I just love the older decks, although the artwork is never 100% clear and anything like the more modern decks, they still have this appealing quality to them and The Sacred Rose Tarot has been calling me since childhood. And here is why!
A friend of my Mum’s had this deck and when I first saw tarot cards at the age of around 4, I instantly fell in love with them and for almost 30 years, I have tried to find this deck without knowing a name. Trust me, when you only have vague memories to go on, it can be really hard.
I knew it was rose related so tried a few search terms and a few years ago, I actually found it! So yes, I have it and here is my The Sacred Rose Tarot review!
The Sacred Rose Tarot Review – An 80’s Tarot Deck That I Love
About the deck
About the deckThe Sacred Rose Tarot from what I can tell was originally released in 1980 with the Major cards only and was gilt-edged. Then seems to be released in 1982 which is shown on my packaging, and again in 2015 which I guess it was re-published.
It was published by U.S Game Systems who makes a lot of the older tarot cards, they were the first notable publisher that published tarot cards like some of the Rider Waite based decks.
It’s a 78 card tarot deck and also has the very famous white paper booklet that comes with a lot of the older U.S Games tarot decks.
This deck was created with the inspiration of medieval stained glass windows and also Byzantine icons which is the Eastern European empire which was the continuation of the Roman empire.
The artwork is created by Johanna Sherman who wanted to share with the world a link with the divinity of human nature in the pre-Christian times. Drawing on the symbolic rose od Western iconography, the Kaballah, Tree of Life and of course, the cosmos itself – space and time.
It’s such a beautiful deck for its time and I really love working with it.
About the packaging, quality and booklet
It’s a very basic packaging with The Sacred Rose Tarot, the cards are wrapped in plastic wrap and then the box is also packaged the same.
The box is thin cardboard and isn’t very long-lasting, so this is a tarot deck that I will make a tarot bag especially for.
Inside is the white book you are all well versed with, we have all had one with a few of the US Games tarot decks, I know I have loads of them!
For each Major Arcana card, you get a quotation about the card, then an upright and reversed meaning so you can read this with reversals too.
Then for the Minor Arcana, the layout is for the numbers, not the suits. So usually you get the wands Ace through King, but instead, you get all the Aces, Twos etc all grouped together.
So it gives you information about that particular number, for example, fours is:
The Fours represent foundations and are ruled by the planet Jupiter. Fours are building blocks.
Then you get the suits for that number with the main keyword, a quotation about the card and then the upright and reversed meaning.
Rather than keywords like the RWS style guide books, this is much more in-depth!
Quality, well, the packaging is what it is, but I am one who doesn’t tend to collect packaging as much and would rather have a beautiful tarot bag that I have created.
Now, getting to the cards. I’m really impressed with the quality of the cards. They are a thick enough card, very reminiscent of the Rider-Waite decks I have. In fact, identical. Very well made and durable.
Although have a bit of a shine to the cards in the light, they are matte feeling so they shuffle super well!
Overall, they are great quality and can pick them up at a good price, but be mindful that The Sacred Rose Tarot is hard to come by these days, I believe they are still in print. Just not as heavily populated, unlike the Rider-Waite style decks.
The Sacred Rose Tarot Review
Of course, we are now getting into The Sacred Rose Tarot and what I adore about it. Originally, it was released in the 80’s and you can tell by the artwork that it is almost 40 years old.
I was so excited when I managed to get myself a copy of this as I had been eyeing for years, but when I went to purchase it, it was always unavailable. I’d ended up getting by chance and paid over the odds, but it was worth it!
Straight away, I felt connected to the deck and enjoyed looking at all of the artwork.
With the quality of the cards and booklet, I was just in awe at The Sacred Rose Tarot and how beautiful it is.
It’s based on your typical RWS system and has the same numbering system, Major Arcana cards and also suits and figureheads.
There is a lot of colour included in the deck and the backgrounds are mostly cosmic and greenery.
The feeling of the deck is really cosmic, ethereal and celestial. Moons, roses and stars run through the deck, along with blues, greens, purples and even reads and oranges throughout.
Just a beautiful deck to look at and admire, with such a basic design but an array of beautiful colours.
Each card is depicted so wonderfully, matching the theme and nature of the description of the card in every sense of the word.
I just enjoy the cosmic feel of the artwork and the meanings to each card.
How I got on reading the cards
These were so accurate in my readings, although I have to admit they seemed to be quite blunt at times. Which personally I enjoy!
I use The Sacred Rose Tarot for people that are looking for honesty and not beating around the bush. I’d prefer to use these as my personal cards and I think I will buy another deck for others.
I’ve just got very close very quickly with The Sacred Rose Tarot and really enjoying everything about it!
Final thoughts
Overall, I really enjoy The Sacred Rose Tarot and I’m excited to continue using it.
Everything from the celetial theme to the beautiful colours gives you a sense of trust and strength. You got this, especially with this deck!
Do you like the older style decks?
Thanks for your review on the Sacred Rose Tarot. I’m very impressed by this tarot deck, too. However, some cards, for instance, the 5 of Swords, look scary to me. I’m still thinking whether I should bring it home. I like the card back design very much, five roses in five different colours.