A short time ago I reviewed and shared the first edition of the ‘Ganeshian Village Tarot‘, a Tarot deck published and produced by Deckstiny that is based upon the concept of ‘Villages of the Ganaeshians’ where people follow the culture, tradition, and worship of the Lord Ganesha.
Earlier this month I was sent the second edition of the Ganeshian Village Tarot (The Ganeshian Village Tarot Ver 2.5) to work with, read and review.
Though this deck is labelled as ‘the Glossy Halogram’ edition, I’m not sure whether the word ‘Halogram’ is spelt incorrectly and is meant to read ‘Hologram’. Having since checked on the likes of Google, I am unable to find any information regarding the meaning of the word ‘Halogram’ thus can only assume it is indeed a spelling error.
Who Is Deckstiny?
Based in Thailand, Deckstiny (a company originally named Shuffle Tarot) is a team collaboration of author Mate Horonumber, illustrator JUJIIR & Petpodpot Pettoonza and artist Oomsin Phumphat.
Perfectly Presented
The ‘Glossy Halogram’ edition of the Ganeshian Village Tarot (Ver 2.5) arrives packaged and presented in a crimson red and black simple cardboard tuck box. The box itself is also sealed with cellophane which I found a little tricky to remove but it keeps the packaging safe, clean, and secure whilst in transit.
The Cards
Whilst this deck is identical to the first edition in terms of the artwork, there are a few differences in terms of the titling, card size, and card stock.
The biggest difference between the first and second editions of the Ganeshian Village Tarot is the size of the cards. The second edition is far smaller than the first, measuring 98 x 57 mm. I quite like the smaller sized cards as I have smaller hands and they seem easier to shuffle for me. Given that this is a smaller deck than a standard Tarot deck it is classed as pocket-sized.
Printed on 310 GSM Japanese quality card stock, the second edition of the Ganeshian Village Tarot features cards with matt card backs and glossy front coating. Whilst Deckstiny has labelled this deck as a ‘glossy hologram’ version of The Ganeshian Tarot, I personally don’t feel that the cards are holographic in any shape or form – sure they are glossy but holographic? No…
I personally rather liked the first editions matt finish as it made the cards really smooth to shuffle, whereas the second edition of this deck is glossy thus not quite as smooth nor as easy to shuffle.
The second edition card backs are a rich red and in comparison to the first edition, I much prefer the colour scheme (which was originally a navy blue with gold detailing). However, the edging on the second edition of this deck is plain white which doesn’t quite compare to the first edition’s gorgeous gold gilding.
The titling and borders on the cards themselves have changed completely and whilst I wasn’t particularly keen on the first editions titling (which had holographic gold text against a navy blue backing) I actually prefer the simpler, smaller, font against the red in the second edition of this deck.
Given that the artwork is identical throughout both decks, the only real differences between the two editions of the Ganeshian Village Tarot lay in the size, the card stock, the titling, the edging, the backs, and the overall feel of the deck when shuffling the cards. At the end of the day, it boils down to personal preference as to which deck would suit which reader.
Browsing Through The Bonus Cards
Both the first and second editions of the Ganeshian Village Tarot include certification cards alongside numerous art and advertising cards. However, the second edition of this deck also includes four additional cards (Naganesh, Kangiten, Relaxing and Happy Squirrel) which may be added to the traditional Tarot deck for enhanced readings.
Ganesha
Ganesha (also spelt Ganesh) the elephant-headed Hindu god of beginnings is featured throughout the Ganeshian Village Tarot decks both in the major and minor arcana. The artwork is a soft, cartoon style that follows key imagery from the traditional Rider Waite Smith Tarot.
The Major Arcana
The major arcana of the Ganeshian Village Tarot features rich, vibrant imagery which is easy to read, understand and interpret for all levels of readers.
Whilst the titling and naming of the major arcana is almost identical to that of the traditional Rider Waite Smith Tarot, Deckstiny has altered a couple of the titles of the major arcana cards (The World for example has been renamed to Ganesh).
The Minor Arcana
Much like the major arcana, the minor arcana features bold, bright, colourful cards depicting easy to read symbology and messages inspired by the traditional Rider Waite Smith Tarot.
Deckstiny has chosen to use the established characters, figures and suits from the traditional RWS thus the suits comprise of Wands, Cups, Swords and Pentacles.
The Suit of Wands
The Suit of Cups
The Suit of Swords
The Suit of Pentacles
A Direct Comparison
Here you can see the card backs from the first and second editions of the Ganeshian Village Tarot directly compared – as you can see there is a vast size, colour, and design difference between the two.
Here you can see the cards from the first and second editions of the Ganeshian Village Tarot (the first edition being on the left and the second edition being on the right) directly compared. As you can see, the cards are vastly different in size, titling and numbering, though the artwork is identical.
A Walkthrough Guide
I have put together a short video offering a walkthrough of the second edition of the Ganeshian Village Tarot.
Reading With The Ganeshian Village Tarot Ver 2.5
Having spent the past few months working with the first edition of the Ganeshian Village Tarot, I was already quite taken with this deck as it’s cute, colourful, simple to understand and easy to read with. I’ve since spent the past week or two working with the latest edition of this deck (Ganeshian Village Tarot Ver 2.5) and I can report that other than the card stock, size, titling, bonus cards, and colour differences the decks are virtually identical thus I’ve found very little difference between using the two when it comes to readings.
Purchasing & Pricing
The second ‘glossy halogram’ edition of the Ganeshian Village Tarot is available to purchase online directly via Deckstiny’s (formerly known as Shuffle Tarot) Etsy Store retailing from £43.73. However, it is worth noting that shipping outside of Hong Kong is extremely pricy and for UK residents this deck may cost up to £75 to acquire.
To Summarise
Though I’ve struggled to decide which particular edition of the Ganeshian Village Tarot I personally prefer, I do quite like the smaller size of the second edition cards and I most definitely prefer the colour schemes and smaller titling.
Having spent time working with numerous Tarot decks over the years, I’m well aware that every reader has a personal preference towards card size, stock, quality, and such-like thus I think it’s rather wonderful that Deckstiny is reproducing a number of their decks to reflect these requirements.
Despite coming without any form of guidebook or instructions, the Ganeshian Village Tarot is such a cute, colourful and easy-to-use deck that I would most definitely recommend it to readers of all levels and abilities.
For further information upon the Ganeshian Village Tarot Ver 2.5 (glossy hologram version) or alternative Deckstiny publications visit www.etsy.com/hk-en/shop/ShuffleTarot
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Product Rating
Disclosure: I was sent the above product for the purpose of this post however all opinions are my own.