Ostara Tarot: (Tarot Kit Box Set with 78 Cards and Guide Book)

I dithered on this deck for a few weeks- I keep a very small collection (15 decks or less) of Tarot/Oracle cards and I try really hard to keep the number fairly low so that I don't have so many decks I don't feel connected to or use some of them very often. I am Buddhist and mainly use the cards as a jumping off point for meditation or reflection- I draw a few cards (usually the ones that pop out when I shuffle) and use them as an opportunity to look at whatever is going on in my life from a different perspective. I also collect mainly for the art or the theme of the deck- I feel like all these beautiful decks out there are like little museums in a box, and to be honest, there aren't a ton of decks that I just fall in love with. When I saw the Ostara at first, via a thumbnail image, it didn't strike me as the typical deck that I go for- I usually am drawn to bright clean colors and simple designs. But when I started looking at some of the artwork on the deck in more detail, I was blown away. Not all of the cards resonated with me, though, but a majority did so I finally went ahead and ordered it. I am BLOWN. AWAY. This deck is literally a work of art. Even if I didn't collect Tarot or Oracle cards - I would still want this in my book collection. The images are amazing- four artists with fairly different styles (but not so much to be disjointed) illustrated this deck and even though the images are distinctive, the deck really works as a collective of the four artists. The deck is beautifully printed edge-to edge on super thick glossy stock (almost too thick- very very hard to shuffle) and has *serious* silver leaf around the edges- the kind you can almost see your reflection in. The images are very saturated and sharply printed, and each card is just dazzling to look at. It really feels like a collection of small, beautiful paintings. I really enjoy just going through the deck, card by card, for inspiration and just appreciating the art. The book is also beautiful- nice and big, beautiful glossy stock, and full color images as well as interpretations of each card and reverse. The card meanings are a little bit different than the traditional interpretations, which I like- every time I get a new deck of cards and the book actually offers new interpretations of the cards, I get excited, because it's yet another perspective, and since I mainly use the cards to try and find different perspective to meditate on and think about, any new insight is welcome. The readings are... interesting. I have some decks that sort of always "hit the mark" when I pull a card or two (and that may be attributed more to the broader definition of the cards in the books that come with deck- some decks are just gentler than others, and I think a lot of mine tend to that side of the spectrum), but the Ostara deck was completely different. At first I was worried the deck wasn't going to work for me because the cards I pulled didn't really resonate at all with anything going on (I kept getting cards related to justice when everything I'm anxious over these past few days has been related to home stuff), but then as I put them away and thought about the cards for a while, I realized that the three cards that jumped out as I was shuffling (and a few after, to clarify) were all pointing towards a *completely* different way of looking at the situation that's been weighing on my mind. It was definitely food for thought, and exactly what I look for when I am trying to shift from stabilizing meditation to analytical meditation. So if I wanted a shift in perspective and an opportunity to become more aware, these cards gave me that. If you're on the fence about these cards, just get them. For the price of a lunch out or a few cups of tea, these cards are just breathtaking and lovely to just hold and look at. And if you're a fan of Tarot and collect decks, this is a beautiful and striking deck to have in your collection. I truly hope that the artists do another deck together, and that more illustrative artists in the same style do decks, as well. I think we need more tarot and oracle decks like the Ostara- modern, symbolic, beautiful, mythical- more edgy and ethereal and less fantasy-based. I can't recommend it enough.

I have a number of tarot decks, including my first Rider Waite from the 1970s. Most I collected for the artwork, but I only use a few for my own readings. I am usually drawn to one deck or another on any given day, and when I use a deck, I refer to the book that comes with it to understand the artist's meaning and the reading. I have been blown away by this deck and the interpretations given. The artwork is beautiful. There is a singularity to the deck which is a bit surprising given that it was created by 4 different artists. What a talented group. I do find the card stock very heavy and the silver gilded edges beautiful, but the cards are hard to shuffle and the edges stick because of it. I mix them by spreading them on the table then picking them back up. Not sure why but this is the first deck I am comfortable with cards becoming reversed when shuffled. I did not have any of the quality control issues that others have posted about, so my suggestion is if that happens to you, return the deck for another. Hopefully the quality control issues have been resolved. I do not consider myself very talented when it comes to the tarot, but I do enjoy it. I feel I get clear readings and direction when using this deck. If it calls out to you, listen. Namaste.

