Llewellyn's Classic Tarot- thoughts

[Aldor44]

Greetings everyone.

 

So I am a fan of RW  clone decks since I find that I connect most to the symbolism of the original deck yet not wanting to use the traditional deck.

 

I have been working with the Radiant version and with the Robin Wood deck ( which was my favorite so far).

 

So recently I have purchased  the Llewellyn's Classic Tarot deck.

 

I got it a few days ago and while I DO like it, I have some mixed feelings about it.

 

I love the overall art and the fact that the settings are much more realistic.

Most Major arcana cards I absolutely LOVE- especially the strength and judgment cards ( I will add one of them just to show those who haven't seen the deck)

 

What I didn't like :

 

The females are rather masculine which for me takes away from the feminine energy that those cards should possess. It is especially apparent with the Empress card which to me is just weird. It has non of the femininity that the original has.

 

Another issue I have is with some of the images of the pip cards, for example: the king of cups is sitting amidst calm ( and not stormy) water plus he looks as if he is about to get up and hit someone with the cup that he is holding which goes against everything this card should represent.

 

These are just a few of my issues.

 

I was wondering has anyone been using this deck for a period of time? If so, what are your thoughts on it? Does it read effectively? what other issues have you found

 

Thank you in advance for helping me  ;D

[Esk]

Hi Aldor. I've bought this deck 2 years ago because I didn't really like the rws artistically speaking and some of the cards really called me in the Llewellyn's classic (like the 8 of cups and 7 of swords for example). But I understand your doubts. I was also disturbed by the court cards and for a while I couldn't understand what they say, especially the kings, they seem to have the same angry expression to me. I also understand what you say about the lack of feminism in some card. I've seen this too and I think I read this criticism somewhere else, maybe on AT. This is not the point that disturbed me the most but I understand why it could be a problem.

For these reasons, and mainly because I had a hard time deciphering the facial expressions of the characters, I couldn't read with it. I put it aside for a while and decided to go back to my  Rws to study it instead. And it's when I was more familiar with this deck that I begun to be able to use the Llewellyn's classic. Funny because I thought it was made in order to make us understand more the original Rws.

Now i really like using it. It speaks to me more and I'm comfortable reading with it. I think it needs some time to be understand and maybe it's a deck that is hard to read intuitively. I used it using the traditionnal meanings mainly and then the intuition came little by little.

 

I'm not sure i could recommand it. It is a mixed deck for me. There is great cards! They're so great that some of them made me buy this deck (I'm still in lo e with the 7 of swords  :))). You has also noted that some of them really speak to you. But there's also failed cards unfortunately. And for this reason it's not as easy to read with it as it was intented to be. That's really a shame for a deck that is supposed to be easy and for the beginners.

 

 

[HOLMES]

I myself like it,,

 

I like the universal waite illustrated by hanson Roberts better then the radiant waite, I hardly use it as fact,,i think it is just differing tastes.

 

I do like the book that comes with it, and figure I tis a prime deck for beginners in today world.

[Aldor44]

thank you for your answers :D

[Saturn Celeste]

Personally I love both the Radiant and the Llewellyn decks.  When I was learning the tarot, the Radiant was the deck I learned on.  Then I bought the Llewellyn Classic kit and got the awesome companion book that goes with that deck.  Now if I do a face to face reading I always use the Llewellyn deck.  I agree the deck works best for non-intuitive reading styles it's very straightforward.  As for the masculine looking females?  I love masculine decks so I guess I never even noticed it!  I've recommended the classic kit to so many people I've lost count.

[Aldor44]

Personally I love both the Radiant and the Llewellyn decks.  When I was learning the tarot, the Radiant was the deck I learned on.  Then I bought the Llewellyn Classic kit and got the awesome companion book that goes with that deck.  Now if I do a face to face reading I always use the Llewellyn deck.  I agree the deck works best for non-intuitive reading styles it's very straightforward.  As for the masculine looking females?  I love masculine decks so I guess I never even noticed it!  I've recommended the classic kit to so many people I've lost count.

 

cheers :D

[EmpyreanKnight]

I have it and I like it. I don't always read with it since I prefer the Centennial, but it is eye-catching. It's a great re-imagining of the RWS, a system that I've grown to love. The images are so dynamic and vivid. And yup, like the others have said it has a good companion book.

[Esk]

I forgot the companion book ::). I completely agree with what others said, it's a good one, especially for beginners

[Aldor44]

Thank you for your imput :D