Smith-Waite Tarot: Borderless Edition

My GO TO deck is the US Games Smith Waite Centennial. I had hesitated getting this deck for some time, but after looking at some vids online, decided I really wanted it. HERE'S why I gave FIVE STARS: CARDSTOCK - ok, yep, this is a biggie. I really like cardstock a lot. Nice heft. My preference would have been more of a linen texture, but NOT worth taking off even half a point. BORDERLESS - Love how the borderless makes it pop. Yep, the Smith Waite Centennial still my fav, but this is a close second. I also love how the borders are rounded so nicely. COLORS - I compared with Radiant Borderless and JUST prefer this one because it feels more authentic. I like the vintage coloring and it has stayed pretty darn true to the Centennial. Yes, some images are expanded more, but the colors, the faces, look pretty spot on. The Radiant, and I GET why some prefer it, the colors do pop more, just feel like a knock off of the original, which it is. The really deal breaker why I won't get that one is aside from the colors, they have changed some of the images, the faces. That makes it NOT a Pixie deck to me. But that's a PREFERENCE thing. My suggestion is watch a YouTube vid COMPARING the two, side by side, card by card. BACKS - Yes, I prefer the color of the backs of the Centennial, but GLAD they're not exactly alike. I like they changed the color of the backs. Makes it more it's own deck. EXTRA PIXIE CARDS WITH DRAWINGS! GREAT BONUS PRICE - Got this for about 20 bucks and for the quality, VERY HAPPY. Actually, would have gladly paid more. BOTTOMLINE: If you liked the Centennial, you may wish to check this one out. YouTube vids will tell you if it's one you need in your collection.

The stock is sturdy and the cards are not glossy, they have what I call a mat finish. The colors are muted and pleasing to the eye. There were 4 extra cards showing the artist's other styles of artwork. To me I see the elements in these 4 and I think that I will use them as a representation of the person I am reading for. The cards and box came in good condition, the box is very sturdy. There is a little book with them of course. The book is a different story, it is well made and the paper is of a good quality. The text is a good size and easy to read. Those things are good and somewhat important, but the bad is a problem. The meanings are just too black and white, they seem matter of fact. In my opinion they are as if they looked the word up in the dictionary. As an example, the Death card " End, mortality, destruction, corruption." and that is the positive! I always look for the meaning of the Death card because it is the most misleading of the Major Arcana to me. It is transformation, resurrection, the end of self. It is not just about the end of the physical body. It is the end of a pattern of behavior or thought process that needs to end in order to begin again. Anyway, this is why I do not use the little books. This is a nice deck to add to a collection just because of Pamela Colman Smith.

Excellent classical deck with a small caveat. Same classic look but borderless, with a subtle brownish/gray cast over the entire face of each card, giving a very subtle oldish look, which I really like.This allow your subconscious to concentrate on the symbology of the cards, without getting distracted with bright coloring and borders. The overall presentation of the cards is very nice. The color scheme is also well balanced, the black lines that conform the image don't look annoying like in the original with borders, which I find very unpleasant. I don't know if this is because of the poor rendition of the original drawing by the printing press, raw materials or a particularity of the original. I do have an issue, and that is the card stock. The stock chosen for this deck is not something to cheer about : The cards are very rigid, the edges look and feel like edges of stranded board sheets, that tells me, they will not last very long with heavy use, as they will lose rigidity at very fast rate with the edges going first, resembling the edges of a banana peel. at that point you are going to have to find the most appropriate shuffling technique or buy another one. Even with this issue it is worth to have this deck. I find this deck very easy to connect with, you get drawn to it giving you a very nice feel. To me, this is best rendition of the classic deck that stays true to the original drawing This is not the most beautiful deck out there, if that is what you are looking for, get the magnificent Russian tarot deck of Saint Petersburg., each card is truly a work of art.and you would not want to touch it with you bare hands. This reviewed deck is made in China. Cheers

awesome. classic

The color is right. I love that there is no border. I'm so over the SUPER BRIGHT Rider Waite decks, this one is soft and natural feeling. Old school. The other versions always feel like a game, and tarot is not a game to me. I live a natural life, I read daily, and these cards reflect my lifestyle. I am so glad I bought these. They feel nice too. Not too slippery. Just the right size. Perfect.

Splendide, intuitif et unique ! Mon préféré de très loin. Il est complet, facile à interpréter et très intuitif.

My favourite of the RWS tarot cards. I’m a big “no border” person when it comes to tarot and despite owning lots of decks the RWS is always my favourite for its easy to read artwork, lots of symbolism and read colours. Great card stock. Nice back card art. (FYI the come looking pristine - mines are just very worn from lots of use.)

I've had some trepidation using the Rider-Waite-Coleman tarot version because I don't like how images imposed by an artist determine the meanings of the card (preferring the more traditional and harder to read Marseille Tarot). But I will admit I got enamoured by the borderless art and the size of the cards that I decided to get the deck. The images ... resonated with me in a manner I haven't seen in previous decks (TdM included). I haven't done full readings with it yet, but I've been doing daily card draws. The day when I drew the Death card was strangely significant - I thought obvious changes in my life are in play, but didn't expect an actual mortal death was foretold. The deck is really amazing, the borderless images are engaging, and the colours easy on the eyes, also emphasized by the nice matte surface. They're rather big to shuffle properly (and I thought I have big hands) but one only need to look up YouTube videos for alternatives.

Excelente deck! Chegou em perfeito estado.

Ich habe dieses Tarot Kartendeck gekauft, um Tarot lesen und deuten zu lernen. Diese Version des klassischen Raider Waite Tarots finde ich fantastisch. Ich liebe es, wie die Bilder sich über die ganze Karte erstrecken, ohne lästige Ränder. Ästhetisch auf jeden Fall gelungen. Das Material der Karten ist sehr gut und dementsprechend auch leicht zu mischen. Die Tarotkarten kamen einfach in einer Kartonbox ohne viel Schnickschnack, sodass sich das Kartendeck gut verstauen lässt und evtl. auch gut mitgenommen werden kann. Das einzige, worauf ich verzichtet hätte wären die paar extra Karten mit Bildern gewesen, braucht man ja nicht zum Tarotlesen, aber es ist auch nicht direkt negativ. Fazit: Bin vollkommen zufrieden mit dem Einkauf.