Weiser Tarot

So, I have to say I am quite disappointed with this deck. I bought it on the recommendation of a Tarot influencer as I was looking for a saviour deck for my ancient RWS deck, which is showing real signs of its age and deserves its retirement. I read the reviews of the Weiser deck and, quite interested, ordered it to use as a replacement for my working deck.

Initially, I was really impressed with the quality of the deck. I was looking for a deck with heavy duty cards 350 GSM or better, and with a good, sturdy, durable box to keep the cards safe, as most of the "official" RWS decks come in cheap and flimsy tuck boxes. The Weiser deck is printed on great card stock - although there are reviews here showing wear and tear on the cards. The keepsake box is strong and durable - just what I was looking for. I don't mind the matte finish either, even though I find it difficult to shuffle. Even the D.E.I.-ing of the characters depicted on the cards is quite fun and acceptable, and the enhanced colourisation of much of the clothing and scenery is well done.

My real disappointment with the re-imagining of the deck is the changing of the sky colours in a large number of the cards. This totally changes the atmosphere of those cards, altering the potential interpretation of the imagery away from the accepted meanings that have been applied by Tarot officianados for decades. Yellow skies are indicative of happy and joyful outcomes, while the blues indicate peaceful and contented situations. Grey skies prognosticate serious or even gloomy perceptions, while the blacks are used in dire situations, such as The Tower and the 10 of Swords. The Weiser deck changes these skies across all of the Minor Arcana suits, thereby removing these interpretations and, in some cases, making a suit appear as a totally doom and gloom suit and another as all light and happiness! As we know, no suit is all one way or the other - that is the delight of the RWS, and the Weiser deck destroys this concept.

Having said all that, I still enjoy this deck, but it will not be the replacement for my aged RWS that I was looking for, and my hunt continues!

I added some scans of the cards showing the Weiser cards on the left and the Radiant Rider-Waite on the right, highloghting the differences in the backgrounds of each card.

Get a copy of the Weiser Tarot at Amazon.com