Heraclio Fournier Anne Stokes Gothic Tarot, Black

I have been working with the Tarot for many years, and have collected quite a few decks. Most of them are nice, some of them are good, and a few are fantastic. But this is one of the very few that, when first taken out of the box, made me feel like, "This is the deck I have been waiting for!" Full of dark scenes, beautiful gothic women, the usual skulls and other gothic regulars, but what really hit me were the dragons. Most "dragon tarots" are, in my opinion, pretty lame -- often cartoonish or just plain silly. These are as majestic as one could hope for, and many are truly stunning. It begins with the first card -- the "Fool", a baby dragon hatching out of an egg. The Magician and High Priestess are beautiful gothic fairies. And then the Empress... In most decks, even the best of them, the Empress tends to be very poorly done. Given its position, in the Golden Dawn / Crowley scheme as guardian of that which lies beyond the Abyss, it ought to be a knocks-your-socks-off card, but it's usually a disappointment. Until this one. This is honestly the first Empress I have seen that is worthy of being in the Major Arcana. It's not all that complex a card -- a beautiful gothic elven-fairy type holding a baby dragon -- but something in the execution of it says exactly what needs to be said. The Strength card is another winner -- a priestess backed up by a huge, stately dragon, exactly the way I would have done it. There are other cards here that are just as stunning. The numbered cards are, well, just pips, but the Court Cards are very well done. Now as to the book: Instead of giving you a set of canned meanings like a box of fortune cookies, there is a short statement for each card that serves more to stimulate your imagination. Here is one for the Queen of Swords: "I admire your honesty, but you are not telling your Queen everything, are you? How then am I able to aid you if you hold things back from me?" These are all about thinking about the cards, and about imagining what they could mean, instead of trying to memorize what someone else says they should mean. That is what reading the Tarot is all about -- learning how to imagine its messages through its images -- and if you are a fan of dark images, and perhaps dark messages as well, this might become one of your favorite decks.

Cute artwork and fun to work with.

As with most Tarot decks, the cards are designed so that we can use the four sets (minor) as playing cards in standard game-play, just like the very first Tarot decks six centuries ago. What makes these better is the size and ease of shuffling along with the ease of identifying the number cards (which isn't always so simple with some decks). Beyond this, as a Tarot deck, the artwork on the first twenty-two cards (major) is so beautiful that I find them inspiring when simply picking a card. I use decks to focus my thinking and to inspire me when working, and I find that the artwork in this deck gets me into the headspace I need to occupy when dealing with certain issues. That makes this one of my favorites. Art has an influence, much like music, in slightly altering how we think and feel; and the mood of the art in these is perfect for me, as is the texture of the cards themselves. The cards are well-made but not so thick that they'd be hard to shuffle (some sets have cards that are so thick you can hardly hold them) and they're slick enough to shuffle but not so slick that you drop them (some sets have cards that are practically varnished and slip through your fingers unless you really grip tight) and the images are printed perfectly. Overall, these have quickly ended up being one of my favorites to get my mind off my troubles for a time.

okay so this deck has a few things going for it. 1, the cards are easy to shuffle (if you like to riffle shuffle, these cards are great for that). 2, they are great if you have small hands because the cards fit nicely in the palm of one's hands. 3, the price is great. 4, the art work is gorgeous! & now here are the not-so-great things: the card stock is flimsy & will start to show wear & tear rather quickly; which rules this out as a daily use or client use deck. next, the majors & court cards are gorgeously illustrated but the minors are pips; which does not make this an ideal deck for a beginner (just saying). third, whilst the cards are gorgeous, they don't always line up neatly with the rws tarot system. fourth, they appear to be a hybrid of rws & the marseilles system; which i would've preferred to know before purchasing the deck. lastly, this deck works better as a borderless deck with a brushed silver edging to match the vibe of the deck. the backs are fine. for the price, this deck is great! however, the con's of this deck brought the rating down to four stars for me. also, it would be nice to see this deck re-released with better card stock, nicer edging & larger so i can enjoy the gorgeous art. & if the publisher would illustrate the minor arcana, that would also be wonderful. still, it is a nice deck. i just won't read with it often or for others, that's all.

This deck is absolutely beautiful!! The artwork is not only gorgeous and meaningful (fae/animal spirit workers will really appreciate it even more) but the deck it's self functions absolutly perfectly! Very straight forward. It's quick to get to know eachother and create a unique bond with. The little booklet helps beginners easily understand each card simply and directly with no fluff. It has a lot of personality and absolutly pulls energy from any animal totem, spirit and or familiars you work with. The cards are just a bit larger than normal playing cards which make it great for begginers and advance divination workers! It's also phenomenal to travel with for all you nomads, gypsy's and adventurers. I take it with me wherever I go now as it easily fits in even my smallest side saddle satchel. I am so very happy with picking this deck and would absolutely recommend this to anyone this deck calls to in a heartbeat. One of my favorite decks that I now have the pleasure of working with. I highly suggest this for people that work with fae, animal spirits, familiars, totems ect. If this deck calls to you or a loved one just buy it and do not hesitate!

