Playing Card Oracles ~ Alchemy Edition

Madame Squee

Thanks, I was wondering which size to buy...funds are tight right now.
I'm kind of on the fence about this one, I really love my old deck and I'm so familiar with the cards that it might throw me off to have different illustrations.

That was my worry, too. Never fear!

This morning, I started making card-by-card comparisons, beginning with the Spades, because they are my favorite (or 2nd favorite) suit.

At first glance, the 2 of Spades appears completely different than the original PCO image. However, after a minute of gazing at the Alchemy card, "The Enemies" began writhing within Medusa's tendrils! :bugeyed:


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Next, the 9 of Spades grabbed my attention. What's this? A fine pair of bloodsuckers, that's what -- with more than one thing in common!


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Other apparently dissimilar images also connect with one another ingeniously. I'll post more tomorrow unless someone else beats me to it. :D

S.
 

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lark

I'm sorry but there are to many that are changed and I'm not feeling a connection.
I'd miss the crows and the spiders too much...this is one of my main decks so I am very attached and used to the images of my old deck, I have 6 copies because I love it so much.
3 of the original...and 3 of the US Games.
No disrespect intended Anna I know you wanted to honor your father with this new deck, and include the art that touched you in it.
I'm going to stick with my first love though....it is tried and true.
I'm glad everyone is enjoying the new deck...I may get one in future we'll see.
Looking forward to more comparisons Madame Squee.
 

Dark Victory '39

I have to say for someone who came way too late to the party to get the original, i love that the book has pix of that earlier edition; it is a lot of fun reading comparisons between those and the alchemy edition. i love the art on this newest one; the coloring-- that dracula that Squee posted shows that luminous emerald color in its touches; that said, the older cards tht has that one with the head under the table (dont have my book upon my person to look up which one)-- v. cool.

Still working my way through the book. Yes, i am that slow.

Nice spanking new avatar Moon Gypsy:)
 

MoonGypsy

Monday: (((MoonGypsy waves to Dark Victory '39))) i am glad you like the new avatar; i got
permission from Ana to use it. It is "Wicca",of course from the Alchemy PCO.

And at long last...My pocket sized edition was released from Postal limbo and i received it
today...Oh it has surpassed my expectations! It is so gorgeous! The colors and images
are startling in their strong presence/vibrancy!
What an ambiance...i am really quite blown away. Now that i have it in hand,
i can't imagine NOT having this deck.

The deck has my favorite linen type matte cardstock..and it shuffles [of course] like butter.
The colors--oh the colors--so rich!!!! i mean STUNNING!
i seem to recall that Ana said somewhere-- when she first saw some of these large images hanging on her dad's walls
when she was a young girl, she thought they looked like they were from Dracula's Family Tree....:laugh:
Seriously, they are striking.... i am totally in awe...

The thing is...i am now CRAVING for the large edition....

i am very, very happy...The images in the pocket still really, really pop and are easy to see,
but i love these images sooooo much, that i really want to view them larger also.
Maybe for study purposes...


ETA on Tuesday: After ALL my gushing above...[and it is absolutely sincere,
and i still feel that way the "day after":p]
The Original Playing Cards Oracle is still my favorite one for reading with,
because it is so much a part of me...

i do find a bit of difference in several of the card meanings/energy in the Alchemy...
but the >>PDF download for the Alchemy edition<< is helping a whole lot..

Even though i find i am not able to slip [easily] from one to the other. i am hopeful...
It will take a bit of time..."a bit of brain stretching", which is always a good thing.
Complacency is the daughter of Apathy. So i am looking forward to this newest PCO Journey!
It will be a fun journey...They are like sister decks. [2 sisters :p]

Would i still buy this deck--You Bet--no question about it! And i DO most definitely still want a Large.
i just need to spend some time getting to know the energy of the Alchemy.
 

garmonbozia

I have to say for someone who came way too late to the party to get the original, i love that the book has pix of that earlier edition; it is a lot of fun reading comparisons between those and the alchemy edition.

