One of my brothers has been a Royo's fan since he was a teen, so I'm familiar with Royo's artwork, detailed imagery, style and talent. As a Tarot lover, I thought this would be a great addition to my collection, especially because mini-Tarot decks are great for my small hands and I use them all the time. Unfortunately, I'm very disappointed with this 'Tarot'.
GOOD
> Great deck for intuitive readings relating to relationships and erotic themes.
> Really portable pocket size.
> Awesome artwork.
> A huge collection of Royo's artworks in your hands.
> Cards shuffle wonderfully.
> Booklet written in different languages is very handy and easy to understand.
> A nice collectable.
NOT SO GOOD
> Poor quality cardboard in both the cards and the packing box. Card glossy coating peels off easily if you use the deck often, and is specially noticeable as the card are in dark colours.
> Poor printing definition. Really, this tiny deck doesn't make a favour to the artwork or those who want to enjoy it,
> The images in this Tarot weren't created for the Tarot or having the Tarot in mind, I would say, some of them spanning 20 years back in time, and are still hanging at my brother's bedroom. The printing house made Royo's early artwork fit in within the Tarot cards as best as possible, sometimes successfully, sometimes really badly. Take for example the Star card. I think the image on this card is not befitting at all, but the one used for the Hermit would have been perfect as reflects traditional iconography of The Star .The same can be said of so many other cards in this deck.
MIND
> More tiny than mini.
> Nudity, Gothic and adult themes.
> Perfect for Royo's fans, not as much for Tarot fans.
GOOD THINGS> Each card has an unique wonderful colourful design on the front, and an affirmation within a very lovely garland-marquee on the back.
> Wonderful affirmations that aren't the usual new-age affirmations you find elsewhere.
> Totally portable pocket deck.
> Cards shuffle well.
> Colourful sturdy packing box with upper lid.
> Great to use as part of a self-healing practice together with other decks, like the Mystical Healing reading cards, the Chakra Love mini deck, the Four Agreements card deck or Pritam's Let Go deck.
DOWNSIDES
> The artwork becomes repetitive, just different images of Frida Kahlo's face against different backgrounds.
> Box and cards cardboard is not coated, so the deck easily attracts dirt and stains.
> Unnecessarily stiff cardboard that damages and bends easily.
> No booklet on why Frida is chosen and why her life, art and messages are important or relevant. This is obvious for Frida lovers but not for anyone else.
> Bad colour contrast between the inner lid colouring and lettering. A darker hue of orange or a another lettering colour would have solved the problem.
> A bit pricey for the quality.
This an heterodox wonderfully-charming RSM-inspired tarot that focuses on and explores the erotic romantic relationship between female and male energies, which are represented as male and male characters in the deck. The number of cards, suits and major arcana are those proper of the Tarot, and the interpretation given to each card in the booklet is also in resonance with those of the traditional Tarot.
GOOD STUFF
> I can use this deck intuitively, just using the imagery and
disregarding the suit they belong to, or go just with the tarot suits,
or both.
> Wonderful watercolor artwork.
> Tasteful erotic images.
> Card back doesn't give away whether the card is coming reverse or upright.
> Semi-glossy flexible, good cardboard. Cards glide magically in your hands and shuffle wonderfully.
> Great quality printing.
> Good sturdy box.
> A true mini, not tiny, not medium. Perfect for people with small hands.
> Booklet in several languages.
SOME DOWNSIDES
> Lack of racial diversity. Most characters are Anglo-Saxon, Celtic, Nordic-ish looking. If you are multiracial or just not Caucasian this might be a point of annoyance.
> In
all honestly, the images don't always convey what they're supposed to,
or at least not in an obvious way to me. Some examples:-- XII - The hanged man = The image has a woman lying reverse, which perfectly conveys the image of the hanged man. Meaning given in the booklet "sacrifice. bonding'. Does the image conveys the text? Not to me.
-- 4 of Pentacles = A lady is asleep, in sexy lingerie, by the fireplace. She holding a fan in her hand.. Her man is caressing her, like checking whether she's asleep, absorbed in her sensual beauty. Meaning given in the text: " Pleasure. The magic of the fan". Does the image conveys the text? Not to me. In other cases, though, the images convey perfectly the suit and card, like, just as an example, the High Priestess and The Star.
