I picked this deck up with some degree of skepticism, since I've never been one of the "angels" crowd and don't follow any of its traditions or beliefs. However, since this deck was done by the same pair who did the Alchemical Tarot, I figured it was worth a go.
It's very definitely a Christian deck, there is no room for paganism in it. I have, however, very strongly negative feelings about this deck for a couple of reasons. Pagan, Christian, Buddhist, whatever religion you follow, as a reader of cards I always must stress that the Death card does NOT mean actual death, and the Devil card does NOT refer in any way to the devil, but to materialism, temptation, etc.
This deck puts Satan as the Devil card, and the Angel of Death as the Death card. If I were to use this for a reading, and one of those came up, my clients would literally bolt from the room in fear for their lives or their souls!
I feel that this was a poor judgement on the part of the producers of this deck; however, if they subscribe to the fire-and-brimstone Christian teachings that the devil that gets you is, in fact, Satan, then I suppose this is the deck for them.
The Major Arcana uses all angels in place of traditional figures, with the exception of the Virgin Mary who is in place of the Empress. The Minor Arcana are a weak, corny little affair, with little angels' wings characters shaped into Hearts, Diamonds, Clubs and Spades. Yes, this deck uses bridge card suits. The deck is standard sized and shuffles stiffly due to the glossy card stock it is printed on.
If you are an angels fan, I imagine you would like this deck..... however, if you are an angels fan, I'm sure there are better oracles to use than this one. It's a nice deck, but it didn't really move me. Of course, my tastes aren't for everyone!
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also by Rosemary Ellen
Guiley and Robert Michael Place:
The
Alchemical Tarot
Review Copyright 1998 by Gina M. Pace
