Product Description

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #32725 in Books
• Published on: 2007-09-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Cards
• 52 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9781401910426
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

About the Author

Customer Reviews

Avalon Cards
This is a challenging deck of cards; challenging in that part of the deck is very good, well illustrated, quite mythic in feel, and the other part of it is dull. Of the latter, cards 33-52 are the same, differentiated only by a different word - or marker - on each of the cards. And while the forest or woodland scene is a a nice one, I am left wondering why in a deck which reflects an understanding of British mythology, no attention is given to tree wisdom, the wisdom of stones and earth mounds. It's disappointing.
The deck is divided into several categories of card; the messengers of Avalon; the animal guides; the guides of faery; and the sacred journey markers (cards 33-52).
All the illustrations are good, and it is especially nice to have the animals as drawings of animals and not photographs of animals as occurs in other decks.

Why All The Good Reviews?
One has to wonder if the publisher is getting people to give this deck glowing reviews. While this deck might be okay for a beginner, it lacks substance. The art on some of the unique cards is quite lovely, but 21 out of the 52 cards utilize the same redundant manipulated photo image with only a text window changing to acommodate different meanings. That is quite a disappointment given the beauty of the box cover illustration. But overall, even the illustrations seem rushed and simplistic compared to other decks that have tackled similar subject matters. The animal guide cards are flat and indescript and stray from the more ornate figurative images. This deck lacks focus as the cards seem disconnected and unintuitive.

The author has no bibliography or comprehensive reference guide leaving one to wonder how much research was invested in creating the oracle. There are better Arthurian and animal decks that approach the subject matter with more thoughtful integrity. If you want to explore a deck that examines the Arthurian Legends with meticulous care, try Anne-Marie Ferguson's Legend: The Arthurian Tarot Cards and Book. You'll get more for your money--with both text and illustrations being far superior to this deck. On the plus side: The cards stock is sturdy, although the cards might prove difficult to shuffle. Beware! The outer box is deceptively pretty.

One of the Best
I am not a fan per se of this artist but I was attracted to this product when I saw it in a catalog. The art is wonderful and has a great feel. I felt I got a great product for the price. I normally don't like Tarot cards , but am a fan of The Mists of Avalon and was not disappointed by this deck.

To those who complained about half the cards only having a sign in the woods. Frankly, I preferred them that way. It allowed me to view the word and my own connotation with the meaning without someone else's interpretation.

For example: The "death" card is like this. Just a sign in the woods. Now normally death would have a negative connotation, but I was also able to view this as the death of something old in my life so I can accept something new (so in a positive light). Had the card had skulls and worms on it, it would have been nothing but negative and would have blocked me from seeing all interpretations.

Take if for what you want, but I still believe it is a great deck.