Deck by Philip and Stephanie Carr-Gromm; Illustrations by Will Worthington

© 2004 (text) Philip and Stephanie Carr-Gromm
© 2004 (illustrations) Will Worthington

The Druid Craft Tarot is a beautifully rich and inviting deck to explore!  The characters in the cards are life-like enough that you can visualize them walking, talking, and interacting -- or even speaking to you.  This is a feature which makes the Druid Craft Tarot a popular deck on the market for both divination and meditation.  It's important to be able to connect to a deck personally, and here is one that I found so easy to connect to and work with.

The art is absolutely beautiful!  Will Worthington, artist, uses backdrops of the sky, lush green forest settings, and animals as well as people to populate the scenes of the cards.  The depth and character of the images is outstanding.

Authors Philip and Stephanie Carr-Gomm have been initiated into both Wicca and Druidry, and are Chief and Scribe of the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids, one of the largest international Druid groups.  Will Worthington, the artist, is a practicing Druid, Pendragon of the Order, and a highly respected artist, whose previous works include the acclaimed Druid Animal Oracle and The Green Man Tree Oracle.  But one does not have to practice Wicca or Druidry to enjoy this very lovely and appealing deck.

Although there are differences between this deck and the standard Rider-Waite tradition, the Druid Craft does closely follow the traditional tone that you find in a Rider-Waite, and this makes the Druid Craft a workable deck alternative or complement for the beginner to Tarot.

There is nudity in this deck, just as there is in most other Tarot Decks, including the Rider-Waite versions of Tarot.  There are six cards that contain nudity or nude scenes -- The Star, Rebirth, Cernunnos (Devil), Lovers, World, and Hanged Man -- with the Hanged Man probably being the most graphically detailed.  None of this art is in bad taste.  It is all well done, although because of the cards that do show nudity, it is probably not a good deck choice for the less mature audience.

Although the cards are larger than average, I have found that using a side-by-side shuffling technique (versus a top end to top end method) will work best.  The large size of the cards does allow us to more easily see the great details in the images, so that is a positive aspect for the larger sized cards . . . especially when the detail is as realistic and eye pleasing as what is found in these cards!

The accompanying 192-page book is printed in a rich brown ink that matches the back of the cards.  The book offers some very good information, including what the authors share about their Druid tradition.  They explain the connections between Druidry, Wicca, and Tarot.  Three pages are dedicated to each card of the Major Arcana and one page for each of the Minor Arcana cards.  Each court or number group for the cards begins with a brief introduction with suggested key words, followed by a description for each card.  Six card spreads are also offered toward the end of the book as well as sample readings.

The Druid Craft Tarot is an ideal set for the Wiccan or Druid-oriented reader, experienced readers, and for the collector.  Because of its ease of use and the way in which is so easily speaks to its user, I could also recommend a Tarot beginner to use and study with this deck.

I would give the Druid Craft Tarot 5 stars!! 
 

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

Size of Cards:  3.55" x 5.5" -- The cards are larger than standard.  A side-to-side shuffling method works much easier than trying to shuffle from top end to top end . . . unless you have large enough hands that can more easily work with these over-sized cards.  The cards seem durable enough to stand up to long-lasting use.  They feel a little stiff at first, but this works itself out with just a minimal amount of shuffling.

Included with deck:  192-page companion book.

Major Arcana:
Fool, Magician, High Priestess, Lady, Lord, High Priest,
Lovers, Chariot, Strength, Hermit, Wheel, Justice,
Hanged Man, Death, Fferyllt, Cernunnos, Tower, Star, Moon,
Sun, Rebirth, World
 

Suit Names:  Cups, Wands, Swords, Pentacles

Court Cards:  King, Queen, Prince, Princess

Back Design of Cards:
 

THE DRUID CRAFT TAROT Would you like to buy this Tarot Deck set? This Deck is Available as a Book/Deck Set from Amazon.com:

TAROT DECKS -- CLICK HERE FOR FULL LIST Animals Art-Styled Celtic Decks Christian-Based Decks Cultures/Multi-Cultural Decks Historical Myths & Legends Other Traditional/Beginner Decks Whimsical Decks Wiccan-Based Decks Women   The image at right is art by Will Worthington.