My cards arrived all stuck together, like everyone else's. PLEASE, DO NOT TRY TO SEPARATE THEM AT THE CORNERS. If you try to separate them at the corners YOU WILL DAMAGE THEM. The silver gilding on the edges is what makes them stick together. Instead, I took the sections that were stuck together and gently flexed them back and forth in different directions. If you do this you should start to hear popping noises and feel them starting to separate. Then I pinched the edges of the cards with moderate force and flexed the edges of the cards back and forth all the way around the outside edges of the cards that were stuck together until they just let go. This method caused absolutely no damage to the cards at all and got them to completely separate in about 15 minutes. Another reviewer said to put the cards in the refrigerator. I did put them in the refrigerator for 45 minutes before separating them, but I got too excited and couldn't wait any longer. The refrigerator did help, but I still had huge clumps of cards stuck together and I wasn't patient enough to wait any longer to view this beautiful new deck. However, it helped enough that I think if I'd have left them in there another hour or two they may have just slid apart. I hope this helps. It worked for me, and all the cards are accounted for, none missing or damaged in any way. I was also concerned about the fact that the art in this deck was created by multiple different artists. I wasn't sure I was going to be fond of every artist's style, and I was worried about wether or not the different styles of art would be cohesive. I'm so happy to say that my concerns were completely unnecessary! THIS DECK IS BEAUTIFUL, and this is coming from an indie deck snob! The different styles of artwork meld together beautifully, and the images really resonate with the card messages. I cannot express how much I love this deck. The only thing I'm not a fan of with this deck is the box. Like most other people, I think it's a nice box, but I don't like that the deck is split into two stacks. All things considered, the deck is too wonderful for anyone to really care about the box. If you're on the fence about wether or not to purchase the Ostara Tarot deck, just do it. You won't regret it.

I just opened my package and I have to say these are BEAUTIFUL cards. My first impression was that these are WAY prettier in person than the pictures online. The artistic styling is what drew me to this deck, and I'm finding that I absolutely love the silver edges of the cards. What I really like most is that the images go out to the very edge of the card, and yet there is still a white border that helps unify the set. The colors and drawing style really flow together and just make for an extremely calming and attractive deck as a whole. Not sure why (maybe the silver edging, maybe just the glossy print style?) But the cards do come stuck together as I read in other reviews. I simply held one end and "fanned" them I guess you could say? And they came apart easily so I wouldn't say it's even an issue if you know not to pick at the corners to separate the cards. I loved that they were under 20 bucks and that is probably why the storage box feels a little cheapish, again I won't knock off stars for this because I'm not buying it for the box. I just wish I had a nice bag to store them in or that the supports in the box were attached so I could use it more easily for storage. I feel bad even saying something remotely bad about these cards because they are honestly really beautiful and I feel they are great quality. I am so overly satisfied with my purchase and I urge anyone who is on the fence about ordering them to just do it-- you will not regret it!

…the gilding makes the cards stick together and the cards are cut in 2 *notably* different lengths. Those are my only 2 caveats to what would otherwise be a rave review. The art in this deck blows me away, but those issues are significant enough that if I wasn’t entirely enamored by the artwork I wouldn’t have given this deck more than a 3, just for the quality control issues. I’d watched several YouTube reviews so I knew there was a problem with the cards sticking, I’d seen reviewers pull the cards out in blocks, chunks that were literally solid, glued together by the gilding, and have to carefully, delicately pry each card away from the rest, one by one. I watched one reviewer, despite being really careful and taking her time, end up ripping 2 cards trying to get them apart, one just torn on the side, the other pretty much ruined. My cards weren’t as badly stuck as that reviewer’s, some were even loose, but I did have several significant ‘chunks’ that I had to carefully pry apart. But I did it, and none of my cards tore, and the art’s so good and the cards feel so nice, I probably would have rated the deck 5 stars, but… having separated my cards in the two separate stacks that they come packaged in (rather than being a single stack in the box, the deck is divided in half, sits side by side, and the book rests on top) I immediately noticed that the two 2 stacks were cut to notably different lengths, with one stack being maybe a half a millimeter smaller. I mean it’s really not a huge difference, if there was a card or 2 that was shorter it might not be very noticeable at all, but with the cards shuffled together it’s actually very obvious that half are taller/shorter than the others. It looks like I shuffled 2 different decks together and honestly, it does kind of bother me. I might even have tried trimming them if it weren’t for the gilding. For the price, the quality of the deck and book and box is really quite impressive, I’d even have forgiven the gilding gluing the cards together (only because mine didn’t rip when I pulled them apart) but I can’t quite forgive the different lengths of the cards. I’m keeping them, and I still love and even recommend the deck (I’m just a sucker for the aesthetics, what can I say) but I would put the warning out there for anyone who couldn’t hang with the different card lengths that it is a possible problem with this deck.

