rider waite smith - Tarot-ically Speaking

The Urban Tarot Deck Review

by Madhavi Ghare | Deck Review, Rider-Waite-Smith, Tarot Card Decks, Thoth | 30 comments

Introduction to The Urban Tarot Deck

I found Robin Scott’s Urban Tarot Deck as I was navigating through the labyrinth that is the Internet, and ended up in love at first sight! ? This gorgeous deck is the result of a result of a very successful Kickstarter campaign in 2012.

The Urban Tarot Deck draws inspiration from the various locales of New York City — the streets, the buildings, the parks, the monuments, the people — everything about this lively and vibrant city is the source material for the images of this deck.

The latest news that I’ve heard is that the Urban Tarot Deck will be published again through U.S. Games Systems. However, Robin still has about 200 copies of the deck (as of 6 March 2017) — which could very well be considered to be the ‘First Edition’ ‘Collectors’ copies. ??

Psst: Deck Collectors! Get yourself a copy while the stocks last!

Cards of The Urban Tarot Deck

Each card is about 2 ¾ inches wide and 4 ¼ inches tall, with rounded corners. The surface has a smooth finish and the card is thick, but not too thick. The cards shuffle well during readings.

The back design of each card reminds one of the subway maps that you can find all over NYC. The card back is totally reversible, so if you use reversed cards in your reading, this deck is perfect!

The card images of The Urban Tarot Deck are so gorgeous, that I wished that they covered a bigger area on the card. However, this wasn’t a deal-breaker for me.

Psst: I also hear that this is going to be fixed with the US Games version.

You can see the card images on Robin’s site. And if you are into using Tarot Apps, you can find The Urban Tarot App on the App Store as well as on Google Play.

LWB and/or Book

The Urban Tarot Deck doesn’t come with an LWB, but there is a full-fledged book that you will have to buy separately. The book features full color images of each of the cards on one side, and a detailed description of the card imagery on the other. You will also find information such as the source of inspiration in NYC, and the models who posed for the pictures. Another wonderful thing about the book is that the edges of the pages are colored to sync with the suits — so it makes searching for the card meanings quite easy!

In my personal opinion, this deck is perfect for those who have a good base with Rider-Waite-Smith based card imagery, and want to explore the Thoth based imagery. This deck features images that are a beautiful amalagamation of both. So visual storytellers can find peace while working with Thoth-based symbols as well.

Although the book provides a lot of information about the various places and situations and people who inspired the designs, and why a certain sort of imagery was used, you may benefit by reading up on the Thoth system to take your readings to the next level. However, even without that, using a storytelling approach, you will still find the images beautifully expressive and informative.

One thing I do miss is having reversed card interpretations. But that isn’t a deal breaker either. If you’ve worked with Tarot for a while, and you use reversals, it isn’t rocket science to figure out the interpretations. ?

Here are some of my favorite cards from The Urban Tarot Deck!

Majors, Minors, Courts, Suits

The deck follows the Thoth system. Therefore, Major Arcana 8 is Justice, and Major Arcana 11 is Strength.

Also the Court Cards follow the Thoth system of nomenclature and hierarchy. Starting with the Princess card, we move up via the Prince, the Queen, and finally, the Knight card.

The Suit of Pentacles is called the Suit of Disks.

And yes, unlike the Thoth deck, these cards have stuff going on in the background of the suit images — which totally makes this deck a great mix of the best parts of both Rider-Waite-Smith and Thoth systems.

Reading with This Deck

I have had a ton of fun reading with these cards. Not only are the images deeply evocative, but they are also highly relateable. These are images not from some fantasy land, or imaginary place, or historical space and time. These are images from the world we live in, and see all around us. They are real, raw, and poignant. And they make a whole lot of sense.

