Pagan Mini Tarot by Pace, Gina

Love these tarot but they don’t come with the booklet giving spreads and readings.

Love these

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The disclaimers: I am very new to the tarot, I am neither Pagan, nor Wiccan. That said, let me go forward.I was drawn to this deck in my local shop, and chose it over all the other decks. I must admit it was the Hermit card that pulled me in. After reading loads of online reviews of this deck (at Amazon and multiple tarot sites), this card seems to be a big draw for a lot of people. I also didn't yet know about looking at decks online, so I had to figure it out based on a more-colorful seeming binder in the shop, which had only six cards pictured, and the outside of the box.When I opened the deck, I will admit I was initially let down. The colors were a lot more bland than I had been lead to believe (Hello Lo Scarabeo! If you re-print, up your saturation levels!), and the back of the card I also found disappointing. It's a pretty unattractive green, and simply shows The World card as the back. Not terribly artistic or imaginative.However, I had paid full price for this deck, and it being non-returnable, I persevered. I started shuffling the cards, getting accustomed to them in my hands. It is a very workable sized deck. The great thing about this artwork, is that to me, it is all very meaningfully, purposefully chosen. There are enough symbols to meditate on, pick up, and construct a story around the card, and within spreads, but not so many that the art overwhelms the size of the card. (I bring to mind the Shadowscapes deck and the Paulina Tarot - both beautiful, but so much going on, with such tiny, intricate detail that it's hard to get a general sweep overview. I don't like having to squint to see the details in my cards.)To continue - I was able to immerse myself in each card, and really FOCUS on what is being presented. I started brainstorming aloud, and writing, and in my head, verbally describing what I was seeing, and constructing the stories based on the visuals. I found that the cards did a great job of portraying what they are supposed to (I'm doing a lot of reading on meanings and interpretations, and using what I pick up and intuit) and I find that the cards are good for getting across what they mean to do.There are definitely some twists on traditional meanings. But I don't think that's a bad thing at all. It's the same subject matter, and the same essential meaning, but maybe invoking a meaning you hadn't thought of before. I think as tarot readers, that's just an advantage we can use to add additional layers and meanings to our catalog of knowledge, and it might really click and come through for us in a particular reading, while using a different set of cards. I think if there's one thing that's certain, it's that there are so many levels of interpretation available to every reader and every querent - this deck is just using that advantage in a slightly less traditional manner.So, after 15 days of reading and working with these cards, I have forgiven the lack of color saturation. I enjoy yummy color, but I think it's also nice in a way, that the colors are still there, but they take a back-seat to the images. I can really stay with a card and focus and sink in to it for a long while. I'm not saying I couldn't do that with a deeper saturation level, but having cards with a higher gray scale makes it easy for me to look at an overall spread, and pick up points of color here and there, and I can still get an overall tone of a spread, it's just not screaming-in-your-face bright, like with some other decks. I also think it's an advantage in some ways, to have more quiet, yet still subject-focused artwork. It makes you work a little to get the meaning and feeling and intuition of a card, and you might come to some very different conclusions after working through your feelings of confusion and being stumped.I honestly don't really focus on the backs anymore. It doesn't matter. I could see it turning off a client if you offer deck choices, but heck, place the pack face-up to a card you find interesting and see what happens.One of the reasons I picked this deck is that I was really drawn to scenes of modern life. I find it a really important point, using magic and intuition and intention in today's modern life, and how all of that works together. I have found how it works for me, and I'm adding to it all of the time, straightening out the kinks, learning loads, and I liked that I could relate to the modern scenes. I loved seeing a woman at her desk, fiddling with her pencils, her wands, her gem-stones, her light, all while at a computer. That's what I could relate to, and I think if there are other modern, practical people around, they will relate to this deck and its imagery as well.I would recommend the companion book only to gain insight on what the creator envisioned for her cards. I read the card descriptions, and then I put it away, because for me it works best to read this deck a more intuitively, with Pace's ideas in the very back of my mind, than as definitions that are set in stone.I think, regarding Boudica's confusion about the card meanings and situations - that if one opens the deck and is simply confused by what they see - take some time, some deep breaths, and take the cards one by one, giving them each at least a few minutes. I love what Kim Huggen's Tarot 101 has to say about approaching the cards - her book is obviously targeted toward the newbie, but her introduction to the cards, and how she has you think about them is a great way of also going about getting acquainted with new decks.All in all, I think if you are a woman (or man) of a very practical, modern bent, you will be able to enjoy this deck as it might relate to your life and the lives of those around you. The cards are just a tool anyhow, so really, it's just what appeals to you on a personal level. I find this set of cards very enjoyable, of the moment, and readable.I also like the Morgan-Greer and the Thoth decks. But the Pagan and the Thoth decks are what get slipped into my purse and read with every day.