At first glance through this deck, my immediate thought was, "I have already done this deck!"  Of course I hadn't, though.  Until that moment, I was unaware that this deck was crafted and conceptualized by the designer of the Neuzeit Tarot, Walter Wegmuller.  There is a startling similarity between the Major Arcana of this deck and the Major Arcana in the Neuzeit Tarot.

However, once you reach the Minor Arcana, the similarities end.  I personally find the symbolism in this deck to be more to my taste than the Neuzeit.  There is a dazzling amount of rich color used, and many of the cards have bizarre, yet obviously traditional, meaning.

I suppose that is the major difference, this deck does adhere to more traditional symbolism.  It' s also just nicer-looking.  Several technical problems, such as the Roman numerals, have been corrected or removed altogether.  However, the Pentacles still remain these Incan-looking plates instead of real pentacles.

The deck is standard sized and shuffles well.  The suits are the traditional Swords, Wands, Cups and Pentacles.  Court cards are also traditional, being King, Queen, Knight and Page.

This deck is vastly different in style from a lot of the traditional decks without losing the meaning from the cards.  I would recommend this for someone who is looking for something different or unusual, however, a beginner might find the designs hard to understand.  It is only when you are accustomed to the symbolism that you easily recognize it in this different style.

It should be noted that this deck has gone out-of-print, so if you like what you see here, and you have an opportunity to pick one up somewhere, you should certainly get it right away. Once they are gone, they are gone for good.

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Also by Walter Wegmuller:
Neuzeit (New Age) Tarot

Review Copyright 1998 by Gina M. Pace