Chrysalis tarot

Thoughtful

l know a lot of folk here were eagerly anticipating the launch of this deck in 2013/14 and then eventually bought it.
Would love to know if you find this a workable deck or did you find after the hype it just did not work for you.
l feel drawn to it just looking at the images and it looks to be a deck one could explore in an intuitive way. l do like tarots that have a quality of something deeper to them, that can draw you in and spark a resonance, more so than say a RWS or its clone.
Do you find it has lots of hidden layers. One deck l work with at present has just that essence and l would like to find another.
l ask for and would appreciate your thoughts on this as l would like to evaluate your replies before l spend money out. Being on a budget is a pain :)
Thanks so much everyone.
 

Le Fanu

mmm... First of all, I'm not the right person to ask because I didn't buy into the hype...er....hang on *reflective pose*... But I'm the wrong person to ask because my back goes up like a cat's if I feel I'm being forced into the purple unicorn feel-good corner. I hiss and I scratch.

This deck makes me do this. Aren't the Swords scrolls (less sharp. Now I feel better. Nothing can hurt me) ? And it's a sort of gentle purple wash. I know the LWB talks about despair but they don't really mean it. Get this from the LWB - 3 of Swords - where's this on the despairometer? "Our sorrowful fox sheds purple tears of emancipation and freedom."

Sometimes I just want to call a sword a sword. But the artwork is fabulous. I'll give it that. But I have discovered that artwork is just one ingredient. And I do judge a tarot deck by its swords.

I'm the wrong person to ask because this deck was never going to be for me. I'm not the target public but some people are. Hopefully they'll chime in. But seeing both sides is all part of the deal I suppose.

I honestly think this deck shows the worst side of hijacked 1990s tarot and the part of the tarot pie chart I have been trying to avoid since getting back into tarot. But - hey - it has its public and I know lots of people love it and I respect that. U.S Games do a deck like this - fair deals - and then a deck like the Japaridze - so I applaud them for being very wide-ranging in their publications.
 

jema

I been trying to hoist this deck off to friends, but no luck so far. Now I got a friend in Canada that wants a deck though and this might be his cup of tea.

For me, this deck lost me with it's very first card. Merlin as 0. The hero aka the fool
I do like the suit of spirals though.
 

Thoughtful

Thanks Le Fanu and jema for your comments. It appears this tarot is one that will divide people quite strongly. Both of your views are helpful and l hope that others will also join in.
Looking at the images l did have to take a long time sensing some of the cards as they are so different to what we are used to. It is obviously a tarot that has tried to put other perspectives onto the meanings as we know them, and is not trying to follow the RWS to closely. l thought maybe this could be a good and perhaps refreshing change in how we view and read with this tarot.
l did notice that after the initial hype of the deck being published it all went quiet as regards how people related to it.
 

Le Fanu

l did notice that after the initial hype of the deck being published it all went quiet as regards how people related to it.
I think that can sometimes happen when creators of a deck watch the thread hawkishly closely and regularly post *updates*. It can make people go very quiet and perhaps feel inhibited.

I agree with jema - the Spirals suit is lovely.
 

feynrir

Beware! It turned into a long review!

l know a lot of folk here were eagerly anticipating the launch of this deck in 2013/14 and then eventually bought it.
Would love to know if you find this a workable deck or did you find after the hype it just did not work for you.[...]
Do you find it has lots of hidden layers. One deck l work with at present has just that essence and l would like to find another. [...]

Hi Thoughtful! :)

I have a Chrysalis deck and have even thought about trading it away a couple of times. However, I never have and I'm glad that I haven't.

I was enticed by the artwork, although it felt a little too "pretty" for my tastes. I bought the app and it felt so nice to read with for one- to three-card draws that I ended up getting the full physical deck.

The version I have has VERY nice cardstock. Sturdy without being too thick to shuffle, and with a nice matte finish that does not feel like plastic lamination.

It reads very well for me, to my surprise--to me I understand what you mean about layers, and this deck does have those. Each image is bold and straightforwardly executed, well-embellished and established within a setting at the same time.

