Deck Review for Angie Green’s The Simple Tarot
This deck comes in two versions-one has meanings on it and one doesn’t. The deck I am reviewing is the one without meanings. It is available at the self-publisher (TheSimpleTarot.com) or on Amazon. The book (Simple Tarot Card Meanings-Learn to Read Tarot Cards) for this deck is sold separately and there is no LWB with the deck. For each card, the author provides: key words and reversed words, both Rider Waite and hers; patterns and correspondences-numbers, planets, zodiac signs and elements; readings for love, work, health, money and finances, and spiritual guidance. The book doesn’t have any spreads. It is totally dedicated to bringing the reader the maximum amount of information in a down-to-earth manner about each of the 78 cards. The author does offer a timing system. Cups-weeks to months; pentacles-months to years; swords-hours to days; and wands-days to weeks. The book is as simple to use and understand as the deck is.
The suits in the deck are color coded backgrounds to match the elements-Major Arcana is white, wands-red, cups-blue, swords-yellow, and pentacles-green. The figures are penned line drawing outlines (hence “simple”) showing the actions they depict-very simple and easy to understand.
On the Classic Deck version, the cards’ names and numbers are on a thick band at the bottom of the cards. The entire deck is borderless, but some of the figures are cut off at the borders’ edges, but you can still see the actions being depicted.
The deck is 4 ¾ x 2 ¾ inches, on good semi-gloss stock and shuffles easily. The backs are a reversible star burst. This is a full 78 card Rider Waite-based deck. The majors are numbered 0 Fool through 22 World, and the courts are page, knight, queen, and king.
The only thing that was off-putting about this deck was the way in which it was delivered by having purchased through Amazon. The deck came without a box in a velvet bag that was too small for the deck and the deck was bound in a couple of plastic strips, not sealed in shrink wrap.
Some different outstanding cards are the Chariot shown as a front view of a 1930s car; Death is a skull with a red rose; I love that the Moon has a dachshund!; Page of Cups has a young boy with a fishing pole catching the fish in the cup; 9 of Swords doesn’t have a bed-the figure is looking at the swords overhead; Page of Swords is flying a kite; the queens and kings are all standing and not on thrones; 8 of Pentacles is two rows of four pentacles with tools over them. I could go on and on as there are so many cards that caught my attention.
Overall, this deck is delightful to read with, colorful and compatible with anyone who wants to use a Rider Waite deck. The outlines are easy on the eye and “simple” to interpret. This is a great deck for beginners if you buy the accompanying book, and a gem to have in a collection. It will make a really good go-to deck.