A Review of the Arcana of Ice and Fire

Em Hotep.

I just take the liberty of sharing a little video by our good community member Sarah here on an excellent initial review of the newly released Arcana of Ice and Fire. Very heartfelt and passionate. Deserves a good view for those sincerely interested in purchasing and working with this deck. Please do enjoy - at least as much as I did.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AOAsUAUfwc

Cool episode, it really shows her enthusiasm and passion. I have my copy and it's just incredible.

I recommend everyone getting their decks to be very careful as this is a truly potent magical tool. The current of the Primordial Dragon is as magically elite as it gets, making it incredibly dangerous for dabblers and the dishonest. Please tread very carefully and respectfully.

Good review, explained to me few things I was not understanding. Always good to learn a little more.

To add to/elaborate on Troublemaker’s review:

Acknowledgements:
Tania Fonseca graciously took the time out of her practices and life to send out the packages & of course, as mentioned, Luis Marques, Mastermind behind the release of the Arcana and author to the public works of the Order of the Aset Ka. Those who were unnamed but had part in the work including shipping and packaging them, as well, deserve a bow and thanks.


The packaging:
Recyclable, minimal, paper, cardboard.

What you get:
1. A brown cardboard box with the Primordial Dragon Temple Coven sigil (as shown in Troublemaker’s video) which can be kept and used.

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2. An Asetian-handwritten note on a maroon colored business-card-sized paper.

3. Tissue paper (Red, Black) which you can keep, reuse or recycle.

4. A maroon satchet which holds the deck. (seen in video)

5. A paper “binder” to hold the deck together. (seen in video) Consider that if a card is missing, the paper doesn’t fit to surround the rest.

6. The 90 Card Deck itself:

The animals representing the masculine cards:

Symbolic in many ways that can be interpreted on multiple levels, but the fact that many of the cards include the “Lilithian” aspect of the “Serpent in the Garden” as her “masculine companion” symbolically speaking gives a minor glimpse into the surface depiction on some cards.


Another consideration when looking at the masculine side of the Tree of Life and comparing it to the Tarot Cards through the lense of the Primordial Dragon tradition (as from their website) is that the Feminine Divine and Feminine Demonic are balancing forces in the tradition: “divine masculinity” seems to have no place in the sense that it is taken over by Divine Feminine which needs no Masculine to express the same concept. (Basically and most heretically stated)


Speaking on the subject of the Tree of Life and Death, a highly rewarding experience for the occultist and initiate is to arrange the cards from the deck into the positions that they are found on the Tree of Life in the Violet Throne. Placing each suit with the 40 Signs (1 to 10 in 4 different Trees), the 22 Initiatory Paths between the spheres on each tree, and the 16 Entities “conjured by” the 16 Court Cards, shine some light on the meaning of the cards as well. This would have always been rewarding with any legitimate Tarot deck, but having a tool such as the Arcana of Fire and Ice makes it ultimately more experiential and transformational when performing rites and/or meditations.


The price of the Arcana is steadily increasing, meaning that the price one pays is unique to specific groups of individuals purchasing the deck around the same time as each other; this is relevant and holds numerological significance for some. The decks distributed to covens were around 33 in number by some calculation. There have only been certain amount of Etsy sales. Occultists are rare. Real initiates are few.

Thanks all for the positive remarks!

Arcana is fascinating deck and I decided to give it my own review. I'll do my best to be objective and not disrespect the secrecy around it's contents so no pictures, but I'll say my thoughts openly and tell my honest opinion.

The card:
Slightly bigger, but still not too big to cause issues to shuffle them. Size is well chosen and not much to say about it.
The cards have black core and good paper. Now, about black core, what is it and why it matters? Core in cards makes it impossible to see through the cards, killing transparency. This matters the most in casinos, where big money is in the game and is there to prevent cheating - seeing what others have in hand. In tarot deck I find such "prevention" not needed, when you use it alone and don't hold the cards against strong light source. But it doesn't hurt either, I just think it isn't necessary. anyway choosing playing cards paper is logical choice. I cannot speak about longer lasting, whether it is good for it or not, depending on what you expect from the deck.

