This is a very lovely artistic deck which showcases goddesses from cultures all over the world.  Especially in the Major Arcana, where every archetype has been translated into a different goddess.  Some of the goddesses used are fairly obscure, from religions which are a little off the beaten path, so that even for the student of women's mysteries, there is something new to learn here.

The Minor Arcana appear to feature the same woman in all the numbered cards of any given suit, which seems appropriate to me when you interpret the levels of the suit as being stages of consciousness or life experience, as is often done.  As the woman progresses through the cards on her way to number ten, she experiences various life situations which are patterns of growth for her.  The four suits are each represented by a different culture.

The Court Cards kind of bothered me a little, since even the male figures in them (King, Prince) seem to really be women in these cards. I understand this is a feminist-type deck (don't shoot me) but I don't think it would hurt to show real men in the deck in these cards.  The little booklet explains that each court card represents a phase of the woman's development, so why is she wearing beards and stuff?  And yet she is obviously still the same woman.

The Major Arcana are the strength in this deck, in my opinion.  The suits are the traditional Swords, Cups and Pentacles, with Staves in place of Wands.  King, Queen, Prince and Princess are the courts.  The deck itself is quite a bit larger than standard, but all the extra size is in the width.  The deck is very wide.  It doesn't seem to make it any harder to handle, however.

The artwork in these cards is really attractive.  Ms. Waldherr has published many pieces of goddess artwork previously and fans of her work will recognize several of the paintings in this deck from a book published on Goddesses.  I would recommend this deck for anyone who is interested in goddess lore and multicultural women's studies.  As a tarot it is fine.  I think the lack of masculine energies in this deck will not appeal to a wider audience.  The deck is available individually, but I would recommend the accompanying book if one really wants to get the most of it.

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also see The Goddess Tarot by Kris Waldherr

Review Copyright 1998 by Gina M. Pace