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The Gendron Tarot

The Gendron Tarot

List Price: $18.00
Your Price: $18.00
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Weird Deck...
Review: A little over a year ago, I noticed a couple samples of cards from this deck and decided to purchase it. I eagerly ordered the deck but was disappointed when I received it in the mail. Some of the cards are amazing but most are just odd to me. The artwork is very futuristic, using bright colors and photography. The deck is one of many that have been compiled on a computer. Real heads are placed on bodies and some cards have complete photos of people.

The cards are slightly longer than I am used to and they're not very sturdy. In fact, they're quite flimsy. This definitely isn't a deck that you'd attempt to shuffle traditionally. The deck is accompanied by a booklet which I found to be of no use. Each major arcana card in the booklet is listed with a breif meaning, energy, Hebrew letter, and symbolism. Some of the cards including minor arcana meanings include astrolical meanings, animals, and planets. The booklet helps a little to understand where Gendron is going with her imagery.

Some positive aspects of the deck are the alteration of some of the cards. For Death there's Transition, for the World there's the Universe, The Hanged Man is the Hanged One, and the Devil is simply the Deceiver. The Knight cards are also changed to Prince cards and Page to Princess. The numbered cards of the minor arcana also do not have labelings on them. You must look at the picture to know it says Five of Pentacles, etc. Other good aspects are the depiction of multicultural people on the cards.

