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Top Reviews
There's really nothing like it. I wouldn't trade it for the world ...by J.D (4 out of 5 stars)
June 10, 2017
I want to give this deck five stars. The art work is absolutely incredible. There's really nothing like it. I wouldn't trade it for the world and I am happy with my purchase. However, I have to be honest, the card stock really sucks. After only a few gently shuffles it already started to wear. I'm keeping them anyway.. and I decided to give it a trim and they look even more amazing now. Hopefully they last!
Amazing images, terrible card quality
by Al and Norie (3 out of 5 stars)
September 9, 2017
The art is absolutely deep and stunning , this is no doubt. The guidebook is very well written as well. I enjoy the guided spreads from the guidebook, fantastic. My three star review is strictly based on the card stock quality. It's awful. The cards did not last me very long, they wear and peal very easy. If you see a photo I posted here on amazon of the Queen of Cups, you will see how the sides ( a plastic coating) start to peal and weather with time. I personally like the large size card stock, they are big like oracles. It appears that the majority of the people who purchase these cards cut the boarders off. My cards wore out in less than 6 months so I decided to cut them up as well. What other choice did I have? They were all pealed off and worn out. I thought to myself, "is this really necessary"? I paid almost 30.00 for them to just have them fall apart or cut them up. The printing company really should figure out a plan to make these cards user friendly. The consumer should not have to toss or cut them up so quickly after purchase. I should also mention, it is a very distinctive card board type card.
Setting the card quality aside. Mary white is an amazing artist, her images do not disappoint. You do have to be comfortable with nudity and concepts of non duality. I love the images and the different aspects of body and soul she portrays in the cards. I felt a very deep connection to many of the cards including the Lovers, Death and King of Cups. Some of the cards really didn't do it for me, for example the Nine of Swords which has no swords but a shore of water. Or the King of Pentacles; a half naked man/goat with his penis out laying against a tree eating an apple. Doesn't make sense to me as a King of Pentacles. A lot of the images come to her from dreams so expect a lot of non traditional and altered interpretations based on the authors personal experience
Overall, even though I am very disappointing in the card quality I would buy again, but to the printing company, please come up with a better version. This is the only reason I will not give this tarot deck a 5 stars. The consumer deserves better, and so does the author.
Free your cards.
by ClauR (5 out of 5 stars)
August 5, 2016
Please trim your deck before anything else. The art is amazing and their energy is surreal. However, the huge borders detract from their beauty at first glance.
There is a reason why even the artist recommends freeing your cards. Google the blogpost by Mary White and you'll stop hesitating.
One damaged card, one missing card -- this artist deserves WAY BETTER!
by Natalie T-J (1 out of 5 stars)
January 30, 2019
Let me start by saying that the rating comes from the issues with the printer/manufacturer and not with the deck and book itself.
I LOVE this deck. Marie White's paintings and writing contain the depth, insight, imagination and clarity of someone who has done her own work toward realization and found a medium for sharing its fruit. The world is blessed to have access to it in this form, which offers the opportunity for individual realization by those who seek it for themselves. For that alone, a 5 star rating system is wholly inadequate, inappropriate and rendered almost comedic.
Unfortunately, so is the manufacturer and printer, whose responsibility it is to represent the artist's quality and integrity through their own in the form of a product that does the artist's work justice. Schiffer badly needs to reconsider the card-stock and printing of the cards themselves and come out with another edition.
Although my deck and book set arrived shrink-wrapped and seemingly in perfect condition, the last card in the deck, The King of Disks, was already dented on the edge (see photo). It really stands out when you hold the cards together as a deck, and speaks volumes about the issue of quality with this card stock and process. And while everyone recommends trimming the deck, which would indeed take care of that issue, I cannot fix the fact that the Two of Swords is MISSING altogether!
The borders are not only distracting, they're frequently not centered around the image, so one side of the border is twice the thickness of the other. The lamination is awful, but I knew to expect that. I also knew to expect that the cards are somewhat delicate despite being thick, but I had at least hoped it would happen through the natural wear and tear of working with the cards rather than damage straight out of the box.
I have returned this deck and a new one is on the way. Hopefully it will be complete!
