Deck Review- The Hudes Tarot

This week I'm reviewing a  fascinating Tarot deck by Susan Hudes, published in 1995 called The Hudes Tarot. This deck is is inspired by the magical and symbolic nature of medieval art and mythology. It's unique and medieval themed cards are a joy to behold and I find it gives straight, intelligent answers to my questions.

The cards in this 78 card deck are  painted with watercolor so that the colors glow like stained glass against the muted backgrounds. Susan Hudes took advantage of many details in creating her images, including constellation charts, old maps and marbled paper. The card stock is marvelous to work with and shuffles quite well and the finish on the cards lends a wonderful shine to the stunning artwork.

The Minor arcana of Ace through Ten and Court card names follow Rider-Waite style without  too much deviation. This is truly a deck a deck of subtle medieval beauty and strength with vivid sketches that speaks volumes simply through it's artwork. The Hudes tarot is different in one fashion than most other decks, it does not come with the traditional LWB (little white book) but instead has a pamphlet written in English and French and includes keywords for each card but I recommend writing down your own individual interpretations in a journal to aid in your understanding.

As for the Majors, Susan has taken one particular aspect of each card and increased the impact of that one aspect, presenting it in a lively, mystical and imaginative way. The backs are designed to be read upright or reversed if you so choose and have a beautiful Celtic knot work design as well as gorgeous watercolor imagery. I would definately recommend this deck for both beginners and experts alike and is a wonderful edition to any tarot collection.

Publisher: US Games Systems

Artist: Susan Hudes

ISBN: 0-88079-137-3

Images used with the permission of US Games Systems 

Publisher: US Games Systems

Artist: Susan Hudes
ISBN: 0-88079-137-3