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- Verified Buyer
Disregard the reviews complaining about how this deck is “not fully illustrated”. Those reviewers seem to have confused the RWS tradition of illustrating scenes for the pips with Tarot itself. Prior to Arthur Waite and Pamela Smith’s deck, pip cards were typically illustrated as simple pips. The Marseille is the most notable example of this. It is a valid decision from a deck design perspective. Preferring to use decks following the RWS tradition of pip illustration is also valid, but it is not something to knock a deck for simply because you prefer full illustrations, and it uses pips.As to whether it was the *right* decision for this deck to use pips as opposed to scenery, I believe so. The power of a deck like this with a rich legendarium of stories and scenery behind it is that the various narratives connect cards in a way that goes beyond the usual relations arising from the structure of the Tarot itself. For instance, the King of Cups is Gandalf the White, and the King of Rings is Saruman the White. The relationship these two Wizards have in Tolkien’s story provides extra layers for understanding the energy presented in a reading, which can be very powerful. So, you may ask, why not illustrate the pips then? Those scenes would continue that pattern of deeper connections, and indeed I have an Arthurian deck that does exactly that. The Ace of Wands in that deck is connected to the King of Cups through the narrative, as is the 2 of Swords, and the 7 of Swords and the…I could go on.However, the Arthurian Legends are a collection of stories produced by many different authors across at least three different cultures (Welsh, English, and French), and no matter how much of a genius Tolkien was, he could not produce such a rich tapestry to draw upon for a Tarot deck as that. If you went down that route with this deck, you would have to draw upon scenes from the Hobbit and the Simarillion, which may be less developed narratively.Instead, Casey Gilly and Tomas Hijo have chosen to emphasize the elemental power of the Suits, which complements the spirit of Tolkien’s writings very well. The Wands are Wizard staves, the Swords are various famous blades from the stories, the Cups are illustrated to invoke the various races (some are obviously elven, others are what dwarves or hobbits might drink from), and the Pentacles are of course the Rings of Power. Personally I find that most decks present Pentacles in a very abstract way, and it’s not always easy to understand what it is representing in a reading. Tolkien’s narrative lends a very palpable expression to the Suit in this deck, since the Rings of Power are tools by which the wielder can shape reality…but these tools may have minds of their own, and can influence us in turn.The significance of the elemental power of the Suits is emphasized by the order of the cards when you unbox the deck. The deck first gives you the full Major Arcana, Fool to the World, which is typical. It then gives you the Ace of Rings, telling you that the Suit of Rings is the preeminent Suit in this deck, but then comes the real departure from conventional ordering. The next card is the King of Rings. Most decks will give you the Ace, then the 2, 3, and so on up to the Court cards, ordered Page, Knight, Queen, King. Here you have the Court cards in reverse order immediately after the Ace, and then you get the rest of the pips. It is the case for all of the Suits. I think this choice indicates that, in this deck, the Aces are the true rulers of the Suits.I will also note that the stock is good as well. Sturdy, but quite pliable for shuffling. The texture is cool and smooth, close to a matte finish. Not my absolute favorite out of the card stocks I’ve handled, but it is high-quality and will stand up to heavy use.The guidebook is more of a pamphlet than a full guidebook, and gives basic explanations of all of the cards. I’d say that if you are serious about making use of this deck, you’ll want to have a strong understanding of not just the Lord of the Rings, but also probably the Hobbit and the Silmarillion, as well as a strong foundation of Tarot knowledge.All-in-all, if you enjoy Tolkien’s stories and are willing to be open-minded about the design of the deck, you will find it to be full of rich and powerful imagery, infusing the Tarot with the referential power of Tolkien’s narrative and symbolism. I would say though that it may not be the easiest deck for beginners to come to grips with.