> There is a focus on female nudity and the female body more than on male nudity, and I would have loved seeing a 50/50 kind of male/female nudity.
> Very basic booklet that doesn't always convey the meanings that the author intended for or assigned to the imagery.
> Booklet tiny lettering size, so you might need a magnifying glass to read it.
MIND
> Needless to say, if you mind nudity, this is not a Tarot for you.
> There is
a focus on the female being the object of sexual desire and the male
the subject of pleasure, and not vice versa. It might not appeal to
people who have nontraditional romantic or erotic relationships.
> Some of the original deck design features has been altered.
I
didn't know anything about this deck when I first picked it up, a decade ago. I just
liked the deck cover image. Talk about intuition! However, it has become of one of my
favourite and most reliable decks. This is one of my top 3 oracle decks, and that's basically based on the connection that I have with these cards, the way my energy connects with them, and the fact that the deck seems to respond to my queries quite accurately and quite on point.
I find amazing the way that the cards seem to reflect my mood, what is
happening in my life, what is coming next, and are able to give me
advice on pressing matters. This is what any oracle deck should be
doing, right?, but not many do.
This is a deck perfect for intuitive readings as the deck is not overtly focused on any specific energy (for ex. matters of the heart or career matters) just general life energies.
I've been using
this deck for about a decade, and I've recently bought a new hard copy
of the deck. I alternate use between the app version and the hard copy.
THE CONCEPT
The oracle is inspired, as others by Colette, on both the tarot, I-chin, and Norse culture. The deck was created as a companion to the book The Map, but it can be used without having to check the book out. That's my case and it has always worked for me. The texts are great, very much in tune with the magic realms or whatever you want to call that something that is nothing but compasses everything.
THE ARTWORK
The production design and artwork are excellent and, despite the decade it has elapsed since first came out to the market, the artwork feels modern and fresh. Colouring is excellent but the original edition of the deck was more chic.
The digital collages and illustrations by Jean Dellagrottaglia are colourful, whimsical and full of magic. They don't have that cheap-photoshop-pastiche feeling that puts me off with so many other decks. This deck is truly stylish and gorgeous.
CHANGES IN THE ORACLE
The edition I'm now reviewing is different from the one I first bought and the app that replicates it. The cards meaning marquee and the number have different style and lettering and the cards have no marquee. The old ones had an elegant golden marquee, and the meaning was inside a golden scroll marquee. So, the current edition is less polished and enchanted than the original.
Besides, three cards imagery has changed: 33, 36 and 52. Card 33 has a very similar scene but the jumping character is a black girl, and card 52 has also a totally different image with a black woman. Both changes are very much of my liking and reflect racial diversity. Besides, card 36 Commitment, which had a more romantic image in the original, has now a more neutral imagery in this deck edition.
THE DECK QUALITY
This is one of the old Hay House productions and you can see the difference in care and quality with HH current decks. This deck is just fabulous:
> Glossy flexible good quality cardboard that is light, so the deck is not heavy or bulky.
> Easy pleasurable deck to shuffle.
> Good quality box packing.
> The guidebook is printed on decent paper and has decent content re the concept behind the deck, how to use the cards, and upright and reverse card meanings.
DOWNSIDE
> Cards are on the large side and you might struggle shuffling them if you have small hands.
> This deck is less enchanted in design production than the original edition.
Great quality deck overall: good sturdy packaging box, excellent printing quality, wonderfully edited guidebook and good quality deck. The cards have the perfect thickness and coating, which makes shuffling a very pleasurable experience.
The artwork is beautiful. I especially like the back of the cards, which is also the cover of the booklet. Some of the images in the deck are just wonderful. Taken individually all the images are great and a piece of art. However, as a tarot ensemble, the deck feels monotonous and, for the most part, uninspired.
This is a Gaian deck, so I expected the feminine energies and the female characters to be relevant, but they're overwhelmingly dominant. The same can be seen of the green hues.
One of the things that put me off is the fact that many of the images on the deck and the meaning attributed to them have no relation or connection, which is a total disappointment.
I ended returning the deck, not only because of what I said, but because of the odd sizing of the cards, which are on the wide and large size, as I was having trouble shuffling them.