Wow, this is a beautiful set! I've collected off and on for years now - some I don't care for, or like but they are poorly made - well this has to be one of the most lovely and high quality decks I've gotten. I love almost everything about it, but let's just move straight to the bullet points of Pros and Cons! 1. Artwork - Wow! I like them all but some are just awesome. I like all of the artists, but I think I like Iredale's and Applejohn's overall work the best. That said Cooke's Strength and Death cards - among others - are gorgeous. And Gibbard's 1 of Swords makes me smile and the 10 of Swords makes me want to cry. And Gibbard's card back is one of my favorite card back designs on any deck ever. 2. Card Quality - These cards give a wonderful first impression of quality. They are thick - as my image shows in the comparison of the individual card and the deck to a quarter. They have a nice quality slick feel. The artwork is vibrant. There is a nice silver lining on the edge of each card. Now, I have to mention... the thickness of these cards means they are very stiff and a bit hard to shuffle and I couldn't get anything close to a bridge... Lol. This may change with time, or not. It doesn't bother me but is worth a mention. Please note: The metallic silvery lining is sturdy and the cards will probably be stuck together. I carefully peeled them apart and the lining stayed perfectly in place and they separated cleanly. I had no issues with peeling of corners or cards with artwork on the face or card backings being adhered as I have with other cards with thick linings like these have. Just be very careful! :-) 3. The Book - Lovely as the rest. Soft and velvety smooth cover, with slick pages and stellar full color art depictions of each card. The card descriptions are apt, but not terribly long and you will find no information about anything but the cards and the artists. If you are adept in reading this is no bother. If you have other books then this is also no bother. If you are a newbie - or giving this to a newbie - you will want to include a book on spreads. 4. The Box - So, as often happens with an outstanding box - the inside slightly disappoints. The outside is coated in smooth velvety paper, and there are thick, firm cardboard sides, with a magnetic clasp and a ribbon pull - of course with the same pretty full color artwork. So swoon-worthy! Inside, however, the cards must be separated in half to fit, but the "holder" to keep them from slopping about the box is two pieces of firm paper that are removable. The top one isn't the length of the box, which looks plain unfinished. I assume this allows you to pry the cards out, but this part feels slapdash when the rest of the set is roses and cream. What I would give for someone to line a box in even cheap velvet that the deck can nestle into with a ribbon to gently dislodge them from their bed when needed? Sigh, I guess we have to dream. 5. The "Feels" - So there is artwork of beauty and artwork of feels. These cards have good feels to them. I love the ladies being so present. I love the animals being so prevalent. Some of the cards have art that is so dynamic they just pull you in to their story - be it sweet, bold or sorrowful. I love this. It makes it easier to read, in my opinion. I very much like these cards and to give you a reference - while I love many decks - my favorites so far are So Below and Everyday Witch. If you like those you may also like this. It's not the same as those two decks but I still think you could vibe with this one, if you did with the others. :-) Bottom line: Overall these are high-quality, stunning cards with a lovely box - a perfect gift for you or a loved one. I will update if something wonky happens - if they fall apart in an unexpected way - but if there is no update please know that they are as lovely as ever and I am enjoying them thoroughly. P.S. I am attaching some images to show a sample of the deck - the vibe of the deck - and comparisons to a quarter for sizing, along with details of the box. Also, included my first reading. I would suspect shuffling issues, perhaps, but things have been a bit rough around the edges the past few months. It happens! Hope this all helps and that if you get this deck you love it as I do. Enjoy! :D

Absolutely gorgeous and well worth the money. Every time I bring this deck out, people are just blown away by the artwork and silver gilt edges! Sometimes I still stare at a card in awe of its beauty. The little booklet is quite brief but still useful because some card meanings do differ very slightly from a the traditional RWS decks. I really love that the booklet is in full color and high res cuz it makes it really easy to page through and find the card. It’s not the easiest deck to shuffle but it doesn’t subtract from my love for this deck at all. The artist changes for each suit, and I love that because it really gives each suit their own personality and the artwork really matches its suit. I think my favorite is probably cups... And wands. And a lot of the major arcana... Okay no I love the entire deck too much to pick a favorite lol. I also think the little box it comes in is lovely, and it all stays quite nicely together if you can manage to keep track of the cardboard sticks that separate the cards.

