Unboxings and First Impressions

[AlbaTross]

On 2/28/2021 at 8:40 AM, LogicalHue said:

Right, I complained about cutesy hearts in the images of OA&T, then I complained about the glitter on the edges of FD, then AlbaTross complained about actual paper hearts in OA&T. If I had gotten a bunch of little hearts in my packaging I would have been LIVID. But I also got no candy 💔

 

Glad to see the comparison, I didn't know what was different with the reprints. I think the reprints mostly have a better box, but I can appreciate the odd charm of the one I got. 😉

Glad I could help.  The candy is of course something that's meant to be eaten, and won't last very long.  It is a curiosity though, as it shipped from the UK.  I haven't tried it yet, but I'm assuming it's the same as candy we can find out here, mind you.  Still, its country of origin still makes it interesting.

 

I hadn't thought about the box, but this one is pretty high quality.  I'm used to getting deck in the standard, laminated box.  Then again, this is only my second time buying a premium deck, and my Prisma Visions set has a really fancy box.  While I've spent a great deal on both, I have gotten a good quality product each time, so I might consider trying more in the future.  Also, I've recently gotten into checking out Kickstarter decks, so that's something to look forward to.  

[ilweran]

A couple of decks I got round Christmas time and haven't got round to posting -

 

Sacred Heartsisters, Tekla Utterström and Ben Bushill

My Christmas present from my husband. This is such a lovely deck! Really lovely to use, though sadly with lockdown I've not had time to get it out a lot. 

 

Old Ways Magical Oracle, Naomi Cornock

Also had this, another lovely deck, not had time to use it properly but seems to follow the wheel of the year. Loads of detail in the images, need to pick one card, sit down and explore it!

[Nanook]

My Cosma Visions Oracle and extras arrived today.  So many goodies, I’d forgotten how much I splurged on this one 🙂 Everything looks to be excellent quality and I’m so eager to explore this weekend!

Edited March 5, 2021 by Nanook

[Flaxen]

18 hours ago, ilweran said:

A couple of decks I got round Christmas time and haven't got round to posting -

 

Sacred Heartsisters, Tekla Utterström and Ben Bushill

My Christmas present from my husband. This is such a lovely deck! Really lovely to use, though sadly with lockdown I've not had time to get it out a lot. 

 

Old Ways Magical Oracle, Naomi Cornock

Also had this, another lovely deck, not had time to use it properly but seems to follow the wheel of the year. Loads of detail in the images, need to pick one card, sit down and explore it!

These are both lovely! I’ve got the Sacred Heartsisters on my wish list but hadn’t seen the other deck before. It’s gorgeous! Will have to add that too. 😀

[Phineas]

3 hours ago, Nanook said:

My Cosmic Visions Oracle and extras arrived today.  So many goodies, I’d forgotten how much I splurged on this one 🙂 Everything looks to be excellent quality and I’m so eager to explore this weekend!

 

Wow, that all looks awesome, now I can't wait for mine, I guess being in Oz it's going to take a bit longer to get here.

[joy]

On 3/3/2021 at 10:41 AM, ilweran said:

A couple of decks I got round Christmas time and haven't got round to posting -

 

Sacred Heartsisters, Tekla Utterström and Ben Bushill

My Christmas present from my husband. This is such a lovely deck! Really lovely to use, though sadly with lockdown I've not had time to get it out a lot. 

 

Old Ways Magical Oracle, Naomi Cornock

Also had this, another lovely deck, not had time to use it properly but seems to follow the wheel of the year. Loads of detail in the images, need to pick one card, sit down and explore it!

Both decks look great! Love the vibrancy of the Sacred Heartsisters ❤️

[joy]

9 hours ago, Nanook said:

My Cosmic Visions Oracle and extras arrived today.  So many goodies, I’d forgotten how much I splurged on this one 🙂 Everything looks to be excellent quality and I’m so eager to explore this weekend!

Looks like a load of goodies!!

[AlbaTross]

10 hours ago, Phineas said:

 

Wow, that all looks awesome, now I can't wait for mine, I guess being in Oz it's going to take a bit longer to get here.

I don't have mine either and I live in Canada, so it's possible.  I wasn't offered any tracking, so...I guess I'll just have to wait for it.  

