krisa
Just going through the threads of the decks I have and this is the one that I think is more "controversial"...
I must say, I agree with many that the philosophy behind it is very new-agey, wishy-washy, abstract and the book reflects that a lot, too. You read a whole lot and get to know nothing new, actually. That saddened me.
BUT...
For me, this was quite a random buy, since it was discounted somewhere to only 12$ or so, and I just bought it on a whim. I DID like the pictures, but was previously turned-off by the yellowness of the borders. Also, I'm not that much into fantasy-land/goddess/gods/magical creatures/myths/fairys and such kind of decks.
I was surprised to see that the borders are in fact a beautiful muted gold shade, cards are of a very good quality and pictures are definitely gorgeous. I love the back, also. So I've kinda fallen in love. Did many, many readings. Bought the book. Was, like I said, saddened, as it didn't help me much with understanding the cards... Did lots of journaling, meditating with cards..
WELL, now I think I developed my own system/understanding combined with the "official" meanings+standard RWS+my interpretation..
AND now it kinda works, I guess. I love the cards, Holly Sierra's art is wonderful, they are nice to hold and shuffle, but they made me want to sell them many times. Also, Toney Brooks is a great guy, and I think in the "real world" quite opinionated, so I think his tarot philosophy kinda clashes with that, it's surprising that his spiritual side is so... messy? If that's the right word.
I love MANY MANY cards in the deck.
In fact, Herne The Hunter is my FAVORITE CARD EVER. E V E R. In all of the decks I own or have seen.
The troupe is interesting, and in my opinion, great for any beginner (or anybody having problems with court cards) to get close to the court cards a bit more in general. I love many minors, 6 of mirrors, 4 of mirrors, 4 of spirals, 9 of spirals, 8 of stones, 8 of spirals, 4 of stone, 3 of spirals... wow! what a energy! But on the other hand, in major arcana, besides the Hunter.. I only really feel Elpi, Ravens, Moon and Kali. Major arcana is suppose to be more powerful. Also, I don't like the Toney's philosophy of watering down the "bad" cards. Only Kali stayed strong through the whole deck, all the others: Ariadne, 3 of scrolls, 10 of scrolls, 5 of mirrors, Celtic Owl.. Completely watered down, made soft and therefore quite powerless (I know they are not all translated from RWS but, in any case, the strong cards are missing). So it's really more like an oracle than a tarot.
This is the deck I have the biggest love/hate struggle with. So many good things, better than in most other decks and at the same time, so many "meh" or even bad things, worse than in most.. It keeps pulling me, so I'm keeping it (and I also work with it often), but I just want to let anyone who will be googling the opinions (like I usually do before buying a deck) to know that it's a really hard deck to work with. I know many have said a lot already, but I think it's still worth to share my experience of intense 6-months struggle with this deck, too.
I must say, I agree with many that the philosophy behind it is very new-agey, wishy-washy, abstract and the book reflects that a lot, too. You read a whole lot and get to know nothing new, actually. That saddened me.
BUT...
For me, this was quite a random buy, since it was discounted somewhere to only 12$ or so, and I just bought it on a whim. I DID like the pictures, but was previously turned-off by the yellowness of the borders. Also, I'm not that much into fantasy-land/goddess/gods/magical creatures/myths/fairys and such kind of decks.
I was surprised to see that the borders are in fact a beautiful muted gold shade, cards are of a very good quality and pictures are definitely gorgeous. I love the back, also. So I've kinda fallen in love. Did many, many readings. Bought the book. Was, like I said, saddened, as it didn't help me much with understanding the cards... Did lots of journaling, meditating with cards..
WELL, now I think I developed my own system/understanding combined with the "official" meanings+standard RWS+my interpretation..
AND now it kinda works, I guess. I love the cards, Holly Sierra's art is wonderful, they are nice to hold and shuffle, but they made me want to sell them many times. Also, Toney Brooks is a great guy, and I think in the "real world" quite opinionated, so I think his tarot philosophy kinda clashes with that, it's surprising that his spiritual side is so... messy? If that's the right word.
I love MANY MANY cards in the deck.
In fact, Herne The Hunter is my FAVORITE CARD EVER. E V E R. In all of the decks I own or have seen.
The troupe is interesting, and in my opinion, great for any beginner (or anybody having problems with court cards) to get close to the court cards a bit more in general. I love many minors, 6 of mirrors, 4 of mirrors, 4 of spirals, 9 of spirals, 8 of stones, 8 of spirals, 4 of stone, 3 of spirals... wow! what a energy! But on the other hand, in major arcana, besides the Hunter.. I only really feel Elpi, Ravens, Moon and Kali. Major arcana is suppose to be more powerful. Also, I don't like the Toney's philosophy of watering down the "bad" cards. Only Kali stayed strong through the whole deck, all the others: Ariadne, 3 of scrolls, 10 of scrolls, 5 of mirrors, Celtic Owl.. Completely watered down, made soft and therefore quite powerless (I know they are not all translated from RWS but, in any case, the strong cards are missing). So it's really more like an oracle than a tarot.
This is the deck I have the biggest love/hate struggle with. So many good things, better than in most other decks and at the same time, so many "meh" or even bad things, worse than in most.. It keeps pulling me, so I'm keeping it (and I also work with it often), but I just want to let anyone who will be googling the opinions (like I usually do before buying a deck) to know that it's a really hard deck to work with. I know many have said a lot already, but I think it's still worth to share my experience of intense 6-months struggle with this deck, too.
