This deck sounded so good in the previews I read about it in NAPRA review and other publishing periodicals, I had to order it before it was even commercially available.  It was on backorder for three months, but it finally arrived, and is it ever worth the wait!  Of course, I already knew I liked Caitlin Matthews' other works, but this one is an especially delightful set.  It comes packaged in a very neat rigid cardboard box, with a hardbound book and the deck of cards held inside a special sleeve.

The deck has 78 cards, which are more or less divided into traditional groupings of 22 Major Arcana, 4 suits of 10 cards each, and 4 court cards in each of the 4 suits for a total of 16 court cards.  But that's where the resemblance ends to a traditional tarot.  Titles are completely new and different, worked with the Celtic system that Matthews uses for this set.  Imagery is also completely consistent with the Celtic system, illuminating characters and scenarios from Celtic legend and lore to show the values and paths that were and still are available.  Ancient oral traditions from the Druids are drawn upon for divination.  The Major Arcana cards in this set focus on the immortal soul and its journey through many lifetimes.  The Major Arcana titles are as follows, with their corresponding traditional titles:

The Soul -- The Fool
The Decider -- The Magician
The Guardian -- The High Priestess
The Shaper -- The Empress
The Keeper -- The Emperor
The Rememberer -- The Hierophant
The Lover
The Mover -- The Chariot
The Empowerer -- Strength
The Counselor -- The Hermit
The Spinner -- Wheel of Fortune
The Balancer -- Justice
The Dedicator -- The Hanged Man
The Liberator -- Death
The Mingler -- Temperance
The Challenger -- Devil
The Changer -- The Tower
The Dreamer -- Star
The Imaginer -- Moon
The Protector -- Sun
The Renewer -- Judgment
The Perfector -- The World

As you can see, all but one of the titles are changed, yet if you have any familiarity with the underlying meanings of the traditional Rider-Waite deck, the titles that accompany this deck do underscore the real meanings of the traditional cards as well.  In other words, you can make the translation, and studying these cards will give you a greater understanding of the traditional cards as well.

The Minor Arcana have been completely redesigned, as well, to fit within this new system.  Each suit depicts a series of rich spiritual values which were vital to Celtic life.  You'll see, in place of numbered cards, each one has a title which represents one of these values, such that the values cross over from one suit to the next.  The suit titles themselves are changed, as below.

Battle -- Swords
Skill -- Wands
Art -- Cups
Knowledge -- Pentacles

There are no aces in this deck.  Instead, within each suit, the cards go up from number 1 through 10 with titles which are drawn upon an old text called "The Settling of the Manor of Tara."  The cards tell a story and so the images which are present do not show suit items specifically but correspond to certain points in the story.  These titles are:

1 -- Augury
2 -- Dialogue
3 -- Courtship
4 -- Judgment
5 -- Combat
6 -- Foundation
7 -- Adventure
8 -- Elopement
9 -- Revelation
10 -- Quest

The court cards in each suit are King, Queen, Warrior and Woman.  It is common that people have an easier time working with the Minor Arcana, but in this deck, I found the "Story Cards" required more learning and study to grasp, although the stories are easy enough to follow.  I guess it's cause the correlation between this deck and traditional Rider-Waite decks is stronger in the Majors.  Certainly I don't mean to imply that this is a very hard system.   It just means you have to pay attention.

The cards themselves are larger than standard and printed on a thicker, but flexible card stock with a heavy gloss coating.  They were stuck together when I opened the pack, and I had to take great care to separate them all when shuffling.  They tend to stick together a lot.  Other than that, shuffling is not that difficult.  The back design has a lovely triple spiral design on it in a vibrant yellow and orange color burst.  The images on the front of the cards are unencumbered by any borders and the solid black text box at the bottom is unobtrusive.

The hardbound book which comes with the set is done in full color glossy pages with a lot of really good reference material in it, as well as meanings for the cards, which are presented with both upright and reversed variations and a large amount of background information.  Six different spreads are included, one of which is a variation on the Celtic Cross.  Many other excellent sections are included, most impressive was a list of questions to ask yourself when you are stuck on the meaning of the card, to prod yourself into the proper understanding of it.  I am very pleased with this.

Overall, I can't recommend this set highly enough.  It's a beautiful piece of art, as well as an excellent divinatory system, as only Caitlin Matthews could do.  Any collector will relish this deck in their collection.  A beginner could manage to work quite well with this, although I do think a general knowledge of tarot would be helpful.  Its meditative style works best for the self, but can also be used in reading for others with enough experience.  Definitely a keeper!

Click here for pictures
 
or here to purchase this deck
 
or here to return

Click here for a Second Opinion

Please use your browser's back button to return from pictures

also by Caitlin Matthews:
Celtic Book of the Dead

by Caitlin and John Matthews:
Arthurian Tarot

please see Caitlin Matthews' Website
www.hallowquest.org.uk

Review Copyright 1999 by Gina M. Pace

Celtic Wisdom Tarot by Caitlin Matthews, 1999
published by Destiny Books, ISBN 0-89281-720-8