THINGS I LOVE
> Caitlin Sholl's texts and the advice given are terrific. The author guides us and
allows us to deep dive into gratitude with prompts to make us find
things we are grateful for, and tips on how to express gratitude. Scholl's definition of and introduction to gratitude are wonderful and very unique.
> The deck structure. The cards are organised in three sections and energies: 1/ Affirmation, connected to the morning. 2/ Inspiration, connected to midday. 3/ Reflection, connected to the evening. They have three different coding colours (yellow, green and violet) and each card comes with an inspiration quote at the top, and some items of advice to follow on the day, plus the extended advice in the guidebook.
> The overall pastel colour scheme and the whole visual design of the deck, which is minimalist and very elegant.
> The plush deck bag, which is an awesome bonus.
> The quality of the cards and the fact that they shuffle well.
> You can use just the cards or just the booklet without missing anything.
> You can use the different sections at different times of the day or shuffle all of them at once. In that regard, the deck is very versatile.
> The booklet is printed in good quality glossy paper and is bound loosely so you can open it comfortably.
> Good value for money. NOT SO GOOD> The contrast between the background and the lettering is deficient overall, but especially noticeable in the yellow set.
> The booklet's deficiencies are unforgivable:
-- The binding is just lightly glued. I was just gently browsing the booklet and two came off unglued from the bottom. Can you imagine if I use this properly?
-- The cards aren't numbered, so the awesome extra information on each card has to be looked up in the guidebook manually, just within the corresponding section. As the cards are made to shuffle, this look-up can be a bit labyrinthine, time consuming and not very helpful. I find surprising that the editorial house didn't pay attention to something so important for a guidebook, because, otherwise, it's not a guide, it's a book where to search for information.
-- The index is too generic to be of any use.
-- The cover is just paper, not even a bit of cardboard to hold the whole thing together.
-- This being the case, I feel hesitant to gift someone with this deck, even though I think this is just a wonderful deck.
> I can use just the booklet or just the cards, not both combined for the reasons mentioned above.
MIND
The cards are on the large side, so if you, like me, have small hands, you might struggle with the shuffling.
WISH
I would love seeing the booklet properly reprinted and edited.
I bought this to give it as a gift a friend who would benefit from such an inspirational deck as she's going through a lot. The conception and healing properties of the deck are undeniable, yet, the quality of the final product isn't good and I ended keeping it myself, as I don't want to gift anything that looks cheap.
THINGS I LOVE
> The structure of the deck. The deck is
structured on three sections (affirmation, inspiration and reflection)
with three different pastel colors (blue, green and violet) and each
card comes with an inspiration quote at the top, and some generic advice
to follow on the day, plus the extended advice in the guidebook.
> The quality of the writing and the advice given by Scholl are terrific and covers not only self care when you're are on your own, but also when you're in social settings.
> The overall pastel palette of the deck, which gives a calming vibe to it. > The quality of the card stock.
> The elegant imagery and card design.
> The plush pouch bag being included in the set, also the fabric is very pleasurable to touch.
> The booklet is printed in good quality glossy paper and is 'bound' loosely so you can comfortably open it flat.
> The quality of the keepsake box.
> Good priced an good value for money.
NOT SO GOOD
> As per my photo, the top layer of the printed paper arrived bubbled up. This is not the result of the posting and handling as the deck arrived sealed in plastic and well packaged, but the result of not spreading well the sheet of paper on the cardboard on the glue. This being the case I couldn't gift my friend with something it looks used or badly done.
> Some of the quotes and the advice given on them is not always really connected, at least to me.
> The booklet's deficiencies:
-- The binding of the booklet is just glue, and it's so tightly done that the pages will certainly come off as soon as I start to use it frequently.
-- The structure of the booklet. The cards aren't numbered, so the awesome extra information on each card has to be looked up manually, just within the corresponding section. As the cards are made to shuffle, this look up can be a bit labyrinthine, time consuming and not very helpful. I find surprising that the editorial house didn't pay attention to something so important for a guidebook, because otherwise it is not a guide, it is a book where to search for information.
-- The index is also too generic to be of any use.
-- The cover of the booklet is paper thin, literally just paper, not even a bit of cardboard to hold the hole thing together.
MIND
The cards are on the large side
OVERALL
This could have been an awesome deck if the some basic stuff had been been tended to properly. Despite the undeniable psychotherapeutic quality of the deck as a self-care tool, the overall cheap quality of the product and the poor structuring of the guidebook end resting value to a deck that deserves being better curated and produced.
