As Above Tarot Deck: Book of Shadows Tarot, Volume 1 (Book of Shadows Tarot, 2) Cards – January 8, 2013

Not only can this deck be used for divination, it's also an exceptionally wonderful learning tool. I'm not a practicing Wiccan but I am in touch with plenty of the traditions through experience with friends who are, and from where I'm sitting everything checks out accurately. Really love the artwork (reminds me of some of my favorite graphic novels), and I very much appreciate the opportunity to learn a little more about this particular craft. Like this deck so much I ordered its counterpart!

By far my favorite non-traditional deck! It’s NOT a R/W deck that’s for sure. Best use this deck if you are knowledgeable about divination,paganism, and astrology. The energies are very different with this deck, and I feel it gives a greater depth to a reading. I’m finding very interesting messages/clarifications when combinging the traditional decks w this pagan deck. Love it! It’s also very different from the volume 2 - was disappointed when I went to buy the 2nd. But volume 1 is now becoming a permanent feature in my readings.

I love the drawings!! Great Tarot!! I recommend it!

I like this deck. Beautiful well done good quality. Will need more experience before I will be really comfortable with this deck as I am new to tarot. Still learning. Thats not the decks fault tho. Once I am more experienced then I will be a lot more comfortable with this deck. Its a good read for esbats/sabbats full moons and such. The book that comes with it is a really good one. The information in it is very helpful. I like how some of the cards names are changed for example the high priestess is now the spell caster. We have gnomes for the earth suit.

AMAZING!!!!! Love this deck so much so spirtual :) i did edge mine with silver though so its perfect now

I've been using this deck along with the So Below. They are absolutely beautiful, with stunning artwork.

I was really excited to get this deck and I think I’ll like it if I can get rid of the smell. Just a horrible stench that I can’t even wash off my hands with soap. So far I’ve ran the cards through a smoke cleanse, tried to air them out in the wind, now they’re buried in a bowl of sage. Trying to cleanse them and cleanse them! Hopefully I can get rid of the awful smell and connect with them at some point. Bummed right now.

This is one of my favorite tarot decks. The artwork is beautiful and speaks to me, which always helps me connect to the cards. The book helps explain the meaning behind each card and gives its divinatory meaning as well. The major arcana concentrates on general paganism/Earth-centered religions, particularly the sabbats, although many aspects are discussed (such as circle-casting and book of shadows). The minor arcana focus on the four elements (Wands=Fire, Cups=Water, Swords=Air, Pentacles=Earth). The court cards are unique in that rather than the traditional King, Queen, Knight, and Page, these cards are represented by the Maiden, Mother, and Crone of each element as well as a card that represents each element itself.However, the comparison to traditional decks stops there as most of the cards and their meanings are quite different from traditional meanings. Each element has its own aspect that it focuses on. The fire element (suit) focuses upon astrology, with the ace representing the sun and each numbered card representing a particular planet (yes, Pluto is considered a planet here) and the 10th card as the "Stars." Strangely, the moon is not included in this element (nor anywhere else in the deck, although it is discussed with various cards throughout). The suit of air represents the various forms of divination (these include dreams, pendulums, scrying, omens, palmistry, familiars, i ching, meditation, runes, and tarot). Earth deals with the parts of the Earth that are important to many spiritual paths (the human body, beach, plant life, stones and crystals, mountains and waterfalls, trees and forest, sea creatures, land creatures, air creatures, and a full day). The water element represents the various aspects of the goddess (the chalice and athame, love, creation/fertility, healing, water, wisdom and culture, justice, magic and transformation, prosperity, and the otherworld). Throughout the water element, goddesses from various pantheons are used to represent their aspect (Ma'at=justice, Lakshmi=prosperity, etc.). And with each minor arcana card, be sure to look for the elementals that belong there (salamanders, gnomes, sylphs, and undines) as they will make an appearance.Finally, I should mention that there is a second deck that goes with the "As Above" deck. This second deck is called "So Below." This review does not speak to this deck as its cards and artwork are completely different. These cards are very closely aligned to the traditional tarot decks and the artwork is contemporary.In general, The Book of Shadows Tarot: As Above is a fantastic deck, particularly for those who have a tie to paganism or Earth-centered religions in some form. I would also recommend this deck for those who may be starting to learn about paganism/Wicca/Earth-centered religion as it explains so many aspects, a little piece at a time. The main point of constructive criticism I would give is that there is not a card that specifically represents the moon. I found this very odd considering how important the moon is to so many aspects represented in this deck, is traditionally represented in tarot decks and is certainly a large part of astrology as well. Overall, I absolutely feel it has earned its five star rating from me.