VGimlet
I'm also always looking for good animal decks. I got it last week, but I have a couple decks in front of it to read with first. I did look through it, and it looks very promising.
Animal Totem Tarot...
DaughterOfDanu
Do you feel the Animal Totem Tarot is still worth buying even if you own a copy of the Animal Wisdom Tarot? I really enjoy my Animal Wisdom Tarot, the colors are lovely, but am drawn to the realism of the Animal Totem.
Linfang
Fool's Dog App
I hesitated ordering this deck, since so few pictures are available online. So I was happy when I discovered that it had been released by Fool's Dog as an app. I purchased this morning.
Well, for me, when it comes to the art, I prefer my Animal Wisdom and my Animals Divine Tarot. I'm not usually the fluffy type, but I find the artwork in the Animal Totem too harsh. Cards like the five of cups, five of pentacles or Death turn me off the deck. On the other hand, what I read so far in the companion book was pretty good. I especially like the "Business and Career" aspect for each card, that's an area that is seldom covered.
So, spending 4 bucks on the app was a great investment, but I'm glad I didn't purchase the physical deck. For anyone who likes their animals realistic and into your face... go for it.
I hesitated ordering this deck, since so few pictures are available online. So I was happy when I discovered that it had been released by Fool's Dog as an app. I purchased this morning.
Well, for me, when it comes to the art, I prefer my Animal Wisdom and my Animals Divine Tarot. I'm not usually the fluffy type, but I find the artwork in the Animal Totem too harsh. Cards like the five of cups, five of pentacles or Death turn me off the deck. On the other hand, what I read so far in the companion book was pretty good. I especially like the "Business and Career" aspect for each card, that's an area that is seldom covered.
So, spending 4 bucks on the app was a great investment, but I'm glad I didn't purchase the physical deck. For anyone who likes their animals realistic and into your face... go for it.
Obsydian
Wow I wasn't aware of the Fool's Dog app on it so soon! Thank you for bringing it to my attention!
I rather like it from what I've seen, I like the truth of the gritty natural world. The artwork is colorful but not overly so. I'm gonna spend some time with it until I can afford the full deck.
I rather like it from what I've seen, I like the truth of the gritty natural world. The artwork is colorful but not overly so. I'm gonna spend some time with it until I can afford the full deck.
BlueLotus
Thank you for pointing this one out; although I do check their new apps regularly, I missed this one; of course I purchased it immediately, and did a few readings, and I am liking it a lot. My physical deck is also on its way to me.
Obsydian
Videos are starting to pop up on YouTube! Go search.
The book it comes with looks awesome, there is a section for personal notes for each card! Wow!
The book it comes with looks awesome, there is a section for personal notes for each card! Wow!
Symphony
I got this deck today, so far I've only looked through it to make sure all the cards are there. But wow some of the pictures don't hold back do they? Looking forward to giving it a go, I've got the Animism tarot and the Animal Wisdom tarot too so will be interesting to compare to these two
Genna
Just found this deck on the Aeclectic Tarot Gallery, and I adore what I see. The book sounds amazing as well. What you say about the 5 of Pentacles, 5 of Cups and Death seems bad, because I hate animal suffering. Although, I especially love the Queen of Swords and The Magician, and I have been looking for an animal/totem oriented deck And the deck lacks borders. I think I will go for it.
hedface
I waffled on buying it for a while, but ultimately decided it was worth a try. My copy arrived a few days ago and, I gotta be honest: I'm blown away by it. The artwork is breathtaking, and the cards seem to have a life of their own. The book IS great, and I love the fact that it has space for you to write down your own thoughts/impressions regarding each individual card.
I'm also sensitive to animal suffering (Old Yeller scarred me for life), but even with that kind of aversion I am not affected by the depictions of creatures who are hurt. (I believe the 3 of Swords is like that.) The artist was respectful in his depiction of the "circle of life," if you will.
Can't really recommend this deck enough.
Tarot4Change
I really wish I could get behind this deck like so many others here, but I'm going to offer a dissenting opinion about this deck.
First off, I was so excited to get this deck after the reviews and everything I saw. I waited to open this deck until tonight so I could give a fresh reading to a friend with it; that is, until I opened it.
I took out the rather exhaustive book to find a deck in shrink wrapped plastic by itself- no box. Automatic points off for me since I don't want to buy bags for each and every deck I own. They're cards and a box will do just fine unless I feel the urge to get a bag for them. I'd be a bit more lenient if they included a bag, even a crappy one, but this is just a way for Llewellyn to try and score another sale. I don't want the seller forcing me to get a bag by neglecting to give the cards a box for them.
