For today’s post, I have decided to do a review of The Llewellyn Tarot by Anna-Marie Ferguson. As with my previous Tarot deck review, I will preface this by stating that not all decks will jive with a particular reader, but that does not make the deck better or worse, sometimes it is about finding the decks that suit us as individuals.
The Llewellyn Tarot deck is a truly breathtakingly illustrated tarot. The concept of the deck is based on the Welsh Celtic collection of tales, The Mabinogion. Each of the major arcana cards has a section that tells the story of the figure or tale that inspired that particular card.
I really enjoyed that you could read the basic information of the tale in The Llewellyn Tarot Companion ahead of the basic information on the meanings of each of the major arcana cards. The card imagery includes beautiful watercolor paintings as the artwork, making the deck very gorgeous and evocative. Anna-Marie Ferguson also illustrated the deck in addition to writing the deck!
Some concepts cross over with other tarots that are based on Celtic lore and especially the Arthurian legends. In fact, Ferguson has done another deck called Legend: The Arthurian Tarot (which is different from the deck I reviewed last week) but it is unfortunately out of print. The basic figures are from Welsh Celtic lore, which is also where the Arthurian figures are first found. In fact, some of the tales in The Mabinogion are amongst the earliest written Arthurian legends.
Merlin is even included in this deck as the Hermit card, by his earlier Welsh name, Myrddin. Likewise, Taliesin is the Hierophant card, the same card he appears as in The Arthurian Tarot by John and Caitlin Matthews that I reviewed last week! Overall, this deck has a much lighter and more optimistic feeling than the deck I reviewed last week. While both decks are amazing, this one is a bit more of a romantic and even feminine one (the energy is a little more nurturing than the other deck which is based on the hero’s journey undertaken by the seeker, exemplified by the Knights of the Roundtable). Not that having a more feminine or masculine deck makes that deck better suited to someone, as I have read both of these decks on the same day and garnered wisdom from each. I think this is more a matter of certain decks being better for certain types of readings! I would recommend this deck to anyone that has an interest in Celtic folklore, myth, and Arthurian legends. It is a lovely deck to read intuitively and meditate with, in addition to practicing divination.
I hope that you have enjoyed this short review of this beautiful tarot deck. Have you ever used The Llewellyn Tarot? Are you interested in reading with this deck? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
Note on Image: The image at the top of the post is the cover art of the box for this deck. I found the image on https://tarotarts.com/products/the-llewellyn-tarot.
Further Reading
- The Llewellyn Tarot Companion by Anna-Marie Ferguson
White Rose of Avalon 