The deck is chock-full of different ideas that range from the scholarly mythological to the more New Age interpretations of fantastical gods and creatures. It's kind of like, "And we're gonna put HERNE THE HUNTER in here, and we're gonna put KALI in here, and we're gonna put a BLACK UNICORN in here...!!" For me, it works despite the fact that I thought it wouldn't. For others, it's a turn-off that can't be remedied.

That being said, I find many of the LWB meanings condescending and watered-down at the same time. Ariadne (XIII 'Death') for example, talks about slaying your "metaphorical Menotaur" when you "take full ownership of [your] flaws and grant unconditional forgiveness to others." To me, this is a very specific and gentle version of what Death means. So you really do have to do away with the RWS system (which is fine), but unfortunately you get very trite advice about the Golden Rule and the power of forgiveness, conservation, etc instead. I don't think that any of these are bad things--on the contrary, they come rather naturally to me because I consider myself a decent person. I don't need warnings about my "psyche" to prompt me into reading the card in a way that will help me. This feels a lot like what many oracle decks do, and I'm not a fan of those oracles. So I largely use my own meanings using the mythology and the image's composition as a jumping-off point.

And the Courts! (I mean 'the Troupe'!) I think you'll have to think on this factor for yourself as well. Many find the Troupe annoying, convoluted, and unnecessary. I personally love this aspect of the deck. It's kind of cheesy, sure, but I think that courts that aren't actually kings, queens, and the like are really fresh. I don't necessarily like that same hierarchy all the time.

tl;dr: PROS -
The art is SPECTACULAR and practically worth the purchase itself.
The changes to the familiar tarot tropes feel silly at worst, fresh and inspiring at best.
It reads well, though if you read the LWB meanings, it feels like it's chastising you.

CONS -
Kinda feels like it has its own agenda and that it's trying too hard to be unique.
Takes a LOT of time to become familiar and read with it fluently, in my experience.
The LWB is necessary to get a good grasp of the deck, but is very flowery and indirect as a result of the New Age influence.

These are all just my personal opinions, but I hope they've helped :)
 

Terrapin

Nice review feynrir! You sort of summed up how I feel about this deck. I have the app and fully intend on buying the physical deck. I like its freshness, its take on the court cards in spite of myself. And I really like the art work. A tad purply in the swords as Le Fanu points out, and I generally steer away from what I see as young teen, girly poster art, but mostly the art in this deck just stays this side of "wow" for me. Very beautiful.

I think for me, with this deck I just don't pay too much attention to the author's stream of conscious directives and I get the images and slightly altered points of view of the usual RWS/Thoth meanings. The Fool being the "hero" seems not so far out for me in a spiritual sense and the Hierophant (the Hi-URO-phant as the author calls it in a YouTube video, disdainfully I might add) is ok for me as the "Devine Child". There were popes in history named Innocenti :)

This deck goes into my file of more introspective, personal spiritual, meditative ones. Same file as the Mary-el, the Wild Unknown and yes at times the Thoth. The alternate view these decks provide is so valuable I think. In the initial hype someone called this an important deck. I still agree. And inspiring. Familiar through a different filter.
 

Thoughtful

Thanks so much feynrir for a really good overview of the deck. l am so undecided at the moment. The creation of the troupe l rather like, as you say it does get away from Kings, Queens etc. Glad l asked here for comments as l was 75% for it now l am really wondering if it is the tarot for me. The artwork is beautiful but that does not always mean a good reading deck. l am hesitating on this tarot as l cannot afford to buy it and have it sitting twiddling it thumbs on a shelf :)
Do l want the lwb chastising me hmm l could read it and if it gets on its high horse l would put that in a dark drawer with a lock.
 

Thoughtful

Terrapin l love the Heirophant card that does speak to me. The Fool l wasn't to sure of but the more l sense it the more l see what it is saying. There are cards that really do resonate with me. Would you say its more of a personal reading tarot for meditation, inner work, the shadow side or can it be read with successfully for others.

Edited: You have already answered that, but would it read for others
 

Obsydian

I'm still working with learning the ins and outs of this deck, it's very layered and deep. I love when creators think outside the box and change things up, it's so refreshing!