The Celtic Tarot Deck

Written by Julian De Burgh. Illustrated by Mary Guinan.

     The Celtic Tarot is a beautifully illustrated and very modern tarot deck.  I first came into contact with this deck last year and I was very excited when I first received it.  On the surface, this deck has incredibly colorful pictures, and it is extremely pleasing to the eye. The symbolism that usually accompanies tarot cards unfortunately is a little lacking in this deck.  The pictures are beautiful, but when looking at them closely there is not much detail.  When looking at the Fool card below, it does have the general concept of the card, but it is a little difficult to extract that he is actually getting ready to walk off a cliff.  The pictures have a tendency to blend together just a little too well.  Another example can be seen below in the Moon card.  The Moon is a beautifully traditional card, but this version lacks common symbols such as a crab, water, or perhaps even some sort of reference to the Triple Goddess.  Most of the cards just don't have a very strong outward appearance using symbolism.   What I do find however is that what this deck lacks in outward influence, it truly makes up for on an inner level.  I have read many reviews of this deck and many suggest that it is good for beginners, but I whole heartedly have to disagree.  I find that other decks are much easier to learn from and are much more direct.  This deck really does speak on a subconscious level that I have never seen in a tarot deck before.  If you need symbols to help you read the tarot, find another deck to use.  If you are more experienced and open to using the tarot then you should have no problem using this particular deck.  Actually more experienced readers will really enjoy using it.  Overall, it is a gorgeous deck but not really practical for everyday use.

     The deck strays away from using the standard court cards, it uses, Kings, Queens, Princess's, and Prince's.  Another adjustment that was made from the traditional tarot is the replacement of the "Hierophant" with the "Druid" card.  The deck really reflects the feminine aspect and will most likely appeal to people of a pagan or Celtic background.  A major downfall to this deck is that the cards are extremely thin, and do not feel very sturdy.  The actual cut of the cards also leaves something to be desired.  The edges of the cards are a little more sharp, and are not quite as rounded as I would have liked them to be.  I really like this deck, strictly due to the illustrations.  It just really feels as though the cards were rushed through the production process.

If you would like to purchase this deck, it is available directly from Amazon: The Celtic Tarot

The Celtic Tarot Copyright © 2000 Julian De Burgh All Rights Reserved.

Above Images Copyright © 2000 Mary Guinan All Rights Reserved.