Hello!
I need a bit of help deciding between 2 decks: the Tabula Mundi and the Tarot of the Holy Light. At the moment I would only have funds for one, but I can't decide! I'm looking for a... "meaty" type of deck, which pushes me out of my comfort zone and helps me to get started into the world of esoteric symbolism. If you could only get one of these, which one would you pick?
Tabula Mundi!!!! I had the Holy Light and swapped it away because it was unreadable for me (might buy the bw version though someday). The Holy Light is very harsh IMO, the book apodictic and the cards very beautiful but also very crowded and dense. They're collages from alchemical illustrations, beautifully done, but NO COMPARISON with M.M. Meleen's wonderful hand-made illustrations with their amazing personal creativity.
When you use collage material, you have to make it fit your ideas of tarot - and the fit is not always smooth. But when you start from scratch, you can compose the card you wish to see, including crazy symbols, modern symbols (that were not available in the Baroque period, like the DJ mixing table for TM Mercury), and Escher-like morphing of symbols (like the hand and snake in the TM Wheel of Fortune).
From an artistic point of view, there is no comparison between the two decks. the TM is so much more creative, original and thought provoking.
Now considering the content. The Holy Light is interesting in its non-GD astrological assignments and its strong emphasis on alchemy, no doubt. But the TM is more focused on kabbalah and astrology, and it uses the GD correspondences, which make it much more accessible.
The book by Payne-Towler is difficult to read and as I said above apodictic in tone - either you follow her or you're an ignoramus (that was my impression when I read it and I didn't finish it). Book M, on the other hand, is packed with information, is well-written and just FUN to read. You feel your synapses firing when you read it.
Payne-Towler has an agenda, and I'm not against it - I think her ideas about pre-GD tarot are worth reading and working with, and one day, I'll do it. But I find the TM so much more relevant and easier to read. It's packed with esoteric associations like a pomegranate, and they're enjoyable like a pomegranate. Book M doesn't feel as though the author wants to set everybody else right, she compares her deck with others withouth telling you what's wrong or right.
Reading with the Holy Light, I could hardly make sense of the cards (which is totally my own problem, many others read very well with it, I know). Reading with the TM is easy (I'm a Thothie so that might help) because the card tells you what you need to know.
So for me, there is really no question. The TM is a must-have, the Holy Light is nice to have.
Strictly my very own 2 agoroth. Ymmv.