The Book
I barely cracked into this thing so I can't be too thorough. I like that the book is encyclopedic to a degree. The cards' meanings are given in a way that a new user can better apply them based on the question. Definitions are given for general readings, career, relationship, and health focused questions. The biggest turnoff for me was at the beginning of the book however when it clearly had a super new-age vibe to it. This can appeal for some for but for readers like myself it felt very contrived and fluffy. This is how the last few decks I've gotten from Llewellyn have been and it has really made me rethink if I ever want to purchase another deck from that publisher.
The Artwork
I actually really like the artistic style. It's simple, yet detailed, and is very easy to locate the important parts of the image. The colors are also well done; I like how the colors reflect the feeling the card should evoke.
Animal Choice
There are some animals in some depictions that are REALLY well chosen. I love the queen of swords as a wolf. Some are a bit of a stretch for me, such as a ladybug for wheel of fortune. Most of them I don't understand why the animal was chosen for the particular card unfortunately. I was hoping for a more intuitive assignment and maybe I need to read the 300+ page book to really understand it. That will most likely not happen.
Depiction
As a previous poster said, the animals are shown in a natural way and not anthropomorphised. However, sometimes they are just there on the card. The 4 of wands shows a crow just sitting next to 4 upright wands with a woodland background. This is more the rule than the exception sadly. Many cards are influenced by the RWS symbolism, yet some aren't. I went through the deck, card by card, until I came across the 5 of cups, showing a muskrat (I think) swimming away from his fellow muskrat he left on the shore after what looks like he murdered him. At this point, I put the deck down and really felt disenchanted with the whole thing.
Conclusion
This deck will now be unceremoniously placed on a shelf I like to call the land of misfit decks. I don't want to have to study every single card to understand the whole backstory to it in order to read with it. Maybe that's why I don't use oracle decks. I'm sure that if you dedicate yourself to learning everything in the book, this deck could really come together to be a powerful tool but I just don't have the time nor patience to do so. The heavily new-age feel to the book is unnecessary, or maybe it's not. I should have known that a deck with the word "totem" in its title could easily be slanted this way, much like a deck with "holy" in the title could foreshadow a heavy element of Christian theology. The lack of a box, something so simple, was the cherry on top of all this disappointment.
First off, I was so excited to get this deck after the reviews and everything I saw. I waited to open this deck until tonight so I could give a fresh reading to a friend with it; that is, until I opened it.
I took out the rather exhaustive book to find a deck in shrink wrapped plastic by itself- no box. Automatic points off for me since I don't want to buy bags for each and every deck I own. They're cards and a box will do just fine unless I feel the urge to get a bag for them. I'd be a bit more lenient if they included a bag, even a crappy one, but this is just a way for Llewellyn to try and score another sale. I don't want the seller forcing me to get a bag by neglecting to give the cards a box for them.
The Book
I barely cracked into this thing so I can't be too thorough. I like that the book is encyclopedic to a degree. The cards' meanings are given in a way that a new user can better apply them based on the question. Definitions are given for general readings, career, relationship, and health focused questions. The biggest turnoff for me was at the beginning of the book however when it clearly had a super new-age vibe to it. This can appeal for some for but for readers like myself it felt very contrived and fluffy. This is how the last few decks I've gotten from Llewellyn have been and it has really made me rethink if I ever want to purchase another deck from that publisher.
The Artwork
I actually really like the artistic style. It's simple, yet detailed, and is very easy to locate the important parts of the image. The colors are also well done; I like how the colors reflect the feeling the card should evoke.
Animal Choice
There are some animals in some depictions that are REALLY well chosen. I love the queen of swords as a wolf. Some are a bit of a stretch for me, such as a ladybug for wheel of fortune. Most of them I don't understand why the animal was chosen for the particular card unfortunately. I was hoping for a more intuitive assignment and maybe I need to read the 300+ page book to really understand it. That will most likely not happen.
Depiction
As a previous poster said, the animals are shown in a natural way and not anthropomorphised. However, sometimes they are just there on the card. The 4 of wands shows a crow just sitting next to 4 upright wands with a woodland background. This is more the rule than the exception sadly. Many cards are influenced by the RWS symbolism, yet some aren't. I went through the deck, card by card, until I came across the 5 of cups, showing a muskrat (I think) swimming away from his fellow muskrat he left on the shore after what looks like he murdered him. At this point, I put the deck down and really felt disenchanted with the whole thing.
Conclusion
This deck will now be unceremoniously placed on a shelf I like to call the land of misfit decks. I don't want to have to study every single card to understand the whole backstory to it in order to read with it. Maybe that's why I don't use oracle decks. I'm sure that if you dedicate yourself to learning everything in the book, this deck could really come together to be a powerful tool but I just don't have the time nor patience to do so. The heavily new-age feel to the book is unnecessary, or maybe it's not. I should have known that a deck with the word "totem" in its title could easily be slanted this way, much like a deck with "holy" in the title could foreshadow a heavy element of Christian theology. The lack of a box, something so simple, was the cherry on top of all this disappointment.
