A classic tarot that brings two fundamental spiritualities of Nature--Wicca and Druidry--together in the ancient art. Since it's original publication in 2005, The Druidcraft Tarot has been one of the most popular and most recommended tarots. Blending the ancient traditions of the tarot with the imagery and wisdom of Nature-based spiritualities, The Druidcraft Tarot is a beautifully illustrated deck with a book to guide both beginners and long-standing practioners to a deeper reading.
Philip Carr-Gomm is one of the most prominent figures in the Mind, Body and Spirit (MBS) pagan movement, having been the leader of the largest international druid organization for almost thirty years. With his collaborators, Stephanie Carr-Gomm and Will Worthington, he has created a tarot that draws upon tarot's relationship to both druidry and wicca, drawing upon the primal essence that lies at the heart of each of these systems. With a fully illustrated book explaining the relationship between the card and the teachings of druidry and wicca, along with 78 beautifully illustrated major and minor arcana cards, The Druidcraft Tarot is a modern classic tarot.
Philip Carr-Gomm was born in London, raised in Notting Hill Gate, and educated at Westminster School and University College London.
He met his first spiritual teacher, Ross Nichols, the founder of The Order of Bards Ovates & Druids, when he was 11. He began studying with him when a teenager, and joined the Order of Bards Ovates and Druids at 18. He studied meditation with Olivia Robertson in Ireland, who later founded the Fellowship of Isis, and in his twenties he founded The Esoteric Society in London, which organised journeys for members to Bulgaria and Egypt, and hosted talks by well-known authors such as Gareth Knight, W. E. Butler, and Arthur Guirdham.
In 1975 his Druid teacher died, and he followed a Bulgarian teacher, Omraam Mikhael Aivanhov for seven years, giving talks on his teachings and helping with the translation and publishing of his books into English. He also travelled to Bulgaria and studied the work of Aivanhov’s teacher, Peter Deunov, visiting Sofia annually for fourteen years, teaching Deunov’s Paneurhythmy dance in England and at Findhorn in Scotland. In his thirties he turned to a study of psychology, taking a BSc degree at University College London and Jungian analysis, with plans to become an analyst. On discovering Psychosynthesis, he trained instead as a therapist at the Institute of Psychosynthesis in London and began a private practice.
In 1988 he was asked to lead the Order of Bards Ovates and Druids. He organised the Order’s teachings into a distance-learning course, and edited his teacher’s book with John Matthews [1]. Since that time, the Order has grown to become the largest Druid teaching order in the world.
This is a fantastic deck and book for tarot.. Mine is now about 10 years and worn and torn to the point that I had to tape it all over.. The images are gorgeous, the lessons profound, can deeply recommend anyone getting a deck of tarot to get this one!
I enjoy the look and feel of the deck and this accompanying (or stand alone)book is complete. Celtic lore has been overlaid on the concept of tarot in creating the deck (druids embraced an oral tradition, not cards). In truth, I significantly expanded my tarot collection at the time of my last move (exhausted in the eves from packing, unpacking, working, log in to the internet and think "I deserve a present" and in an order for a few decks would go). This is significant to the review as I don't actually use this deck a lot, it's one I'd like to familiarize myself with more.
Here, for the first time, is a tarot that combines the two fundamental spiritualities of Nature - Wicca and Druidry - and reflects the explosion of interest in the western magical traditional and paganism. This is a full deck of 78 cards, each a superb work of art, with a text by prominent authors. The deck is original in many ways includes a 190 page book with instructions and insights.
This is my all time favorite tarot deck. The cards are stunningly beautiful and filled with symbolism. The accompanying book is a clear and lucid guide as to how the cards can be used.
The more I read about the Tarot, the more impressed I am with the book that came with this deck. The art and the deck itself have grown on me. A lot. But the explanations, and the way it's laid out, is amazing. It's very much patterned on the Ride Waite, so no need to start over if you already have that background. Very Celtic, but only in a overview way.
As with the previous book about oracle cards I also have to say here that I do not believe in oracles or the Tarot. I bought this set containing the card deck as well as a book with instructions because the deck was so very beautiful.
