Connolly Tarot

Eileen Connolly is a well-known authority on tarot, numerology and other esoteric sciences. Her tarot series Tarot for the Apprentice, Tarot for the Journeyman and Tarot for the Master are popular staples of the tarot literature.

Eileen Connolly designed this deck based on her vision of the meaning of the cards. Peter, the artist, brought that vision to life using coloured pencil over a period of 18 months. The Connolly Tarot has a luminous quality. The card scenes give the impression of being fixed in stained glass. The setting is medieval, and the figures are in period costume. There is little negativity in this deck. The Devil has been changed to Materialism, and Death, to Transition.

One of the most beautiful decks
I love this deck! It was the first one I ever purchased...the beauty of it's colours and illustrations make it irresistible (it's a little like stained glass). She does change the "Death" card to "Transition" and the "Devil" card to "Materialism"--changes that I personally find appropriate, and I would recommend the deck to someone who gives tarot readings frequently (so many find the original card references a little scary). The Connollys have a definite Christian slant to this tarot approach, which you can see from Eileen's writing and some card illustrations that include cherubs; but the Connolly tarot cards deck is worth buying for any lover of beautiful tarot, whatever your religious orientation.

My favourite deck
This deck leapt out at me from the shelf at my local bookstore and screamed "take me home!" The Connolly tarot cards deck is a good size (it is also available in a miniature version) and has an ivory marble look to the backs. The intense colours add layers of depth and meaning to the pictures--I have never seen a deck with this kind of colouring before, and that is a lot of what drew this deck to me. The colours are especially vibrant when I use the deck for readings or meditations. While Connolly does stick to the "traditional" tarot for the most part (e.g. suits cups, pentacles, wands, swords), she changes two cards in the major arcana: Death is "Transition" and The Devil is "Materialism." Personally, I wish she had left these cards alone. Also I dislike her rendition of the ten of swords, which is a woman with ten sword hilts around her (the blade portion of the sword would be out of the picture). Finally, you should be warned that Connolly works a lot of angel symbolism into her deck and her books. This may bother some people, though it has never hindered me. Overall, I like the feel and look of this Connolly tarot cards deck.