An unmistakeable fact about this tarot deck is that one cannot avoid making comparisons to two other decks, The Shapeshifter Tarot(also by Conway and Hunt, with Sirona Knight) and the Dragon Tarot, by Terry Donaldson and Peter Pracownik. My personal expectations weren't all that high, since I am neither a fantasy fan, nor have I been impressed by either of these other decks in the past. However, when I opened my copy of the Celtic Dragon Tarot, I was both stunned and pleased. No, perhaps it's better to say I was blown away. I looked at the deck several times over the course of one evening, and read the entire book cover to cover within 24 hours. I kept feeling the compulsion to go get the deck out again and look at it. Consequently, the deck has never been put away totally since I opened it.
This deck, published by Llewellyn's, comes packaged in their usual setup: a fairly large box holding a trade paperback with a slideout tray underneath it holding the deck in a drop-in space in the center. I've complained previously about the lack of a separate inner box to hold the deck. This is one set where I would actually put the deck in a bag and not mind. I haven't liked a set from Llewellyn's this much since the Legend: Arthurian Tarot, which those of you familiar with my other reviews will remember is one of my favorite decks.
There are some changes to the titles in the Major Arcana, but not a lot of them, and even those that are altered are close enough to tradition. The coloring on the cards is very good, and the images seem to fade out into the border area, rather than having a defined box around the image. I really liked this approach. It gives a softer feel to the scenes and makes you feel like you're just looking at a part of a larger picture. This makes the user feel included in whatever action or activity is being portrayed in the cards.
Titles and numbers appear in black against the border area under the image. Arabic numerals are used. Traditional Rider-Waite ordering is used here, which means Strength is 8 and Justice 11. Titles are traditional, with the following exceptions: High Priest (5) replaces the Hierophant; Chains (15) replaces the Devil. I felt that both of these choices were excellent; using the High Priest instead of the Hierophant gives balance to the High Priestess and also removes the "formal ceremonial" aspect that the Hierophant offers which was not part of the pre-Celtic way of life which is illustrated in these cards. The Devil was also not part of the pre-Celtic mythology, and Chains accurately represents the meaning of the card itself.
The Minor Arcana in this deck use the traditional suits, but the elemental correspondences which are associated with them are different from the traditional. Many decks today are beginning to use an association of Wands with Air instead of Fire, and Swords with Fire instead of Air. I can see the relevance of these assignations for users who are Wiccan and whose altar correspondences associate swords with fire and wands with air. I myself am a Wiccan and I prefer the Swords-Air Wands-Fire aspect which is the traditional. The nice thing about the Celtic Dragon Tarot is that the user can make either association and still use the deck. I read the entire book cover to cover, read all the justifications for the switch, and can still happily use my own correspondences while using the cards. In other words, the switch is done harmoniously rather than combatively. Of course, as I've discussed in other Celtic deck reviews, the ancient Celtic and pre-Celtic systems didn't use the elements of earth, air, fire and water anyhow, therefore the correspondence is flexible.
The Suit titles are the traditional Wands, Cups, Swords and Pentacles. The court cards use the titles of King, Queen, Knight and Page. Something I liked a lot in this deck is the free use of gender reversal. Or, more accurately, the court figures, as well as the figures in the scenes on the rest of the cards, do not suffer from any sort of gender prejudice when being assigned to their respective cards. You will not find all male Knights here, but neither will you find all female ones (as I've seen in some decks which strive to "restore" female energies to the cards to the exclusion of male figures). Some of the pages are male, some female. This is true throughout the deck. Pre-Celtic and Celtic society did not discriminate against women nearly as much as other cultures did and so it wasn't uncommon to find men and women working side by side in any role. I like that this is translated through the images on these cards.
The cards themselves are slightly smaller than standard size (in fact they are the same size as the Legend: Arthurian Tarot) and are printed on an excellent cardstock which flexes easily and feels cool and comfortable to the touch. The edges are polished to a silky finish and the corners nicely rounded. This deck shuffles and handles like a dream. The back design is reversible, a marbley grey with a Celtic triskele-type design of three intertwined dragons. There is no little white booklet with this set, nor is one necessary since the trade paperback which comes with it is over 220 pages thick.
One of my favorite features about Llewellyn's deck and book sets has always been the quality of the book included. This book is lovely enough to sell by itself; the binding is very well made, the book would last for many years even with heavy use. I also think that it's nice the book is attractive enough to stand on the bookcase by itself, which is what I did with the Legend: Arthurian book.
There are so many details I love about this deck: the fact that all the Aces show scenes with baby hatchling dragons of various elemental association; many of my favorite cards show cute little tiny dragons peeking from their perches watching the humans. Conway and Hunt discuss the "reality" of dragons (Are Dragons Real?) and conclude that dragons exist on the astral plane and aren't scientifically explainable. This allows for both fantasy and reality to meet halfway. I know many people who would say "I don't believe in dragons." One could say that, and still like this deck. I had a hard time picking which cards to scan for the review.
I highly recommend this deck. Period, end of story. I can't think of anyone who wouldn't enjoy it. Beginners could use it, especially with the size and thoroughness of the book included in the set. Anyone well-versed in traditional tarot can easily make the associations with this one. I don't know anyone who doesn't enjoy fantasy on some level. It goes without saying that anyone who loves dragon fantasy fiction and lore will consider this set a must-have. The art is especially good. I feel that since The Shapeshifter Tarot, Hunt has really found her niche in fantasy art. This deck is bright, happy, and energetic and should please no matter who uses it.
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also by Conway and Hunt,
with Sirona Knight:
The
Shapeshifter Tarot
also see
Llewellyn's
Website
Review Copyright 2000 by Gina M. Pace
Tarot Deck by D.J. Conway
and Lisa Hunt, 1999
published by Llewellyn,
St. Paul, MN
ISBN 1-56718-182-1
retail price: $29.95