About this item
- The design is ultra-modern and computer-generated in the One World Tarot deck. It focuses on the astrological aspects
- of tarot, but also touches on numerology, color theory and other esoteric symbolism.
Specifications
Name
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One World Tarot
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Creators
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Crystal Love,
Michael Hobbs
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Publisher
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AGM Müller 2002
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Deck Type
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Tarot Deck
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Cards
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78
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Major Arcana
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22
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Minor Arcana
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56
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Deck Tradition
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Astrological
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Minor Arcana Style
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Unique pips
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Suits
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Court Cards
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The Fool
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is 0
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Strength
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is 11
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Justice
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is 8
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Card Size
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3.15 x 4.13 in. = 8.00cm x 10.50cm
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Card Language
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English
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Card Back
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Unknown
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Reviews
was the cover picture for the deck/book set - a
Stonehenge-like graphic that gives a feeling of ancient mysteries. I was also intrigued by the promo for this deck -
that Love was using the connection between Astrology,
Tarot and the New Age to, in essence, bring the Tarot
forward in time. I think that it promotes personal growth
to step outside of our own safe places and experience
other people's perceptions.
I think that Crystal Love
put a great deal of herself into this deck and the
accompanying book. She has a love for the Tarot, for Astrology
and for oracular work in general. I believe that she
also shows a respect for the tone of the work being
done - the archetypal energies being accessed, the
levels of understanding involved and the personal
spiritual growth that can be achieved. However, IMHO, this
deck, built upon astrological and numerological
esoterica, missed by a mile.
From the book, in discussing
the origins of the Tarot:
"No one, however, seems any
wiser as to the actual origins of the tarot. For my
part, I intuitively believe that the tarot originated in
Atlantis, where it was a means of preserving vital and
intricate astrological information that would have been lost
when tidal waves of the last Ice Age finally buried
this primal civilization under the sea." *
The
information provided in this book is very uneven - some of it
is backed up, some of it is not. The style of writing
is very meandering - like wandering through a sea of
information and stopping here for a second and there for a
second - sometimes with no connection at all between
stops.
From the book, in the introduction:
"At some
unrecorded moment in history, the basic astrological energies
which are said to orchestrate life on earth, the
planets, the signs and the three sub-divisions of each
individual sign, were symbolized in pictorial form, and the
tarot cards that we know today were first born." **
There are some well done sections - charts relating
astrological connotations to each Tarot card, a short synopsis
of the metaphysical meanings for the numbers, and a
short section on how to interpret the cards in the
individual astrological houses.
The cards themselves are a
nice size for handling in a reading - 3 " by 4 1/4 ".
They are of high quality, glossy card stock. The backs
of the cards are quite interesting - a blue
background with white line drawings in a mandalla type
effect, with black, lotus-like line drawings superimposed
over it.
The Major Arcana are presented with a 1/4 "
white border surrounding each card. At the top of the
card is the astrological symbol, at the bottom of the
card is the title. The symbolism is very
non-traditional, and in many cases does not bring out, for me at
least, the inherent energy traditional for the card.
Some of the more favorable presentations were the Fool,
which is shown as white, star-like energy; the High
Priestess, which is shown as a human form with arms
outstretched and the seven major chakra's in a double helix
formation and the Chariot, which is shown as the Tree of
Life.
Cards that missed by a mile, for me, anyway,
were the Magician, which is shown as a red/green
yin/yang symbol; the Empress, which is shown as a pyramid
with two palm trees behind it and a full sun above it
and the Lovers, shown as two coiled snakes that you
really have to look at to identify. For some reason,
unknown to me, Strength and the Hanging Man are the same
graphic, which is simply inverted on ne card.
Several of
the cards have been renamed. The Hierophant is The
High Priest, the Hanged Man is the Hanging Man, Death
becomes The Rebirth and the Devil becomes
Deliverance.
The card faces have a a 1/4 " white border framing a
color coded background for each suit - red for the
Batons (Wands), green for the Cups, blue for Swords and
orange for Coins (Pentacles). The Batons carry the
imagery of a yellow flower on a red background; the Cups
carry the imagery of a greenish/yellow starfish on a
green background; the Swords carry the imagery of clouds
on a blue background and the Pentacles carry the
imagery of a green leaf on an orange background. The
astrological symbol and the elemental name are at the top of
each card, with the number and suit at the bottom of
the card.
The symbols in themselves are annoying - I
don't really connect a yellow flower to the power of the
fiery Batons; it is a definite stretch to connect a
starfish to the Cups; gentle puffy clouds representing the
penetrating, cutting energy of the Swords lost me in the
transition. The green leaf for Coins made sense - but became
very repetitious.
It is very annoying in that the same
symbolism is used for the same number in the different
suits. The Aces show the symbol for the suit in the
middle of the card. The Deuces show the symbols for the
suit twice, one over the other, contained within a
circle. The three's show a triangle with the symbol for
the suit at each of the respective corners. The four's
show a square with the symbol of the suit at each
respective corner. The five's show a five pointed star with
the suit symbol on each point. The six's show a six
pointed star with the symbols on each point. The seven's
show a triangle within a square, with the suit symbols
at each corner. The eight's show an octahedron with
the suit symbols on each side. The nine's show three
interlocking triangles with the suit symbols on each corner.
The ten's show the Tree of Life, with the suit symbols
at each corner.
The court cards do not get any
better. They are simply faces in the middle of a card. The
elemental attribute is at the top of the card, but no
astrological attribution, with the title and suit on the bottom
of the card.
It would be very hard to read with this
deck unless you already knew the Tarot well. It is not
a deck for beginners. For someone who has studied
the Tarot and understands its basic symbolism, and can
get past the repetition in the cards, this could be an
interesting deck to read with. I advise seeing the cards "in
person" before making the choice to purchase them.
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