A Story Tellers’ Deck, Acquired 2020

Mild nudity warning in the cards ahead!

Overall: 8/10 This is a beautiful deck, and rightly well beloved in the tarot community since 2006. There’s a reason why some decks stand the test of time and changing tastes. But it isn’t a deck that delivers the goods quickly, this is a deck that requires some work on the reader with the major arcana, but it’s easy to do when the images are so entrancing. It is interesting in that while there is Arthurian myths portrayed here and there, this is very specifically a Welsh myth deck (which salutes Llewellyn Gorge, founder of Llewellyn publications). Tarot decks featuring Arthurian and Welsh myths have come and gone since the 80s, and more recently Ana Tourian is spurring forth a new revival in her tarot art, but The Llewellyn arguably did it best, first.

The artist, Anna-Marie Ferguson, actually had another Arthurian specific deck in the 90’s, the beautiful, famous and out of print, Legend The Arthurian Tarot prior to this one, but Llewellyn feels like an apex art project in my humble opinion. This is a deck that likes to weave your own personal myth out of preexisting stories. This still stands out amongst the flux of cool kids, pop-culture decks that flood the market. Take your time, ride along, read the book(!). I get good older, experienced feminine vibes that are very accepting but also willing to lay on the ugly with a caring hand. I can totally see why this was chosen as Llewellyn’s flagship deck–it does what it set out to do very well.

A random draw for the post; note the rich water colors, with bright golds and rich deep blues and the god-awful borders. You can see how the smallness of the image means that the details sometimes get lost.

Card Quality: 3/5 good for Llewellyn. Be warned–the card-storage of the box the cards are sold in isn’t properly aligned, so expect card slippage and possible damage if you choose to store in the box. I also don’t really know where to put this gripe but I like everyone else on the plant think that they really could have done without the borders since I want to see more of the art work of the card and less…pointless border.

I think the backs are a love it or hate it design. I think the little dragon is adorable, but it does mean that the cards are technically not reversible.

Readability: 3/5 The images of the minors more or less follow the RWS system even if the images deviate from the original RWS. But, while some of the majors are true to the RWS, just as many are not and you will definitely need to refer to the book unless you are already well versed on Welsh mythology. This can be a set back to picking up this deck and running with it. However, the majors have the mythological story or character name printed on the card which is then explained in the MASSIVE guide book which is PACKED with lore and just good Tarot writing and advice.

I took a very, VERY long time to warm up with this deck because it does require sitting with it, reading, and learning, but now I really have connected with it. It is very personable, and gives really poignant readings. It reminds me a lot of the Shadowscapes deck in that regard, though this feels more human and grounded in nature. This deck really loans itself well to larger spreads and seems to like being used this way verses short 3-5 card spreads, which explains why it took me so long to learn this deck. There is also a certain “moodiness” to the images and I tend to reach for this deck when dealing with questions about family and relationships.

Compare the work of the minors with the majors, its easy to see there’s a bit more polish on the majors, but I find the line work of the minors just charming as all get out!

Art: 4.5/5 Glorious water colors, lush, rich and oh-so small! I wish the borders were completely gone and the images double their size. One thing I’ve seen others complain about that actually doesn’t bother me at all is there’s a bit of a stylistic change from the majors to the minors. The minors are less polished and finished, where there is clearly a lot more detail and work done on the majors. I like this personally, it makes sense to me when thinking of the majors and being, well, a major deal!

When writing a review I pull out all the cards I love (and the ones I dislike) and I had WAY too many I really really like in this deck!

Favorite Card: There’s a lot to love here, but the Seven of Pentacles is a particularly interesting to me. The Fool too, is a very different interpretation with the wild rider.

Least Favorite Card: I don’t have any cards in this deck I dislike.

Card I Identify As: The Seven of Pentacles. This deck tends to suggest I wait and see, and I honestly identify with the monk waiting for the fruits of their labors!

The deck Identifies me as: 8 Strength. Don’t ask.

Season: Mid Summer/Fall

Boxes it Checks: Welsh, Romantic, Idealized Medieval, Soft, Fae, Story-Telling, Fairy-Tale, Kind, Arthurian/Celtic/Irish, Lush, Love Readings, Earthy

Similar Decks: The Insight Tarot (in art style), The Arthurian Tarot Deck, (by the same artist) Legend: The Arthurian Tarot, The Druid’s Craft Tarot, Tarot of the Druids, The Wild Wood Tarot, Universal Celtic Tarot, Anna K. Tarot, Tarot of the Golden Wheel, Ana Tourian’s decks

Does anyone else have this deck? Is this officially a retro deck or is it still fresh?