[midrena]

On 2/28/2021 at 4:44 AM, AlbaTross said:

There is no guidebook, just two double-sided cards with some keywords about each card, but this deck is apparently designed to be used in conjunction with other resources, and that will just force me to read more intuitively, so I don't mind that at all.

 

 

I know AlbaTross posted a couple weeks ago but I just wanted to say that Oak, Ash & Thorn now has a digital guidebook! You can message Stephanie for it if you'd like one (I think you include your order number for proof of purchase). When I recently ordered my OAT copy, there was a little link at the end of my order confirmation that let me download it. Each card has one short page of info, with 2-3 sparagraphs on the card's meaning and symbolism. At the end, there's a written description of the original artwork description that I assume was given to Adam Oehler, the artist, so he could create the cards.

 

This is the cover:

 

 

 

This is an example page:

 

 

 

 

Edited March 10, 2021 by midrena

[AlbaTross]

5 minutes ago, midrena said:

 

I know AlbaTross posted a couple weeks ago but I just wanted to say that Oak, Ash & Thorn now has a digital guidebook! You can message Stephanie for it if you'd like one (I think you include your order number for proof of purchase). When I recently ordered my OAT copy, there was a little link at the end of my order confirmation that let me download it. Each card has one short page of info, with 2-3 sparagraphs on the card's meaning and symbolism. At the end, there's a written description of the original artwork description that I assume was given to Adam Oehler, the artist, so he could create the cards.

 

This is the cover:

 

 

 

This is an example page:

 

 

 

 

Is that so?  Now that you mention it I think I heard something about that before.  Ok, I'm definitely looking into it now.  

[Gunr2147]

New for this week. Love the quality of these decks. No other input at this time. 

 

Thanks

[AlbaTross]

I just had a birthday, and a friend gifted me The Dragon Tarot.  It’s not a style of deck I’d normally seek out, but it’s one I’m looking forward to working with.  As I  recently acquired my first TDM deck (a novelty one, but still of pretty good quality), this might be a sign that I should start working a little more with this style of deck, even if I still stick primarily to RWS.  Below is a deck interview I did: 

I've decided to stick with a simple three-card "who are you, who am I, and what are you here to teach me?" spread from now on with deck interviews.  I somehow find I have an easier time gauging what decks are all about with this format than I do when I draw more cards with additional parameters.  This one is pretty straightforward too.  The deck can be described as one who knows a thing or two about defending its position.  I'm apparently someone who's upbeat and enjoys reveling in good times.  I suppose that's not inaccurate.  This deck is allegedly here to teach me how to move forward with confidence, and have the willpower to make things happen.

 

All in all, it definitely fits the dragon theme.  With two Wands and a Major card that also strikes me as being on the fiery side (which I suppose is also fitting of the dragon theme), there's certainly a theme here of passion.  Intriguingly enough, all three cards are upright even though I purposely shuffle decks to allow for the possibility of reversals.  Another three-card spread I just did also turned up all upright.  As a result though, both turned out to be straightforward and easy to understand. 

 

To my understanding, dragons can be symbolic of confidence.  As such, I think this may be my deck to turn to when I feel as though I'm lacking confidence in the hopes that it will give me the slap on the head (metaphorically speaking) I need, in order to make things happen. 

 

This is certainly a fairly masculine deck in its design and aesthetics, though that suits me just fine.  It comes with a pretty great guidebook, and both it and the card backs allow for reversals, which is great.  It's not as big a guidebook as those found in those Llewellyn sets I own, but it's still far larger and more comprehensive than the LWB found in a lot of others, and it's in full colour. The card stock is fairly high quality, though it is that slippery, glossy finish that also reflects any light source, so taking a clear shot of it can be a challenge.  It has actually been pretty good in terms of shuffling, although the cards can slip a bit, as expected of that kind of finish.  

 

All in all, I don't think this will be my main go-to deck or anything of the sort, but it's one I'm glad I have.  It's also the first one I've been gifted, so that alone makes it all the more interesting.  I'll definitely make a point of working with it more going forward.  

Edited March 16, 2021 by AlbaTross

[AlbaTross]

On 3/4/2021 at 12:05 AM, Nanook said:

My Cosma Visions Oracle and extras arrived today.  So many goodies, I’d forgotten how much I splurged on this one 🙂 Everything looks to be excellent quality and I’m so eager to explore this weekend!