What do you mean by "the original" and "earlier edition"?

If you only have the alchemy edition and want the deck that is in the book, the US Games edition is still very much in print and available on Amazon for about $10.
 

MoonGypsy

What do you mean by "the original" and "earlier edition"?

If you only have the alchemy edition and want the deck that is in the book, the US Games edition is still very much in print and available on Amazon for about $10.

The original deck was self published by 2 Sisters Press--it had a different card stock and the
back pattern went out all the way to edge with no borders. It is sometimes referred to as "the vintage Playing Cards Oracle Deck'. i have a signed copy that i purchased from Ana a few years back...i don't think she has any more, [as far as i know] i think they have all been sold, as in 2011 there were only a few available.

The deck you are mentioning for about $10 on Amazon most likely is the pocket sized, not the full sized,
and that only comes with a lwb. [Throw OUT the lwb]
i know Amazon can be really confusing, so check the dimensions if it is the full sized deck you want.

i think this is the full sized deck and book--on USGames:

http://www.usgamesinc.com/Playing_Card_Oracles_Book_-and-_Deck_Set/

If you purchase it on Amazon, please make sure you know what you are buying.

ETA: after a bit more research, It seems USGames is only publishing the full sized deck
as a Deck and Companion book boxed
set. The Book is available singly; but the full sized deck is not.
The only deck [alone] that they have in print
at the moment is the small pocket deck.

***Ana, if you see this and i am wrong please correct me...:love:

Maybe eventually they will have a single full sized deck available again--but for now, i don't think so--
only as a book and deck SET.
 

Dark Victory '39

What do you mean by "the original" and "earlier edition"?

If you only have the alchemy edition and want the deck that is in the book, the US Games edition is still very much in print and available on Amazon for about $10.

Thanks for that garmonbozia; i didn't know! I obviously haven't gone v. far in exploring, just trying to work w/ what i have w/ this alchemy edition. I truly might at some point get the other, now that i know.

And MoonGypsy, you are a fount of wisdom. Where do you keep it all? I do not mentally carry that kind of info around on anything (though would totally love to).
 

MoonGypsy

.

And MoonGypsy, you are a fount of wisdom. Where do you keep it all? I do not mentally carry that kind of info around on anything (though would totally love to).

Thanks, DV '39! :laugh: ...but don't ask me what i had for breakfast yesterday morning...:p
 

garmonbozia

The deck you are mentioning for about $10 on Amazon most likely is the pocket sized, not the full sized, and that only comes with a lwb. [Throw OUT the lwb]
i know Amazon can be really confusing, so check the dimensions if it is the full sized deck you want.

i think this is the full sized deck and book--on USGames:

http://www.usgamesinc.com/Playing_Card_Oracles_Book_-and-_Deck_Set/

Thanks Moon Gypsy. How can you tell that the deck/book set available on US Games' website is the larger deck? I didn't think that was in print any more.

If it is still in print, and it's anything like the larger US Games deck that I have, I don't recommend it. My larger US Games deck is too glossy/waxy/sticky. My 'standard playing card sized deck' from US Games has a much better card stock.

I also have a larger version that I bought from Ana's website a few years back, but I don't think it was an original Two Sisters Press deck. It has borderless backs like that deck, but I think it might have been a limited edition re-printing of the original deck that Ana was selling on her website. It didn't come in a tuckbox or anything as mine is currently stored in a generic tin I bought for it. I don't use this deck, I just admire it. The colors are much nicer than the US Games printings.
 

MoonGypsy

great Interview...

Hi everyone!

i just re-read a great interview with our dear Ana Cortez from [Nov. 2012] on Shaheen Miro's website.

It was really an enjoyable read...[i had read it back then, but it holds even more
meaning for me now,as there is a lot of info about the PCO: Alchemy Edition--Then referred to as
"The Book of Knowing"...
Please read it [or once again] if you originally read it way back when, like i did.

i found it quite moving:

http://shaheenmiroinsights.com/tag/the-playing-card-oracles/