The Raven's Prophecy Tarot [Manual]

by Maggie Stiefvater

This record is for the manual included within Maggie Stiefvater's The Raven's Prophecy Tarot. The manual does not include a separate ISBN and is not sold separately.

The iridescent sheen of a raven's wing reveals a tantalizing glimpse of the future. A tattooed hand, sinews roiling like ley lines, peels back the gossamer veil that separates this world from the next.

With art and instructions by Maggie Stiefvater—New York Times bestselling author of the Raven Cycle series—The Raven's Prophecy Tarot reveals the wisdom of dreams, helping you harness the opposing forces of intuition of cunning, Moon and Raven, spirit and intellect. Inspired by Stiefvater's artist mentors, this deck is a path to a more creative life for everyone.

Genres: Tarot, Nonfiction, Magic, Reference, Adult, Witchcraft, Spirituality

184 pages, Paperback

First published September 8, 2015

About the author

New York Times bestselling author of The Shiver Trilogy, The Raven Cycle, and The Scorpio Races. Artist. Driver of things with wheels. Avid reader.

Maggie Stiefvater plays several musical instruments (most infamously, the bagpipes) and makes art in several media (most generally, colored pencils).

She lives in Virginia with her husband, their two children, many dogs, a bunch of fainting goats, and an irascible tuner car.

Reviews

[Maggie Stiefvater]

In which Stiefvater draws a tarot deck.
(http://maggie-stiefvater.tumblr.com/p...)

[Meg · Rating 5 out of 5]

perfect thing is perfect

[Lykaia · Rating 5 out of 5]

No me esperaba que la caja fuera tan grande y estuviera tan cuidada la edición. Mi parte favorita ha sido el librito que acompaña a la baraja, con explicaciones muy al estilo Maggie. Imprescindible para fans de la saga.

[Aliix · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maggie es una artista extraordinaria <3

[Marc D. ✨ · Rating 5 out of 5]

5/5 estrellas.

Gracias, GRACIAS por tanto, Maggie. Aunque es un libro muy introductorio no dejo de leerlo. Debido a ésto descubrí o se despertaron dones que toda mi vida soñé con tener y que resultaron estar ahí, cosas de la vida(?).

Y amo mis cartas, mis nenas, mis bebas. El lazo que tenemos es envidiable. Imposible que me despegue de ellas. Esto es un amor correspondido.

[bec. · Rating 5 out of 5]

idek why but this really inspired me to want to get my life together

[Clare · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some lovely person bought me a copy of Maggie Stiefvater's The Raven's Prophecy Tarot deck off my Amazon wishlist. While most decks come with a little pamphlet that fits inside the card box, with a bare-bones explanation of each card -- usually one sentence or less -- this deck comes with a proper instruction book, although the result is that the box does not really fit the deck of cards. I'll need to find something to wrap them in.

The instruction book is called Illuminating the Prophecy and it's shorter than my main tarot instructional book, but it's still more than enough to get a beginner started, and it's an excellent supplement to other materials. Stiefvater explains the artistic choices she's made for this deck in particular, which makes it easier to remember the card meanings when using it to do readings, It's also a very good explanation of tarot in general, so it should be useful to use for other decks, if you have other decks that come with useless tiny pamphlets like most of them. Each card is given a couple of keywords, then a page or two of explanation on how it fits into the greater patterns in the deck, what it can mean in different parts of a reading, how Stiefvater feels about the card personally, and anything else that she deems highly relevant. The personal stuff is quite useful--tarot readings are very personal and how one person reads something might not quite fit in the same way with how someone else reads it, based on a reader or querent's life/personality/relationship to the concepts represented by the card. The booklet also has much of Stiefvater's characteristic voice, if not quite as nutty as the one she uses on Tumblr, so it is quite entertaining as well as informative.

I've started entering some of the notes from this book into my own tarot notebook, which is a jumble of things I've learned from different sources but overall draws heavily on Tarot Plain and Simple, which has been my main instructional for years (I lost most of the notes I had from when I first started reading tarot, so now I only use the things I remembered from back then, which was more than a dozen years ago, so that's not a huge amount and it's not nearly enough to do readings from memory with). I think I'm going to end up incorporating a lot of what Stiefvater says into the way I read; I think it's a bit more on my wavelength than some of the tone of the other book.

