of meaning and beauty to the cards. Despite the witches theme and the pagan symbolism, the imagery in the cards doesn’t come across as especially esoteric or particularly witchy, and those who are not into these themes can wholeheartedly enjoy the cards and their evocative (traditional) meaning nonetheless, given their closeness to the original RWS imagery. The secret in the beauty of this deck IMHO is the vividness and the richness of the imagery, that is achieved partly by the fact that the people portrayed there are real people and not some illustrations. Some find it weird, but I think that it adds a lot to the cards vividness and evocativeness. So IMO this deck achieves both the aim of being classically oriented and at the same time bringing additional meaning rooted in the Wiccan tradition and meaning, without one overpowering the other.

Ok, In the words of Monty Python, "I am not a witch!". I am not a fortune teller. I have always had an academic interest in these things though. I have always enjoyed Ellen's writing, so what with her kids going off to college and all that, I thought I'd do my part and buy the deck. It is a nice deck, no doubt about it. This deck shows why people, in my opinion, should use more than one deck if reading for others. Different strokes for different folks. Different decks for different clients. It appears that "Witchy" girls are pretty tough, with "Granny Weatherwax" attitude that says, "If you can't deal with a problem you have no business being a Witch. This deck follows that. With the 9 of Swords and the 4 of Cups, one gets the feeling that Ol' Ellen, who seems rather a sweet person, is saying, "Stop the drama and suck it up". There are lots of people facing real problems who see themselves in the old image of the woman on the 9 of Swords card. Such a person, wanting a reading for comfort and guidance, might be taken aback by the lack of compassion that they might find here. That's why I feel that for the Tough Cookie Hedgewitches reading for each other, this deck is great, but might not be good for everyone coming through the door. It doesn't have some of the extremely silly nudity I have seen on other decks. People have commented on that problem in other posts for decks. It's not distracting for Ellen to use images of family and friends. Tarot decks have done that for centuries with the designer's patron, and in Ellen's case, it's kind of cute. It's "homey" and many of us see the characters in our own friends. On many decks nudity is necessarily employed when it means something, but not in a way that makes one wonder about the people who made the deck. The people with the "full frontal" cards, it's a giant in-your-face from the author, going, "Whee, I can put naked people in my deck and no one can stop me". Me, me, me!. One also has to be careful buying such decks for others, as the deck with the nice nature pictures you get for your Greenie niece might get you an angry call from her parents. There is NOTHING that Ellen ever wrote that one has to worry about when sharing with others. It is a nice-looking deck, just think about who you are reading for. Some need a little gentleness when they are wounded, and if Witches are the stronger ones, they can afford to be gentle.

Every time I get a tarot set I cringe a bit because I know something is going to be off. The printing really fails on a lot of decks and does not match the art. This is the singularly most perfect deck I have ever seen. I was very taken with the gorgeous light in the cards when I was trying to decide on them. So many witch type sets I have seen tend toward dark, vampirish, naked froo froo teenager junk. I have never thought that was necessary. If witchcraft is truly based on nature then it should have the light of nature in it. Nature is a beautiful thing after all. Someone really got this right. As a photographer myself, I find the light truly exceptional in this deck. The printing is perfect! The cards are thin, but if they are strong then they are great! Heavy does not mean good quality. I have some heavy sets and the laminate is separating before I use them. These are just about right. Maybe a fraction thicker would be nice, but I like a deck I can hold easily. I REALLY appreciate the size of these cards. PERFECT! Too many tarot cards are just WAY too big and I have to trim them down just to handle them. These are ideal. The stock is slightly glossy, but not like holding a piece of linoleum and has a very nice texture feel. I am extremely sensitive to how cards feel. As to the art; there is not one card that I dislike the art. The Wands are particularly beautiful in this deck. The people look pleasant and they are all happy and light hearted. This deck just has a wonderful energy to it. It probably has the best energy of any set I have got. The book is just wonderful! A nice, big, fat, thick book. Reading a few pages...sounds great. The box it comes in is absolutely gorgeous. I was going to buy a bag, but this is the first time I think I am just going to use the box. This whole package works together really beautifully. The only thing I would change since I have to change something....this probably should have been called, "The HAPPY Witches Tarot." I think this is the first time an author and artist in this genre feels GOOD. Whatever sort of witch this is...I am interested. So for me...not ONE single thing I can complain about. Perfect.....just perfect! I look forwards to learning more about this author.

