Steele Wizard Tarot: The Language of the Soul

I am a beginner with tarot and I absolutely love this deck ... the pictures are very easy to read and easy to learn because they MAKE SENSE !! The cards are shiny and thick, very beautiful. I also really LOVE the extra cards. I have always thought of myself as a weaver and I love that she's in this deck. The ONLY reason I am giving this four stars instead of five is because they are HUGE !! I can barely handle them all, let alone shuffle !! They fall out of my hands even when I try to do very basic shuffling. Now, I do have small hands, but I imagine any woman is going to have some trouble with these (which is surprising because they are made by a woman!). To give you a better idea, the bags you buy that hold two decks will not close with this ONE in it. Honestly if this deck was manageable for me I would probably use them until they fell apart because I love them so much, but unfortunately I will only be using them to learn with I think.

When I first got these cards I knew that they were big, but MAN WHERE THEY BIG! I can't shuffle them normally so I have to do the cut method or I'll fan it together by shuffling from the side if that makes since. I like the extra cards because pages can normally be young boys or young girls in this deck pages are young boys and Maidens( I believe ) are young girls. I like the other extra cards like the universe, soul mate, I AM, etc. It helps elaborate on the reading if you get one of them while you are doing your reading. A friend of mine takes the extra Arcana cards out and lays them to the side and if a person wants more info she'll pull from that deck to see what it can add to the reading that she has already has given. Its a fantastic deck, very pleasing to the eye. Also they are pretty close to the Eden Grey deck, so it still makes it easy to read, it just has slight artistic differences. I like the book too its pretty through. I'm so happy that I got this deck.

First let me touch on the physical attributes of this deck. It is large. I have large hands and this deck will take some getting used to. The cards are 5 1/2" x 3 15/16" (14 cm x 10 cm) and the deck is 1 5/16" (3.3 cm) thick. Additionally, I know that others have said this but, the cards ARE beautiful. For those who are looking to provide (perform as) an oracle for a renaissance fair, I would look no further than this deck. I have worked with other tarots and this was the first that connected with me right out of the box. As I examined each card, I felt the depth of each image; I was drawn to them. I feel that this deck wants to speak to me and I am sure that it will be my 'go to' tarot for many years to come.

The Steele Wizard Tarot deck was created by artist, author, renown tarot enthusiast and reader of 30 some years, Pamela Steele. I have owned my deck for several years and despite owning several hundred Tarot decks, this is the one I use constantly.The sturdy outside box is burgundy, sized 4 1/2" wide, 1 3/4" deep, by 7 1/2" tall. The comprehensive, and substantial book is 110 pages, 4" wide by 7" tall... read page 9 for advice on shuffling this deck and the individual cards are displayed in color for their entries.This is a Rider Waite clone, for the most part, with readily recognized depictions and your current interpretations can apply right out of the box. Additional cards have been added, with this deck having 28 majors and 60 minors. The 88 cards are on a substantial, glossy, card stock, 4" wide by 5 1/2" tall. The coating quickly limbered up with use and after the first day or so, had stopped sticking although remained slightly 'slick' to my hand. The coating is superior and has been long lasting.The back of the cards is a reversible design of double Celtic dragons in silver tones against the black background. This allows for Reading the deck in reverse, if you wish to.The art is on a black background, done in soft watercolor pastels, with better than average art rendition capability, that was very well done indeed, even excellent for the majority of the cards. I love nice colors and this deck made me ecstatic in the tasteful use of color, in appropriate manner to the card's meaning. There is tastefully done nudity on a few cards but nothing vulgar, in my opinion; and I am a bit of a prude.However I'd be attentive to younger Readers and mindful of individual child/youth and age appropriate sexuality.These color depictions and how they are rendered against the black background make them 'pop' forth and aide your Reading ability, no matter your skill, to grasp an intuitive meaning much faster and easier than your average deck. I have never seen such success of this application, in any other deck.The four suits are ordered as Wands, Cups, Swords, and Pentacles; Pips run Ace to Ten; and Suits, have an extra depiction with Page, Maiden, Knight, Queen, and King. The new position of Maiden speaks of "potential for growth" in Wands; "creative potential" in Cups; "potential leadership abilities" in Swords; and "potential scholar or teacher" in Pentacles. The nice curving borders are Wands/Orange-Yellow, Cups/Grey-White, Swords/Blue-White, and Pentacles/Brown-Tan.The additional Majors follow #21. The World and are -- #22. The Weaver, "your destiny is manifest"; #23. The Universe, "the ability to directly access the Creative Forces of the Void"; #24. Truth, "recognizing your Life Truth"; #25. Soul Twins, "Self-knowing and acknowledging Self"; #26. Evolution, "experiencing creation"; and last #27. I Am, "We Are All One." The borders of the Majors are a crystal per side; upper corners are in lovely spiritual blues; and lower corners in intuitive yellow and a nice self-awareness orange border around the yellow.Ms. Steele writes in the Introduction that, "These cards were designed to give more clarity in the reading." She later comments, "The Steele Wizard Tarot is designed to function as an intermediary for communication between the various aspects of Self. This helps the individual function as a Whole Being."