29 March 2012

The Incidental Tarot by Holly DeFount update

Last year in August I told you you about the fund-raiser for this deck, well recently I received the printed deck in my mail, and I like it very much!

Miss DeFount did a great job with the money she harvested on IndieGoGo, the printing quality, card-stock and boxes are of a high quality and do her art really pride (and bring joy to me).

While the settings (medieval and early renaissance) & the images images themselves she drew look like classical tarot images, a lot has been changed between this deck and a classical deck.Individual major arcana cards, suits and court cards have been renamed and even substituted by different images but who's  signification are similar.The images themselves look peaceful, nothing dark or dangerous, but rather 78 holiday postcards from the tarot-side-of-the-world.

The renamed majors are: The Red King (Magician), Cathedral:(Hierophant), Gryphon (Strength), Blue Buddha (Hermit), Triskelion (Wheel of Fortune), Eclipse (Hanged Man), Polarity (Temperence), Chimaera (Devil),  Phoenix (Tower), The Grail (Star) & Awakening (Judgement) not really a substitution but a translation is La Lune for the moon.and on top of that you get 2 extra cards: Labyrinth & Ariadne whom she describes as Tarot Talismans in stead of wild-cards or significators.

In the minors things get a bit more complicated with 4 renamed suits en in each suit the page and knight received a different name,so that gives us the following courts:
Court cards are:
- For Oak (for Earth (Pentacles)):The Steward, The Builder, The Queen & The King
- For Quills (Air (Swords)): The Oracle, The Alchemist, The Queen & The King
- For: Roses (Water (Cups)): The Muse, The bard, The Queen & The King
- For the Arrows (Fire (Wands)): The Messenger, the Archer, The Queen & The King

The artist has an Etsy shop, her own website and one especially for the deck here and even a FaceBook page, sadly for the moment on none of these there seem to decks available (for the moment?)


27 March 2012

Golden Dawn Temple Tarot Deck Meditation Set by Harry Wendrich & Nick Farell

This is a deck form the 23 majors (2 versions of the Temperance card) that has been long in the making and long on my want-list full 79 card deck and of whom you can see some images here at Nick Farell's website.

The deck are not just 23 pretty (and large at A5 size prints) images to look at but are designed for meditation and/or as ritual talismans.The whole underlying system has been researched by Harry Wendrich and Nick Farell and is explained in the accompanying book, where you can also find a consecration ritual and various techniques.
The art is by Harry Wendrich, following the Golden Dawns manuscripts and teachings and using the colours of the paths. Incorporating real life persons from the authors life's like Harry's wife who was model for the Empress and Nick's partner who is the High priestess give this work besides an esoteric also a human and personal side I think. 

You can get the deck that was printed in an edition of 100 sets, here or here


21 March 2012

Tarot Saka

Indonesian decks are few in number and extremely hard to obtain outside Indonesia, so I was extremely lucky to obtain this one directly from the artist (here is is blog where you can see more images from this deck and also contact him if you would like to obtain the tarot)

It is a nice 78-card WCS remake in warm colours and with Indonesian influences that takes the Waite-Colman's vision on a voyage to this exotic and far away archipelago.

19 March 2012

Playing with Pamela & Eward's tarot Project by Gillabel, Guido

Some tarot collectors are also tarot creators, and Guido Gillabel who's collection is that important he has build a a Tarot Museum under the name of TarotHaven out of it, where he also gives tarot-courses, readings and relaxation sessions.Besides all that he also designed & self-published quite a few interesting decks himself. 

This all-round warm and wonderful man has put out his latest majors only deck beginning of this year, a long lasting project, he started it in 1999 but only now has finished and released it in a limited edition of only 22 decks.

The white on (mat) black deck showcases the so very well know images from the WCS-deck, rearranged and manipulated to form a new point of view of it accompanied by a phrase that represents its energy.

 

16 March 2012

A Photo Based Tarot Journey on the Evolution of Becoming

It seems that one interesting fundraiser ends and there is always a new one to jump into it's wagon, it looks like that self-publishing artist really discovered this way of getting their project of the ground this last year.

The latest one in that row is this one with the rather long title mentioned above (no i'm not going to repeat it) it is photo based but in such a way treated that they become like images right from a daytime reverie or a sweet misty dream you cant really recall but that felt sooo good and comfortable. All information and lot's of promising looking images can be found at the kickstarter page for it here and if you want to know more about the artist you van look here at her personal website full of nice images to drool over.


And off course I hope enough people get interested and fund it so it can become a real physical deck.

15 March 2012

22 "Massonici" in Una Libera Interpretazione

One of Italy most senior, respected AND prolific tarot designers and publishers (through his very well known brand Il Meneghello has put out some new decks these last few years each time in 3 "formats" 2 deluxe sizes in wooden hand-crafted, decorated and individually different boxes in a very limited edition and a third more moderately priced set in normal cardboard boxes in editions of 250.

This is one of his newest publications from 2011, a majors only deck showcasing key-masonic symbology linked to the tarot archetypes. Differently to many masonic themed decks here the images are not presented in a stern, hermetic, veiled, mysterious or even threatening way but rather light even dare I light-hearted and sunny.

You can find more information about it and how to contact him here, his website created, updated and managed by the wonderful Arnell Ando or you can email Il Meneghello through here.



02 March 2012

Tarot de Marseille Millenium Edition

I'm back with a new TdM (I do tend to post a lot of those don't I?)

This time it's not a historical reprint or a modern interpretation but rather a 'reconstruction'. Wilfried Houdouin worked more than 10 years upon this deck, and took as base for it the TdM type II and  the sacred geometry of the Metatron's cube this in an effort to create what in his opinion would be a the  true TdM as imagined by the original master cardmakes.
The cards first appeared in his book "Le code sacré du Tarot" (in French) and where later the same year published as a deck.

You can find more information (in French of English - to change languages go to the bottom of the page) on his website.