Gilded -- First Impressions

azuremoonchild

this may sound weird but i was drawn to the guilded tarot deck but i dontknow why...but after furthur examination of the deck i relized each card was a person who i knew...
whilst the lovers card was the balance and/or my current love
the empress is the card i identify with myself and the high preistes the card for my best friend
...
though i would share my experiences with you all
with love
Azure
 

Emily

Gilded Tarot

I had this deck come yesterday so I'm still getting comfortable with it but my first impressions when first opening it were 'wow'. I've looked at the scans for months but it didn't prepare me for just how alive and vibrant these cards are in the hand.

I hadn't checked on the size of the Gilded so I was pleasantly surprised to find that they are standard sized and fit my hand, also makes them more portable.

I haven't done any readings with it yet but just looking at them, the symbolism is very apparent. This is a deck like the Morgan Greer and DruidCraft - I could read with it straight from the box but I want to take the cards in first, get to know the artwork - soak in their beauty.

I love the animals included in the cards, and the colours of the suit emblems. I'm also going to read the book before trying any readings. Then again I'll probably be using it by tonight. :D
 

Desert Dreamer

The Gilded Tarot

I immediately connected with this deck. The colors are amazing. I'm still very new to reading tarot, but found these card easy to understand. And there is such depth of meaning in each card that I will be learning for a long time. My absolute favorite card is Judgement. There is something about the facial expression. But I have yet to find a card I don't really like. Everytime I look at them, I see something new, even though I think I've seen everything there is to see in a card. I almost wish there was a larger size version, but then I would have to get it.
Desert Dreamer
 

Osiris Darkmoon

This is the first deck that has really spoken to me. I'm new with a serious attempt to learn the Tarot; in the past I've always had to use reference. This deck, the images just speak to me. I can see what they're saying. They talk to me. It's such a beautiful deck and I'm really enjoying it.
 

Myrrha

I am enjoying this deck so much. I've used many decks but this one is now my favorite. Each card provokes an emotional reaction. Many of the cards have skies or water that looks turbulant or sorrowful or dreamy or mysterious. So you can *feel* the reading.

I also love the black borders and luminous colors. The innovations in the majors such as the gracefully bending HP and the mechanical devices are intriguing.

--Myrrha
 

nexyjo

i've had this deck for a few weeks now. overall, i absolutely love it. i suppose it was the artwork that originally drew me to it.

as someone who was "raised" on the rider-waite, the deck is really easy for me to read. the imagery and symbolism exactly follows that template. i believe anyone even remotely familiar with the rider-waite will be able to use this deck immediately.

the more i use the deck, the more i love the art. it seems to jump off the surface of each card - the colors are vibrant to the point of intoxication, and i really like the style. some may find it a bit sterile - it clearly is computer generated. but i have always liked the crisp and clear lines of cg art. perhaps because as i age, my eyesight isn't what it used to be, and that softens the edges a bit.

on the down side, i found some of the cards to be "muted". the three of swords is one example. i like my three of swords to hurt, i like to see dripping blood from the heart, i like to feel pain when i see this card in a reading. while the guilded version approximates that, i find it falls short in getting the job done. it's just too neat and tidy. a broken heart is messy business, and this card should reflect that.

the ten of swords is another example. the swords merely hover over the figure in the card. doesn't quite do it for me.

the five of pentacles is yet another example. i love robin wood's version of this card - i can feel the despair and the cold chill in the air when i look at that card. in the guilded, all that emotion lies somewhere behind the image, and i find it difficult to bring it out. perhaps it's only my own interpretation of the five of pentacles that colors my perception of the card in this deck, but again, i think the imagery should be a bit more graphic.

on the other hand, the muted imagery would make for a perfect "all purpose" deck for public readings. there's only a few cards that even approach nudity - the high priestess as one example, and it's just her dress that's kind of see-through; she's actually not nude. the lovers show a woman in what appears to be either a bikini or a thong and bra. lots of skin but no nudity. the tower shows a man's rear, but i don't know that most people would see that as "obscene". and finally, the star is really the only card that shows unclad breasts. though the dark blue coloring obscures that from any casual glance.