Very beautiful I love Ann stokes .I love these cards

i recently bought this deck as an alternative to the much brighter manga tarot i bought a while back, but i think i'll need to look elsewhere for a darker tarot deck. Firstly, the size of the deck is not what i expected from a tarot deck, the cards are not much bigger than standard playing cards, they are mostly taller. this could be considered a feature if your looking for a deck on-the-go. The artwork is gorgeous, as one would hope if buying a deck with an artist's name attached to it, but not all of the artwork makes sense for the major arcana, seemingly by coincidence the art for the cards in question is omitted from the product images: "the Tower" is a fairy just chilling in a spider web rather than actually showing any calamitous event, and "the magician" is a goth fairy woman posing ominously on some stone columns. while i understand the Artist has a specific aesthetic, as a Tarot amateur I feel the art is a bit lacking in terms of relating the meaning of the cards here. it's not that i want the magician to be a man in robes and a pointy hat, but it needs some element to suggest the idea of a magician, if not using elements of the traditional card, such as having her hold a wand and sword with coins tumbling from her pocket and a cup nearby. as it is, both of the above are just fairy chicks hanging out in the card frame, which does not evoke the imagery they are supposed to. this problem extends to many of the cards, like the chariot being a dragon breathing fire into the air with no elements to suggest a struggle to control one's own power, or forces pulling in multiple directions. the wheel of fortune is a woman looking into a mirror, and while compositionally it looks great, nothing about it says "this woman is stricken by fate and must accept a lack of control in the situation in order to move forward". granted the wheel of fortune is a bit of a vague card to depict normally, but this problem is fairly common for this deck. The worst offenders here, though, are the minor arcana: in this regard the deck falls spectacularly short because the most of the minor arcana lack any true scenes, they are only objects with increasing values, for the cups suit I had to flip through a couple times before i realized the number was signified by the increasing number of bats around the cup filled with blood (the cups suit has a vampire theme). For the suit of pentacles (coins) the queen is just a woman standing in front of a grim reaper figure, which given the technical meaning of the queen of pentacles being making the most of what you have, is a bit puzzling. one would be led to thinking the pentacles was an ominous suit to pull in a reading. same with swords; the suit of swords has an angelic theme, but other than displaying swords in the artwork there's not much here that suggests the combative nature of the suit for situations in readings. My theory is that Anne stokes (or whoever was in charge of this project) decided to just pull art from her portfolio and attach a tarot title to it, doing custom art only where needed. in some places it works, like having a baby dragon for the fool, but in others like the tower, the magician, the chariot, and 90% of the minor arcana, the meaning isn't observably demonstrated through the artwork or theming. If you are a seasoned tarot reader, and want something that has a beautiful gothic bent to it, this deck is serviceable. if you are just starting out however, or an intermediate who doesn't have a firm grip on the technical meaning of each card (let alone any kind of intuitive knowledge of what the card means to you!) steer clear of this deck. it does not include any kind of booklet or guide with any real help (the booklet included is in 4 or 7 languages and is not robust at all) the meaning of the cards is hard to discern if you don't already know tarot, and ultimately the deck lacks any real substance over even the traditional rider waite tarot deck, as garish as that deck is with it's primary colors and crude artwork (in my opinion). however, if all you care about is the cards looking pretty or interesting, this is definitely that. while anne stoke's art falls short of conveying most of the reading-important information through the art, the art itself is absolutely beautiful and is what initially drew me to this deck. i only wish some more effort was put into making it more than just a pretty face. If your looking for an alternative to the rider waite deck that looks good and carries the symbolism and meaning, "the manga tarot" by Rann with text by Barbara Moore is an excellent alternative for everyone regardless of level. i got my copy from barnes and nobles but i've seen it on here too; the artwork is true to the original rider waite tarot deck but uses better color composition and has beautiful artwork that accurately telegraphs what each card is about (even the minor, numbered arcana!) while giving it decided renovation. it also includes a booklet that details each and every card's meaning, and covers a handful of basic spreads.

I just adore the Anne Stokes' work, got a steam punk themed poker deck quite a while ago and ever since, been a fan of her. Not kinda sure regarding the usage as a proper tarot deck, but I guess if you get used to it and season it accordingly it may work. Again I just got it for the art which is amazing.