Mine finally came today, and I'm super stoked!  It looks like you sprang for a couple more things, because I didn't get the chest or the satchels.  I got everything else though, including the bookmark, the card stand, the stickers, pin, coin, and the mystery card pack.  Of course, I got a thank you card too.  I actually originally just ordered the book and mystery cards, but then decided I may as well order the Cosma Visions deck too, even though I've never used an Oracle deck before, as it would actually have actually cost more in shipping to order it after the fact, if I had decided I wanted it after all.  Here are a few extra pictures I took: 

It's hard to capture in a picture, but they mystery cards are all shiny.  That Reverie card is different from the one I already have too, in more than one way.  The colours are different.  

It's hard to capture in this image too, but the only slight disappointment is, the finish on the cards is different.  The backs are actually still the same dark blue, but they don't have that laminated, reflective finish on them.  So, if I do mix them in I'll definitely be able to tell when one of them comes up.  

It's actually easy to tell where the two halves of the book meet.

That's what that page looks like. 

The sides of the Cosma Vision cards are shiny.

And here's what the backs look like.

 

In other news, Stephanie Burrows also emailed me today asking me if I received my Oak, Ash and Thorn deck, to which I replied I have, and I'm loving it.  I had to share that, because that is excellent customer service.  

Edited March 24, 2021 by AlbaTross

[Perenelle]

Well now I haven't been posting anywhere but in my own deck threads and I decided to change that because I have 2 new additions to my collection; it's been a long time since I've bought anything new, I already have over 50 decks and I've been concentrating on other things. However, I was so pleased with my 2 new purchases that I had to post about them! Interestingly, they are both Lo Scarabeo, who seems to have shaken up their presentation quite a bit recently! 

 

OK so first off I finally bought the Tarot Illuminati after having it on my wish list for a number of years. It very much lived up to expectations! It's gorgeous and so nicely presented. The box has a magnetic closure, the illustrations are superb and I love it! It seems to draw out my intuition really well. The pictures are beautiful, the only criticism I have is that they are a bit busy. But it's unique and has a multicultural thing happening which adds interest. I haven't tackled the book yet but I will soon. Oh and I also bought the beautiful matching satin bag which I can put the deck into and scrunch it into the box which makes me happy! There's also a matching journal that I'm thinking of buying too. 

 

This past week I bought the Visconti de Modrone, a gorgeous set that I got mainly for research purposes and for that alone it was worth the price, which I managed to find a great deal on but it still wasn't exactly cheap! Again, beautiful box and presentation, similar format to the Illuminati but a little different; the box opens like a jewelry case. The deck itself is huge, thick and heavy, but it's a reconstructed historical one so it's as it should be, haha. I didn't see until I got it that it's actually the same deck as the Cary-Yale; I have the US Games edition which I never liked much, the substitute cards do not match stylistically at all and frankly are pretty ugly. This new approach from Lo Scarabeo is a seamless digitally restored version that is superior in every possible way, and is so beautiful! Haha I can see my reflection! I'll be selling my Cary-Yale. I got a beautiful bag to go with it that I want to keep, wish I could use it for this one, oh well. 

 

The book has some new info in it and I'll be revising the text for my own deck. I'm thinking that they did a very good job with the English translations, nice to see from them. I'm actually so impressed that when I'm ready to publish my own, I'm thinking that it'll be Lo Scarabeo that I approach first. I think having both done by the same publisher, since my formatting is very similar with both, would be best. Check out the latest from them, you won't be disappointed! 

 

A word of warning about the Modrone: it is excessively Christian, replete with biblical quotes. A little hard to read for a non-Christian, but I managed to get through it. The book for the Illuminati is wonderful. Pics coming!

Edited April 25, 2021 by Perenelle
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[vulprix]

I picked up the Modern Witch Tarot after a long, long bout of curiosity. I feel incredibly late to the party 😆

 

The Emperor card in this deck stuck out to me. Trump IV is my personal favorite, and this emp is one of the most relatable and coolest I have ever seen!

Upon receiving the deck and performing a quick flip-through, I felt a little silly honestly. I put off buying the deck for so long because it seemed somehow shallow to me. In fact, in some ways it still does. But I bought it because I enjoyed the fact that it is lesbian and the artwork is just beautiful.

