The Crystal Visions Tarot, created by fantasy artist Jennifer Galasso, was published by U.S. Games Systems, Inc in late October 2011. It is a 79 card deck, based on the traditional tarot imagery and symbolism of the Rider-Waite Smith deck. It contains all the traditional Major and Minor arcana and one extra card – The Unknown Card – a very mysterious and intriguing card!
Likes:
- Beautiful artwork that gives the deck a positive, magical vibe
- The cards seem to speak directly to you!
- Each suit has its own color theme and unique feel
- The artwork on the cards allows you to access your intuition with ease
- Back design is lovely
Dislikes:
- Sturdy, slippery cards make it tricky to shuffle
- Lack of nudity
When I first looked through my Crystal Visions Tarot deck, I was struck by the enchanting, feminine quality of the artwork. Rich colors and exciting characters abound in this deck! Expect to see plenty of mystical dragons, crystal balls, friendly lions, butterflies, angels and fairies.
This is a deck that seems to speak to you right away, almost as if it is an entity in its own right. It has the voice of a wise and gentle friend, offering encouragement, guidance and secrets to help you along your path. You just feel good when you look through this deck!
However, artist Jennifer Galasso didn’t wimp out when it came to designing the more negative cards. The suit of swords has that requisite desolate feeling, as it should and cards like the Ten of Swords, The Tower and Three of Swords all exude a tumultuous and devastating feel. And yet…..
There seems to be a refreshing sense of hope even in the darker, traditionally more frightening cards. For example, the crow looking down at the bloody figure with ten swords stuck in her back seems to be thinking “stop being such a ninny! Things aren’t so bad. You are your own worst enemy here!” In other words, it is easy to bring a positive, empowering interpretation to these cards.
Each card suit has its own coloring and unique vibe. For example, the Suit of Cups has a pinkish-purple glow to it with a calm, delicate feel. There are plenty of water lilies, ponds and moons scattered throughout the fourteen cards in the Suit of Cups.
The Suit of Wands is a fiery orange-red with a warm, fired up feel to it. Lions, torches and dragons feature prominently. This is my favorite suit!!!
The Suit of Pentacles is vibrant and alive, bursting with fresh green trees against a glowing, succulent peach hued backdrop. Crystals, gemstones and ripe fruit appear throughout this suit.
The Suit of Swords is cold, tumultuous and tragic with its icy blues, chilly grays and deep purples. Snow covers the ground and black crows fly and land here and there, giving the suit an ominous feel. 
What I like best about this deck, and what makes it very unique is how the cards subtly lead you to explore the subconscious and activate your innate intuition. Some of the cards, particularly in the Suit of Wands, feature dark, shadowy areas that when gazed into, allow intuitive information and guidance to reveal itself to you. This is my personal experience with this deck and it may not work this way for everyone.However, I found that looking into the dark areas of the card really helped me to create a space in my mind for ideas, inspiration and guidance to come through.
The only real complaint I have about this deck is that the sturdy and glossy card stock make it annoying to shuffle! I prefer a matte finish and more pliable, bendy cards. On the plus side, having strong, durable card stock will ensure that the deck is long lasting and can withhold a bit of abuse. Also, the glossy finish will be easy to wipe clean if someone with grimy hands happens to handle your deck!
Perhaps I am just a Tarot pervert, but I enjoy gratuitous nudity in my Tarot decks! The Crystal Visions Tarot is seriously lacking in this department, with the exception of The Devil, which features a nude woman eating an apple. This makes it a good deck to use with your prudish friends and clients who may get all snickery at the sight of a mermaid’s boob!
Buy this deck if:
- You are still looking for that “special” deck
- You are a beginner to Tarot
- You are a seasoned tarot reader or deck collector who loves gorgeous fantasy art
- You are looking for a deck with both gentleness and depth
Crystal Visions Tarot is one of those special decks that only come along once in a while. Right out of the box, this deck radiated personality, energy and magic – making me feel instantly connected with it. I feel lucky to own such an extraordinary deck that will not just become part of my collection, but will become my main reading deck.
Click here to purchase Crystal Visions Tarot through Amazon (affiliate link).
I HAVE THE DECK CARDS BUT I DONT HAVE THE GUIDE BOOK
I am impressed by the magical colors of this deck. And I like the humor in your reviews. Thanks!
Ordered mine on book depository but read some reviews about some of the decks being glossy slippery and matte… Where did you get yours? Thanks
I think I got mine from Amazon. The cards are definitely glossy but I don’t really find them slippery.
Hi Kate. I just got this deck and I love it. But how do you work with the unknown card? I have read in the little white book over and over but I just don’t get it fully, as English is not my everyday language. Can you please make a video with some examples? 🙂
I read the “unknown card” kind of similarly to the Moon – but basically it’s saying that you aren’t meant to know everything about whatever you’re asking about.
Hello kate,
I just bought this deck as well.. very beautiful deck! I also bought other decks like the housewives tarot.. vanessa tarot.. and vision quest (native American) tarot.. the imagery of the vision quest tarot also attracts me too.. but I haven’t begin to read with it yet.. you might want to consider vision quest / housewives tarot 🙂
I have the Housewives Tarot – its great! – I actually use the deviled eggs recipe that comes with it all the time. I haven’t seen the vision quest Tarot yet – but you have piqued my curiosity now 🙂
Hello Kate, sorry I only see your reply now!
I have begun to use the Vision Quest Tarot on the day you’ve replied me(just checked my Tarot Journals date), I feel that its quite a mature deck(compared to the Crystal Vision Tarot), and kind of spiritual feel to it as well.
Housewives Tarot – some of the cards really put a smile on my face.. 🙂
Vanessa Tarot – I’ve look through this deck as well too, the cards came in a metal casing,kinda cool. To be honest, when I initially looked at these cards, the imagery doesn’t seemed to “pop out” or stand out to me, maybe because of the artwork or colors I am not sure, plus the card stock is not that fantastic too. I was kind of disappointed. However some cards does seem to resonate with how I feel at one particular point in time, which is great. I think theres definitely more to this deck that I can explore in the long run.. the little white book is quite thin, and they arrange the suits according to their numbers, which is quite interesting as well. 🙂
Forgot to add that I really love the Vision Quest tarot deck.. I feel that its like my best friend..giving me the best advice possible 🙂
Oh cool, I will check that one out – I don’t have that deck yet 🙂
I’ve had the Vanessa Tarot on my list for a while – it looks like a really fun deck with a modern, light hearted vibe – thanks for the info about it.
No problem! Btw where do I contact you if I ever have any questions to ask regarding tarot?
I have both the Vision and the Housewives! I love the Housewives, I ended up getting the app, too. When I got Vision it was in German >.<
Hi, Kate!
I saw in a YouTube video that you have trimmed this deck! I think that is such an great idea and want to do the same for mine- I find that the white border really washes out the artwork. Do you have any tips or advice??
Yes! Read this blog post (it is from Donnaleigh) and its what I read before I trimmed my decks. Good luck! http://www.divinewhispers.net/apps/blog/show/7279714-cutting-corners-and-borders-crafty-tarot
I didn’t like this deck at first. It felt a little too childish for me and I gave it away. Then I started missing it and took it back. Now I feel I had a lesson about how bad it is to give away your new deck without giving it a chance 🙂
Oh yes…..tis a nice deck… The Ten of Swords always gets me… Not my favorite card… But I’m always in awe when I see it…and this one is like wow.Thank you for sharing.
Yes, the ten of swords is surprisingly violent and graphic compared to the gentle nature of the deck – it is kind of a shocking card in a way.