Welcome back to White Rose of Avalon my Darlings. Today’s post is a review of my newest Tarot deck, The Sacred Circle Tarot by Anna Franklin, and illustrated by Paul Mason. I purchased this most recent deck because it was the deck my herbalism teacher, Suzanne O’Gara used in a reading that she performed for me, and I immediately felt drawn to the deck, so when I found out which deck she used, I knew I had to acquire it for my own spiritual development! I actually have been using the deck daily for the last three weeks, but only got the corresponding book just recently, used.
I wanted to wait to give a full review of the deck until I had read the full book. You see, the deck was originally published in 1998 with a full guidebook that is over 300 pages long, but the most recent re-release of the deck Llewellyn did is a deck-only version, with only a small booklet. I adored using the deck even before I got the full guidebook, but I knew that I just had to have the full experience. That is why I decided to purchase the original guidebook secondhand! As I finally had a chance to read the guidebook, I am now ready to fully share my thoughts and feelings.
I love the look of this deck, it has a really unique set of images, that mix photos, computer images, and drawings. This was a common way of creating images and artwork in the late 1990s, and I find it so interesting. A part of me is likewise enchanted by the fact that the deck was originally published the same year my favorite television show and one of my all-time favorite films were released, that is Charmed and Practical Magic respectively. The idea that Phoebe Halliwell or Gillian Owens could have used this deck when it was brand new is really fun! Now, the deck itself has color coordination between the suits, the Major Arcana have silver stone borders, the Swords have yellow borders, the Wands have red borders, the Cups have blue borders, and the Discs (which is what this deck calls the Pentacles suit) have green borders. Beyond the colored border, each card has a stark black edge, which makes it a great portal to focus through during Tarot meditation sessions.
The Major Arcana are altered a bit to make a more cohesive Fool’s Journey and a greater Celtic Pagan association to the deck’s structure, which makes perfect sense given that the deck is subtitled ‘a Celtic Pagan Journey.’ All of that being said, as I have raved about the amazing nature of this deck, I want to state that my favorite part of the deck is that nearly every card is filled to the brim with plants! The guidebook does an amazing job of explaining all of the folklore that went into the many-layered images on each card, from animals to plants. As an herbalist, who plans to begin a certification program next year, I am deeply intrigued by the very herbal nature of the deck! Each card that comes up in a reading will be likely to hold messages from the Green Wild World and from Plant Allies, which makes this deck a great asset to Green Witches of all kinds!
I hope you have enjoyed this review of my new favorite Tarot deck. Do you have this deck? Are you interested in acquiring it now? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
Note on Image: The image at the top of the post is the cover of the deck. I found the image on https://www.amazon.com/Sacred-Circle-Tarot-Deck-10-Jul-2014/dp/B012HUZC8A.
Tarot Note: I have a page offering tarot and oracle readings for those interested in these services! I am very happy to be offering these readings to my treasured readers at White Rose of Avalon! Link to page: https://whiteroseofavalon.life/tarot-and-oracle-readings/
Further Reading
- The Sacred Circle Tarot by Anna Franklin, and illustrated by Paul Mason