Now to the print. I noticed first flakes of colour dropping of the cards relatively fast. The print is sufficient for casino cards, which are supposed to be used until first marks of usage are visible, then they are replaced. For tarot I would suggest some surface protection over the print to make it last at least as long as the cards. Daily use causes them to age noticeably faster. Of course that depends on how you use them, but I believe you people get my point. protective cover prevents colour loose, I would recommend it for next edition of the deck. However the dropping of the colour is not faster than average, so it's not caused by defective print.

AI art on the cards is fascinating. However as a hobby graphic myself, who occasionally works on cards decks, I have to have keen eye for details and detail errors. And Arcana would not pass through me to the print in its current state. The errors on the art are small and correctable in Photoshop, but as a graphic I would demand them corrected or correct them myself. Most, if not all, can be fixed in Photoshop. Personally it makes me feel sad looking at the cards thinking: just few moves of brush in photoshop and this AI mistake would be non existent... Makes me want to fix those errors myself... AI is not generating perfect art. At least not yet.
To sum it up on graphic aspect I must claim Arcana unfinished.

The opposite goes for idea of Arcana itself. the topics of art on each card are chosen well. The Arcana reacts well and working with it is an honor, if not enjoyment. Enchantment on it protecting it is also well done. I still feel like I've only learned about the surface meaning of the cards and not even that.

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All in all the Arcana is very well thought Idea, great occult knowledge behind it is quite noticeable. It was made really well, however unsought and unfixed errors in AI art ruin the perfection of the deck. But even with them the deck is more than usable.

MysticLightShinethForth wrote:Em Hotep.

I just take the liberty of sharing a little video by our good community member Sarah here on an excellent initial review of the newly released Arcana of Ice and Fire. Very heartfelt and passionate. Deserves a good view for those sincerely interested in purchasing and working with this deck. Please do enjoy - at least as much as I did.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AOAsUAUfwc

Apologies to Sarah and Mystic, I have no idea why I forgot to comment in this thread. That was a great video so thank you for sharing it with us. Love to see the love and excitement of others reacting to this great magical device and that much is expressed in the video. I would enjoy to see further episodes detailing specific cards, their focus on traditional sorcery, going over the deeper magic contained within them and the many enchantments that everyone has realized being weaved through this deck, making it a living grimoire more potent that most book grimoires.

Thanks for your positive words of encouragement, Jonathan. I hope to come up with more good content about this deck in the future.

I finished my Rite recently, and I’m already making plans on places to go for workings while out in nature and a daily devotional practice of some kind. It is wild how this deck communicates as you work with it, which I have never felt before with any other deck. I am also particularly intrigued by how a specific Head of the Triad seems to communicate at any given time - it seems like many are pulled in one specific direction at first.

There will be lots of study ahead, and magickal work, and I feel very blessed to be able to see such a project even happen and reach our hands. This deck should be treated with the utmost reverence, indeed.

I am only having trouble accepting that the deck is actually supposed to accumulate natural wear with the passage of time as the initiate works with it regularly (and of course carefully), rather than having it on a shelf accumulating dust. Maybe that wearing down of a “physical object” will be a valuable initiation itself, to show us that it’s a doorway and what matters in the end is the work put in, as well as the devotional bond forged in honesty with these forces. I don’t know if I can convey this appropriately in words, since of course this is a very real talisman. But in the end I am left feeling like it is a true, immaterial spiritual gift.

Thanks for your perspective, Troublemaker. It explained few things to me.

Better late than never.

I have been noted that my review was offensive to some, which was not my intent, but something that did happen. so I'm sorry and apologise to all that got hurt by my words.

I admire and appreciate your strength in the face of criticism. You have my respect for that.

Em Hotep.

Morell wrote:Better late than never.

I have been noted that my review was offensive to some, which was not my intent, but something that did happen. so I'm sorry and apologise to all that got hurt by my words.

Don't worry about it, the fact that you are here restricting it shows character and we all respect that. Well done.

Really nice of you.