The Druid Craft Tarot Deck & Book Set

Measurements: 3.55 x 5.5 inches, or 90 x 140 mm. Large.

Back of card: Plain brown, with two small goldish squiggles in the middle. May be inverted.

Book included: Yes, 192 pages, approximately 5 x 8 inches, or approximately 12 x 18 cm.

Publisher: St. Martin's Press. Printed in China.

Comments: Another Druid deck. This one a copy of the usual Rider-Waite, except where inspiration struck. You can see examples of both above. So let's have some fun:

As you can see, the Magician & Four of Wands are Rider-Waite. The figures on the Two of Cups are about to drink from each others' cups, signifying the firm conclusion of a deal of some sort. The Two of Swords faces away from us, towards a tree (significant to Druids) & whatever she's going to decide, we're not going to be a part of it. The Wheel, instead of showing the cruelty of random fate, shows the craft of spell-casting, a completely different meaning. Wiccans put circles around things for the same reason bakers bag bread: To keep what's inside separate from what's outside, and vice-versa.

Elsewhere, the Hanged Man, in the usual pose, is shown nude. The anatomical details of penis & testicles are shown correctly. I looked in the book to see if there was a reason for his lack of attire, but there was none. Nudity in tarot tells us we are looking at the real thing. A nude female is to encourage us (males, presumably) to lust after the truth. Nude males usually indicate raw power. The Hanged Man is an exercise in mental concentration (like Hatha Yoga), not physical power.

The Lovers show a nude male between the legs of a nude female. The position indicates they are post-coital & presumably asleep. Skip a few cards & we come to Cernunnos, the Wild Herdsman, here in the role of the Devil. He is approching our Lovers from behind, who have now separated in their slumbers. Cernunnos has his left eye open & looks rampant (detail murky in a fog). Rampant is a cute word, but my American Heritage Dictionary does not give the full definition. It means, "animal on hind legs with erect penis". The book says that we should never confuse evil with simple animal lust. (There is no evil in the world, right?) As the god of fertility, Cernunnos is presumably spying on our lovers to ensure the woman has been properly inseminated. As he's rampant, he's presumably prepared to finish the job if necessary. The book huffs & puffs a lot, but it would appear that Druids, according to the book, have the same view of sex as the Vatican: Procreation only, and nature will help as needed.

Strength is clothed, belted gown with flowing red robe. A tame wild boar circles her from behind. A discarded sword lies on the ground to her right. Death, card 13, shows an old crone with a skull, standing in front of a large ornate boiling cauldron. The very next card, 14, Fferyllt, shows a pretty young blonde thing mixing something to put in her own, ornate boiling cauldron. This is supposed to represent Temperance, but put these two cards, Death & Fferyllt, back to back, in order. They face away from each other & seem to symbolize Omega (the end) followed by Alpha, new beginnings through chemistry. This would seem to indicate that the Death card is what it says it is, eg, death, the end, dissolution. The book gives alchemical overtones to Fferyllt, but there is just as much alchemy in dissolution as well.

Sharp observers will find many more details of interest.

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