Need opinions On Lord of the Rings Oracle and Tarot.

Dancing Bear

I have just sat down and watched the Lord of the Rings Movie.
and realised how much of a fan i am. I have read the book so many times its not funny.
and now the Movie I have bought to stay in my collection forever!!

and of course Its got me thinking about getting a deck.

I really need opinions from others that have the decks .
I am uncertain whether to get the Oracle or Tarot deck.
I am leaning towards Tarot only because I just Love Tarot. But my arm coudl be twisted towards an Oracle.
I noticed the Images on the Tarot are dark in the scans, are they still a bit dark when you get them in your hands?
and also the oracle in the scans look a bit wishy washy.. are they better in your hands?
Do the characters look like those in the movie? or similar? or just way off!
How do they both read?
Are the images better in the Tarot or Oracle?
The meaning to the cards , do they make sense?
Like i read a bit of the blurb of the Tarot deck.. Sounds pretty good. Sounds like they have truly thought about the positions and the Book. "But"
Does this thoughtfullness run through the entire deck or just for the majors?
Are the pips Illustrated? Are there any cards you just dont get?
What are your favourites?

who do they have as Golem? (Smeagal)

Frodo would have to be the fool.. or do they include the Hobbit then it would be Bilbo? Or am i totally off track?
Is it wise to get the set (book and deck) for the Tarot or is the Deck on its own good enough?
The Oracle comes with a book anyway.

Sorry for the twenty dozen questions, But i am really wanting this Deck.. either Oracle or Tarot..
But really dont want to buy another deck and it sit to gather dust, Because the creators really havent thought about the enthusiasts of the Theme nor have they really thought about the images and characters and their Positions..

So your Opinions will help me greatly in deciding.

No pressure or nothing LOL! ;)
 

cardlady22

I have the Tarot deck by Donaldson & Pracownik; and have 2 sample cards of the Oracle. Feel of the cardstock & tone of the artwork: the Oracle is nicer.

The tarot has extra borders with symbols for a card game. (rules in LWB pp 26-40) I don't mind this because I'm very into tcg and rpg stuff. Others have commented that it's a big disappointment for them.

In the tarot deck:

Fool - Gollum
Magician - Gandalf
High Priestess - Eowyn
Empress - Belladonna Took, Galadriel, & Rose Gamgee
Emperor - Elrond
Hierophant - Saruman
Lovers - Aragorn & Arwen
Chariot - Theoden
Strength - White Tree
Hermit - Tom Bombadil
Wheel - One Ring
Justice - Oathbreakers of Dunharrow
Hanged Man - Faramir (on the pyre)
Death - Gandalf vs Balrog
Temperance - Sam & Frodo catch Gollum; Frodo allows him to live
Devil - Wormtongue
Tower - Ents attack on Orthanc
Star - Galadriel
Moon - 2 orc captains in front of Minas Morgul/Minas Ithil; Mount Doom center (background)
Sun - scene of the Shire
Judgment - Gandalf & Frodo by the hearth
World - Middle Earth

The companion book describes the scene from the LotR books. I wouldn't want the deck without it.

http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=139676
http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=92974
 

rwcarter

I have both the tarot deck and the oracle. The tarot deck is quite light on esoteric symbolism, but one of these days I'm going to read with it just to see if I can....

The cards in the tarot deck each have a sentence on them that may or may not be useful when interpreting the cards:
  • Strength - "The White Tree bridges Heaven and Earth, and shows the opening of the New Age."
  • 4 Swords - "The Barrow-wight's attack fails, and our companions can breathe more easily."
  • 2 Cups - "Faramir embraces Eowyn as they fall in love."
  • 8 Wands - "Gandalf speeds through open country riding Shadowfax, bringing hope."

The LWB contains both upright and reversed divinatory meanings for the cards. The companion book is 268 pages and contains quite a bit of info. There's 7-8 pages for each Major, including a description of the card and its imagery along with some background, the tarot meaning of the card, the astrological association and a section in which the card "speaks". The Minors have one page which describes the scene pictured on the card along with upright tarot meanings for each card. There's a section in the back of the book that discusses how to read with the deck and contains 3 new spreads (Triadic, Hobbit and Gandalf) in addition to the Celtic Cross. If you get the set from US Games, there's also a LoTR-specific Gandalf spread spreadsheet. The cards are ~70mm x 120mm.

Thumbing through the book, I see nothing about how to use the cards for gaming purposes. That info is contained in pages 28-42 of the LWB though.

The oracle comes with a map, a ring and 40 cards, which "show characters, creatures, races, various beings, and some locations." The ring can be used as a yes/no device by itself or with either the map or cards. The oracle contains reversed interpretations and three spreads - Dwarven, Elven, and Eye of Sauron. The cards are ~ 80mm x 130mm.

I like the art of the tarot deck better, but the cardstock of the oracle.

Terry Donaldson's name is on both of them, so I would guess that they have very similar perspectives.

HTH,
Rodney
 

Dancing Bear

Thankyou both so so much, Your comments ahve really helped me..
and also made me wonder if i could make my own. Cos some of those postions of the Tarot really wont resonate with me.

I dont know whether i could absorb and accept Gollum as the Fool.
To me it would be saying You are going to make the wrong decision if you decide to take that leap of faith..
Because Gollum as His Former self Smeagal, Most certianly made the wrong choice , by killing his brother, and allowing himself to be seduced by greed.
His path from their on is not an exciting wonderful one. It is full of loneliness, all consuming greed, Losing all of what it is to be a good human being. and eventually being a Split personality fighting within whether to be good or Bad.. Bad eventually wins along with his death!!
I would have the Ring as the Devil, with Gollum and those who were seduced by it, chained to it.

I really do need to resonate with a Deck, and its meanings do have to reflect somewhat to traditional meanings.. even if it is slightly varied i can deal with that. I was Worried about Gollum for some reason.
Now i know why!! :(
I guess i am am going to have a look at the Oracle a bit further.

Can anyone give me a little more detail on the Oracle Please?
 

Dancing Bear

thanks RWcarter

I will go over to racle decks and see what i can discover..

Yes i think Gollum as the fool has really put me off of the Tarot deck.
It is such a shame. Because i do prefer Tarot to Oracle.
and also Saruman as Heirophant also is niggling at me.

I guess i am going to have to attempt a deck of my own maybe!! I have tried to make my own deck for some time now and never really succeeded.

Maybe i will with LOTR who knows.

Thanks again for your input.
 

Dancing Bear

OK I went searching in th eOracle area..
And have decided , in both decks Gollum for me is so misplaced..
I am a huge huge fan and rather pedantic with the positioning of these characters..
In the Oracle Gollum is the unloved child.
In the Tarot he is the Fool.

Both those positions dont do it for me at all..
So i have decided to look around for high resolution images and make my own private Tarot deck.

Thanks everyone for all of your help!!
 

WalesWoman

I thought this would be a fun deck and maybe it would work for a role playing game or something, but don't think it is tarot at all. A good idea gone bad. I think it's going to become someone's stocking stuffer instead, unless...
 

truelighth

I always thought Golum as the Fool was totally misplaced too. It shows that whoever made that tarot, had no real knowledge about tarot imo. I have the Taiwanese Lord of the Rings Tarot as well, but that is basically a collection of pictures from the movies (with an overload of Legolas and Gandalf). And poorly choosen images at that. And again, Golum as the Fool.

I am wondering, which card would you attribute to Golum yourself? I always thought he would do great on the Moon, since he was so deluded and lost. And the Moon is also about illusions. I myself would pick Saruman as the Devil, or rather, the one seduced by the Devil (Sauron).
 

izmeina

truelighth said:
I am wondering, which card would you attribute to Golum yourself? I always thought he would do great on the Moon, since he was so deluded and lost. And the Moon is also about illusions. I myself would pick Saruman as the Devil, or rather, the one seduced by the Devil (Sauron).
Click to expand...


Anyone here got the Vampires of Eternal Night deck? The creepy character slinking about in the water by the light of the moon in search of a certain something bears a remarkable resemblance to Gollum

Not sure if this is mere coincidence but it is just perfect. For a silly innocent fool he most definitely is not
 
"Dragon Tarot" any one else a Fan? I want a deck...