Tarot of the Animal Lords (English and Spanish Edition) Cards – December 8, 2003

As an animal lover and based on the positive reviews I thought I'd love this deck, and I do like some of the cards, but I dislike the deck as a whole (for two reasons). There are disproportionately FEW female animals, and what few there are are mostly passive, dressed in pretty dresses and doing nothing. One exception is the 8 of swords, a mouse dressed in an orange skirt and a low-cut green tank top, sporting large human breasts. If that wasn't bizarre enough, she is backed into a spiderweb, threatened by a large spider. Huh? Mice aren't afraid of spiders, they eat them, not the reverse.And that's the other thing that bothers me about this deck. I love animals, their spirits, their natures, their NATURAL behavior and appearance. The choices the creators of this deck made mystify me. The majestic matriarchal elephant- a wise, powerful leader with few equals on earth- was a great choice for the High Priestess, but is here utterly negated by seating her in a chair in a dowdy dress (looks like a flannel nightgown), doing nothing, looking vacant and anything BUT powerful and all-seeing. It bothers me. Why not seat her on a grand throne with a magnificent flowing gown or robes? Similarly, what's the message when The Queen of Wands (a KOALA bear!) is depicted as a sexy, slim creature with voluptuous breasts and harem pants? WTF? Koala bears are slow, dimwitted, deliberate, stocky survivors. Why on EARTH choose one in the first place, and then transmute it into a sex kitten? NEITHER koalas nor sex kittens embody the core qualities of the Queen of Wands, IMO.I'm ever mindful of covert messages, such as ones to women (OR men), however subtle, that they are weak, trivial, incidental, of lesser importance, or subserve narrow functions, such as sex objects, or WHATEVER. I should have been tipped off by the deck's masculine name that it favored males. And note that I would be just as affronted if men were underrepresented, or narrowly or poorly represented.In fairness the art is striking, the illustrations detailed and realistic. But apart from the depiction of females, I can't get past realistic looking animals dressed in human clothes, standing upright (mostly human bodies with animal heads), in STIFF HUMAN POSES. There's one card, The Wheel, showing a monarch butterfly, flying- he's basically a human, with an insect head and smallish wings, but also has arms and hands, is fussily clothed, right down to his shoes. Since he's drawn in an upright, STANDING position, the flight position is wholly unnatural, awkward, static, the antithesis of what butterflies are all about (and HOW does this relate to the Wheel of Fortune??). Why take animals' grace, their very essences, and negate them entirely? I just don't get it. Different things appeal to different people, of course, but I personally found such effects jarring, irksome, the opposite of inspiring.As an aside, one thing that appeals to many people I know about animal-oriented decks is the fact that most animals could be either male OR female, (eagles, wolves, crows, horses, turtles, dolphins, butterflies...) so the querent/reader can freely assign sex as they wish, so that querents of either sex can identify with most of the cards. Dressing them in human clothes typically removes that option, making for less flexibility in readings.BTW, PLEASE don't vote my review unhelpful because you disagree with me (such opinions belong in the comment section). The purpose of reviews is so that potential buyers can make up their minds based on reviewers' honest opinions. It's discouraging to buy something based on rave reviews only to find you don't like it. The more info the better, to help potential buyers decide if something may or may not be to their liking, and reviewers shouldn't be punished for their opinions, yay or nay.And of course it's VERY disheartening to go to the trouble to write a review and have those who already own it, and differ with you in their assessment, declare your review not helpful. I wouldn't dream of doing that to anyone else, and I would hope that Tarot [spiritual] folks wouldn't do it. If you disagree, please leave your own positive review, &/or comment under mine as to why you disagree with me or found my review unhelpful. Thank-you.

These cards are beautiful, though someone who is new to the Tarot might want to get a little more practice first because if the Rider-Waite imagery is the only form you're familiar with then you might find these a bit hard to use, because the beautiful artwork on the pip cards are quite different than the standard Rider-Waite-Smith deck. I now have a new appreciation for Bruegel the Elder thanks to these beautiful cards; whom I'd never heard of before I saw this deck.The Major Arcana cards show the principal "actors" in pleasant earth-tone colors while the backgrounds behind them are all soft tan monochrome. The card borders have the card's name in 6 different languages, including English, like most Lo Scarabeo decks do (made in Italy), which I do not find distracting at all...this in fact lends a sort of multicultural "feel" to them. The borders are in a pleasant "earthy tan" color and the backs of the cards are a monochrome tan copy of the deck's Sun card. They're quite unique if you're a collector.And by the way...they shipped REALLY FAST! :-) Thank you.

This deck is gorgeous! You will find a simple but awesome wisdom for every card in the LWB - and you will easily remember them when using the deck for readings! I do not know whose idea it was, but it is gorgeous, the imagery is wonderful and what I love in this deck is that it really makes you think of things on a higher and deeper level. The imagery might seem cruel at times, but Life is also cruel at times, and I love this approach a lot.This deck is very clear about describing emotional backgrounds, but also gives you a very practical answer about everything. Very much real life-like, but also very deep and wise in its message! The proverbs and sayings are brilliant! If you are a collector, it is a must have deck, if not, it is also a wonderful one for deep and meaningful, very precise readings.

I like the tarot, but the images could have a bit more brightness .As for size I consider good and material quality could be better.Gostei do tarot, mas as imagens poderia ter um pouco mais de brilho.Quanto ao tamanho considero bom e qualidade do material poderia ser melhor.

I can't seem to help myself when I see cards that are as beautiful as these. I have many decks I have purchased simply because the art work is awesome, and this is one of those. I have other decks I use to read with only because I have two of the same decks. I guess I am a collector. I can't say that much about the interpretations because I use my own.

I love this deck. The imagery relates to proverbs which doesn't necessarily jibe with usual meanings. But if you study the images and learn a little about the proverb that goes with it I think it is worth the effort.

lovely deck. i like historical ones and this one made the cut. very nice scenes or improvs from bruegel the master. if you love the giotto like i do you'll love this too.

This is a nice tarot deck showing dress and activities in an historical setting.

癒し系の動物タロットを期待して購入しましたが・・・ちょっと違いました。頭部が動物で、首から下がおもいっきり人間。とくに手とか生々しい感じが＾＾；予想以上にシュールな絵柄です。小アルカナも独特で絵柄自体はライダーに添ってはいるのですが、・カップ→蟹・ペンタクルス→カナブン(？)・ワンド→トカゲ・ソード→蝶と、なっています。サイズは6×11.5なので、シャッフルするのにちょうど良いかと思いますが、厚みはそんなにありません。一風変わったアニマルカードをお求めの方は、どうぞ。

もう少し動物らしさを期待していたのですが、頭部だけが動物な感じでした。体は人間のものなのに、色が動物の体毛の色をしていたり、水かきが付いていたり、パンダに人間のおっぱいが付いていたり、ウサギだと足が足袋を履いたみたいになっていたりして、なかなかどうして微妙な雰囲気です。しかも、バックに普通の動物も描きこまれていたりするので尚更。他の方がレビューで「シュール」と表現していましたが、正にその一言に尽きると思います。ある意味面白いと言えないことも無いですが・・・(;'∀｀)

画家ブリューゲルの絵が好きな方には、お勧めのタロットです。友人は絵が下手だ・・と言っていて不評なのですが＾＾；中世の村での生活が描かれています。ダンスを踊る村人という感じです。もう少し城や騎士といったものを期待していたので星３つになりました。私の場合は占いをする為ではなくタロットに描かれた絵を楽しむというコレクターなので占うという面での感想は書けません＾＾；