Overall, A+ deck, A+ instructional booklet, would occult with again. Also, the Queen of Pentacles card is so preeetty.

Originally posted at http://bloodygranuaile.livejournal.co....

[Ricardo Marín · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 / 5

Hermosas ilustraciones en cada una de las cartas y un manual detallado de forma muy amigable para el entendimiento del lector. Maggie no solo es una excelente escritora sino también una brillante artista.

[Tez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating is only for the 184-page booklet, Illuminating the Prophecy. Haven't cracked open the cards and done a spread yet, so I can't say how helpful everything is, but I've read the booklet.

[Maggie Gordon · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Raven's Prophecy is a beautiful tarot deck with striking images. You do not have to be a fan of Stiefvater's fiction to enjoy these images. They are, according to her, based on Welsh symbolism, and the book she's written fits the images into the traditional RWS tradition with her own unique twists. I love reading with this deck. It's a bit snarky, but very clear. The changes from the RWS provide some new and interesting ways of looking at problems. My biggest issue is that the card stock is quite flimsy. But otherwise this is a brilliant deck with gorgeous art.

[Emily D · Rating 5 out of 5]

The deck is absolutely gorgeous! I also really like Maggie's take on the cards and descriptions throughout the book. It makes it easy for a beginner to give a couple different kinds of readings.

[Mélanie D. · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good introduction for beginners.

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

an excellent introduction to tarot. a very practical and nuanced look at the cards and their relationships. personal and engaging, while being informative and memorable.

[B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ok this is really cool actually

[linnea h. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maggie Stiefvater is of course the best possible person to write about this and it was extremely interesting and also oddly soothing. Thanks, Maggie.

[Anniken Haga · Rating 4 out of 5]

REREAD 2019

Nothing much to say. I've been reading through the book again as I lay my cards, trying to freshen things up and make sure I remember everything right.

---------------------------------------

So I used to lay tarot's when I was younger, and some time ago, desided to pick it up again.
Because of life, I didn't get around to it until now in August.

The first book I read on the subject now, as a grown woman, was confussing, to say the least!
But I didn't give up, and bought The Raven's Prophecy tarot deck.
There was this book, and it was such a joy to read!

Stiefvater gives a personal and eacy explanation on a complex subject.
While I earlier had problems picturing the different cards, and remember what they stood for, after reading this book, they all stand so much clearer in my mind.

Unfortunatly, you have to buy the deck, to get this book.
For me, not a problem, but if you already have a deck you like, that may seem a bit much.
But if you want a new, beautiful deck, and some new litterature on the subject, I would recommend this!

[Tawni · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this. The art is just as beautiful in person as it looked in pictures. The accompanying book is very interesting to me both as someone in love with the Raven Cycle and as someone who has always wanted to learn how to use tarot cards but was too intimidated to buy a deck & jump in.

I believe that it is imperative that persons considering purchasing this know that it is really a tarot deck, and a guide book. I still believe that the cards tie in to TRC, but the book is not short stories. It's to teach you how to interpret the cards and do a reading. That being said, I thought this was very easy to understand for someone who knows nothing about conducting readings and the cards are good quality.

I tried to ask if Gansey would survive TRK, though, and it said "ha ha ha ha! I'm not a Magic 8 Ball."

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a very comprehensive and concise book on the basics of tarot cards and readings. I loved how the author was tying the cards into examples from her own life and from aspects of her novels. The art of the cards that this book came from was beautiful, but a bit too minimalistic for my taste. I would have prefer more obvious and detailed art, but that is just my personal opinion. Most importantly, I loved how the author consistently found both positives and negatives in all the cards, even the most daunting. I'd write a more detailed review, but this book has no plot, setting or characters to admire and/or criticize. Would recommend to anyone who is completely unfamiliar with tarot.