GOOD
> Stunning deck and concept. Beforehand, I thought that it would be difficult to convey the usual Tarot suits and characters in an animal Tarot, but the authors and illustrator had done a stupendous job at capturing and putting together the essence of each card and the animal qualities that could be associated to them.
> The design and artwork are fantastic.
> Great quality card printing.
> The card back is absolutely gorgeous, especially if you're a cat lover.
> The cards have the meaning summary at the bottom of the card, which makes it perfect to use them without having to consult the guidebook.
> This deck is not as heavy as other Hay House decks and the glossy coating makes handling and shuffling very pleasurable and easy.
> The packaging is really good, with a sturdy box that will keep the cards safe. Besides, it's really beautiful inside and out.
> What I like the most about this deck is that can be used as a tarot deck (following the arcana and suits structure) as an intuitive oracle (free association of feelings and thoughts to the animals/ scenes on display) or a as channelled message (by reading the meanings displayed at the bottom of each card) depending on what you want.
DECK STRUCTURE
> Major arcana have some adaptations, which I find good and true to the Rider-White major arcana: 5 Unity (the hierophant), 12 Awakening (the hanged man), 13 Release (death), 14 Balance (temperance), 15 Ego (devil), 16 Life experience (the tower), and 20 Renewal (judgement). > The deck suits are the four seasons, each of them coloured with a different identifying colour that refers to the four elements. Spring is dark read (wands, fire). Summer is light blue (cups, water). Autumn is dark green (coins, earth) and Winter is dark blue (swords, air). > Court characters are prince/ss instead of page/s.
SO-SO
> Bulky deck.
> The images on each card not always connect well with the meaning written in them.
> The back illustration gives away whether the card is coming upright or reverse.
> The cards are on the large side and not easy to shuffle if you have small hands.
> The cardboard is a bit stiff and the coating seems to peel off quite easily.
> As per the photo uploaded the card back has a pixel dot that appears on all cards. Not sure whether is a printing issue or a pre-production issue.
> Guidebook printing quality and paper are average.
> Choosing a cat as the representation of The Devil is an insult to cat lovers. Just saying!
> It would have made more sense to me if the Summer/water deck had just fish and or water animals, the Autumn/earth, just earthy underground animals, the Winter/air suit just birds, and the Spring/fire just grassy animals. I would have used big archetypal animals for the major arcana.
Island Time Wellness Oracle is a great oracle and one of those decks that has become a must-go-to by most Tarot readers. The popularity is well deserved as it has basic powerful easy-to-understand intuitive images and messages on the cards.
GOOD THINGS
> Great concept deck. Less is more. Sometimes the best ideas are the simplest and this is a perfect example.
> Mini deck, therefore, easy to carry. See the photo I've uploaded with the deck by my keys and passport, so that you can get an idea of the real size.
> Some people find the size a bit too small, but, if you have small hands, this is a great deck size, and that's my case.
> Meanings are on the front and therefore you don't need to use any booklet or anything else.
> Very simple child-like illustrations that are effective and easy to understand.
> Good semi-matte cardboard with a good coating that makes shuffling easy.
> No reverse meanings.
> Very intuitive. BAD THINGS
> The deck looks cheap, like an imitation of something else, as if it was a forfeit copy. Yet, it is not.
>
Printing isn't good. This deck could be glorious. Imagine the same
concept and design but done using a good card board with golden embossed
images and text. However, the printing is grey-beige-ish and it has a
gradient touch that affects lettering, which makes the whole thing look
even cheaper.
> Bad quality boxing.
> Printing and design need of some sort of "deluxefication".
This is a wonderful self-healing therapeutic affirmations deck that goes well with other tarot decks I have from Amazon, like the Mystical Healing reading cards, the Chakra Love mini deck, and the Four Agreements card deck. THE CARDS
Each card back has a wonderfully colorful Gaian illustration, with women relating to the natural environment (beach , forests, gardens) with a predominance of green lush imagery, that I find refreshing and inviting. Like your are on a private garden. The back of the card has an affirmation or item of advice that can be connected to the image on the front. The whole deck has a spiritual Retreat/holiday in Fiji, Bali or Hawaii sort of vibe.
GOOD THINGS
> Totally Portable. Pocket size.
