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Rating:  Summary: Not bad, but uninspiring. Review: The Ibis Tarot suffers from flat, stiff images, albeit rich and beautifully coloured ones. The deck is heavy on esoteric symbolism, such as planetary and astrological symbols, and the "Alphabet of the Magi". Many of the trump cards are renamed; the High Priestess is "The Gate of the Sanctuary", the Hierophant is "The Master of the Arcanas" [sic], and so on. Some of the choices don't entirely work--Isis-Urania is the Empress, although Hathor or Isis as the mother of Horus would have made more sense as a symbol of feminine fertility. The images are stately Egyptian-style line drawings, with magnificent colouring, which gives the cards a nice air of otherworldly mystery and beauty. Minor Arcana are pips (i.e., not scenes), with attractive backgrounds and more esoteric symbols. Overall, though, the artwork has no movement or emotion, even within the restrictions of the Egyptian style. Good art deck, perhaps useful for fans of obscure alphabets and correspondence systems, but not great for personal readings and terrible for beginners.
Rating:  Summary: Not bad, but uninspiring. Review: The Ibis Tarot suffers from flat, stiff images, albeit rich and beautifully coloured ones. The deck is heavy on esoteric symbolism, such as planetary and astrological symbols, and the "Alphabet of the Magi". Many of the trump cards are renamed; the High Priestess is "The Gate of the Sanctuary", the Hierophant is "The Master of the Arcanas" [sic], and so on. Some of the choices don't entirely work--Isis-Urania is the Empress, although Hathor or Isis as the mother of Horus would have made more sense as a symbol of feminine fertility. The images are stately Egyptian-style line drawings, with magnificent colouring, which gives the cards a nice air of otherworldly mystery and beauty. Minor Arcana are pips (i.e., not scenes), with attractive backgrounds and more esoteric symbols. Overall, though, the artwork has no movement or emotion, even within the restrictions of the Egyptian style. Good art deck, perhaps useful for fans of obscure alphabets and correspondence systems, but not great for personal readings and terrible for beginners.
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