I have many oracle and tarot decks and this became an instant favourite. Oftentimes, I purchase a deck that I've seen used by online readers, I get excited because when I order the deck, I have already the imagery and style in mind and I know how it works in general readings. What often also happens is that, when I get the product, I get disappointed: the cards are too stiff, or too big, or the colors very different from the promotional photos or how they look on camera, or they don't shuffle well, or simply the energetic connection in person is not there. Yet, this Tarot was a great exception to the norm. The Light Seer's Tarot was love at first sight for me. Published by Hay House,
an editorial home that has been producing average quality decks for
years and, by doing so, ruining some great oracle and tarot decks, has
done the right thing and followed the artist's heart. This being the
case, the end result is not only a beautiful quirky Tarot, it is also a
good quality enjoyable usable deck.
The Rider White Smith Tarot by Pamela Colman is so ubiquitous and well-known that reinventing the tarot still being true to it is not a simple task. However, here she comes, another female artist, Chris-Anne, a "spiritualpreneur" as she calls herself, who does just that. It is not only that, with this deck, she has reinvented and modernized the Tarot, it is that she has done this successfully because the end result is not a curio that sits on display in collectors shelves, but a widely used deck by Tarot readers and aficionados use and connect with. The
Light Seer's Tarot, is a deck that outshines most of modern Tarot
decks, because it s true to the core of what Tarot is, reverse meanings
included, but it gathers and reflects contemporary energies and imagery
that the reader can easily connect and relate to. This Tarot and the Urban Tarot by Robin Scott are my favorite reinvented contemporary Tarot decks.
GOOD THINGS
> Great size cards, that good to handle for people with small or large hands.
> Cards shuffle and fly out beautifully.
> The card back design is elegant and perfectly geometric so it doesn't give away whether the card is coming upright or reverse.
> Amazing printing quality and colors.
> Wonderful boho indie expressive artwork, which is very much my cup of tea.
> Very modern feeling without loosing the essence of what traditional Tarot is.
> Multiracial, multi-gender multi-age deck. This is is so rare, that it has to be pointed out.
> Beautiful good-quality keepsake box.
> Good quality printing booklet on soft thick paper.
> Booklet text and meanings are really great. You will find both the general known meanings of the card upright and reverse, but also why the artist has interpreter the card the way she has, and also how the energies are applied to modern New Age spirituality.
> Wonderful deck for proper Tarot readings and intuitive readings. Actually, you can use this deck as an oracle as well.
SO-SO
> The card stock is beautiful, but a better coating was needed because the edges deteriorate easily.
> No gilded, silvered or colored edges. Why not? It would have rounded up the product beautifully.
> The booklet is bound too tightly, so it is difficult to open it and read it comfortably. > A bit pricey.
MIND
> The deck is very New Age, so it might not resonate with everyone.
> The cards are sometimes inspired in the images in the RSWT, but reinterpreted and modernized (see the 10 of pentacles above(, while others are quite different but capture the mean meaning given to those cards (see the ace of cups above).
This is my least favorite mini deck by Rockpool Publishing. Although the quality of the product regarding quality of the packaging and cards is undeniable, the rest is a bit disappointing. Perhaps because the other Rockpool mini-decks I have are just really motivational, inspirational and intuitive, the messages in these cards feel artificial and too vague to be of any use.Perhaps fun to use at a party, not for divination readings.
GOOD STUFF
> Beautiful colorful deck.
> Perfect deck for people with small hands.
> Good quality glossy flexible cards that shuffle beautifully.
> Very good quality keepsake box with upper non-detachable magnetic clasp.
> Instructions of how to use the cards are written on the inner lid.
> Great portability.
> The keepsake box is just gorgeous and eye catching.
> Beautiful printing overall.
DOWNSIDES
> Tiny deck, so if you have big hands, it might not be for you.
> Deficient contrast between lettering and background.
> The upper side of the cards has one standard image, so it is not very artistic or as artistic as other decks in this Rockpool deck series. I get that the main focus is the affirmations not the artwork, but I would loved having more varied Chinese imagery on each card.
> For example, one of the cards has the following message, "Opportunities, a stranger is about to change your life. Exciting times and plenty of action, plus a special family reunion looks likely". Pardon me, my family is overseas, so it is unlikely. Exciting times and plenty of action means nothing, it is too generic, so unless you mention an area of life, work, family, friends, sports etc. it means nothing.. The first item it is a proper fortune divinatory message. Other cards are equally vague and nonsensical.
> I expected the messages in the cards be really as short as the ones in fortune cookies.
> "You will be amazed by their accuracy" is just nonsense, sorry.
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