Love Schiffer -- Love Mary-El Tarot
by Lady Lughnasa (5 out of 5 stars)
March 1, 2017
I'd wanted this Tarot deck for a VERY long time, but I always hesitated and found an excuse to take it out of the cart. Still, the cards called to me...the artwork I'd seen online was just magickal and inspired (even if a number of reviews called the info in the accompanying book into question, but I was after the cards, not the booklet). So I finally decided there were no more excuses - Mary-El had tormented me enough! I opened the incredibly beautiful box with such a sense of anticipation when it arrived, and I even read a few passages in the accompanying book (which is better than I had expected, to be honest - so bonus!). And then I started looking through the cards in a thorough and reverent fashion - and noticed that the 10 of Swords was altogether missing! I was Devastated!!! (And I also noticed the laminate was coming up on the back of one of the wands cards, but I could have lived with that). I remembered that other customers noted that Schiffer Publishing had very good customer service, so I emailed them about the two issues I was having (unsure of what they'd say because I'm in Australia). They were BRILLIANT. Without hesitation, they sent me two replacement cards in a prompt and friendly fashion. My faith in the universe has been restored, and I'm enjoying this beautiful deck in its entirety. As a deck for reading, I find it a bit too arty and too far away from the RWS system with which I'm comfortable. However, I like to meditate on the pictures and draw inspiration for writing...it seems to work better for that purpose. I can see how it might not be to everyone's tastes -- I recommend thoroughly looking online at the imagery and seeing if you connect with it. I am exceptionally pleased, however, to have this deck in my growing collection and can't praise Schiffer enough for their products or their customer service.
It's the most amazing Tarot deck I've seen
by Daniel A. Demski (5 out of 5 stars)
April 3, 2016
I can't help but give this deck five stars. It's the most amazing Tarot deck I've seen. Each image is carefully thought out yet totally alien and fascinating. You'd be tempted to say they stand on their own - but really they are designed for one another. Symbols both familiar and new repeat throughout, and one image cannot be fully explained without the others.
The author did make certain decisions I don't particularly agree with, like depicting the Hoar of Babylon on the Hierophant card. But where she makes changes, they are justified by long thought, and she echoes the change throughout the deck. For example the depiction of the Hierophant is meant to emphasize that we should look within to find God, not look to knowledge passed down. In fact the whole deck is focused on the idea of looking inward, understanding yourself, and finding your own calling or purpose.
As for the physical matter of the deck itself. The cards are very sturdy and the colors are quite bright. (I own some decks where I'm sure the original art was brighter.) But the printing is a bit less sharp than justified by the size of the cards. In fact, there are a few cards where I'm sure some fine detail has been lost, such as the Four of Wands and the Hanged Man.
Love the artwork, but poor quality cardstock :(
by Grace (3 out of 5 stars)
January 27, 2018
I would have returned this deck if I hadn't already been planning on trimming it, because there were a few simply unacceptable flaws in the deck I received:
1) Scuffing on the laminate of a few cards (1st picture)
2) Rough white patches where the black border should have been on one card (2nd picture)
3) Uneven borders on most cards (3rd picture)
4) Laminate already peeling on the edges of some cards (4th picture). I've now trimmed my deck, and I do worry about the laminate continuing to peel over time.
Ultimately, I feel that the quality and inconsistency of the cardstock and printing is unacceptable for a $30+ deck.
I absolutely love the artwork in this deck, and I sincerely hope it is reprinted someday with much higher quality cardstock. If for some reason I had wanted to keep the borders on this deck, these imperfections would have been overt to the point where a good shuffling/reading would have been impossible for me (and I would have returned it in a heartbeat).
Low printing quality
by Kevin lumanshattuck (3 out of 5 stars)
June 10, 2018
The Artwork of this deck deserves better quallity of printing. I just recieved my deck and notice the corners were crimped probibly durring the cutting process. The ink is spotty on many cards. One card has a significant crease on it. My version of the deck had the gold edging. For me I would prefer it without giving the quality of the cardstock and printing used. I will probibly trim the deck and edge it just to get rid of many of the flaws. In the future maybe making this a slightly smaller size with matte finnish and no guilding.
Breathtaking Deck!
by Charles Yost (5 out of 5 stars)
June 20, 2017
I absolutely love this deck and the accompanying book. It is as rife with symbolism as you could possibly wish, and the images are arresting, sometimes dark and constantly gorgeous. Marie White's interpretations are a refreshing perspective, supported by what is obviously an expert knowledge of the myths and tropes that her deck is built from. This deck will help you tell and interpret the great Human Story, which is, in my humble opinion, what Tarot is all about.
