The Gilded Tarot

Rating:
Summary: A Total Beginner's, Non-Technical Opinion
Review: Although I have long been interested in the tarot, this is the first deck I've ever bought, and it was the deck itself which was responsible. It really drew me to it, from the first moment I saw it. It's visually rich and stunning, yet at the same time, for me at least, warm and welcoming. Looking at the individual cards, I can get lost in them. For whatever reason, they speak to me, and that is apparently the most important criteria for choosing a deck, or rather, letting a deck choose you. This one really did. For some odd reason, although the faces are computer-generated, they seem more real and 'human' to me than in many other traditionally created decks I've seen. They seem like real people, which I find fascinating. I almost expect some of them to pop off the page and come to life. To me,the 'machineries' the artist includes do not disrupt the intricate warmth of the figures and symbolism, but meld seamlessly and charmingly. I in no way felt this was a 'cold' or 'technological' deck because of the artist's inclusion of this aspect.

I was also glad that the illustrations are based on the Rider-Waite deck, because whatever books I might buy to help me learn to interpret the cards will be easily relatable to this deck's illustrations.

I am VERY pleased with the accompanying book. I had thought to buy several "Tarot for beginners" books right away, but there is a lot of wonderful, very thoughtful exercise material for rank beginners (which is certainly what I am) which seems to me to be excellent grounding not only in this deck but any deck. I'm sure I will buy other books eventually, but this one seems perfect for me right now, especially in terms of getting in touch with the cards on a very personal level, which of course is the basis for successful readings. Simply memorizing a lot of information, as tarot beginners must do, has seemed pretty daunting to me, but the exercises in the books are geared to making your associations personal and intuitive rather than simply rote, hence more logical and easier to retain.

This deck and its accompanying book have made me eager to get started learning!

Rating:
Summary: Beautiful Deck
Review: I am both a collector and reader and this deck is great for anyone who likes a touch of whimsy and high color saturation. You can easily intuit yourself into the colorfull scenes and the symbolism is based on the Rider Waite so there is no need to learn a whole new method of interpretation.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Deck
Review: I have number 149 of The Gilded Tarot's special addition as well as this publishing. I adore them equally and would recommend it to everyone attracted to Tarot; from the novice reader to the continuously learning accomplished reader. The accompanying booklet is a masterfully written, suggesting insight without furnishing you strict associations. Whether you purchase it to read or add to a collection, you will be delighted you chose it!

Rating:
Summary: Gilded Tarot - Magnificent
Review: I own several of these decks. I have #78 of the original, and 6 box sets (gifts don't you know) of the production decks. I have compared them and you just can't go wrong with this set! The art work is magnificent, the packaging fantastic and the price is right! I might note that there was no hard cover companion book published, and that this is a typo on the part of Amazon.com. However, the paperback that comes along with the cards is wonderfully informative and an excellent companion tool to the cards. You'll be delightfully surprised by the contents of this box set. Along with your cards you will find a black organza bag with draw strings in which to keep your cards, along with a box all ready for you to create your own special designs and symbols. A very personalized box set indeed! Ciro Marchetti's art work will keep you gazing into the beauty of the cards as your heart connects to the deep meaning. Without a doubt one of the better Tarot decks I have seen in years (and I've been around a few!) If you love art work, these cards alone, without their meaning, are something to enjoy. Ciro has masterfully captured the mystery of the Tarot, where no words are necessary. His pictures tell a thousand words.

Rating:
Summary: Okay.
Review: I purchased this recenty and have some mixed feelings. I have been a professional reader for almost 15 years. I ritually use the Rider deck in my readings. However, I was impressed with the images and ordered the deck online. The only drawback is that the deck is very new age and technological.The rest of these images remind me of cartoon or comic book characters. It is 50/50 for me. Some of the images are of the most intriguing out there, others a bit cartoonish. Amazon has it for a very good price, so I guess I would purchase it. I also have the quest and feel the same way about that deck. If you like the Quest, you'll really love this deck. Lastly, although this is very easy to read, it lacks Spirituality, in fact this would be a great deck for a teenager who wants to learn the tarot. This is not a deep, spiritual deck. It is fun and easy, much like the Rider, but less in-depth and satisfying.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Deck and Book !
Review: It is a wonderful Deck !!! The design, the colors and images are beautiful.
The cards are top quality and they are like made out of silk .
The book inside the package is covering everything in a very good way (168 pages) . I don t need to look to other Tarot books to anlyze the cards.
And the beautiful organdy bag !!!
I love this deck, the book and the bag !!!


Rating:
Summary: Gorgeous!
Review: This deck is the most beautiful on the market. It's dazzling. You'll get more compliments on this deck than any other you own. Its beauty lures people like a magnet and you might be tempted to treat it like the good china and rarely use it. I had to buy two decks - one to use and one to relish.

Rating:
Summary: Beautiful, classy and classic
Review: This deck is visually stunning, and is currently my favorite deck. Symbolically it has depth, without being overbearing, or "guiding" too much. Since I am fairly eclectic in my reading style, I go much more for with the feel of a card and my gut, rather than any traditional meanings. Yet, this deck can please both types of readers. Everyone (highly traditional and not) who has seen this deck has wanted their own copy.

Rating:
Summary: Most visually sumptuous Tarot ever?
Review: This is a commercial printing of a Tarot deck that was first hand-produced, costing hundreds of dollars. Many considered it well worth that cost. It is certainly well worth the present price! This Tarot is visually stunning, with rich colours and crisp fantasy images. Merging computer-generated or enhanced imagery with a pseudo-medieval style, this deck is fully illustrated in the Rider-Waite sense. Every card is a delight, and one can enjoy just looking as much as reading. If there is any downside here, it might be that the images are so lovely they are somewhat distracting. The 78 card deck comes in a shelfbox with an illustrated and nicely thought-out book, useful for near-beginners as well as more advanced Tarot readers. This might not be the very best "first deck" for an absolute beginner, but it should have a place in the collection of every serious Tarot reader or collector. I'm sure glad it in mine!

Rating:
Summary: Very nice but...
Review: This is an undeniably beautiful deck with very bright, vibrant colors yet still capturing an essense of soft twilight throughout. It is pleasant to look at, easy to read, and really engages the imagination. However, I do have some personal nitpicks to point out. One superficial complaint is that there is too much zodiac imagery. 5 of the Major Arcana feature the entire wheel of the zodiac in a very prominent way, which basically dilutes its symbolism for each individual card.

However, my biggest gripe is that it is too non-threatening. There is no blood to be found in any places where it traditionally "should" be even though it follows the Rider-Waite symbolism. For example in the 10 of swords, the man on the ground is not impaled, and the swords instead hang mysteriously over him. The swords suit in general has a very softened tone, and does not relate the struggle and conflict that it represents. Only three of the nine swords in 9 of swords point down at the girl in the bed, making the nightmare meaning of this card a lot less evident.

The court cards are also strangely color-coded. The theme of the dress of the swords (which here represent the element of air) court seems to be the color blue. While this could certainly be taken as symbolic of the sky, I can't help but confusing this with what I normally associate with the suit of cups (water). The court cards of cups, on the other hand, have an oddly yellowish tone which I can't symbolically rationalize at all.

Last but not least, the Devil card is here associated with a *right side up* pentagram, instead of the traditional upside down pentagram/bahomet. The book says this is because the pentagram is associated with earthlness and pleasure, however the pentagram stands for the four elements (matter) under the guidance of spirit (the singular top point of the pentagram). It is the upside down pentagram which reverses this and places spirit under the control of matter, leading to disharmony and excess.

(...)