I believe this is an excellent deck for people who enjoy collecting tarot cards. It's also a deck more for people who are familiar with the Tarot. It's definitely not a deck for beginners. It might also make a good meditation deck.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A Most Beautiful and Inspirational Deck!!
Review: As a long time practitioner of Tarot and collector of decks, I am used to switching favorites from time to time. This deck has been my favorite longer than any other, and so I must praise the artist for creating a thoroughly pleasing and sensually/spiritually/emotionally evocative deck. The artist uses a combination of powerful, beautiful, flowing artwork and photo-imagery with gorgeous models showing expressions that perfectly convey the feeling of each card. The work is eclectic and never boring or repetitive, and I feel that her thorough understanding of Tarot is shown through an imaginative and flawless artistic interpretation. Melanie has truly been inspired, and I congratulate her on this most amazing and enjoyable Tarot Deck!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A Most Beautiful and Inspirational Deck!!
Review: As a long time practitioner of Tarot and collector of decks, I am used to switching favorites from time to time. This deck has been my favorite longer than any other, and so I must praise the artist for creating a thoroughly pleasing and sensually/spiritually/emotionally evocative deck. The artist uses a combination of powerful, beautiful, flowing artwork and photo-imagery with gorgeous models showing expressions that perfectly convey the feeling of each card. The work is eclectic and never boring or repetitive, and I feel that her thorough understanding of Tarot is shown through an imaginative and flawless artistic interpretation. Melanie has truly been inspired, and I congratulate her on this most amazing and enjoyable Tarot Deck!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Many of the gendron tarot cards are beautiful.
Review: But there are some that seem unfinished compared to the rest. The major arcana are very polished and complete for the most part. They each have their own wonderful character and symbolism. The Tower happens to be my favorite art of the deck. But some are a little disappointing. Such as the Emporer whose face is very obviously pasted onto a feminine-like body, with out very much attempt to intigrate the photo with the drawing. Some of the minor arcana are also very finished. Most of the pentacles are very pleasing and the five of cups is very vivid and clear about its meaining. However cards such as the the prince of wands are very blurred and undefined. Basically, I notice a pattern that the male figures are generally less finished looking than the female figures. Also many of the mens faces are similar. The king of swords and the Emperor cards have the exact same picture pasted on as the man's face. Even the prince of wands, prince of cups, two of cups, and ten of cups have male faces very similar to eachother. For a deck that seems so diversified otherwise, I would expect less repetition of images. Finally, the booklet is quite well put together, but it is not for beginers. The information, especially on the minor arcana is really sparse.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great Deck
Review: I found my Gendron Deck while shopping for a new deck of cards. I checked out several other decks before I decided on the Gendron, but I knew the moment I saw them, they were my cards. I truly feel more in sync with my perceptions when using this deck more so than with any other. I find the artwork enchanting and discover new things with them nearly every time I use the cards. I felt the accompanying guide book paled in comparison to the magnificence of the deck. I have become accustomed to using a different guide with the deck, and having successful readings this way. I was let down upon reading some of the harsh reviews of the other customers and suspect that perhaps they did not find such a strong connection with the deck, and therefore the deck is not meant for their use. I personally feel I should handle a deck and check the artwork out before I know if it will be of use to me. I probably would not consider a purchase of tarot cards any other way after my success with this deck.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Weird Deck...
Review: I had originally wanted to get this deck years ago, but some of the reviews i saw discouraged me. Some said that alot of attention and detail had been paid to the major arcana, and not enough to the minor. They also said that the female renditions were lovely, but the male were sort of female heads superimposed on male bodies. I totally disagree. The court cards for for the prince's and king's, are vibrant and alive. faces are full of character and meaning assoicated with their signs. I also truly think the major arcana is full of detail, more so in fact than other decks ive seen. It does differ slightly, very slightly from traditional rider waite decks, yet, this has to be such an easy deck to read as i see the meanings from the minor arcana to be quite clear and definitive.While theres no doubt this is more a female's deck simply because many of the major arcana feature women over the tradional males depicted in certain cards, unlike other "goddess" decks, it does NOT change the meaning, or feel to the card. The colors are vibrant, alive, and the figures, are also lifelike and detailed, on ALL the cards. I know this is a deck i will continuiously use, over and over, and am just so glad i finally ignored some reviews and went ahead and purchased it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: have to disagree with some of the reviews ive seen,
Review: I had originally wanted to get this deck years ago, but some of the reviews i saw discouraged me. Some said that alot of attention and detail had been paid to the major arcana, and not enough to the minor. They also said that the female renditions were lovely, but the male were sort of female heads superimposed on male bodies. I totally disagree. The court cards for for the prince's and king's, are vibrant and alive. faces are full of character and meaning assoicated with their signs. I also truly think the major arcana is full of detail, more so in fact than other decks ive seen. It does differ slightly, very slightly from traditional rider waite decks, yet, this has to be such an easy deck to read as i see the meanings from the minor arcana to be quite clear and definitive.While theres no doubt this is more a female's deck simply because many of the major arcana feature women over the tradional males depicted in certain cards, unlike other "goddess" decks, it does NOT change the meaning, or feel to the card. The colors are vibrant, alive, and the figures, are also lifelike and detailed, on ALL the cards. I know this is a deck i will continuiously use, over and over, and am just so glad i finally ignored some reviews and went ahead and purchased it.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Beautiful
Review: I have looked long and hard to find a deck that really calls to me and this was it. While I absolutely LOVE the images on the major arcana cards, I'm not happy with the photography on the minor arcana. I don't like photo collages and have avoided other equally beautiful decks because of it. However, the only examples of this deck I ever saw were of the major arcana. The other thing that surprised me was the change of the Death card to "Transition" and The Devil to "The Deciever". I wanted a deck that used more traditional terminology. Nevertheless, the images on the cards leave you in no doubt as to which cards they are so this is really something I don't mind. A lot of people freak out when they see the Death card so hopefully "Transition" will be a more gentle way of accepting the card in a reading. That said, I still think the deck is beautiful and as another reviewer said, very feminine which was also something I was looking for. I'm looking forward to using this deck. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a beautiful, colorful deck.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: THE BEST DECK OF THEM ALL
Review: I have read the above reviews of this extraordinary deck and find myself disappointed in other people's negative comments. I have had this deck since 1999 and bought it as a fluke, a novelty gift in a small curio shop in Sedona, Arizona. To my surprise, I found that I was rather good at reading the cards and the energy between me and this deck really clicked. They are poignant and serene, and scarily accurate cards. Gendron's use of animal imagery is not hard to interpret, indeed, she does explain in the book all you need to know. But the point is to let go of the book and rely on your inner-self as a guide. You are the mediator, not the book. Anyway, I am astonished every time I see my cards because I see something I didnt before. My favorite card is the Five of Cups. There is something so chilling and fascinating about this particular card, but the entire deck is richly drawn and lovely. I definately recommend this deck, but perhaps not to beginners, but more to those who are seeking a more enlightening reading deck.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: gaudy and weird
Review: I like collage art, and I like collage-related tarot decks. I read so many positive reviews of this on-line, that I knew I just had to have it. I was very disappointed--actually, disgusted by it, when it arrived. I wanted my money back, and could not believe it had been published by such a big tarot publishing company. They should be ashamed! The images look cheap, and are of poor quality. The scanning problems mentioned by a few are not minor--heads look elongated, faces are obviously and badly superimposed on other bodies. It looks like it was made by someone with only a beginner's grasp of Photoshop or some similar program, with a cheap old scanner. Some of the source photos look like they were bad, one-hour developed snapshots. And the colors are gaudy! The supposed multi-cultural people cards remind me of posters in greasy, dingy ethnic restaurants. This is just a weird, cheap-looking, badly made deck. I'm giving it two stars instead of one, simply because it is so bad that it lends a certain appeal--like a movie that is so completely awful that it entertains you after a while. But that is not what I collect tarot decks for, and certainly not why I would buy one.

I also have an added note that is a criticism not limited to this deck. I found the Native American imagery downright offensive (but, heck, one of the awkwardly dressed "Indians" in this deck was obviously a white guy who was made to put on a beaded leather costume!) But that aside, the appropriation of "native" spirituality imagery by non-native New Agers is offensive to many. It is viewed by many native people (and others) as a form of cultural theft, and a cheapening of their cultures. A lot of people don't realize this, but it is something that I don't like to spend my money on. I wouldn't have bought this if I'd been able to see those particular cards first.


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