Video

I even made a video about this deck where I talk a bit more (as usual) and give you a peek at the cards. Take a look…

Giveaway

Robin has been so generous by sending me another copy of the deck and book (which she signed, btw!!) for a giveaway. So get on it, and make sure you’ve entered! The contest ends 31st March 2017.
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a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Your Turn

What did you think of this deck? Did you like the images? Did they speak to you just like they did to me? And if you already have this deck, what are your experiences with this deck? Tell me in the comments…

Angels In The Tarot Cards

by Madhavi Ghare | Knowledge | 10 comments

A few Angels make an appearance in the images of the Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot card deck. Many a times, my students have asked me about the importance of those specific Angels in that specific card. So today, lets explore this topic, and get to know the Angels in the Tarot cards a little bit better.

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The Druidcraft Tarot Deck

by Madhavi Ghare | Deck Review | 12 comments

The pictures in Tarot card decks are centered on a particular theme, and often follow either the Rider-Waite-Smith system or the Thoth system. The Druidcraft Tarot Deck is based on the themes of Wicca and Druidry and follows the Rider-Waite-Smith system. Created by Philip and Stephanie Carr-Gomm, and Will Worthington, these exquisite cards have been a favorite of mine ever since I got them many years ago. If you are curious, you can visit the deck’s website and even read an interview with the authors. There are some other interesting things on the site that you can also read about.

Meanwhile, lets just dive into the review of these really brilliant cards.

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Major Arcana: Cycles of Life III

by Madhavi Ghare | Knowledge | 6 comments

This is the concluding part of the articles in this series. And as is fitting with the theme of conclusion, I shall be looking at the pair of cards from the Major Arcana that talk about beginnings and endings – the most important aspects of any cycle.

So, lets go ahead and look at the third pair of cards that depicts cycles – The Fool and The World.

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Major Arcana: Cycles of Life II

by Madhavi Ghare | Knowledge

This is the second article in the series titled ‘Cycles of Life’ where I look into the concept of Cycles as I see them in the Major Arcana.

Cycles are an inherent part of life – everything in it moves in a circular fashion.

One of my favorite quotes from Children of Dune summarizes it perfectly: “The beginning and the end are one. […] A phase has closed. Out of that closing grows the beginning of its opposite. […] Everything returns later in its changed form.” 🙂

Today, lets look at a pair of cards from the Major Arcana that describes this kind of cycle – The Wheel of Fortune and Judgement.

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Major Arcana: Cycles of Life I

by Madhavi Ghare | Knowledge | 7 comments

The journey of The Fool in the Major Arcana is full of meanings, on the practical, mental and, most importantly on the spiritual level of life. One of the main concepts that the Major Arcana tries to convey is the concept of Cycles.

Cycles are a very important part of life itself. And what better tools to show us how, and on what levels these cycles come into play in our lives!

I have chosen 3 pairs of cards that talk of different kinds of cycles. I shall be looking at the first pair today, and the second and third pair in the following two weeks.

So, lets begin with our first pair of cards that talk about cycles.

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Tarot of The New Vision

by Madhavi Ghare | Deck Review | 10 comments

The Tarot of The New Vision is a very stunning, and different take on the imagery of the Rider-Waite-Smith deck. See, with the RWS images, you are seeing something – but the Tarot of the New Vision images show you what is on the other side of that image.

Makes for a pretty interesting learning and reading experience, if you ask me. The deck features artwork by Raul and Gianluca Cestaro. If you buy the book and deck kit, then you will also get a fully illustrated book that was written by Giordano Berti, Tiberio Gonard, Raul and Gianluca Cestaro. So lets have a look at this wonderful deck created by Lo Scarabeo.

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Strength and Justice Cards in Tarot

by Madhavi Ghare | Knowledge | 11 comments

The positions of the Strength and Justice Cards in a Tarot deck has long been a source of controversy and discussion among all Tarotists. Traditionally, the Justice card was numbered 8th in the Major Arcana, while the Strength card was numbered the 11th. However, when A. E. Waite published the Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot card deck, he changed all that. He put Strength as the 8th card and Justice as the 11th card in the Major Arcana sequence. Naturally, he was quite criticized for this. Following that, when Aleister Crowley published the Thoth Tarot deck, he put the Strength and Justice cards back in their former positions.

Lets look at this placement from both the angles, and understand their respective significance.

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