 

In beginning to work with it, I am happy to have bought it. The MW Tarot is playful, kind, and inviting. I feel a little more at home in the familiar esoterica of a regular RWS or Thoth deck, but it is nice to have something that speaks to the practicality of everyday modern life. I do not use many decks that have that to offer.

[RunningWild]

I've been on a buying spree:  Mary El 2nd Edition.  I've loved this deck from the start and only lament that I couldn't get the initial majors only edition.  Although I still don't get what's with the one unicorn, the rest of the deck is beautiful.  I have my own thoughts about the changes to a handful of the cards.  I never thought they were so bad they needed to be changed.  If anything, they cut right to the heart of the matter.

 

Murder of Crows Tarot.  I didn't purchase the edition with the red added.  I get drawn in by the cards just as they are.

 

The Dark Mansion Tarot (regular size).  I love quirky, too.

 

The Prisma Visions Tarot.  This one might take me some time to work with.  I do like the art.

 

And last but not least, because I'm pretty sure I've forgotten a deck or two here, the New Era Elements Tarot.  I just received it on Monday and have decided that this is the deck with which I'll start journaling.  I like it's modern feel.

 

 

[LogicalHue]

Got my White Numen: A Sacred Animal Tarot in today.

 

 

One card was damaged slightly, but its an extra card so not a huge loss.

 

As always, I don't understand the glossy finish.

 

These are the extra cards and the card back.

I don't find the explanations for these particularly interesting, they don't seem like they're filling any gaps for me.

 

Here's a bunch of cards. Couple of interesting majors. I just grabbed some quick minors that interested me to show the themes. Aces and one court card from each suit.

 

Also the book is very familiar to me...

 

Anyway, I'm happy with it. I'm not over the moon crazy excited, but I like it. The cards seem nice, haven't done any shuffling or reading yet.

 

(Turns out only the Majors have their own pages in the book. The rest are typical LWB-esque.)

 

I've done a reading now and the cards are a little on the stiff side. Felt like my shuffling was somewhat dictated by hand fatigue. The sides are just a little rough.

Edited April 30, 2021 by LogicalHue

[LogicalHue]

 

Lubanko Tarot came! It was always a little annoying that shipping was delayed by an altar cloth I didn't want but now I get it and on top of that, its a bit terrible. I don't know the term for the printing medium, maybe its just screenprinted? but you know when its like actual paint that's kind of gummy? Anyway, obviously I don't care about it, but just a little extra. Good packing material though.

 

 

 

 

So, actually annoying, the box doesn't open very well. The image above - I know its a weird photo - shows me opening it as far as it will open before I'm gonna crack something. Its awkward.

 

  

(I took another glittery hand picture but it didn't show up as well so, you get the idea.)

 

The cover of the book is oddly banged up, but I don't really mind, it's more just that it's strange. The book is a pretty standard LWB, no images. Majors get about a page or two, the minors get more like a half page each.

 

I'm not in love with the black borders. After a few cards I noticed they're not entirely black, but after a few more cards I just kind of forgot.

 

There are a lot of great cards in this deck that I'm excited about. There are a few I'm not really getting and one or two that frankly seem a little unfinished. But overall I'm happy. The cards feel good, haven't actually shuffled yet but they're not overly thick which I feel has been pretty common with the independent decks I've gotten, particularly when they have gilded edges.

[Mi-Shell]

To my surprise in a small shop in town I found the Otherkin Tarot by Siolo Thompson. 

One look at the Owl on the outer box sealed the deal 🙂

 

 

Here I will share a couple of pictures of the deck and book:

 

 

The box is sturdy and has a well with lifting ribbon for the deck.

I do like, that I can take the whole insert out, put the deck into a suitable silk pouch and then it will still fir into the box.

 

 

The book is glossy and has full colour images of each card and a page and a half of text.

 

The cardstock is typical Llewellyn a bit slick and glossy, but comfortable to hold and shuffle.

The artwork features mostly Animals sometimes anthropomorphised, sometimes not, on the white backing typical of Siolo Thompson's style.

This deck comes complete with its very own coffee, tea and ink stains!

