Tarot of the Saints Cards – September 8, 2001

This is wonderful deck and book. It is a whole new Christian Tarot system based on Gnosticism. You don't have to be a Gnostic to use it though. Place, one of the leading Tarot scholars of today, was raised Catholic so the feeling and the philosophy of the deck will be familiar to Catholics. It is a wonderful deck, though, for anyone who is sympathetic to the essence of Christian spirituality. It's not for fortune telling. It's a meditative deck and is an excellent tool for helping a person to make explicit his implicit wisdom and spirituality and for finding inner peace.

Arrived PERFECTLY! I owe a lifetime of gratitude to the seller! I waited for a year for someone to sell this set for a reasonable price.

i purchased this deck of tarot (which seems to be out of print) because i wanted to learn more about saints and i have always enjoyed messing around with the tarot. this deck and book delivered. the cards are really wonderful and the book delves into all sorts of interesting things about the saints and the origins of tarot ... a beautiful deck - a worthwhile book :)

I've Mr. Place's Buddha and Alchemical tarots in my collection. The Saints deck was clearly created with the same elegant artistry and attention to detail as his other works. Highest endorsement!

"During the first century of the Christian Era, Christians were honoring other Christians who had died and prayed for their intercession. However, honoring saints is not a practice created by the Church; it was part of Christianity from the very beginning--a natural practice of Christian people." - From the companion bookOne of the reasons I purchased the Tarot of the Saints was because I was reading material about Christian mysticism--in particular, Teresa of Avila's Interior Castle. I wanted to expand my knowledge of Christian mystics and saints, so I thought the Tarot of the Saints would be a great opportunity to learn more--especially since I love Tarot and because Robert Place has a solid reputation as a scholar.I began reading the 248-page companion book, excited that it was full of historical and anecdotal information about Gnosticism, early Christianity, mystics, saints, and Tarot itself. A few chapters into it, I decided to look up Teresa of Avila, dubbed St. Therese in the Tarot of the Saints deck, who was the object of the The Star card. I was pleased to discover new (to me) information on Teresa, as well as The Star itself. (One sticking point: He claims her feast day to be October 3--but it's actually October 15.)Some of the saints, such as St. Blandina, I've never heard of--and some were notably absent from this deck (St. Bernadette). St. Stephen represents card 13, known in this deck as Martyrdom (rather than Death).The companion book--A Gnostic Book of Saints--covers a lot of territory, including mystery religions, Greek philosophy, Gnostic theology, Pythagorean numerology, and Tarot history. Place even covers the four humors and Jungian types--but, curiously, he associates Cups with intuition and Wands with feelings--rather than the other way around.Place provides bio of the saints depicted on the Major Arcana, as well as relevant information on the particular card and a brief commentary on general Tarot wisdom (interpretation). While Place dedicates about a page an a half to the saints on the Court Cards, the Pips are given anywhere from two sentences to one paragraph worth of treatment. For example, the only description given for the 6 of Cups is "Christ washes St. Peter's feet. This card represents love, nurturing, and humility."The deck itself is austere, with most of the bland, monochromatic coloring "shaded" with black lines. The Majors depict the number and name of the card, as well as the Saint. Specific saints are also shown on the Court Cards, which are Squire, Knight, Queen and Queen. The Minor suits are Staffs, Cups, Swords and Coins. A thin purple border frames the Majors, while the Staffs are framed in red, the Swords in blue, the Cups in green, and the Coins in gold. The stylized backing, illustrating three distinct motifs, makes the cards nonreversible.Some of the Saints found in the Tarot of the Saints include:* St. Nicholas - The Magician* St. Peter - The Pope* St. Catherine - Wheel of Fortune* St. Benedict - Temperance* St. Barbara - The Tower* Christ - The Sun* St. Sophia - The World* St. John - Knight of Cups* St. Joan of Arc - Queen of Swords* St. Jude - King of Coins* St. Roch - Squire of StaffsIf you're a fan of Place's artwork and his style of writing, or are enthusiastic about learning more about Saints, Gnosticism, and Greek philosophy, you'll likely enjoy Tarot of the Saints. I've found it to be an insightful deck for meditation and one-card draws.(To see 10 images from this deck, visit the Reviews--Decks section at JanetBoyer.com

This deck was given to me after a long time of searching for it. I was drawn to the use of Christain Mythology in the tarot journey, something that I had seen in part, but never so beautifully done as in this deck. Here the Saints take on a whole new life, evelated to the devine as their lives light the fools path. This deck introduces the vast likenesses of Christain and Other Pagan Mythologies. I love this deck because it does this.

Well, I've worked with this deck a little more, and I have to say, some of the initial appeal wore off since my previous review. I have found that a lot of my readings have been very vague with this deck. Perhaps it's just my personal taste, but I prefer a deck that gives the reader a lot of "jumping off" points. With this deck, for several cards, you can get one or maybe two meanings. By contrast, with the Rider-Waite and its progeny, you can generally find many springboards for discussion in each card.