Cult of Tarot Forum

The Tarot of the Holy Light haunts me a bit.

I bought the first edition, I waited for the book, I read everything Christine Payne-Towler wrote on AT and on her website - fascinating stuff. But when I had the deck, it didn't speak to me. At all. I trimmed it. I edged it in silver. Usually, when I personalize a deck, I find it easier to read with. But no. I found her book fascinating but apodictic, and not all her conclusions convinced me. On a whim, I swapped the deck.

(Irony of fate: I swapped it against the Kitty Kahane deck which is cute and witty but nowhere near as interesting as the Holy Light. It's just a pastel coloured version of the RWS with some nice additions and a book full of horrible cliches.)

Now I find myself wanting this deck again but I'm afraid I'll be lost again when it's here. And I saw that there is a black-and-white version which looks wonderful.

What do you think? Which version looks better to you? What are your experiences with this deck? and the book? how does it read for you?

I still have the book (Kindle version), I guess I should re-read it and decide then. But until I decide, I'd be happy to hear from others who love this deck. I want to love it, too.

I do like both versions, but I admit I have a preference for the b&w deck. The punchy colours of the first edition now seem incongruous with the glorious antique engravings, which, after all, were originally only b&w.

I love both versions, for different reasons. The B&W definitely has a more sedate vibe to it. I'm partial to monotone decks, but I find this one fabulous. It is harder to read, to my eyes, because details don't stand out as much. But that is very individual. I do hope you find you can enjoy this deck. I get a lot out of it from just the images, color or B&W.

Here are a few of the cards, in case you haven't seen them yet.

Thank you! That really looks much better than the coloured version to me, it looks as if a late Renaissance alchemist had made it. Oh, I think I need this deck.

Looks mesmerizing and it has an interesting and complete system all its own. The B&W version looks like the Hermetic. The colored version looks especially good.