My only criticism is that my hands are too small to shuffle it!
A Wonderfully Symbolic Deep Deck...
by Danielle (5 out of 5 stars)
May 5, 2012
First of all, I have to give this deck 5 stars no matter what because the artwork on this deck is just art gallery worthy. Not in a long time of Tarot have I seen a deck as beautifully done in an artistic way as I've seen this deck... with that said...
I first saw this deck online and thought "hmmm what a great deck for my friend." She got the deck and showed it to me. I, thinking I have enough decks and was quite content in my current ambition of whittling my deck collection down; thought when I see this deck in person I could probably control myself because after all I have my favorites already (Inner Child Cards, Thoth, Touchstone Tarot, etc.). So she shows me this long tobacco/cigar type of box and I nearly fell of the chair. We both agreed with how well Schiffer knows how to present their decks (so much so that I'm considering buying more Schiffer divination sets). It has a sturdy magnetic closure, its like getting served a fine cigar to you as one opens it. So when she opened the box I basically peed my pants...
It never fails, but whenever I buy a deck based on online images I am always disappointed when I see the cards in person. Never are they as vibrant as what they seem to be online. BUT THIS DECK IS A RARE EXCEPTION. .. OMG so extremely beautiful!! If in any other reviews I've said the artwork of a deck is beautiful, I was lying because this one is exceptionally beautifully balanced color and clarity to the art... its so art gallery worthy... its so rich.
So that was my OMG moment, I'll talk more about the cards themselves
HOW IT READS: It may be overwhelming for some people... the artwork as its a little bit of David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust feel to it crossed with the rogue of Mad Max. Some of the images may be controversial (like the Heirophant as its a nun breast feeding two huge alien heads) and there is a lot of nudity of a hermaphaditic nature. So its not uncommon to find a human form that has breasts and a penis. There are also a lot of beautiful serene cards of kids that are of pure form (no confusion of sex with the kiddie cards). There are nice images of strong animal totems found throughout the deck too (Water Tiger for Temperance) not to mention beautiful scenic pictures with no human/alien/animals (4 of disks, a winding wooded path that leads one through the mountains). Its a very empathic deck.
With that said it doesn't read like your regular RW or Thoth, etc. Its a combination of all. You may not always infer the meanings of the cards from the pictures, which makes one realize you have to be more intuitive with this deck at times.
The LWB details the history of the Kaballah and other tarot traditions and gives you insight in her vision of the card. So the card meanings provided is RW, White's take, Thoth, and other traditional forms with a blended history of the Kaballa. So you can read this deck in any way you intend to. I prefer reading the cards according to White's interpretations as there is much more depth and accuracy. Her meanings tend to touch on the abyss... the stuff that blends the reality of the situation with the psychological aspects of the situation which often gets hidden in an average reading. I find this deck accurate... and gives insight you've never gathered before.
OVERALL
The deck is so beautiful I hate reading with it because I don't want to destroy it despite having a pretty solid cardstock to boot. I tend to look at the cards and long for that distant galaxy or planet where all of these people or messengers in this deck may come to speak from. Because the meanings can be unique, its not the first deck I jump to for a quick read.. .but if I want to gain a 3rd perspective, its an awesome deck. It also predicts well, I've had a good predictive streak of runs with this deck.
Due to the nature of the artwork, it may make some people squeamish, or make them relaxed, or make them let go of all preconditioned thoughts. It makes you let go of judgement as the images and forms are soo different you learn to look at the images through their spirit more than their outward message. If you were to look at each person in your life more from the viewpoint of spirit then you will understand what it is the universe asks of you spiritually than of corporeal directions in life... as the universe is both of these things and more...
see this deck turns you into the philosopher you never thought you could be.
I think this deck is worth everyone buying just for the quality of artwork alone. It has a new way of relating to the nouveau tarot world that I think it will be the next major deck (RW, Thoth, Voyager, now this one).
*If this is not the "The Mary-el Tarot (with cards)" product you were looking for, you can check the other results by clicking this link
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Details were last updated on Jun 13, 2025 05:08 +08.