This is a beautiful rendering of the Rider-Waite style Tarot deck, with lovely images and symbolism. I've been reading cards for years, and this is the prettiest deck I have seen in a while. The cards are sturdy but can be shuffled easily-- no need to "break in" the deck or deal with cards that hurt your hands when you shuffle them. (I do a "Vegas" style card shuffle and some decks will kill your hands!) The artwork is engaging and positive and the enclosed book is well-written with interesting new spreads and ideas for setting intentions with the cards. Excellent choice!

I'm going to review the cards only. The book is geared toward witches and pagans, as one would expect, and I am neither. I have read portions of it and it is well written, but I cannot attest to much of the content. It does contain astrological, elemental and some traditional references. The deck is well done overall. One does not have to be a witch to appreciate it. I viewed the deck online before purchasing it and found the imagery quite to my liking, which is why I purchased it. It is a mix of photo-realism and drawn art, and some of the cards contain images of real people in the author's life. For the most part the deck closely follows the Rider-Waite tradition, and anyone at home with Pamela Colman Smith's interpretation of the tarot will learn these cards quickly. I would not hesitate to recommend the deck to a beginner, although I would also recommend supplemental reading as the companion book is 'tarot lite'. The cards are on *fairly* sturdy stock, not stiff but not overly bendy either. Larger than standard playing cards, they are typical of the size of most decks in my collection. The images are large and easy to read, taking up most of the space on the card. The colours are bright and the quality of the images is good. The border is small and black, and the numbering and wording is also small. One disappointment is the inconsistency in the quality of the black border - it is spotty/splotchy on some of the cards, but not to the point of distraction. The cards lay almost completely flat, with a very slight bend. I do not riffle my cards so I cannot say for sure, but my hunch is they will hold a significant bend in a relatively short time with regular use. (If riffled on the long end) The cards use the standard suits: Wands, Cups, Swords and Pentacles. Strength is VIII, Justice XI. The Wheel of Fortune is The Wheel of the Year, The Devil is The Shadow Side, Judgment is Karma. Females are equally represented, although ethnicities and body types are not. (There is one non-white page) Animals and mythical creatures are also appear frequently. I enjoy using this deck. It has a moon design (I believe it's known as 'Triple Goddess') on the reverse with stars and coloured stardust. I use this deck on the new moon and full moon for that reason. I find it quite artistic and beautiful as well as easy to read. I'm very happy with my purchase.

I bought this set mainly for the art, since I love the artwork on the app and I wanted to have a hard copy of it. I actually decided to frame the cards for decorative purposes! They all fit onto two 24x36 inch frames. The cards themselves are 2 & 3/4 inches wide and 4 & 5/8 inches tall. Some people complained in their reviews that the cards are too thin. They could be thicker, and would certainly be more durable if they were, but they aren't overly thin and unless you are especially rough on your cards, it shouldn't matter. The book is much bigger than I expected it to be, and is a great reference. They come in a very nice box with a magnetic closure that has a small niche for the cards and a larger one for the book. The artwork is top notch. Some of them are truly amazing. My favorites would have to be the Queen of Cups, Two of Swords, Karma, and Wheel of the Year, but there are so many great pictures. Most of the depictions are of Caucasians, although there are a few cards featuring other races. It would be nice to see some more diversity, as I feel the deck would have a wider appeal if that were the case. But overall I could not be happier with the set. Some people say they have received counterfeit decks. The real thing is clearly a product of quality, so if you received it and have doubts, it is most likely fake (or you have very high expectations). I bought mine new directly from Amazon. I cannot vouch for any 3rd party sellers. The box should be sealed in shrink wrap and the deck of cards should be sealed in what looks like cellophane.

I really love this deck and though I don’t often use the guidebook, it is largish and informative plus it gives reversal meanings. It comes in a large, but very nice box. The cards are truly beautiful and they read easily intuitively. The five of Swords kind of tripped me up, but other than that, I haven’t had problems with reading. In the Major Arcana, the Devil card is called the Shadow Side and The Judgement card is called karma. The rest are as they are in the RW deck. For me, the only thing with going to a deck other than RW is that I find the symbolism in them do affect how I read them. I suppose that’s true on every deck that isn’t strictly RW. Having learned with RW, I have just had to adjust to all my other decks that each read a bit differently. I would really recommend these if you enjoy beautifully illustrated cards. I might also add they they are glossy and of a good size for shuffling. I hope that helps someone.