Chris-Anne
Hay House, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4019-5803-9
The Light Seer's Tarot is such an overwhelmingly popular deck, and honestly, it's easy to see why.
It comes in beautiful quality with vibrant colour and light, and the whole deck seems so well thought out. It actually broke my expectations of decks from Hay House, which often feel rushed and a bit corny to me personally. This, in contrast is just beautiful. The illustration style is modern, and every card major and minor, is portrayed with equal consideration.
Each card is fully digitally illustrated in a stylistic and unique way which deserves talking about. Like the Rider Waite deck, each card communicates the cards meaning, however these are in a modern context. As such the images are very bohemian, and reminiscent of Instagram posts, featuring surfers, campers, wanderers. It's nice because it gives an undertone of adventure.
I will be transparent here, the contemporary style put me off purchasing this rdeck. It isn't one I would be happy to read for a client with, as it does have a very modern feel that might take something from a reading. However I would recommend it for personal use, for a younger audience or for learning from.
What I really love though, is that (in spite of the name!) the cards are all encompassing, in a way that isn't just "love, light and fluff." But is overwhelmingly positive. In many decks, the cards can avoid the shadow side altogether, or go too far the other way and immerse the querent in negative imagery. These cards allow room for pain, in a way which resonates loudly as it is so authentic. But it isn't frightening. It is part of being whole! The task this deck has given is for the querent to seek within themselves, to feel their pain as it is part of them, but also adventure through it and to strive forward. It's not "light seer's" as in "see the light and pretend anything else doesn't exist". It is more "Too much light is blinding. Too much shadow stops us from progressing. Here is enough light to see clearly, and that means seeing the old trash and hidden treasures laying in those shadows."
It's also important to note the inclusivity of this deck. There are mostly women, but some men and there are a mix of ethnicities across the deck. I like to split a deck into piles by ethnicity and gender, and I'd say that this is one of the most inclusive "people based" decks I have. I found that most of the characters were women, though there were a lot of men too, and there was a good range of ethnicities, which is great! A big chunk are white passing or ethnically ambiguous. The characters are all young and slim and visually seem able bodied, but I've never found a deck that hits the mark there. This deck is without peer in its inclusivity for a mass produced deck.
I will say, the contemporary style put me off purchasing this deck. It isn't one I would be happy to read for a client with, as it does have a very modern feel. However I would recommend it for personal use, for a younger audience or for learning from.
Practically, the cards are beautiful quality. I have heard that there were quality control issues, but the deck I have is perfect. The box is a keeper, being sturdy and opening nicely. The card stock is nice and reasonably thick, and stiff. They are quite clumsy to shuffle and I'd hate to bend one as that would be game over for these.
The book decent. It starts with 101 style guidance for working with a deck, so is ideal for beginners. The interpretations start with key words for the "light seer" and "shadow seer", and then delve further in. The paragraph of interpretation sticks to the traditional meanings of the cards, but explains these in a beautiful and therapeutic way which is in depth and gives solid guidance. They are followed up by a mantra which I find a bit corny, but to each their own..
Overall, this is a lovely and nice quality deck, which is well thought out. It is ideal for learners, for a younger audience, or for people wanting a clear reading. The artwork is stylistic, inclusive and accurately depicts the meanings. And it is just so captivatingly vibrant!
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