Native American Tarot by Lo Scarabeo at House of Tarot

Product not found!

Reviews ...

Submitted By: Stephanie Arwen - President, American Tarot Associaton on 04/20/2008
The Native American Tarot by Laura Tuan is an art deck worthy of any collection. Gorgeous images entrance the eye. The colors are soft and muted in this mid-sized deck. I very much enjoyed the visual aspect of this deck. The Lovers is particularly intriguing showing a goddess figure with a rabbit standing over the male and female figures that seem to be rising from the mud. There are two suns behind them. The LWB offers this interpretation:

\"The Twins: The Lovers -- They create the earth by moving the mud and nourish it with the plant of continuity: Maize. Eternity and change, sunrise and sunset pursue each other in the two suns that shine over their heads.\"

This interpretation of the Lovers is similar to the others. The Empress features an elderly woman weaving with a bear rising up in the sky behind her. And the Hanged Man hangs but is pouring water from a horn to those waiting below him. This echoes the myth of Odin hanging from the tree to gain knowledge for his people.

This deck is neither a Rider-Waite-Smith clone nor a Thoth clone nor even a Marseilles clone. I suppose the closest would be the RWS, but the interpretations are not the standard meanings. For instance the three of Swords interpretation reads:

\"3 of Swords: Rooster -- It depicts the harmony of the cosmos, discipline and control\"

That interpretation would make it more similar to the 3 of Cups than the traditional heartbreak, betrayal and sorrow of the 3 of Swords in most decks.

Given this variation as a standard of this deck rather than an aberration, I would not recommend this deck for anyone who is hidebound. If traditional meanings are important to you, choose another deck unless you want this one for the sheer beauty of the art. However, if you care to branch out and stretch yourself, try this deck. You will have to study and learn this one because it is very different.

This 80 card deck includes Mother Earth and Father Sky which have specialized meanings when they fall in a spread. Another thing I appreciated was the offering of a new spread designed for this deck.

Personally I would want to study the various native myths that revolve around this deck in order to assimilate it more thoroughly. This is a deck I will keep and work with. My thought is that it will make a very good meditation deck.

4 of 5 Stars!

Average Customer Rating:

Displaying 1 of 1 product reviews