Tarot de Mars by Celine Guichard

Yet another new and interesting deck arrived today, perhaps not one to anyone taste (but then as the French say: "les goûts et les couleurs ne se discutent pas".

Speaking from France: this is where this deck came from namely from the art collective "le dernier cri" (what can be translated to both "the last scream" or "the latets fashion"). Le dernier cri has printed (among other works) these last few years some creative re-imaginings of the Tarot de Marseille - some very far some closer, yet always with a sting and even the potential to shock some.

The shocking potential in this one is limited to some "alive" members on some cards but not in an in-your-face way - the biggest discussion may be if this is a TdM or not, it adheres to the structure, yes, but at some places the images is very different....

I for myself resolve the categorization "problem" by filing them under the handle Neo-Marseilles (a yes but-no but sulution that yet recognizes it's ancestors.

As with all it's prints this too is in a limited edition run (500 for this one) offset printed.

You can obtain the deck here 

Mon Tarot De Marseille by Tarotland (Emmanuelle Patrigeon)

I LOVE the tarot de Marseille pattern, in all it's facets from the reproduction (cleaned up or facsimile of the state they are now) to the most modern interpretations of it, and although I'm always hunting for new decks (my name is Stefan and I'm a tarot-holic) I must admit finding one that is part of the Marseilles family procures me some extra pleasure, perhaps because perhaps 1/5 decks (or even less) that come out are Marseilles.



Not as much a radical reinterpretation but more of a up to date view of the age old imagery, this deck has potential to open the TdM to new audiences it's not an earth shocking or complicated or even threatening deck but one that has commercial potential.

The thing that may bring new curious persons to the Marseilles is the one thing that makes it different from it's 'ancestors'  fresh vibrant colors, for the minors backgrounds that are not white or beige and above all the cards have something dynamic, opposed to the 'classic' TdM that for many look static that seems to keep many at a distance.

Off course this deck has it's weaknesses also (at least to me, but then who am I? What I may find a negative, others might be raving enthusiastic about...) and the biggest thing that bugs me is the use of a computer program style poser or alike to create the persons in the deck, such programs have grown a lot these last years, I can clearly see that when I order decks created by this precede in chronological order, yet still the lack something that makes the cards 'come' alive or pull me in the same way the original naive yet charmingly imperfect century old decks can.

From what I gather from her site the artist she was both inspired by the tradition with she followed and brought into the 21st century and  added her views upon it,  represented by the journey of the fool (the classic part) and she augmented it with the 12 works of Hercules representing to her the journey of the soul towards growth.

You can get the deck at the artists site here

Triomphes De Paris - Fac-Simile edition

Sadly for collectors and all other kind of lovers of 'old styled' tarots the original hand-made edition is now OOP (one can not start to wonder how long it will take before these will pop-up on eBay and other similar sites at at least double the price they originally went for...).

But O rejoice all how procrastinated to long, heard to late about it, didn't have the necessary money at the moment or all those who want a double .....Bertrand has decided to make it available in a modernly printed edition

This 'industrial edition' is more resistant and can be handled without taking special care and are up for a good shuffling. The cards are a bit smaller than the hand-made edition (at 6cm x 4cm), yet the images themselves are approximately the same size because the resizing is mainly a result from cropping the formerly impressive white borders (that fitted the original, hand-crafted very well, giving them the look of 22 individual works of art).

You can get it directly from the artists on-line shop. 

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.

Tarot de Marsella Robledo

Some time ago I posted about a TdM restoration made by Pablo Robledo, well good news the good man is back with a new deck, an original TdM deck of his very own creation this time.This child of his love for the Marseilles pattern is worthy of getting all the attention it can, and yes, being included in the collection of all TdM lovers.


Created to look like a traditional deck as if it where created by a contemporary of the great card makers of the past.All the strengths of the tradition, but made to fit modern quality standards in printing and card stock (and both are as high quality as the previous Robledo deck and worthy of any professional printing, worthy of the master card makers of yore). The whole feels right, there are no concessions made to modern times, if you don't know any better the deck could have come from any era, the colors are rich but not in your face and what I particularly love is that unlike  many 'modern' TdM renditions is that the backgrounds aren't disturbingly white but rather a creamy beige a wonderful touch that gives it an instant classical appearance.

Les 22 Portes by Nadine et Michel Auzas-Mille

Some tarot pearls are not published as decks but appear as illustrations inside a book,  as are these 22 wonderful cards do. They appeared in the French book with the looooong title and subtitle: 'Les 22 Portes - essai pour une approche spirituelle, au seuil du 3ème millénaire, à partir de la symbolique des arcanes de Tarot' (The Doors 22 - an essay for a spiritual approach, at the threshold of the third millennium, to the symbolism and the mysteries of Tarot) published in 2007 by Editions Cosmogone.

These big one page sized images follow the TdM tradition (in this case the artist took it's inspiration from the Grimaud deck) but interpreted and redrawn into 22 detailed works of art.

