Out of all the Golden Dawn tarot decks that are out there, I have to admit I like this one the best.  Published by Llewellyn, it is available either as a deck/book set, or for separate purchase.  I would recommend buying the set, or at least buying both the deck and the book.  The book, by Chic Cicero and Sandra Tabitha Cicero, is a large trade paperback with 235 pages chock full of information for using the  tarot deck, which also came with little white booklet.

The creator of this deck is an active member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and seeks here to combine traditional tarot teachings with those of the Golden Dawn itself.  The cards and the book both seek to make the information available to the beginner without losing the advanced users as well.  I think that the deck might somewhat accomplish that.

The art looks like a simpler, more colorful and comfortable version of the Thoth Tarot.  I certainly see influences here from that deck.  I know I will have just made a lot of Thoth fans angry with that comment!  I doubt anyone who is familiar with Thoth will be stepping down to use this deck anyway.  I've rarely seen a deck with more devoted fans than that one!

Anyway, the New Golden Dawn Ritual Tarot has the traditional titling and order in the Major Arcana to correspond with the Rider-Waite system.  There are not one, but two Temperance cards; this is in keeping with Golden Dawn ritual observance.  One is an older version and the newer version more strongly resembles the well-known traditional model, and you are supposed to pick one and use whichever one better represents your approach to the deck, I guess.  I didn't find a very clear explanation in either the book or the little white booklet as to how one was supposed to determine which card of the two to use.

Imagery in the Majors is colorful and interesting without being too childish looking.  Many of the cards have what appears to be a mosaic effect with the backgrounds painted in a swirly tiled look.  Strength is 8 and Justice 11.  Titles are in English at the bottom of each card with the Arabic numeral at the top.  The corresponding Hebrew letter also appears in the lefthand corner of the title box, and the planetary and zodiacal sigils are in the right hand corners.  This makes them easy to reference, since they are "right there" for your use.

The book actually publishes the descriptions for each card which were presented by S.L. MacGregor Matthews who designed the original Golden Dawn deck, the one that was never published, and no one ever saw again once he left the Golden Dawn.  His writings, however, were left behind to inspire new artists to illustrate from, and perhaps this is better than the mere copying of the deck that might have taken place before.  In any case, it is enlightening to read what was actually said by the original creator of the Golden Dawn tarots, as part of the divinatory meanings for the cards in this deck.  The cards themselves in this set are slightly wider than standard, but handle and shuffle easily, with smooth edges and a matte-finish coating.

The Minor Arcana are every bit as colorful and interesting as the Majors.  Traditional suits of Wands, Cups, Swords and Pentacles are used.  However, subtitles with keywords describing the general climate of the cards are used, more along the lines of the Thoth deck than the Rider-Waite model.  Courts are King, Queen, Prince and Princess, which is also closer to the Thoth model.  There is very little difference in the design of the court cards from one suit to the next, i.r. the queen in each suit almost looks like a related woman sitting in the same pose.  Elemental symbols for each suit are on top of the Court cards for each suit, with titles at the bottom.  In the numbered cards, the elemental symbol is on both sides of the keyword at the bottom, with the Arabic numeral and the suit title at the top.  The numbered cards are mostly pip cards, without scenes of any kind to illustrate their meaning.

The book lists shorter explanations for each of the Minor Arcana, but there are still the excerpts from MacGregor Matthews, in addition to the Ciceros' explanations, so you end up with a decent amount of information on each card.  But the book has by far the most interesting information on other stuff as well as the cards themselves.  A whole 32 page section on the Tree of Life in the front of the book, plus a hefty section in the back of the book on ritual and divination which encompasses many rituals involving the tarot such as meditative rites and whatnot.  These two large sections can be applied to any tarot, not just the New Golden Dawn Ritual Tarot, and so make the book a worthwhile purchase even if you don't get the deck.  There are two spreads given in the book, and neither is the Celtic Cross.  Both have excellent explanations for how they work.  It's really interesting, and frankly, I have a much better perspective on other systems which have used the Golden Dawn system, now that I have read through this one.

I recommend this deck, and the book, to anyone who is seeking to learn to use a tarot which has a more ceremonial base to it.  Explanations given are good enough for a beginner to use, although I think at least a rudimentary awareness of tarot would help the user beginning with this system.  I can't speak for advanced magicians as far as the use of this deck, but the art is good enough not to irritate and the symbolism seems clearly defined.  The book is the real gemstone, and I would recommend it for Thoth users as well as any other Golden Dawn deck users.

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Review Copyright 1999 by Gina M. Pace

The New Golden Dawn Ritual Tarot by Sandra Tabitha Cicero
published by Llewellyn, 1991  ISBN 0-87542-138-5

The New Golden Dawn Ritual Tarot (book)
by Chic Cicero and Sandra Tabitha Cicero
published by Llewellyn, 1991  ISBN 0-87542-139-3

if you need help ordering this tarot deck or book, email Wicce