again, the lack of nudity speaks to the "muteness" of the deck's imagery, but the fact that i find the deck to be a little "toned down" doesn't necessarily mean it's somehow "less than" decks that are more graphic. i definately find this level useful.

i really like how the black background works so well with the art. i think that helps the art to "pop" off the card. it also helps to counter the muted symbolisms.

for anyone who does well with traditional rider-waite decks, the gilded tarot is a perfect alternative. i think this deck would make for a great beginner deck as i find the symbolism easier to read than even the rider-waite itself. and for those who like cg art, there's enough in the cards to satisfy even advanced users.

as far as i'm concerned, this deck rates my highest reccomendations.
 

ana luisa

Nexyjo,



the five of pentacles is yet another example. i love robin wood's version of this card - i can feel the despair and the cold chill in the air when i look at that card. in the guilded, all that emotion lies somewhere behind the image, and i find it difficult to bring it out. perhaps it's only my own interpretation of the five of pentacles that colors my perception of the card in this deck, but again, i think the imagery should be a bit more graphic.


I see how you would expect more open suffering but don´t you just love the Y that the light makes through the painted glass? It´s almost biblical, as if the two were asking God Y they had to go through that ordeal.
 

ana luisa

Nexyjo,



"the five of pentacles is yet another example. i love robin wood's version of this card - i can feel the despair and the cold chill in the air when i look at that card. in the guilded, all that emotion lies somewhere behind the image, and i find it difficult to bring it out. perhaps it's only my own interpretation of the five of pentacles that colors my perception of the card in this deck, but again, i think the imagery should be a bit more graphic."


I see how you would expect more BLATANT suffering but don´t you just love the Y that the light makes through the painted glass? It´s almost biblical, as if the two were asking God Y they had to go through that ordeal.[/QUOTE]
 

beatrix

I'm with others who say this deck really spoke to them.

I'd collected decks for a while..my first deck was the Winged Spirit Tarot because I thought the majors were very beautiful. But I just couldn't get into reading it- the minors never felt comfortable to me and I never got away from the LWB. I was young and assumed I just wasn't good at Tarot and gave up.

But now I have renewed interested, and recently comitted myself to finding a deck that I could love, even if I had to go through a few not so hot blind dates, so to speak, first.

I loved the vibrant colors of this deck right away, but wasn't totally swept away by it at first. My eyes were definetely hooked but my heart wasn't just yet. I worked with this deck for two days, just shuffling, looking, thinking, and I fell madly in love. I don't want a day to go by that I don't stare into a card from this deck. I hear it call to me. The images are so beautiful that, when I look at one long enough, I feel that I would love to live in that place for a little while, like stepping through the looking glass.

The first card I saw that made me want to try this deck was the 9 of Swords. I'm really not sure why, because it isn't usually a card I really think about. But I think the woman in it is very beautiful, and she is drawn with such movement about her. I swear I can see her hair still waving from having sat up suddenly, and I can see her breathing quickly from her intense dream. I love the owl that looks at her underneath the moon. It is as though she will notice him in a moment, and his eyes will say to her, "I know what it is you have dreamed."
 

RubyRuby

I'll add my two cents.

I like the vibrant colours as others have mentioned. The gold is gold metal not gold color, and the gems are shiny gems, not just green red and blue. The gold on the black background is exquisite. The detail is incredible. The cups and the pentacles are wonderful. I like that the pictures look real as opposed to cartoony like the usual Rider-Waite decks. I find the deck so easy to read intuitively. The artist has put alot of emotion into the cards, and not so much symbolism. Or maybe I'm just missing it because all I can see is the emotion. You could easily walk into the cards.

I also wanted to add that the companion book is very easy to understand. You can see exactly what the artist was putting into the card by reading the book.