CBD Tarot de Marseille by Yoav Ben-Dov

I'm back and this time with a new Marseilles deck coming to us from Israel, a country which produces very very few deck (this is only my second deck I know of and own from there).Mister Yoav Ben-Dov, has been a tarot reader and teacher for 32 years, so he knows his tarot.

The deck he worked on, aided by 2 professionals, is one of the most popular TdM decks around, to know the Conver deck from 1760, but rather than making a historically correct restoration his version is one for our modern time, for a modern public (with al the advantages and weaknesses that goes with that).The CBD is an artistic remake, bringing the Conver up to date to contemporary printing techniques and visual tastes and sensitivities, what is especially noticeable in the face expressions and the color shades that differ from the original.

It is a high quality production self-published but printed in Belgium by Carta Mundy (still a guarantee for great card stock  and high end printing)

The artists site, with images of the deck is here and here you can order the deck from him.

Kojiki Tarot

How would a Marseille deck look like if the TdM was invented in Japan? Well this deck published in 2010 comes pretty close to answering that, and the resulting majors only receives my 2 thumbs up appreciation.

The artist behind this deck Akiko Miyazaki connected the 22 cards of the tarot to the Kojiki ( "Record of Ancient Matters") an ancient Japanese mythological book from the early 8th century, and is a collection of myths concerning the origin of the four home islands of Japan, and the stories of the Kami* that shaped it, and is one of the sources of the Shinto religion.The result is a coherent deck, a child that has a Japanese father and a mother straight from Marseilles (or vice-versa).



* Kami are in Shinto (the Japanese religion)  the spirits, natural forces, or essences the world is also sometimes translated as "god" or "deity," a translation that is contested under Shinto schollars. 

Tarot Noir by Robyn Tisch Hollister

I do love many perhaps even all (or perhaps almost all) modern renditions or reincarnations of the good old Tarot de Marseilles pattern, and this one is among my favorite ones i must admit.

Robyn Tisch Hollister who also goes by the handle of Chronata on different forums and has created a few other decks has unleashed her talents upon the TdM.She gifted us here with a sweet and humorous looking deck, yet firmly based and following the TdM format, created in white upon a black background.The border-less cards are small sized and fit perfectly in the hand.
The deck is self published in a limited hand-made edition of only 100 decks packaged in a  little black handmade folder box , sadly for the moment her shop seems for the moment out-of stock.

Here are links to the deck and her web-shop

My Tarot by Astrid Pilegaard Larsen & Frank K Jensen

Granted the title of this deck isn't the most original possible (there must been at leas a dozen decks by that name), but it becomes interesting especially from a collectors point of view when you know it's connected to  Frank K Jensen who published between 1989-1997 Manteia still one of the most important sources for decks published in that era, and also grand collector of decks.

This majors only deck was self-published in 1978 in a limited edition of only 200 decks with lots of blank space on the bottom part for students to add their notes and the possibility to color the deck. The images themselves where based upon Court de Gebelin and the notes in his work "Le Monde Primatif".

You can also see it at the Tarot Garden

Tarot de Marseille by Gilles & Anne Hipeau

Yet another part of the lot I bought. For those following my blog, it will be clear I love the Tarot de Marseilles-familly, so obviously I had hat to get those out of the lot availlable.

This elegantly drawn black and white rendition of the TdM was created and published the artisanal way on thick uncoated papers and in limited editions in the 80ies by the then prolific Gilles & Anne Hipeau who created  4 different decks (as far as I know) - all based upon historic French decks. This one is based upon the Conver and the Fautrier decks available in the collection of the Bibliotheque Nationale de Paris, and was intended to be coloured by the owner .

Tarot de Jean Dodal restoration by Pablo Robledo

Tarot forums are a real goldmine for information from and by truly passionate persons, one of those is Pablo Robledo who uses the handle “eltarot78” and has a wonderful longstanding love affair with the Dodal tarot (one of the decks considered as one of the foundations of the Tarot de Marseille family tree). Mister Robledo has spent many hours of hard work restoring the original images we have of the deck to its true glory and one can feel the passion he poured into even at first glance!

I had now my first 48h with my Dodal now and still am very impressed with it.
What I find especially well achieved and deserving lots of praise is the subtle balance achieved in the coloring, the colors are not to soft or mudded or screamingly bold, and have a nice contrast to the background/cardstock shading (something very hard to achieve apparently because most historical restorations are or to white in an effort to be true to the original as they are supposed to have been when first printed or to dark to be true to the cards as they are now)

The material feels great also, not flimsy or thick and with a wonderful silky feel to the touch - a pure joy to handle. Something making this extra special (and even extra-ordinary for the collector) is the very small size of this edition, only 8 decks have been created.
This deck is a true pearl within the Marseilles section of my collection!

Tarocchi I Colori E I Sogni by Maria Carmen Franca

One has not always to be a great artist or show huge craftsmanship to produce an interesting deck worthy to be collected, proof of that is this self published deck very limited edition (only 50 decks where created).