> Good sturdy packing box with upper lid, wonderfully colorful and illustrated on all sides. > Each card is unique.
> Wonderful Gaian illustrations and messages. The back is colorfully creative and inspiring and the illustration continues on to the back of the card, where the pearl of wisdom is written.
> Characters are from different ethnic groups.
> Good value for money.
> Great to use as part of a self-healing practice together with other decks, like the Mystical Healing reading cards, the Crakra Love mini deck, and the Four Agreements card deck.
> The messages on the cards are good enough per se.
DOWNSIDES
> This is a very female/feminine deck, so if you are non-binary or don't have a strong feminine essence this won't resonate with you.
> Both the containing box and the cards are of 'raw' non-coated, cardboard, which makes shuffling unnecessarily difficult and doesn't protect the cards or the box from dirt or stains.
> Unnecessarily stiff cardboard.
> No booklet further elaborating on the benefits of letting go, and we do not do so.
> The instructions on the inner lid can barely be read as the contrast between the bright green background and the white text is not good enough. That's simply bad design. A darker green would have been better, and would had still be in tune with the hues used in the cards.
US Games Systems are in a way old-fashioned, but also among the best in the market re quality of the cards. They are also less luxurious and curated as the most modern ones produced by Rockpool or Hayhouse publishing houses. GREAT
> Cards paper quality and size are perfect, on the medium side, with glossy flexible paper that shuffles well and is not heavy to handle despite the bulk.Cards slip off easily and that's the way I want my cards to come out.
> The cards back design is wonderful in its simplicity and the deck is easily recognisable. Also, the design is good because you cannot guess whether the cards are up or reversed before picking them up.
> Despite the guide booklet being very short, it goes to the point and summarizes well the meaning of each card and provides a brief description of the lovers' story depicted in each major arcana card. In that regard, it's perfect for beginners.
> Perfect for love and relationship readings without losing the spirit of
tarot. The cards are interpreted specifically for relationships, so
they are more straightforward to read than those in other generic decks.
> Beautiful artwork. The artwork reminds me of the early renaissance frescoes and painters but it also of the renaissance and pre-Raphafaelites.
DOWNSIDES
> Poor-quality box packaging.
> Booklet is minimal, bad quality paper and lettering is tiny so I need a magnifying glass to read it properly.
> Despite the seller advertising that this deck edition comes with a full-colour spread sheet, that this is not the case at all. I think that might be a listing error, yet, why not correcting it? There are other reviewers who just mentioned the same.
> I think they put the apostrophe in the title in the wrong place...
DECK STRUCTURE
MAJOR ARCANA EQUIVALENCES
0- Innocence = The Fool. 1- Magic = The Magician. 2- Wisdom = High Priestess.3- Fertility = Empress. 4- Power = Emperor. 5- Tradition = Hierophant. 6- Love = Lovers. 7-Desire = Chariot. 8- Strength. 9- Contemplation = Hermit. 10- Fortune = Wheel of fortune. 11- Justice. 12- Sacrifice = Hanged man. 13- Transformation = Death. 14- Balance = Temperance. 15- Temptation = Devil. 16- Oppression = Tower. 17-Grace = Star. 18- Illusion = Moon. 19- Awakening = Sun. 20- Judgement. 21- Triumph = World. As you can see the interpretation is respectful with the original tarot meanings but with some clearer names and some adjustments with regards to some cards (chariot, the hanged man, the tower., moon and the sun.)
SUITS
Cups (water), Staves (wands, fire), Arrows (swords, air), Coins (pentacles, earth).
Most cards show couples, relating in a way or another. All the pairs
come from historical and mythological stories and characters. Some of
the couples depicted in the cards are:
Pamina & Tamino, Merlin & Morgan le Fay, Shahrazade
&Shahriyar, Cleopatra & Anthony, Romeo & Juliet, Isis &
Osiris,
Tristan & Isolde, Brunnhilde & Siegfried, Danae & Zeus,
Penelope & Odysseus, Orpheus & Eurydice, Pluto & Persephone,
Venus & Vulcan, Paolo & Francesca, Aeneas & Dido, Dante
& Beatrice, Cupid & Psyche, Tannhauser & Elisabeth, Ariadne
& Bacchus.
Posts
