Hey beautiful! Pull up a chair, grab something fizzy, and let’s have a real, unfiltered chat about The Tarot Of Dreams that’s currently occupying prime real estate on my altar and causing me a mild existential crisis.
We need to talk about the Tarot of Dreams by the legendary digital wizard Ciro Marchetti, with the guidebook written by Lee Bursten and published by U.S. Games Systems. Now, if you know anything about me, you know I am an absolute sucker for anything that looks like it was plucked straight out of a high-end fantasy novel or an angelic fever dream. I saw this deck and my toxic trait of adding to cart because it’s pretty took over instantly. I needed it. I lusted after it.
But now that it’s in my hands? Oh, babe, we have things to discuss. It is a breathtaking, angelic, ethereal masterpiece, but it’s also a bit of a high-maintenance diva. Let’s dive into the gorgeous chaos of this deck.
The Lowdown: What Is the Tarot of Dreams?
So, what is The Tarot Of Dreams actually trying to do? Ciro Marchetti basically took the traditional Rider-Waite-Smith system we all know and love, gave it a massive glow-up, and dipped it into a cosmic blender of dreams and divine psychology. This isn’t a deck for a casual, basic reading. It is designed to tap into your subconscious mind, acting like a bridge between your waking reality and the bizarre symbols that pop up in your sleep when your brain is doing its nightly IT maintenance.
This is actually an expanded 83-card deck. You get the standard 78 cards, but Ciro decided we needed a little extra drama, so he included a special Tree of Life card and four unique Palace cards (Palace of Wands, Swords, Cups, and Pentacles). These Palace cards basically give extra context to the Court cards, acting like the environment or the vibe check of the suit. Lee Bursten’s chunky companion book isn’t your typical useless little white booklet, either. It’s a genuine guide that weaves together psychology, astrology, and Kabbalistic elements. It’s smart, it’s deep, and it’s trying very hard to make us think.
Quality Control: Is It Actually Pretty?
Let’s talk packaging of The Tarot Of Dreams, because if I am spending my hard-earned cash, I want the unboxing experience to feel like total luxury.
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The Box & Book: U.S. Games Systems did not play around here. The box is huge, incredibly sturdy, and features a lift-top lid that feels expensive. Inside, the companion book is thick, beautifully printed, and feels like a real textbook for the soul. The only minor design flaw is that the box forces you to split the deck into two side-by-side piles to fit it back in. It’s a tiny bit annoying when you just want to pack up and go, but honestly, it looks so majestic on a shelf that I completely forgive it.
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The Cardstock: Okay, real talk between besties, the cards are a little on the thin side. When I first pulled them out, I held my breath for a second hoping they wouldn’t crease. However, after putting them through the mill, I can happily report they hold up just fine. No tears, no tragic bends.
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The Finish: They are glossy, babe. And you know what that means? They slide against each other like absolute butter. Shuffling this deck is an absolute dream. If you hate sticky, thick cards that give you hand cramps, you will adore the smooth, effortless glide of these bad boys.
The Vibe Check
How does this deck actually perform when you’re sitting in your pyjamas at 2:00 AM asking it if your crush is ghosting you? Let’s break it down:
| Metric | Score / Status | The Bestie Breakdown |
| Sass Level | 4/10 | Surprisingly gentle. The Tarot Of Dreams won’t drag you by your hair, it prefers to guide you through a cosmic cloud. |
| Aesthetic Meter | 11/10 | Absolutely breathtaking. Think angelic, glowing, high-fantasy digital art that makes you feel expensive just looking at it. |
| Readability | Challenging | Look, it’s harder to read than Ciro’s other decks like the Gilded Reverie. You’re going to need to actually open the book. |
| Witchy Frequency | Ethereal & Cosmic | Less Glastonbury pagan shop casting curses and more high-vibrational spirit guide holding a mirror to your soul. |
| Shuffling Smoothness | Like Silk | Glossy, sleek, and shuffles beautifully without any aggressive wrestling required. |
The Twist: Why It’s A Little Hard To Read
Here is the honest gospel about The Tarot Of Dreams deck: if you are expecting a standard, copy-and-paste Rider-Waite clone, this deck is going to make your brain hurt. I have used several of Ciro Marchetti’s decks before, and I usually find them a breeze to interpret. But the Tarot of Dreams? It took me a minute, babe.
Ciro gave the traditional imagery a beautiful, angelic twist, but he also baked a ton of esoteric symbolism directly into the borders and artwork. We are talking Hebrew letters, astrological symbols, and element signs based on the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, though he swapped a few elements out for modern planets like Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto because he likes to rebel.
Because the images within The Tarot Of Dreams are so fluid, dreamlike, and packed with these extra cosmic footnotes, your eyes can get a bit lost. It requires you to shift your brain from literal interpretation to intuitive feeling. You can’t just glance at the Three of Swords and instantly get the vibe, you have to sit with the card, look at the glowing geometric shapes, and let your subconscious do the talking. It’s a slower process, but once it clicks, the insights are incredibly profound.
The Bestie Recommendation: Who Is This For?
If you are a total tarot newbie who just learned what a Major Arcana is yesterday, do yourself a favour and put this one on your wishlist for later. It is going to overwhelm you, and you’ll end up using the gorgeous guidebook as a paperweight while the cards collect dust.
However, if you are an intermediate or advanced reader, if you love astrology and Kabbalah correspondences, or if you are simply a deck collector who wants absolute eye candy for your Instagram feed, you need this. It forces you out of your comfort zone and makes you read tarot in a completely different, deeply psychological way.
The Final Verdict
The Tarot of Dreams is a breathtaking, glossy masterpiece that feels like a sacred text wrapped in a fantasy dreamscape. The thick, high-quality cardstock feels magnificent in the hand, and while it makes you work for your answers, the sheer beauty of the angelic artwork makes every single brain cell workout entirely worth it.
Blessed be babes, and don’t forget to brew a cup of mugwort tea tonight so your subconscious actually has the psychic bandwidth to understand the wildly vivid dreams this deck is about to trigger in your sleep!
Bestie’s Amazon Shopping List (Affiliate Recommendations)
If you love the sound of this vibe but want to check out some options before dropping your cash, here are a few other stunning, high-fantasy masterpieces you can grab on Amazon right now:
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[The Tarot of Dreams by Ciro Marchetti] – Grab the exact deck from this review and prepare to have your third eye completely dazzled by the thick, glossy, angelic artwork.
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[Gilded Reverie Lenormand by Ciro Marchetti] – Want Ciro’s gorgeous digital art style but in an entirely different divination system? This deck is absolute luxury on a budget, and honestly, a little easier to read on the fly.
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[The Mystical Manga Tarot by Rann] – If you love that high-fantasy, gorgeous celestial aesthetic but want something a bit more traditional and friendly for intermediate readers, this one belongs on your altar immediately.