First off, the artwork and symbolism in this deck is really good, and the booklet that it comes with is wonderful. Some people have criticized the artwork, saying that it is inconsistent throughout, but you have to keep in mind that there are FOUR artists who have contributed to this deck. And in my opinion, each artist does an excellent job in her own style, and I think the deck is very cohesive as a whole. The reason I did not give this deck five stars is because of the poor quality control on the part of the publisher/printer. I, myself, am a stickler for details, so when a card has a floating border (like all these cards do) and the actual border of the card is so crookedly cut (see photos) to the image, then I have an issue. Even the backs of the cards are crookedly cut (see photos). Also, the cards came seriously stuck together, most likely as a result of the silver painted edging (which is beautiful in spite). You can see whole clumps of cards stuck together in my photo, and you have to carefully pry them apart with considerable effort not to ruin the cards. On a humorous side note, I was particularly amused by the CBS logo on the Queen of Swords (see photo), which I am sure completely escaped notice by either the artist or the publisher. But I noticed it lol. But even with these minor issues, some of the cards are simply gorgeous: my favorite being the Ace of Swords with the mouse triumphant. Conclusion: if you can look past the unfortunate poor quality control of the publisher/printer and don't mind that your cards might look crooked, then I would highly recommend this deck. I have decided to keep it in spite of the shortcomings, because the artists have done such a wonderful job and deserve sales for their craft.

I have a lot of Tarot decks & these are by far the best made. Very thick rigid card with a classy silver side finish which requires a classic hand shuffle as bending them is difficult - which is a good thing. Designed by four women artists they have a very feminine feel, however some of the masculine figures have surprisingly powerful male imagery. The fact each artist took a suit each to design adds another dimension to the cards adding to there uniqueness & depth often with a very subtle finesse. The designs are a modern take on Tarot cards with a fantasy, nature & animistic themes which often have very potent imagery, sometimes quirky, sometimes amusing with different animals as a background to each figure. They come in a well made box with booklet which has coloured pictures of each card & very clear interpretations which I found very appropriate representations. Even going through them had a strong message for me which the first reading directly backed up so I've already developed an affinity with them. Although officially named after the vernal equinox I think the rather forgotten goddess of the same name gives her blessing to them, especially as the tag line suggests the intriguing dichotomy of nature bursting forth to wake the city. A unique must have deck for any Tarot enthusiast.

Llevo usando ya unos meses esta baraja y desde luego es muy especial. Lo q más me gusta no son solo las ilustraciones sino que cada palo lo ha dibujado una artista diferente. La colaboración de talentos hace que cada carta sea aún más especial. Los bordes plateados son una pasada. Me encanta ese toque brillante que tienen. Las cartas son muy robustas con lo que la baraja se hace más gruesa en la mano y por tanto algo complicada de barajar. Pero es tan especial y bonita y despierta tanto la intuición de la tarotista que no me importa. Es un trabajo divino, cuidado y muy mágico.

Dieses Tarotkartenset ist einfach nur atemberaubend schön. Die Thematik und die Farben der Karten ist sehr erdig, mit viel Grün und warmen Brauntönen. Im Fokus der Illustrationen sind Menschen, Tiere und Natur. Man kann geradezu fühlen, wie viel Liebe und Leidenschaft die 4 Künstlerinnen, die die Karten entworfen haben, in dieses Projekt gesteckt haben. Diese Symbolik der Karten orientiert sich am Waite-Smith Tarot, jedoch gibt es teilweise enorme Abweichungen zur dessen Darstellung und Deutung, auch im beiliegendem Guidebook. (So weicht die Symbolik und Interpretation der 2 der Stäbe z.B. extrem von jener Interpretation ab, die Waite im "Pictorial Key to the Tarot" nahe legt). Darum ist dieses Set, meiner Meinung nach, nur mit Einschränkungen für Anfänger geeignet. Auf der anderen Seite lassen die Karten sich aber auch intuitiv aus sich selbst heraus deuten. (Dies ist aber definitiv nicht eines jener Sets von Karten, die zwar schön anzusehen sind, mit den sich aber kaum arbeiten lässt. ) Die Qualität der Karten ist absolut überzeugend. Da die Schnittkanten einen silbernen "Buchschnitt" haben, haften einige Karten aneinander und müssen vorsichtig von einander getrennt werden. Die Karten sind angenehm dick, was für Menschen mit kleinen Händen wie mich aber auch ein Problem ist, da ich die Karten gerade so in der Hand mischen kann. Die Box, in der Karten und Heft geliefert werden, ist robust und zweckdienlich. Das allgemeine Gefühl, das mir diese Karten geben, würde ich als "sanft", "weich", verträumt und beruhigend bezeichnen.

Dwa rozmiary kart w jednej tali? Srebrne brzegi kart już po wyjęciu z opakowania były porysane. Nie wspominając o okropnie krzywo wyciętych kartach. Nigdy nie widziałam czegoś takiego

I had been anticipating this deck way before its release. When it came out I was super excited. Finally, I have it and I have used it for many months now, and I absolutely love it! Comes in a nice hardcover box with magnetic closure. The companion book is in full color. I love, love, love the the back of the cards, the quality of the card stock and the sheen and gloss of it. The edges are silver gilded. And the artwork is stunning.