The Celtic Tarot by Courtney Davis & Helena Patterson

On a whim (I blame it on Nisaba at Aeclectic Tarot), I have purchased the somewhat hard-to-find deck, The Celtic Tarot (Element, 3rd Edition, 2002).

It arrived today, which was a real surprise as I only just ordered it from ABE Books a couple of days a go. Kudos to them for getting it into the post so quickly. The set I bought includes a sturdy slip case, the deck in its own lightweight box, a softcover guidebook, and a hardcover 'journal', which is entirely blank. I don't know why I didn't realise this deck was coming to me secondhand, considering I paid much less for it than I found it on Amazon. So I was surprised when I opened it to find the edges of the card deck quite grubby, and the 9 of Wands is badly creased, almost like it had been folded over. I think it was most likely an attempted riffle shuffle gone wrong.

As I held the deck, I began to get three very strong impressions. One, this deck needs to be cleansed and consecrated to my own use. Two, there is a lot of pent up energy in this deck, which seems to be coming from its previous owner rather than the cards themselves. Three, the person who used these cards was deeply devoted to them.

Even though just handling the cards made my hands feel grotty, I decided to shuffle and do an impromptu reading on the previous owner. Who was she? (or he?) What did he use the cards for? Why did she get rid of the deck? And I drew:

6 of Coins -- 5 of Cups -- 9 of Wands, clarified by Page of Cups

The draw seemed to speak to me quite naturally. The previous owner of this deck is (was?) a kind-hearted, generous person who wanted to help others through the tarot. She (he) had a giving spirit and wanted to reach out.  The people she helped were so overwhelmed by their dissatisfaction and heartache, disappointment and loss, that it became depressing and disillusioning to the previous owner of this deck. The 9 of Swords is clarified by the Page of Cups--her (his) innocence was a bit crushed by the experience of reading. I think she (he) gave it a good go, but eventually just decided enough was enough. It turned out to be a lot harder to 'save the world' than she had expected.  I think that's an interesting story. I wonder if the previous owner gave up tarot altogether or moved on to another deck or divination method, or stopped reading for others...I am so intrigued by this, I may do more readings on the issue.

When I got home with the deck, I had a go with an emery board at the edges of the cards to try to remove some of the mucky yellow stains, clearly the result of years of constant handling of this deck. I managed to knock some of it off. The deck still looks quite well-loved, but a bit less filthy. I may try further cleaning methods, and will definitely cleanse the deck with sage and crystals, as well as the box and books included. The whole thing just seems to need a good spiritual airing.

As to the deck itself, it is very beautiful, based on the kind of Celtic knotwork you see in things like the Book of Kells. The majors are lovely, all based on Celtic mythology, but honestly, you really don't need to learn anything new to read this deck. The traditional meanings are all there. Same with the court cards, and the minors are non-scenic pip cards, though the guidebook takes great pains to explain how sympathetically they are designed to help the diviner see the meaning.

All in all, a nice deck. I wonder if it will become a keeper.