[Jes Reaver · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful deck. A very good book to go with it, especially helpful for someone starting out. It's a no nonsense and practical way to approach tarot. While it ties into The Raven Cycle, it's not necessary to read them to use this deck at all. Stiefvater is just a great artist all around. She doesn't approach tarot as "telling the future" but explains how to use it to figure out problems or questions within your own life, to look at things from a different angle.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maggie could write a novel about watching paint dry and I would probably love it! But in all honesty, her take on the tarot is absolutely beautiful, she tells each card and even the suits as stories to reflect life. Her personality really comes through in her understanding of the cards and has genuinely changed my opinion of all of them. All lovers of Tarot should read the manual and study Maggies' beautiful artwork!

[Zoe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though feeling like it's directed toward younger people (understandably given its connection to the YA series the Raven Cycle), the colloquial tone makes tarot significantly more approachable than it ever has been for me before. The black-and-white pictures don't do the actual cards justice, but Stiefvater's words make lovely sense.

[Ana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did a few readings using my friend's deck and then decided to buy it myself so I can just look at the art whenever I want, make people think I know what their future will bring, and make decisions more effectively than by flipping a coin.

[Kip · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this take on the art of Tarot. She makes the meanings tangible yet spiritual, and the stories relatable yet dreamy. Highly recommend this book, leant to me by a lovely lady, to quell any tarot-related fears, or to inspire another look at the cards.

[Ximena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Una belleza!!!!
Impresionante el arte que maneja esta mujer. Creo que jamás dejará de sorprenderme. Cada carta, cada trazo, increible en verdad.

[Raine]

My anticipation for this to finally come out is insane. I've been searching for a deck that speak to me for the longest time... And finally I've found it.
Thank you Maggie.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super fun set of tarot cards.

[Joana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I envy Maggie.
She's brilliant.
Not only she's an AMAZING writer, she's also a FANTASTIC artist.

[jessica ☾ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this so much! It’s the perfect companion to the series, I couldn’t resist picking up at my local bookshop.

[SA · Rating 5 out of 5]

I purchased this because Stiefvater published it, and because of its relationship to The Raven Cycle books, but I was absolutely blindsided by this deck and its artwork. It's a deck that I didn't know was missing in my life, and I'm thoroughly pleased with all the work I've done with it thus far.

The cards are nicely made with enough resiliency to stay unfrayed despite use and enough resistance to make working with them (and shuffling them) easy rather than arduous. The book is pretty solid, but occupies a kind of funny spot for the typical "little white book" in that Stiefvater's audience is YA, but the deck itself is rather sophisticated for the novice or casual interest in tarot. It's written in a fairly introductory and neutral fashion, so that first-timers can work with it somewhat straightforwardly; but because the cards don't derive much from the genre-defining Rider-Waite-Smith deck, it's not a useful entry point into practically any other aspect of the tarot community and practice.

The box is also kind of flimsy -- it went out of shape almost immediately after the shrink wrap came off -- and after so many beautiful and well designed tarot decks released in the last five or six years, the effort put into packaging this deck disappoints. That is, this is so clearly designed with mass production in mind. Retail was $30, and it was under $20 at Amazon. It was published by Llewellyn, which tends to veer wildly from high quality to low quality in all its products with no evident rhyme or reason. But it's easy to understand why this was formatted more mass-market and downlisted in price, because there was a built in market of young adult Stiefvater fans who were unlikely to buy a tarot deck but willing to buy anything related to The Raven Cycle.

It's a shame, though, because the deck and its art are arresting and well worth a higher quality packaging and book that doesn't need to be written to the lowest common denominator.

Despite this, it's still a gorgeous deck and I'm very happy with it.

[Eva Strange · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was surprised by how well these cards works for me, considering that until recently the only deck that's ever clicked with me had been the Crowley tarot, which is in many ways the opposite of this one: full to the point of overflowing with symbols, hardly a square millimeter left blank in any given card, and oh-so-brightly coloured. With the Crowley tarot, you have to distill the pictures down to the essence that matters to you, whereas the Raven's Prophecy invites you expand the simple image that you see into a story for yourself.
Some reviewers have said that this is not a deck for beginners. I'd say, let the beginners be the judges of that. One thing I will say, though: the manual is just that: a manual for this specific deck, and it cannot replace a comprehensive guide book that will give you a systematic introduction to the tarot card system. I would have been lost as a beginner if I'd had only this manual to go by.

Side note: I particularly like how Stiefvater talks about all persons as "she", thereby avoiding that inane new age-y babble about male and female energies.