Author: Caitlin Matthews.  Illustrated by Olivia Rayner

© 1999 Destiny Books

This deck and book set comes packaged in a colorful, sturdy box, which holds the hardbound book and the deck of cards.  The deck itself is held inside a special sleeve.  I am one to prefer having a regular box for just the cards, so this is one in which I invested in a Tarot Tote to hold the cards.  I like my cards to be as handy as possible, and although the large box is great for storing the deck and book and will keep them well-protected if not in use, it's not as handy as if the deck had it's own smaller box.  A Tarot bag works great for this set, and as these cards are larger than average, the larger totes work nicely.

The Celtic Wisdom deck offers a different perspective.  You won't find the standard Tarot images in this deck as it is instead illustrated according to the deck's theme.  Imagery is consistent with the Celtic system, illuminating characters and scenes from Celtic legend.  The art is a mixture of primitive, modern, and fantasy art that really works well in this deck and its theme.

The Major Arcana are the Wisdom cards of this deck and re-named according to each card's function with the Celtic world view.  Minor Arcana are the story cards which show scenes from Celtic tales and daily activities of the Celts.

Each suit corresponds to a season as follows, but is not according to the traditional solar calendar:

Battle (Swords) - Samhain (October 31st) begins winter; It is also known as the feast of All Saints and Souls and is the time of Halloween.

Skill (Wands) - Imbolc (January 31st) begins the spring and marks the lambing season and the feast of Brighid.

Art (Cups) - Beltane (April 30th) begins the summer season and is retained as May Eve.

Knowledge (Pentacles) - Lughnasa (July 31st) begins the fall with harvest time

The Story cards are the numbered Pip cards of the deck, and you will notice that there are no "Aces" in this deck.  Instead, the cards go from 1 through 10 in each suit to tell a story:

One - Augury
Two - Dialogue
Three - Courtship
Four - Judgment
Five - Combat
Six - Foundation
Seven - Adventure
Eight - Elopement
Nine - Revelation
Ten - Quest

The cards of the Celtic Wisdom Tarot are larger than standard with a glossy coating.  As with other laminated decks, this glossy coating can create "stickiness" -- and when you first open the pack, some of the cards will likely be stuck together.  Just carefully separate these, and they will be fine.  I have found that the "stickiness" from this type of deck will wear off in time with usage.  I know it can be a little annoying at first, but it does not seem to hinder the shuffling process in this particular deck.  And as this is a larger sized deck, I shuffle these cards from side-to-side, rather than pulling the halves apart vertically and shuffling.

There are no borders on the cards, except at the bottom where the card title is shown in black with white lettering.  You can see this from the sample card images above.

The full-sized, hardbound book which accompanies this deck offers many ideas on how to work with the cards, including some creative layouts.  Shuffling techniques and some brief information on using reversals is also included.  Toward the back of the book, there is a section called "Keys to Unlock the Wisdom Inside You."  A question is presented for each card to help you unlock the wisdom of the cards, especially if you have trouble understanding a card in a reading layout.  I think this is a very useful section in the book.  The stories in the deck are also quite fascinating to read and apply in interpretation.

A beginner could use this deck, but I would recommend that one first have a general knowledge of Tarot.  Thus, working with this deck as a companion to a traditional deck could be an insightful learning experience for the Tarot newcomer.  The imagery of the Celtic Wisdom set has a lot of variances in comparison to decks that follow the Rider-Waite tradition.  The card titles are all changed from traditional Tarot, but if you are familiar with traditional images and meanings of a more traditional Tarot structure, the cards of this deck can enhance your understanding of Tarot.  The names of these cards actually do underscore and enhance traditional meanings, although it may not seem so obvious at first.

This would make a lovely deck for anyone who is interested in Celtic mythology, for those wanting something different but still workable and useful, and of course for the Tarot deck collector.

The vibrant colors and beautiful art of this deck represent a stunning achievement of beauty, myth, and legend, and has great potential to become a well-loved classic.

Number of Cards in Deck: 78 (22 Major/56 Minor)

Size of Cards:  3-1/2" x 5-1/2"

Included with deck:  Beautiful hardbound book illustrated in full color; 144 pages.  (The back of the box indicates 128 pages, but this seems to be a misprint as there are 144 pages.)

Major Arcana:  (Traditional titles are shown in parenthesis.)
 

0 The Soul (Fool) 1 The Decider (Magician) 2 The Guardian (High Priestess) 3 The Shaper (Empress) 4 The Keeper (Emperor) 5 The Rememberer (Hierophant) 6 The Lover (Lovers)

7 The Mover (Chariot) 8 The Empowerer (Strength) 9 The Counselor (Hermit) 10 The Spinner (Wheel of Fortune) 11 The Balancer (Justice) 12 The Dedicator (Hanged Man) 13 The Liberator (Death)

14 The Mingler (Temperance) 15 The Challenger (Devil) 16 The Changer (Tower) 17 The Dreamer (Star) 18 The Imaginer (Moon) 19 The Protector (Sun) 20 The Renewer (Judgment) 21 The Perfector (World)

Suit Names:Art (Cups), Skill (Wands), Battle (Swords), Knowledge (Pentacles)

Court Cards:  King, Queen, Warrior (Knight), Woman (Page)
Women (Pages) -- represent messengers who can clear the way and open up new paths
Warriors (Knights) - represent the challenge of their suit.
Queens - bestow understanding of the qualities of their suit.
Kings - the protectors of wisdom of their suit.

Back Design of Cards:
 

CELTIC WISDOM TAROT This Tarot Deck and Book Set is Available from Amazon.com

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