New deck

[Emerald Sky]

I got the Legend - Arthurian Tarot yesterday. :) I think I'm addicted to new decks. LOL. My husband asked me why I keep getting new decks. He said, "Don't you like your other decks anymore?" Hee hee. Silly guy. They didn't have the deck/book combo, so I'll have to look for the book separately.

For those of you who have this deck, is it better with the book or do you think I'd be able to get by without it?

[StormCloud]

I think the book is really good and helps you understand the images on the cards. While the basic interpretations are the same, the book gives you the legend background - more info on Percival, what's up with Gawain and the Green Knight, etc. I always love to read another version of the legends...and you get about a full page of legend description.

[Dagda Moon~Lily]

I agree with StormCloud. The book, as usual, gives a good description of the card, and the legend behind it.

I no longer have this deck. I traded it for the Sacred Circle deck. I'm happy I did. I just didn't connect well with the deck. :( Oh well.

[Emy]

Congratulations on the new deck!
Unfortunatly I do not have that deck, however I agree with the others, a book is usually a good idea. Almost always there are things in it that will help you interpet the cards more easily and explain things you wonder about with your cards. :)

[Myst]

I never bought the book and never needed it. The Arthurian Legend Tarot was my first deck and I loved the artistry and beauty of the cards. They worked wonderfully for me, at least until I read Marion Zimmer Bradley's books which tell an entirely different story then the Arthurian myths we know, I started associating new things with the cards and they and I got confused I think. I ended up giving them away. But no I never used the book.

[Silver Venus]

Yay! For your new deck Emerald :D Hope your having loads of fun with it :p

[Aengus McTeague]

The deck sticks pretty much to the standard structure, so you should be able to read ok without the book, but by all means get the book ASAP. More than a book on the cards, it is a wealth of Arthurian mythology and legend. I though I knew a fair amount of Arthuriana, but I learned a lot from the book. It also deepened my readings quite a bit to know the story behind each of the cards.

This has become one of my favorite decks (although it bugs me to no end that she switched the associations of the suits around), and the book is one of the best I've seen written for a specific deck, right up there with Sacred Circle.

[Emerald Sky]

What do you mean she switched the association of the suits around?

[Aengus McTeague]

In most decks, as well as in the craft tradition I am familiar with,

Swords=spring and air
Wands=summer and fire
Cups=autumn and water
Disks=winter and earth

In the Legend deck,
Swords=autumn and fire
Wands(spears)=spring and air
Cups=summer and water
Disks(shields)=winter and earth

She does stick to the traditional meaning of each suit,
Swords=analytical thought and conflict
Wands=creativity and passion
Cups=emotions and imagination
Disks=materiel matters.

She explains why she chose the associations she did, but to me they don't really hold up. It is a fairly minor alteration, not nearly as jarring as the switches others have made in the structure of the deck, but to me it is the one off note in what would otherwise be a damn near flawless deck. Fortunately, because all the cards tend towards a bluish color scheme, you can just ignore her association if they don't work for you.

BB,
Aengus

[Myst]

Originally posted by Aengus McTeague
In the Legend deck,
Swords=autumn and fire
Wands=spring and air
Cups=summer and water
Disks=winter and earth


Actually I think that's because a lot of Pagans do associate swords with fire - you're the first person I've ever met who doesn't :)

[Flaire-FireStar]

I usually associate Swords with Fire (somehow Wands seemed to be more Air than Fire), although I did read in a book once that Swords could be Air or Fire, same with Wands. :)

[loopy]

OOh, congrats! :D I have this deck, and like it for my collection although I don't use it much. *cough*atall*cough*

:D:D:D Good luck with it! :D

[Aengus McTeague]

Hmmm, how odd. The association is so incredibly strong for me that swords=air, wands=fire. It's what I find echoed in almost all books on the tarot, and most of the books on Wicca that I've read.

I did a little digging on the net, and there is a split in opinion here that I hadn't been aware of. It looks at a quick glance as if traditional covens (ie. Gardnerian and Alexandrian) do equate swords with fire, wands with air. Where as most Neo-Pagans (including Starhawk, who is the one I'm most familiar with), equate swords with air, wands with fire...the same association you'll find in most Tarot decks.

Anyway, its what works for me, and I'm kind of glad to know that if this isn't the common association for most, that even within the Pagan community I'm a bit of a rebel.:D

[Lavender]

I associate wands with fire and swords with air as well. It could be that my original influence was Starhawk's Spiral Dance. I checked the few (2) tarot books I have & they have the same correspondences. I know that there is a difference in this. Patricia Telesco's books uses wands for air and swords for fire.

I seem to remember a thread or a poll on this somewhere. It'll be interesting to see what the general opinion is. :)

[Myst]

http://www.mysticwicks.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1834

[Emerald Sky]

See, now I guess that would be one reason why I should get the book that goes with the deck. I did notice something wasn't quite "right" with the pictures for the suits, but like you said, she left the swords/air - wands/fire in the meanings of the cards. (whew) I also have a strong association with the suits that way. I've heard some good reasons for associating them the other way, but this is the way I originally learned them so it's hard to switch them around.