Early this year she released her “I Tarocchi della Notte” (aka Tarot of the Night) this seems to be her next brainchild (that could be translated as Tarot of Colours and dreams). There are lots of similarities with that deck in style and structure (and they both have non-scenic pip cards) but where the previous was clearly inspired by the Papus tarot this one seems more like a personal interpretation of the Tarot de Marseille.

Where the naïve style images may irritate, bore or even appal some people they have character something that can not always be said of the highly polished commercial decks – pretty but dead…. What misses Franca is lacking in the highly skilled artistic field she makes more than good in insight into the tarot tradition, this is a deck that would make proud the big names of old but also I’m sure the modern stars & teachers.

Italtel - Il Tarocco (aka Il tarocco di Tania Gori )

Yet again a small break from posting my Russian aquisitions, this time it's one of those modern TdM variations i adore and loveingly call Neo-Marseille.It's a full 78 cards deck with recognessable images and a true TdM structure executed in an angular almost entirely geometric style.

Althoug modern it is not really a "new one", it was published in 1989 in a big limited edition of 5000 decks as promotion for Italtel (a major telephone provider in Italy) The deck is bigger than most decks at at approx. 3-1/2 x 6 inches and that combined with it's stong colors and silver and gold ink (not gilded!) makes it a deck with a strong personality that stands out wherever you put it.

3 faces of Tarot - Variations on a Marseilles

Some 10 years after the first silkscreened and 4 years after the second printed edition of his 'Tarot de la Félicité' came out Pierrick Pinot has now released 2 new decks the 'Le Tarot des Renart' and the 'Le Tarot De Minuit', these last 2 are variations of the first, but what nice variations they are!

With his 'Tarot de la Félicité' Mr Pinot tried to go back to the style and feeling of the old Tarot de Marseilles decks like the Jacques Vieville and Nicolas Conver making a synthesis of these but then with a fine art feeling nicely printed on very thick card stock making it a true gem of craftsmanship.

Last month saw the release of 2 new decks that are born out of the Félicité, the first is the 'Le Tarot des Renart' a stripped down and lightened up version, that feels more close to the older Marseilles, with the second Pierrick wanted to create a deck 'as they arise in the imagination of the person who designs, just before they are embodied' the result is a quite psychedelic deck.

All 3 versions are limited edition major only decks and are availlable at the artists eBay shop here

The artists home page is here but for the moment only the 2 last decks are not yet mentioned in the English version only in the French.

Tarot Marselles by Alejandra Coirini

I love doing these little discoveries, decks or artists no one has heard off before, makes me fee like one of these explores from times gone by, there are no new countries to discover yet decks there are always and this Argentinian deck certainly was a real find!

There is something fresh to artist who come from 'outside' the tarot world, but decide to study the tarot as yet another way to express themselves, a hook on witch they can hang their art on. Miss Coirini apparently has been working for quite some years now within the tarot structures, studying it, by herself and through interactions with other tarot students the result of this being a deck that not only look nice to the eye but also has meat on it bones, enough even to be a workable deck.
The deck she used as a starting point is the 'Tarot de Marseille' and knowing my fondness for the neo-Marseilles I just had to have one! The result looks far very far even from the classic TdM, and will surely horrify the Marseilles-purists among us but yet it also feels right in a way, and who am I to contradict the artist when she calls her deck 'Marseilles' anyway (for me it's close enough to be counted). Elegant balanced and through the techniques used by the artist this deck has character in the most positive way of the word.

The deck is handmade and laminated (so you can manipulate it without fear of damaging it), provided with it's own individually decorated box and although they where not really cheap, but then what hand-produced piece of art is..., so in order to spread out the cost i've first got the majors and some time later the minors (Miss Coirini sells her Tarot Marseilles in both a 78-cards version or as majors and minors separately)
The artists website is here where you can admire har tarot and other works

The neo-marseilles!

I hear you think the what????
Don't look it up in a dictionary you wont find it, its a therm i created to define the new, modern and wild Tarot de Marseille decks (TdM) that emerged the previous century and will continue to come out in times to come.
The problem with classifying what a TdM is and what deck's aren't is that the TdM is still a living tradition,and as with all living things it changes, it evolves.The "historical" decks are part of the world they where born in, even if we would try we wouldn't be able to (re)create a true historic TdM only our view of it, as for the "modern" ones they are what the TdM evolved into in our time and world, born out of the classical TdM mother but with a different father, a different world and as our world is more complex and aeclectic than the historical period of the first TdM's so are the modern TdM (with i like to call neo-marseille as in still Marseille yet more and new) very much different form each other and from their historic "grandparents"
A prime example and beautiful deck all-round is the Tarot de la Rea by Alain Bocher that you can see below.

Tarot Rustique

Ok I admit it – easily even – I LOVE the TdM (Tarot de Marseille) pattern the historic reprints as well as the modern versions of it (especially the modern I would even say) and this week I found and received yet another one of those in the mail, I had never heard of it before, not of it’s artist (and very few things are to be found apparently about them online).
The deck I’m speaking of is the “Tarot Rustique” by Francois Joubert in a wonderfully naïve style published back in 1984 in a limited edition of only 600 decks, and for you all here are some cards from it..