Golden Universal Tarot

I recently bought this deck as a spur of the moment -kinda thing as I was in a mood for something "blingy". I really like this deck even if Universal isn't my favourite of all the RWS clones. I disagree with changes the artist made with some of the images, it gives me the impression that the artist didn't really understand all the symbolism of the cards. But the gold effect looks very striking and I really like that the cards don't have any writing on them. I got the "faulty" edition of the deck but I don't mind.

What's most important is that the deck gives very good readings. Informative and to the point. Even the images I didn't like at first have given me some new perspectives on things. And I'm a shameless riffle-shuffler and this deck is amazing for me! Feels like the cards just melt in my hands, if that's a correct expression. All in all, I don't regret my purchase I made out of vanity.

Has anyone tried trimming this deck?

LS Golden Universal Lame/Tame

I'm bumping this because I got the LS Golden Universal a few weeks ago off the trade thread.

It reads well, but I think the artwork is pretty lame.

The gold bling effect is pretty tame.

All in all, I'd say this deck is a hot mess.

I'll likely keep it as a "who cares" deck for travel/readings for others.

I'm actually quite taken with the deck. Whereas some of de Angelis's choices aren't my favorite, I find it to be immanently readable.

Where the art choices derail for me are in the uniformity of detail. Three cards for the example.

8 of Swords: I'm fine with the depiction, but de Angelis goes off the rails a bit with clothing. The woman is wearing what I (shadily) refer to as Faux-eval or Faux-aissance gear. The 19th century saw a 'rewriting' of the Middle Ages under Romanticism in order to promote nationalism (Western Europe). The daily grind of the middle ages was turned into fairy tales, dashing knights, swooning ladies and Romantic heroes.

Strength: dat headgear and dress though. I smell Regency-period/late-Enlightenment yard wear.

8 of Pentacles: Ditto, sister is rocking some Faux-aissance gear hard core.

It's the academic in me that goes bananas over things like this. Pick a period. Stay there.

As many asked...

As many asked advice on this deck, here is my opnion. Just a personal opinion

I like Rider-Waite deck (Pamela's) and I was not very found of Scarabeo Unversal, eventhough I used it for year in a daily newpaper article here in Montreal. I found it a little to "comic like" for my taste.

On the other hand, I love gilded decks, especially with foil like Scarabeo's, so I ordered the "Golde Universal" just to see. I must say I was delighted. The dull images come to life, the gold relief background is especialy weel done in this deck, and it sure adds it a 3 dimensianal effect which enhances the cards. For public event's, this is sure a winner. I even bought one for my favorite tarot friend.

Images are easy to follow (fully Rider Waite) and except for the 9 of cups (which I utterly dislike) it is a very talking and pretty deck.

Beside, the black border really make the gold effects stunning, and to answer some question, there are no Scarabeo multilingal name.

Hope the best for you

cbiz83 said:

I'm actually quite taken with the deck. Whereas some of de Angelis's choices aren't my favorite, I find it to be immanently readable.

Where the art choices derail for me are in the uniformity of detail. Three cards for the example.

8 of Swords: I'm fine with the depiction, but de Angelis goes off the rails a bit with clothing. The woman is wearing what I (shadily) refer to as Faux-eval or Faux-aissance gear. The 19th century saw a 'rewriting' of the Middle Ages under Romanticism in order to promote nationalism (Western Europe). The daily grind of the middle ages was turned into fairy tales, dashing knights, swooning ladies and Romantic heroes.

Strength: dat headgear and dress though. I smell Regency-period/late-Enlightenment yard wear.

8 of Pentacles: Ditto, sister is rocking some Faux-aissance gear hard core.

It's the academic in me that goes bananas over things like this. Pick a period. Stay there.

Click to expand...

This made me laugh. So true. I'd also been struck by the milkmaid "Petit Trianon" bonnet in Strength but hadn't quite put my finger on just why this card bothered me. And then there's the villainous Victorian cloak and dagger 7 of Swords. I don't like the sketchiness of the artwork - they missed an opportunity big time on this one - but there's something about it that make me keep coming back to it. Love the glitziness. But then I also loved the big Professional Version of the deck too. All that gold and still so effortlessly readable. It's a bit of a dressing up box deck and the trunkhose in the Page of Cups just buffets out way too much.

But I really rather like it!

I recall having this deck for a while. Most of the cards were ok, and read well.
But the Pages in this deck looked too mature more like brute blokes of Knights approaching retirement.

Ended up giving it away.

I absolutely love this one.
Which is weird because I'm a bit of a conservative and don't like modern decks, but since this is a RWS clone it got me interested. And it's gorgeous. It's just absolutely stunning and I love every single design feature, from the black borders, to the numbers only-no titles, to the gold. That beautiful 3d effect you get when working with the cards is amazing. This is probably one of my favorite decks to handle.

But maybe that's because I view it as a modern design, and not anything that is supposed to be accurate. If I want accurate symbolism, I still have the old decks, And if I want some nice to look at, I have this one.

I also quite like this one. I bought it and traded it and something made me buy it again. The gold makes a huge improvement on the original design. I think of all the gold leaf decks, this one feels the most "transformed" by the application of gold.

The sketchiness of a few cards bothers me a little - a few *off* faces - and the Page of Cups is really a little too feeble, but overall I like it.

Ah, the Golden Universal. I have waxed poetic over this deck ever since I first laid eyes on it, and my admiration for it has not eroded one bit. This is one of the decks I work closely with, alternating with my Original Rider Waite when I want to work closely with the RWS system. A feast for the eyes, and when sunlight or candlelight strikes the gold- it really is quite unlike anything else. Plus many non-readers love it.

I have Sarah Bartlett's excellent The Tarot Bible, which features de Angelis's Universal Tarot (basically the Golden Universal minus the gold foil and with a white-and-blue border and back) in its illustrations. I'd say it is a very nice companion to this deck. Too bad there were no reverse meanings in the book, but it is still highly instructive nonetheless.