Today I'll be doing a "Quickie Tarot Review" on the Original Rider Waite Smith Tarot Deck.
This here is the Deck only version.
The Deck comes with 78 fully illustrated cards, a small LWB with instructions on how to use the cards with a sentence or so of interpretations on said cards with some keywords.
The tuck box is kind of flimsy, but with handled care, can last a while. Mine jumbled around inside my bag with all my other stuff and is still in fine shape a year later! C:
And this one is the Tarot Pack version. It's much more larger than the deck only version, since it has more room for a small little book that is the same size of the cards, roughly. It has a small diagram pamphlet of the Celtic Cross spread, I believe, showing on how to do the spread.
The book is useless though, it's basically saying the same things as the LWB (Little White Book) from the Deck Only version, but in an actual small booklet, not made of pieces of paper flimsily stuck together with staples.But if you're into that kind of thing for collections' sake, not to mention having a fairly sturdy box to store your cards in whilst inside your bag or purse, than have at it.
The quality of the cards:
The cardstock is amazing!...
If your preference is sturdy, thick and you want the cards to last a long time? Then this deck is for you!
The cardstock is nice and thick, not at all glossy or shiny, it's easy to side shuffle, it's not too slippery and it has a nice matte finish.
This will be hard to riffle shuffle for those with small hands, seeing as the cardstock is thick and not very bendable or flexible, you'll really have to force it a bit to bend as you ready to riffle. Because of its thickness, those with small hands will have a hard time getting the whole thing, even if split, to fit into their grip when they're getting ready to riffle shuffle.
The cards are the normal size of any standard RWS type of cards.
The ORWS has a fairly murky coloring, out of maybe all of the recolorization of the Rider Waite Smith, the ORWS is the most unclear, foggy and the colors are quite darker.
It is the most evident in the King of Pentacles, you can barely see his face with how... Well, the best word would be "pixelated" it is. I don't have a picture of it right now, but if you do have the deck or know someone who does, you can see for yourself. It can be quite hard to read with it for some people because of that.
This should not be confused with the Standard, yellow box Rider Waite Smith, though.
The Standard Waite is a more thinner, but papery feel to it, from what I hear, the Radiant Waite is more glossy and thinner as well, along with the Universal Waite, but the Commemorative Waite Smith has the same cardstock as the ORWS, but the Commemorative's art is more of a tea stain type of coloring with more subdued but clear pictures.
Final Notes: A nice beginner deck, sturdy cardstock and works well as a general deck.
Illustrated by Pamela Coleman Smith
Cardostock: Thick, matte and not at all glossy or slippery.
Packaging: Deck only tuck box is quite flimsy while the Box Pack is quite sturdy.
Card Size: 2.75 x 3.75 in.
Cardbacks: Blue and white Tartan backings, non-reversible.*
*(The flower in the middle is 5 pointed. So if you remember which petal is pointing down correctly, you'll know if it's reversed or not. But if you simply ignore it or forget, it can easily be reversed.)
Well, that's all for today, darlings! Sorry if I'm a bit rambly, I've never been good at organizing my thoughts on paper. Haha! I know I said this would be a quickie review, and it is, however it's more of a "Technical Review" more than anything, it would be a more full blown review if I gave out anecdotes and more of my own opinions of this deck, but I didn't so much so this is a quickie-ish review.
I hope you enjoyed this and gleamed something from it.
I'll see you on the flip side, darlings.
With love, hope and positive energies.
- Luna.
