Deck by Mary Hanson Roberts

© 1985 US Games Systems Inc.

This is a charming deck with soft, pretty colors and a gentle, yet highly intuitive, approach to Tarot.  It's a delight for readers and seekers of all ages.

I would definitely recommend this deck as one that is excellent to use in learning the Tarot.  The cards are similar in size to playing cards which makes them very easy to handle.  The artwork is colorful and appealing.  Mary Hanson-Roberts used colored pencils in creating this deck.  Her work was inspired by the Rider-Waite deck, but you'll find the colors to be much brighter and attractive in the Hanson-Roberts Tarot.  This deck follows the traditional Rider-Waite themes which makes it so easy to learn with the additional benefit of having a deck that is filled with beauty, drama, and inspiration to promote one's intuition.  There is some criticism that this deck is too "cutesy," however, I think it's a beautiful deck . . . and besides, I have decks that are far more "cutesy" than this one ;-)  But I like them all.

The soft, subtle images are quite powerful in their own way; they are not garish or overbearing.  This has been a very popular deck for both readers and seekers alike . . . and considering how well-worn my own Hanson-Roberts deck is becoming, I can certainly vouch for that!  The title of each card is printed at the bottom in five languages, with English in the center, surrounded by German, Italian, French, and Spanish.  This gentle and non-frightening deck makes it excellent to use in readings for almost anyone . . . now after having said that, I will comment on the Devil card.  He's a rather mean and nasty looking character, without a doubt -- pictured at right.  He definitely seems out of place for this particular style of Tarot deck.  However, you can certainly find scarier images in a comic book.  If I could change one thing about the Hanson-Roberts deck, I would ask for a gentler image for the Devil card -- one that would equally convey the appopriate meanings and adhere to tradition, but that would not seem to be such an outcast in an otherwise pleasant deck.
 

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

Size of Cards:  2-3/8" x 4"
This deck is a small, comfortable size that shuffles and handles with ease.

Included with deck: LWB (Little White Book) by Stuart Kaplan.
Available as a deck and book set with "The Hanson-Roberts Tarot Companion" by Susan Hansson.

Major Arcana:
Fool, Magician, High Priestess, Empress, Emperor, Hierophant,
Lovers, Chariot, Strength, Hermit, Wheel of Fortune,
Justice, Hanged Man, Death, Temperance, Devil, Tower,
Star, Moon, Sun, Judgment, World

Suit Names:  Cups, Rods (Wands),  Swords, Pentacles

Court Cards:  King, Queen, Knight, Page

Back Design of Cards: 

HANSON-ROBERTS TAROT This Tarot Deck and Book Set is Available from Amazon.com:

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