I'm trying out something new, here. I just got the Sacred Rose Tarot, in the mail today. I think it would help my relationship with new decks if I outline my first impressions, here. I'll try to use some sort of loose format, and go over all my other decks, past, present, and future in much the same manner.
I got this deck from: Trading on Aeclectic Tarot, NorthernTigress shipped it from Canada. I made the deal, then looked up reviews of it on Amazon, to discover that it's available there, for $10 cheaper. No mind, I enjoy supporting my fellow AT members, and the trades. Upon receiving it, I discovered that it was an older version, along with a book, so goodie for me.
Right out of the box: First, I love the backs. I love them so much, the design is begging to be painted and hung on my wall, or tattooed on my body. I'll bring this up to Luiz, someday, maybe he'll be intrigued and want to paint it for me. The overall look of the cards is sort of watercolory sometimes, but with harsher black lines that breaks it up. Substantial white borders, with a sketchy black inner border. I think that's what I like least about the cards. These would be infinitely better sans border. Already I'm plotting how to get rid of it. Not a dealbreaker, but there it is. The colors are very rich and deep, the artwork is lustrous and flowing. The faces kinda weird me out. It's a very busy deck, with lots of lines, and patterns.
A little more depth: Some of the figures have blank white eyeballs. Not sure how I feel about that yet. Many of the cards are startlingly beautiful, some are creepy, and some are downright harsh or ugly to look at (what is going ON with the kid on the 4 of wands?!). Some images are very bold, some are watery and dreamlike. This deck has an amazing use of color. I love the colors, can't get enough. Also, since it's the Sacred Rose, there's abundant use of roses, which I also adore. I love roses, so a deck based around them, and all their wonderful symbolism makes me very happy. There's a lot of elemental balance happening here, too with a strong leaning towards the Cosmic (or ether, or spirit). Despite the weirdness, I feel like I can connect to this deck. I bet we'd live happily ever after, even, if I could trim all that friggin white off the outsides. I hate big white borders, it makes them all look like flash cards, or kiddie playing cards.
The Strength Card: It's good. The lady and lion almost blend as one creature, and like many of the other figures in the deck, they're staring right at you. The lion's cat eyes pierce you, they're very intense. A different take on Strength, but I daresay, I like it.
The Book: Looks like a basic companion book. Better than the LWB, but not as good as a great tarot book. Definitely going to read it, because some of the imagery challenges me.
Red Rose for Sacrifice
White Rose for Purity
Blue Rose represents the Impossible
Gold Rose is achievement
Cosmic Rose is time and space
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