The Llewellyn Tarot

Imagine a traditional deck inspired by medieval Wales and you have the Llewellyn Tarot. The stunning watercolour artwork depicts Welsh settings, characters and mythology and is worth owning purely for its beauty. I’m surprised it has taken me this long to acquire it, especially since my Mum was Welsh. But, better late than never. Maybe it’s just time now. Another deck, The Universal Celtic Tarot, encouraged me to start studying world mythologies. This deck with its Welsh-mythology-driven Major Arcana fits in well with this. So if you’re into beautiful artwork, great guide books, and/or mythology, and you don’t already have it, this deck could definitely be for you.

The Llewellyn Tarot Deck

As you can see from the above illustrations, the Major Arcana has both the mythological figure and the traditional name printed on the card. I really like that. The mythological association strengthens my understanding and has brought interpretations to the cards I had not generally attributed to them. I have said it before but this is one of the things I like about having multiple decks. It opens up how I view the cards and stops any tendency to fall back on mere keyword associations. Even as an intuitive reader this can still happen.

Anna-Marie Ferguson has changed some of the Major Arcana titles: II The High Priestess is now 2 The Priestess, XV The Devil has become 15 The Horned One, and XXI The World has been renamed 21 The Universe. I like each of these changes. Most of the time I prefer the Major Arcana to be numbered with Roman numerals but that wouldn’t be in keeping with this deck. So, in this instance, I don’t mind it at all.

I find the little inclusions she has made to the Minor Arcana cards opens them up to broader interpretations as well. For example, notice the addition of the cat, the birds and what I see as an angel in the tree on the 8 of Pentacles and the bee on the 9 of Cups. I believe they offer something more than just “pretty touches”.

This is very approachable artwork. I could gaze at it all day, okay not all day, but you get my point. It’s visually stunning but, unlike some beautiful decks, it doesn’t overwhelm you. Instead you’re looking at scenes you can imagine interacting with.

I also like the way cards like the 10 of Swords and the 3 of Swords are represented. The 3 of Swords (pictured below) shows that sorrow and heartache can be depicted without having to pierce anybody’s heart with three swords. This shows the devastation of loss but also that the lady on the card can move on from it, as can we, when we are ready.

The cards themselves are super slippery, thin yet durable, and they shuffle well – as long as you can hold onto them. And, they fan beautifully – for those of you who, like me, select your cards that way. My only real complaint about this deck is that the image is smaller than it could have been. Whilst they measure approximately 8cm x 12cm, the borders chunk into the image size considerably.

The Llewellyn Tarot Book

If you’ve read many of my reviews you know I enjoy reading a good guide book. This one definitely fits into that category. It definitely has something to offer. Firstly, she shares the relevance of the association of the deck to Wales and how and why it has shaped the decks creation. You’ll also find a brief tarot history and a discussion about intuition as well as some of the misconceptions linked to tarot. This is all interesting enough, however, the book really comes into its own when it provides information for each of the Major Arcana.

There is a black and white image of the card and a description of the traditional image accompanied by the card’s additional title eg Peredur for 0 The Fool. Then, there is a brief background given for the figure on the card followed by an overview of the stories associated with them. This runs for several pages before the section concludes with a comprehensive assortment of keywords for both the upright and reversed positions. For the Minor Arcana there is only a picture and a wide selection of simple, yet reasonably comprehensive, explanations for both the upright and reversed position. Whilst the Minor Arcana hasn’t been given the attention granted by some other books, it definitely provides adequate information for beginners as well as some possible new insights for readers of all levels. And, since this book runs to 269 pages, no-one could accuse her of skimping on the information.

The book wraps up with a Glossary focused on Welsh mythology, a pronunciation key which comes in really handy for those of us not up on all our Welsh pronunciations. I don’t think it’s just me that doesn’t find it obvious that Matholwch should be pronounced math’olooch and Yspaddaden as usba’thaden. Finally, there is an index. I think is a great addition because it makes it easy to use the book as a simple Welsh mythology resource.

Spreads

Two spreads are included.

• The Celtic Cross (10 cards plus a significator)
  • This is just one variation of the many that exist
• The Horseshoe (7 cards plus a significator)

I’m unlikely to use these versions personally but they are definitely workable spreads. I’m still divided about the use of significators though. I lean towards not using them. I did use them for these spreads and I can see they served a purpose, although maybe not in the way they are generally intended. I’ll write more on that in another post at a later date.

Overall, I would say that if you’re drawn to the images on these cards you will not be disappointed if you decide to work with it.

Publishing Details

Deck Creator:

Anna-Marie Ferguson

Pictured Version:

Published by Llewellyn Publications, 1st edition, 12th printing