Recent editions of the Aquarian

I've been wondering what the newer editions of the Aquarian are like. I've seen some that are from 2001 and 2006 (I think) and I'd love to know what the quality of the deck is like, especially the colours. I think both are by US Games.

I found the thread linked below recently. It compares three different scans of the Moon card in the Aquarian Tarot. There was also a page linked in there that discusses differences between different editions. However, most of that seems to be about editions with unspecified dates or from the 70s, which is not what I'm looking at. There's also a lot of talk about the backs of the cards, but I can't see what they look like in the editions from the 2000s.

Here's the thread in question: http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=176410

I know that I can try to get one of the older editions, but for now I'd love a brand-new one if the quality is good enough.

If anyone knows the editions I'm talking about and can tell me more about them, I'd really appreciate it!

oops. somehow i wackyparsed 'aquarian' as 'morgan greer'! duh. not sure what is wrong with me today!
sorry!

i had an old aquarian that came in the black two piece box with the swirly blue and white backs (not sure what year that was, or when it was printed since i've lost the box), and i have a new (ordered this year) deck that came in a green tuck box (usg made in italy 2006).

the old deck has more papery stock and the new one has kind of slick more plasticy stock. the colours are quite similar as far as i can tell (i can't compare directly because i've gifted my old deck to someone). card backs are the same blue and white swirly pattern.

i prefer the older stock, but other than that there not much of a difference imo.

hopefully that is A LOT more helpful than my earlier post on the morgan greer. lol

*hides head in shame*

Getting back to the Aquarian, I have the 2006 printing (back in the eighties I had the original). It doesn't have that horrible high-gloss glassy laminate that seems to have become fashionable recently. The cards have pretty much the colours and tonality that I remember. Given that my original deck passed from my hands some years before I got the newer edition, I really didn't notice any differences, in fact I was struck by how out-of-the-box familiar it was. It could have been my old original copy.

nisaba said:

Getting back to the Aquarian, I have the 2006 printing (back in the eighties I had the original). It doesn't have that horrible high-gloss glassy laminate that seems to have become fashionable recently. The cards have pretty much the colours and tonality that I remember. Given that my original deck passed from my hands some years before I got the newer edition, I really didn't notice any differences, in fact I was struck by how out-of-the-box familiar it was. It could have been my old original copy.

Click to expand...

How would I know the 2006 printing? What does the box look like, the backs?
thanks!

karen0205 said:

How would I know the 2006 printing? What does the box look like, the backs?
thanks!

Click to expand...

Because I haven't really unpacked and organised my collection (about 160 decks) since moving even though that was getting on for two months ago, I can't immediately put my hand on it. But I remember *recognising* both the box and the backs when I first got it, so I assume they're pretty close to the original. From memory, the year of publication is printed on the bottom of the box.

ack! i am SUCH. an. idiot!!!!
*facepalm*

ok i've now edited my first reply (where i blathered on about the morgan greer) to an actual answer to your question.

oops!

Thanks nisaba and h3ll0k1tt33! Out of curiosity, if you look at the three scans in the first post of the thread I linked, which one does your deck resemble most? Or is that difference really just one in scanner quality and not something that differs between editions?

By the way, h3ll0k1tt33, don't worry! That sort of thing happens to me too sometimes

karen0205 said:

How would I know the 2006 printing? What does the box look like, the backs?
thanks!

Click to expand...

I'd love to know this too. As far as I can tell, the 2001 printing has a green box with The Fool on it. The USG site has the deck here: http://www.usgamesinc.com/Aquarian-tarot-deck/. I think that might be the 2006 printing or another recent one. In which case, the box looks like the one at the link. You can see the back there too, it's blue with a white swirly pattern. I'm not sure if they're just using images from an older edition, though.

had to wait until i was home (and stuff) before i could pull out my newer deck...

as far as colours go i think the first card in the pic you linked is the closest.
this is for the 2006, usg, made in italy version.
the tuck box shows Temperance on one side, and the Lovers on the other. i say the box is green, but it is really more of a green border around the images.

unfortunately i can't compare the older version since i no longer have it.

truth be told once i got the newer version i realized i didn't really like the aquarian anymore

^ Thanks for the input! I guess I'll wait (for more opinions and to have time to think) before I buy it. I like how detailed some of the older editions look and I'm disappointed that that's lost in the newer ones. I'd rather not buy the deck right now and end up hating it.

Hi Chimera Dust,

I have a newer Aquarian, but I don't have it with me, so I can't be of much help, however I did want to say that when you say "I like how detailed some of the older editions look and I'm disappointed that that's lost in the newer ones," personally I find it extremely unlikely that you would find a visible difference in the line art between one edition and another. I've looked in this thread and also in the older one and I can't find anyone suggesting such a thing. The differences you might see in the comparison photos of the Moon card can be chalked up to differences in scanning resolution between the different cards, since, as the member who posted them points out, they're different scans made by different people.

My own advice would be, if you want an Aquarian, go ahead and buy the new one, you'll be happy with it.