 

I was a bit taken aback to discover, that the first 2 Mayor Arkana cards showed a predominantly human figure.

Only by reading the text to the cards is revealed, that the Magician is a changeling with antlers and the HP is depicting a mermaid.

Looking further through the cards I encountered quite a few Frogs in the suit of wands and Octopuses in the suit of Cups.

Swords are shown as mostly Birds and in the suit of Pentacles we find Mammals.

My explorations will continue:)

 

 

 

[DanielJUK]

@Mi-Shell I have Siolo's Hedgewitch Botanical Oracle and the drawing style is so similar. She does always pull off a nice boxed set for her decks. A good book and sturdy cards. In the botanical, she does line art drawings of the plants and flowers which reminds me of the Victorian drawings by botanists. They were some of the first images the world saw of some flora and many of the illustrators were female artists. This deck (with such a cute owl!) is much more colourful it looks

[Mi-Shell]

@DanielJUK ♥

I just bought the Hedgewitch Botanical!  In the same little shop- as a matter of fact! It is a trap, set up for me and I love to get caught in it 🙂

I want to save it for later in the summer, but I am already thinking about it....

...wondering if the cards would go well with the Otherkin.....

[vulprix]

I just received the Garden of Lucid Daydreams Oracle by Patrick Valenza!

 

I was smitten with the colors in this deck and the simple, quick imagery. His creativity never ceases to inspire 😄 

 

I am a lucid dreamer (is there a term for that?) and have worked very hard to be able to lucid dream. It didn’t come too easy for me! I wonder how Patrick’s “Am 👁️ Dreaming?” card will work as a trigger... I have not had luck with text triggering my lucidity before. My brain does loop de loops to justify wobbly text 😛

[Decan]

Okay so 2 pics of the GORGEOUS Tarot decks that I received yesterday!

A Besançon and also a Tarot of Marseille.

Stored in 2 sturdy boxes, actually when I opened my package I looked at these boxes as if they were 2 delicious cakes, lol.

The card stock is really good, not glossy but coated so quite balanced, nothing bad to say about it, the contrary! Square corners but for historic decks rounded corners would have been a little weird I think.

The Joerger Besançon has a wonderful presence (maybe my favorite), but I love the Gassmann too.

Enjoy!

 

 

Edited July 29, 2021 by Decan

[FallenAngel]

Hi everyone, today I received the Black Line Tarot (gilt edge version), by Agni Prasada Burning. There is a 'gilt-less' version for those not keen on shiny edges.

 

The cards are 350gsm, and I was drawn to the simple black and white imagery. I love the feather motive on the back of the cards. The box is sturdy, but it's a bit of a tight fit for getting the cards back in although I guess it's better than them moving around too much.

 

The cards shuffle well (taking into account my poor shuffling!) and only a couple of cards were stuck together when I initially looked through them. I think I would have preferred the cards to be a bit thicker, but I think this is based on my worry about being too heavy-handed and accidentally bending the cards.

 

This is what the creator says about the deck:

 

"I wanted bold lines and meaning but some of the darker aspects of the cards represented. With Black Line Tarot you will be able to channel these more macabre designs and use your own intuition to guide you on a journey of self discovery. The deck does not come with a guide book, the reason for this is that the meanings follow the RWS system, a lot of information is available online for the meanings of these cards, but also, I want the artwork to guide you on your own journey. Allow the meanings to be partly your own".

 

At the moment I am working with the original RWS and learning the meanings of those cards, so I won't start reading with the Black Line Tarot at the moment, but it will be interesting to see how I find it without a guidebook. Perhaps this will be a deck for shadow work because of the darker designs? Who knows...

 

Regardless, I really like the deck and here are some photos!

 

 

Edited August 3, 2021 by FallenAngel

[Niobium]

My Svatojansky Tarot arrived and wow I'm in love. Can't wait to get some time to work with it. 

https://www.kosmas.cz/knihy/210306/svatojansky-tarot/

The art on the illustrated minors really clicks for me, as does the sort of antique color palette. I do wish the corners were rounded; will need to get out my trimmer. The stock is a sort of heavy cardstock, should hold up well overall.  I don't care for the box--the cards float somewhat freely--so into a bag it goes.

A photo someone else took, as I've not had a chance to take some pics of mine: