Old English Tarot

Rating:
Summary: An aesthetically pleasing deck (fingers notwithstanding)...
Review: I can certainly understand why others rave over this deck's beauty --- the art here is certainly a cut above that of the typical, hastily-put-together ... decks created by lesser tarot artists out for a quick profit. Kneen's illustrations have a wonderful clean crisp breezy feel, devoid of any unnecessary garishness. You could gaze into the pictures for a long period without fatiguing your eyes. Wonderful.

I have one major problem with this deck's design. This is Kneen's assertion that the old Marseilles-style decks inspire her the most, but yet she chooses to switch the numberings of the Strength and Justice card to the nasty Rider-Waite abberation (Strength=8, Justice=11). This completely crosses her deck out of contention for serious use as a Marseilles-alternative in my colllection. Also, fine as her artistry is, she seems to to have big trouble sketching the backs of human hands. All the hands of the people in the cards lack the fine detailing of *fingers*. The result is that, for me personally, these people look less like humans, and more like lifeless Pinocchio-like puppets. EERIE.

That said, this deck is still very much a visual feast and deserves a spot in the collection of any avid tarotist.

Rating:
Summary: So close to perfect!
Review: I gave this deck to my friend for Christmas, and I really like it. Some of the human figures seem to be just slightly out of proportion, but overall, I like the colors and the symbolism which is reflective of Rider-Waite-Smith. The minors are mostly pips, with a tiny scene at the bottom of each card. It is a really interesting way to illustrate them, which I haven't seen ain any other decks. The Little White Book that comes with the deck is pretty limited, so if you are a beginner, I would suggest a standard Tarot handbook to go with it, like Tarot, Your Everyday Guide by Janina Renee or 78 Degrees of Wisdom.

Rating:
Summary: This deck is pretty good
Review: I gave this deck to my friend for Christmas, and I really like it. Some of the human figures seem to be just slightly out of proportion, but overall, I like the colors and the symbolism which is reflective of Rider-Waite-Smith. The minors are mostly pips, with a tiny scene at the bottom of each card. It is a really interesting way to illustrate them, which I haven't seen ain any other decks. The Little White Book that comes with the deck is pretty limited, so if you are a beginner, I would suggest a standard Tarot handbook to go with it, like Tarot, Your Everyday Guide by Janina Renee or 78 Degrees of Wisdom.

Rating:
Summary: Bored with the Tarot of Marseilles?
Review: The classic Tarot of Marseilles may be just that -- a historical classic -- but it bores the heck out of many people with its rigid woodcut images. This tarot deck captures the historical aura of the Marseilles, but features much better art. The artist has gently captured the feeling of the Old English countryside in these images, researched from primary documents. Although none of the cards strike home the way decks with more modern artwork approaches do, it still gives you a sense of the history of the deck and discards most of the "magickal" detritus the decks picked up in the twentieth century. As in Brian Williams' excellent Renaissance Tarot, the cards have here returned to their true origin in the archetypes of European medieval and renaissance culture.

Rating:
Summary: Beautiful deck
Review: This deck has beautiful illustrations that are old-fashioned but not slavishly so. You can tell a lot of thought and work went into creating each card. You may not want to share this deck with others!

Rating:
Summary: So close to perfect!
Review: This is a beautiful deck, as a history buff I really appreciate its imagery and style. In my personal readings, I get the best readings of my entire deck collection. The only reason I give it 4 stars instead of 5 is because the imagery of the minors, while largely not straying from the Rider Waite Smith system, is from a source that is very obscure, at least here in America we aren't really taught much about the Lutrell Psalter, this is my first exposure to that book specifially. I wish Maggie Kneen would write a more thorough book than the Little White Book included, not only would that mean more business (hint!), but also a deeper understanding for people like me! Other than that, this really is a great deck, but unless a real book surfaces, I can't recommend it to anyone who isn't pretty familiar with the Rider Waite Smith minors.

Rating:
Summary: Beauty, Spirit And Soul
Review: This is one of the most beautiful tarot decks in the world,that affords wonderfuly accurate and enlightening readings....

Rating:
Summary: Most peaceful and with Young Soul
Review: This is the tarot set that I love most. Not only beautiful but also you can feel the young soul in it. The front and the back of the cards are perfectly drawn and when you use that lovely deck your soul becomes peaceful. Try to imagine that you are just one of the characters of the story of the cards. This is highly recommanded for people who have young and beautiful soul.

Rating:
Summary: Most peaceful and with Young Soul
Review: This is the tarot set that I love most. Not only beautiful but also you can feel the young soul in it. The front and the back of the cards are perfectly drawn and when you use that lovely deck your soul becomes peaceful. Try to imagine that you are just one of the characters of the story of the cards. This is highly recommanded for people who have young and beautiful soul.

Rating:
Summary: Dreamy Old English Tarot!
Review: This wonderful "pastelly" deck inspires you to dream and meditate. It is easy to lose yourself amongst the Knights and farmers of this deck! As a sucker for medieval things, this deck was the natural choice for me once I saw it. And it way works better for me than my old, too-modern-feel "Cosmic Tarot" deck. Buy it and dream on.