Haindl Tarot

This evocative deck combines many different elements into a cohesive whole. Abounding in symbolism and drawing on different esoteric and religious traditions, the Haindl Tarot offers so much. I thought I’d like it; I didn’t expect to love it. It’s completely different to anything else I’ve worked with. It’s not a Rider Waite Smith or a Thoth clone, but from what I see I would say it’s definitely Thoth inspired. I’d add that it’s mythologically inspired too since that’s what drew me to it in the first place.

The Haindl Tarot Deck

Hmmm, where to begin? In a deck that incorporates so many aspects what do you give priority too? I’ll start with the interesting way this deck was created. Hermann Haindl took different sections from his existing paintings and overlaid them with the suits and symbols. When I look at the artwork it makes me wonder about so many things. With each card I stare at it wondering what makes up the rest of the original image and which cards have used the same painting and what might that mean. Because of that I find the Haindl Tarot encourages a whole range of questions that other decks don’t. The layered artwork draws you in and the more you look the more you find and thus, the more you consider.

Many label this a pip deck. I’d call it a pip deck of sorts. I say of sorts because the background images add so much and open up so many avenues for exploration. Just the single tear and the hole in the fabric alone on the 3 of Swords suggest so much. And, I consider the stairs in the background on the 2 of Wands to be a scene that can be interpreted in so many ways. But no, they are in no way a Rider Waite Smith clone when it comes to imagery on the Minors. They offer other things instead. For instance, the addition of the I Ching hexagrams on the Minors, 2 through 10. These add yet another layer to these already fascinating cards.

The suits are Cups, Wands, Stones (for Pentacles) and Swords and rather than a traditional Court, they have the family – Mother, Father, Daughter and Son. Interestingly, that is how they are ordered in the book. The inner borders on the cards are colour coded to their elemental association on both the Minor and Major Arcana which I like. I have found in most decks that when the borders are different colours the Major Arcana as a whole are allocated a colour. The Haindl Tarot way is much more relevant. Also, the card numbers for the Majors and for cards 2 through 10 in the Minors are prominently displayed at the top of the card which makes it nice and clear if there’s a preponderance of a particular number. Another detail I love. This is a well thought out deck.

Now to be honest I don’t delve into the directions associated with the suits. I find people seem to disagree on what is right in this regard and I’m not familiar enough with it to form my own opinion so I choose at this stage not to focus on it. However, this deck has labelled the Aces of each suit and the Court cards with a direction eg Ace of Stones in the West and Son of Cups in the North as pictured above. More relevant to me is that each suits Court is aligned with a particular mythology: Cups for Celtic, Wands for Indian, Swords for Egyptian and Stones for Native American. If you like this idea you may also like The Ancestral Path Tarot which you can check out here.

There are a few Major Arcana cards whose naming differs from the Rider Waite Smith nominations. XIV Temperance has been changed to Alchemy, XX Judgement is Aeon and XXI has been changed from The World to The Universe. And for those that like to know, Justice is XI and Strength is VIII. The Major Arcana cards include a letter from the Hebrew alphabet, a rune and an astrological symbol as well. This, along with the I Ching hexagrams on the Minors opens up so many additional learning pathways for those that are interested.

Some suggest this deck has darker overtones however I don’t feel that. Even though some of the keywords are very direct eg 5 of Swords – Defeat and 9 of Swords – Cruelty, I feel they offer valuable insights. If you’ve read some of my other deck overviews, for example the Spiritsong Tarot, you’d see I wrote that I don’t see an issue with positive artwork and so this may appear to be a contradiction. But that’s not the case.

It isn’t that I think the Tarot should shy away from anything that’s not sunshine and roses. Rather, I don’t consider a deck is too syrupy if it doesn’t contain daunting and potentially traumatic imagery. Anyhow, back to these cards. I personally love the subtle earthy tones and the overall look of this deck. It’s strange but I wouldn’t say I have a favourite card, just that I love the deck as a whole.

The cards themselves are 7 x 12½ cm in size, printed on typical US Games card stock, thin yet durable and great to shuffle. Two completely blank cards are included which is interesting. On one side is the card back and the front is the solid grey of the card borders. All I can say about that is do with them whatever you see fit to do. I have included a picture of the card backs below because I have read that some people really don’t like them and consider them too off putting for clients. I actually love them and since I don’t read reversals the fact that they are asymmetrical doesn’t bother me. I’d be curious to know what others think of the backs.

The Haindl Tarot Book

It’s only a short 23 page Little White Book that accompanies the cards but it is worth having a quick flick through. If you want a more comprehensive guide to the cards you need to purchase the books, yes books, written by Rachel Pollack separately. I decided to order them but since they haven’t arrived as yet I can’t tell you much about them. All I know is that people claim they are a wonderful resource. I’ll include links for the books down below. But back to what you actually get with the cards.

For the Major Arcana there’s the title, the name of the Hebrew letter and its association, the rune and its association, and the astrological sign. This is followed by an overview of the card and its divinatory meaning for both the upright and reversed positions. The I Ching number and title, an overview of the card and both its upright and reversed divinatory meanings are provided for the Minors.

The book also includes a single page on meditation which is a great way to connect with any Tarot cards on a deeper level. And basically, that’s it.

Spreads

There is one spread included in the book.

• The Hagall Spread (10 cards)

Straight up, I found this spread produced a powerful reading and so I will use it again. I don’t usually go for spreads that require you to divide the deck into suit cards, court cards and Majors but in this spread it felt relevant to do so. This deck definitely isn’t for everyone but I feel an incredibly deep connection with these cards which ensures it will never ever leave my collection.

Publishing Details

Deck Creator:

Hermann Handl

Pictured Version:

Published by US Games, 2011