The book: The book was written by the same authors that also wrote and published the book about oracle cards that I've finished only yesterday - and one notices. Here as well as in the other book the single cards are being described with key words, the cards' meanings and reversed meanings. Moreover, the authors give the reader detailed descriptions of the cards' groups, origins as well as background information on the druidic myths from which their meaning seemingly comes. At the very end of the book there are also some exemplary spreads and how to read them.
The card deck: I have looked at quite a lot of tarot cards ever since I saw a beautiful deck on TV (which turned out not be an actual tarot deck at all *lol*) but not one of the decks was as beautiful as this. Maybe it's the natural theme and the fact that I like the colour green so much or maybe the pictures, inspired by celtic myths, are simply appealing to me. Anyway, every single card is very beautiful and rich in amazing details. Some things are slightly different than in classical tarot decks though. Cards VIII and XI are switched and some have different names but I don't find that disturbing. The cards are made to a certain theme so the names were made to fit that theme as well.
One star I deducted because this card deck (just like the oracle card deck) is oversized which makes it more difficult to handle. I myself don't really mind since I don't deal the deck as such (as I said, I don't believe in it) and the bigger cards allow for bigger images which in turn gives me more to look at. :-)
L'univers graphique de ce tarot aurait pu être beaucoup mieux réalisé, le visage de certains personnages n'est parfois pas très flatteur... j'ai par contre beaucoup apprécié l'esprit très vert de ce tarot qui ancre véritablement. Qui plus est, les cartes sont vraiment très (très) grandes et la prise en main a été compliquée, je n'ai pas réussi à m'y faire. J'avais aussi lu que les cartes n'étaient pas de bonne qualité mais je n'ai pas voulu en tenir compte, au final elles sont faites d'une matière cartonnée peu rigide et qui prend tous les chocs et traces d'usure. Je crois qu'un tarot doit nous correspondre, dans son énergie et dans son univers, malheureusement c'est un gros loupé pour celui-ci.
My favourite deck by far! The Druidcraft Tarot deck is beautiful, obnoxiously accurate, but most of all, very positive. A lot of tarot decks spread doom and gloom with a reversed reading. And while the Druidcraft Tarot also covers this, is still manages to help you along, leaving you energized and ready to face whatever it is you're struggling with.
Oh, this is an awesome deck. The illustrations are gorgeous, and the symbology for interpretation is well above average, for sure.
To me, this deck has the most expressive Court cards of any deck I've seen. They look like the ancestors of people you might have met in circle. They have such a strong, human look about them, not inspiration and fancy of Court people someone drew entirely from their imagination (which is a failing of the court cards in many decks).
This is a deck strongly aimed at people who are Druids, Celtic Wiccans, or others with inclinations in this direction. That said, there is nothing to keep the casual reader of other spiritual inclinations (or none) from using them and enjoying them.
The colors are rich, the symbology has depth but is also very readable. Consider getting one and trying it yourself.
The DruidCraft Tarot is another phenomenal deck by Philip & Stephanie Carr-Gomm of The Order of Bards, Ovates & Druids with Will Worthington illustrations. These three important figures in the Celtic/Druid/Pagan and Cartomancy communities also created The Druid Plant and Animal Oracles.
The oversize cards in this deck are almost the same size as the Oracles, making them a beautiful matching set for studying Celtic Paganism. They may be difficult to shuffle, so I recommend spreading them out and selecting the cards based on intuition.
I admittedly wasn't drawn to DruidCraft's art as much as Worthington's other decks, including the Celtic Lenormand, because it features many more people compared to the majority plants, animals, and landscapes of the others. But the thick, comprehensive 192-page guidebook expertly explains the imagery with at least one full page dedicated to each card. I Connect with this deck so well now!
This is by far one of the best guidebooks for not only learning about Celtic lore and Bardic tales, but the structure of Tarot and Western Pythagorian Numerology (typically just called Numerology, but there are multiple systems worldwide so it's important to distinguish which one is used in traditional Tarot).
The guidebook also explains that this work is called "DruidCraft" because it seeks to appeal to Practitioners of both Druidry and Wicca ("Druid" + "Witchcraft"), two of the most widely Practiced Pagan beliefs in England where the Carr-Gomms reside. As someone focusing on Druidry because of the French side of my heritage, I didn't mind the occasional comparisons with Wicca, nor did they get in the way of my comprehension of the subject. On the contrary, I appreciate when people understand that there are many similarities that unite various beliefs rather than divide us.
