Nov 9, 2010

Deck Review- The Goddess Tarot

This week I'm reviewing one of the more beautiful tarot decks, The Goddess Tarot, designed by Kris Waldherr and published by U.S. Games Systems, Inc. This deck celebrates the Divine Feminine by using goddess myths and imagery from many world cultures. Anyone who has a love for the Goddess will appreciate this deck.


This 78 card deck is beautifully illustrated with breathtaking borders that surround the imagery and I'm usually not one that likes bordered deck but this one is definately enhanced by the use of them. The Major Arcana are a very nice exploration of goddess archetypes. They loosely follow the Rider Waite system with each trump card features a different goddess and the goddesses are drawn from many cultures and feature both goddesses who are well-known in the West and some that are more obscure. 


Many of the card titles have been altered from the Rider Waite system, but they relate thematically to the more traditional cards. The new titles tend to act more like keywords than the more allegorical traditional titles. For example, The Empress has been changed to Fertility, The Hanged Man to Sacrifice, and The Tower to Oppression.


The LWB (little white book) that accompanies the deck offers a sampling of their lore. A helpful workbook is available separately. The Minor Arcana is divided up into four different cultural stories each corresponding with one of the four elements, water, air, earth and fire. Each card except for the court cards shows a woman as she undergoes the journey symbolized by the suit. The suit of Cups is the Path of Venus, Staves is Freyja, Swords is Isis, and Pentacles is Lakshmi. The court cards show the querant's psyche in different times and areas of life and can also be used to represent different people.


The card stock is fantastic and shuffles very nicely and although the cards are a bit wider than most decks it handles easily and having smaller hands this deck's size has not been an issue for me to work with. This is a truly beautiful, positive and spiritual deck of cards. If you're looking for a wonderful tarot deck splashed with colours of culture and natural beauty then this is the deck for you. 








The Goddess Tarot
U.S. Games Systems
ISBN-10: 1572810661









2 comments:

Mother Moon said...

beautiful deck. I am amazed at the multitude of decks that are out there. I guess there truly is something for everyone.

Anonymous said...

I have this deck and have enjoyed it for several years. Currently in use is the Legacy of the Divine.

Since I read your blog through a reader, I missed the new design - love it!