Customer Reviews

Spiral Tarot Deck

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

At first glance the deck does seem really pretty, but then, as was already noted, this only applies to *some* of the cards. The rest I found to be rather creepy. And as much as I'm a fan of non-traditional tarot, the art in this deck was entirely too cluttered. There's so much going on in the picture that you're unable to pick out what it's trying to tell you. It's like being a teacher and trying to get an answer out of your students but all of them are talking at once while a room-wide game of paper football is occurring.
And I will admit that I have a bias against this deck after the experience my friend had. In all likelyhood, it was probably just her particular deck and not all Spiral decks, but her deck was lying and manipulative. I know it's hard to comprehend how a deck could be personified like this rather than just being wrong or read wrong. But I could get the same answer with all of my decks and her deck would contradict that and somehow sound more convincing.
So all in all I'd say proceed with caution if you think this deck is for you.

I was unsure of how well I would like this deck when I read the description of the cards. The images are very friendly and they have a very "nice" feeling to them. The readings are accurate and have a more positive twist to them. Some of the images are of people from the 1800's and, at first, I found that a bit odd but I realized that for this particular deck, it's perfect. Great for everyday use or to just collect. I was very surprised by this deck and I'm sure others will be too.

The visual side of this deck is amazing, each card an oil painting that has been meticulously beaded.
The images are big visual memory prompts, teaching you what each card represents. I also, being a student of history, love the celtic and Arthurian themes that run through the arcanas.

I am a beginner to astrology and do not understand a lot of the symbols on the cards, but I find this deck easy to use and really helpful, as just using it improves your knowledge of symbology and the art of tarot.

I definately recommend it, its a brilliant buy and well worth the money.

Pity that the deck forces Golden Dawn Hebrew letter attributions: they are included upon the cards. Via the Waite/Colman Smith deck and the many commentaries discussed in numerous books, these attributions have spread widely, yet, many share the view that these are *not* correct. To have them presented leaves the person unfree to work with letter attributions (if at all) as they so wish, or as they discover differently from deeper study.

If it wasn't for this, I would have given it a far higher rating - the artwork is worth a four or five star.

A lot of people really like this deck. It just wasn't me. I bought the deck based on the Major Arcana. The minors look like they come from a completely different deck to me. The majors all look mythological .. while the minors remind me of the deep south during early America. So, I sold it. I would just advise getting a look at all the cards before making a decision. (one good thing - the cards are not large so they are great for smaller hands. the size reminded me of the hanson-roberts deck)

The "Bubble Gum" reader from CA in 2002 must have been having a bad day. I was cautious about buying this deck after that review, but the beauty of the cards won me over. And isn't that the way it's supposed to be? The cards should speak to the reader; so go to a site with illustrations of these cards and see what you think. I find the Major Arcana cards totally evocative and multi-dimensional; similar to the Waite so you're not trying to figure out where they fit, but with a clarity of their own. I don't mind the purple border; purple is the color of spirituality. My main worry was the Minor Arcana cards; I was expecting some tawdy Victorian cartoon drawings or something. But I find the Minor Arcana of this deck to be very people-oriented; one review at another site mentioned it hits the "details". Their setting has a mythology of its own. The one drawback I've found so far is with the Court Cards; personally I prefer the Robin Wood version. But I'm sure the court cards will prove their own worth, as well.

My husband bought me this deck as a present and I immediately fell in love with it. I have other decks that I use but since receiving this Spiral deck, I find that I'm drawn more to it and have gained a new understanding of the cards. The images for the minor arcana are insightful and I find that interpretation has come much more readily and I don't always have to consult a book for meaning. It's also nice to compare and contrast this deck with others to see how the images are portrayed. I recommend this to beginners, collectors or almost anyonre interested in Tarot.

The images of this deck feel etherial, and the artwork and symbolism speak volumes. This deck is a secondary deck for me; one I look to for deeper meanings. My clients are often drawn towards this deck with its images and soft colors. It is not "bubble-gum" looking: the lavendar borders accentuate the artistry and colors of the images, and highlights the softness of the deck. This is a good deck for intermediates, or those ready to explore the cards in their own way.

I instantly fell in love with the Spiral Tarots as soon as I saw them. They're very feminine and i love the different shades and colours used. I'm new to Tarot cards, but I beleive I made the right choice choosing this deck as my first.

I bought this deck based upon the glowing reviews I'd read here. Was I disappointed! The cards are about the size of regular playing cards (smaller than a standard Rider-Waite)--which wouldn't be a bad thing, except that they also have garish computer-made looking purple borders. They make the cards look like cheap bubble gum trading cards. In addition, I was quite turned off by the paintings. They look like cheap illustration hack work. It has the look of the work of a student or amateur--someone who hasn't found an artistic voice of her own. She paints in the styles of various famous (in this case, mostly impressionist and fantasy) painters, but falls far short of the artistic merit of the original practitioners. Her paintings don't look like homages to the masters, but, rather, like the work of someone with little originality. I realize that this is only a tarot deck, and wasn't meant to be a great work of art, but I wanted to warn people who might, as I did, buy this one based upon reviews that make it sound so artful and painterly. It isn't. And even if the paintings had been better, the borders are so atrocious and distracting that they'd be unnoticeable anyway.

It should also be noted that this deck is supposed to be very celtic.