Initiatory Tarot of the Golden Dawn

This is another deck with spectacular images. But first, a little about this unique deck. Tarot historian Giordano Berti used primary source material to create instructions and direction for an artist who has not seen other versions of Golden Dawn or Golden Dawn-tradition-based decks. This allows for an entirely fresh composition and depiction of these meanings, including illustrated pips. This deck moves away from numeric pips, expanding on the original design (just as Waite and Smith did) to create the first truly all-pictorial Golden Dawn deck What an exciting technique to create a deck that is based on a specific foundation but not derivative. Is this what the tarot world has been waiting for? Is this a step in evolution for tarot, a way to break out of the clone rut? Time and usage by readers will tell.

This deck contains a really interesting surprise. But you’ll have to wait until next Thursday for that. You’ll get to see my fancy Photoshopping skills, too. You won’t want to miss that, will you?

The 4 of Swords is particularly poignant to me. The warrior has come home, bruised and battered, after a battle, his armor tossed on the floor. His wife has the posture and expression that I imagine most wives of warriors or seamen have whenever their loved ones come safely home.

The 9 of Swords also touches my heart. An old woman, who has probably in her life been grandmother, mother, wife, sister, and daughter, weeps among the dead and fallen as only one with her ties and experience can.

Okay, enough of the sad. We’ll end on an up note…literally. This is probably my most favorite 8 of Wands ever. She is focus and determined and taking action. She is not worried about the specifics of her next step; she is counting on the universe to create her path as she goes along. At least, that’s how I see it.