As a person of mixed heritage, I want to point out that all the people depicted in the art are Euro-centric, but this didn't bother me given that it portrays life as it historically was in the Iron Age of Europe before the Romans wiped out the vast majority of Celtic tribes.
I highly recommend this deck and guidebook set for Tarot and Druidry beginners and experts alike.
Gorgeous deck. Most of the deck is heavily influenced by Pamela Colman Smith’s imagery. There are some deviations. Some of the major arcana cards have been renamed. The traditional Temperance card is the Ffferylit card, which is a Druid alchemist from the nineteenth and twentieth century Druid revival. One source says the card depicts Brighid. The Devil is renamed Cernunnos, which is a Celtic God. The traditional Judgment card has been renamed to Rebirth. The beautiful painting is completely different from Pamela Colman Smith
An excellent deck, I would actually recommend it as a more beautiful and detailed option to the Rider-Waite deck as I feel it is very accessible. A guide book is provided, it is brief but to the point and provides reversals. However a secondary reference may be needed for those very new to tarot. Also the cards are a little larger than standard. Not sure if there was a smaller option but I found I had to change the way I ordinarily shuffle. Overall though a wonderful traditional deck.
Quick impressions: Overall, this is a beautiful and very accessible deck that anyone can use and enjoy. For folks interested in Wicca and Druidry this can be a good option, and for some seekers this deck could help lead them down those paths, a starting point. Deck features great art that is calm, peaceful, and evocative.
Beautiful deck with oversized cards perfect for contemplation and manifestation but difficult to shuffle due to size. Truly lovely artwork on the cards. The book is lovely as well but I still go back to other guides books rather than this one.
Beautiful artwork and the book is really easy to navigate. I use these for character and plot development while writing. Some nudity, so not for young kids.
This is one of my all time favorite decks and I would give it five starts but I don't like the boarders on the cards. The art and guidebook for this deck is really nice though.
This is a very thorough guide to reading tarot in the druid system. The book reads simply and provides very down to earth understanding of how to live life simply and not complicate everything.
I read this book in a couple of days. It probably would have been a shorter time period but I had a lot of things to take care of for work and family.
I had never been one for Tarot or Tarot never seemed to want me. The Runes, as a means of divination, meditation and guidance have always been my 'way'. However, one day I had an urge to go for the Tarot . I found myself buying the 'Ryder Waite' deck however, I could not really relate to this and was just about to give up on the Tarot until I stumbled upon this deck!
Beautifully painted and created with such gorgeous imagery and symbolism, some of these cards should be framed! I found them inspiring and wonderful to look at, and, relating to Druidry, Wiccan and Celtic symbolism, I find them more accessible for my learning and understanding of the Tarot. The accompanying book by Carr-Gomm is just as accessible with each card described using his deep understanding of druidry and wicca. I would recommend this for beginners in Tarot (such as me!) and experienced readers.
One of the most skillfully drawn tarot decks I know about, based on the Rider-Waite deck. Much easier to use than the awesome Haindl tarot deck (still my favourite one, that is inspired by the difficult Aleister Crowley deck). Philip and Stephanie Carr-Gomm's comments are convincing and elaborate in most of its parts. An inspiring read, especially (but not only!) for those interested in natural religion or neo-paganism. If you like Will Worthington's drawings, please check out his other works, especially the Wildwood tarot deck and Druid Animal Oracle!
The book included with this deck is excellent, not your usual booklet of basic meanings, but a detailed guide to the symbolism and stories behind the artwork on the cards. The cards themselves are gorgeous. There is also a section at the end on how to use the cards that had several spreads I have never tried before. Looking forward to working with the new cards and new spreads and learning more as I go.
An excellent represtentation of Tarot, with beautiful cards and easy to understand explanation of each card. What I like best is it gives Keywords that represent the cards. If you're into Tarot, this is a wonderful set to own. Any time I've used them, they read true.
One of my all time favourites. This was the very first Tarot set I bought in Singapore more than a decade ago while on holiday. I use this with my clients and has time and time again proven to bring about valuable insights to the surface. ❤️ I also have a backup copy of this set - for myself.