The Hive I & II Tarot's

Tarot has become mainstream and can be found in all kind of applications, milieus and supports, from the most commercial to the highest art. As a system to work around with many artist it's perfect and many collaborative decks have been created by artist, here it's the Hive gallery  from Los Angeles that has gathered artist around it and has produced 2 majors only decks (even if both projects counted 78 cards) out of it. Although both times the WCS served as a base for the project, the artist deviated from it, and somethimes even radically!

The first Hive tarot was produced in 2009 in a limited edition of only 100 decks.

The second deck came out in 2011 as the previous one in a limited edition of 100 decks

I hope these 2 will be the start of a long running tradition at the Hive gallery with may more decks published on a yearly base.


Entries for previous editions are to be found here:

• The Hive III Tarot
• The Hive IV

Association for Tarot Studies - April newsletter

The April edition of the ATS is out now and contains an extremely interesting article on the Xultun Tarot.

Sara Pulver's ACEO Tarot Deck

Etsy has become an interesting source for tarot decks these last few years, directly from passionate artists making small print runs or even individually handmade decks and sharing those on their shop.

One of these is Sara Pulver who during the year 2010 created each card in no particular order and beginning of this year she started selling the 22 majors as an ACEO-set printed on very light cardstock and each card put into acid free cellophane envelopes.

The deck is mad, irreverent and even chaotic (but in a good way, at least that's my opinion of them)
You can visit her shop here  

A Tarot Titkai by Zsófia Lázár & Katalin Szegedi

It's always nice when a deck you search and that was Out-Of-Print comes back available.Back in 1991 Hungarian painter Katalin Szegedi created a wonderful majors only deck accompanied with a book written by Zsófia Lázár the deck hence known as the "Szabo/Szegedi - A Tarot", has sadly has been OOP since a loooong time, even before I seriously started collecting.

But o joy last year a new edition was published as "Tarot Titkai", the images remain unchanged but the printing quality was upgraded to be more luminous and in better contrast than the original. It can be ordered from the artist site  for 3 980 Ft (approximately € 15,03 or $ 21,31), you can also email her

Reference original edition: Manteia 6, p. 43

Tarocchi Minchiate "Al Leone"

Interesting decks with historic importance do not always have to be expensive or hard to find, proof of that is this interesting find I did on eBay during one of my daily overviews hunting down interesting decks to add to my collection.

The deck in question is a photo reproduction (thus looking excacly like it was printed a few centuries ago) of a Florentine Minchiate deck (from circa 1790) from the original found in the collection of the "Fournier cards Museum in Alva, situated in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain and published in 2004.The cards measure a nice115mm x 60mm on printed upon lightish stock, round corners with a gloss finish that take a bit away from it's authenticity. An interesting deck that enriches the historic section of my collection (there are still some left on eBay at a nice price)

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

Pre-order the Tarot Lovers' Calendar 2012

Lo and behold, spring is here so it's once again the pre-order period for the Tarot Lovers' Calendar 2012 celebrating it's 10th anniversary this year (o what does time fly swiftly).

On the publishers site we can read: "Now in its 10th year, the limited edition Tarot Lovers' Calendar is a spiral bound, high quality printed showcase of the most talented artists and writers working with tarot in the world today. Since the second edition every calendar features sample images from 12 different independently produced tarot decks, some still in progress; 12 brand new tarot spreads; the world's major religious holidays; the moon phases; and solar/lunar eclipses all packaged as a highly practical calendar. Many people have built collections that they refer to time and again, finding that the Tarot Lovers' Calendar provides useful information and a view of the 'tarot zeitgeist' for the year."  

A nice must have item for tarot lovers, users and collectors alike - I allready ordered mine.


For those wondering, yes the person publishing this calendar is the same one who created Major Tom's Tarot of Marseille.

Tea Tarot by Marcia McCord (pre-order info)

Marcia McCord who also created the Picture Postcard Tarot, the Art Postcard Tarot and the Victorian Trade Card Tarot is now at this very moment (March 2011) working on a new deck.

Once again it will be in the familiar style of her 3 other decks vintage and antique images from a period we imagine to be sweeter and more innocent than ours, and this time there will be a theme tea-related images, ads from tea companies, photos of tea-related antiques...something worth looking into for all tarot readers and/or collectors especially those who like a hot cup of tea.
The deck shall have rounded corners and have the same size and cardstock as her other decks.
 

You can find more information and how to pre-order on her blog

Victorian Trade Card Tarot by Marcia McCord

I did not always post about my new decks as soon as they arrive, this one even slipped my mind, shame on me because it is so much worth mentioning!

The Victorian Trade Card Tarot was published and sold at the same time as the Art Postcard Tarot and also in a limited edition of only 100 decks, both with 79 cards, the extra card being the happy squirrel (of these 2 decks only of the later a few are left, the others are all sold out by now - good work Marcia!)

This deck, as both her other decks, are created by use of vintage images here these where the trade cards mentioned in the decks title.
Trade cards can be seen as the forerunners of today's busyness cards, where merchants or businesses announced  themselves to (potential) clients to announce their trade, or line of business, on one side they featured an image and on the other side space for the business with full advertising text, details or location, and where very popular in the period 1870 to 1900.

More information about Marcia's  decks can be found on her blog

Association for Tarot Studies - March newsletter

Association for Tarot Studies

The new edition of the ATS is out, and once again it's filled with interesting news and information go and have a look!

Heiri Steiner Tarot by Mary Steiner-Geringer & Heiri Steiner

Decks done in a naive art-style aren't a modern thing, there where many published in the previous century yet few have had a lasting appeal with collectors as this one. Published in 1968 by Rene Simmen in Zurich (Switzerland) as a majors only deck accompanied by the book 'Das Tarot: Die Welt als Spiel' (The Tarot: The World as a Game).

Just looking at it you can see why it became wanted by collectors, the simple childlike images are printed upon a black backgrounds in lively strong colours, no question about it this deck has personality. The cards seem to take their inspiration from the TdM model and also a bit upon the Papus deck.

The only thing I'm not enthusiastic about are it's backs that are well true '60ies but in a bad way (if you see what I mean)   

Paul Rodenko & Andre Kerkhoven De Tarot

Not all tarots are printed as cards or loose prints, some only exist bound within a book like this one that was born out of the collaboration between the poet Rodenko and the artist Kerkhoven. Both discipline are linked to each other here with each time a poem and it's corresponding image facing each other.

Paul Rodenko (full name Paul Thomas Basilius Rodenko) was an important Dutch essayist & poet who was the chief critical advocate and apologist for the Fiftiers (a Dutch-Belgian literary movement  for renewal) and for Dutch experimentalism in general, Andre Kerkhoven was a graphic artist specialized in woodcuts. Both men worked on this book in Rodenko's last year and was finished after his death by his wife Jetty.

The first edition of the book was released in a very limited edition of only 15, the year after that it was reprinted in a normal soft-cover non-limited edition and can still be found at a very reasonable price, only a few euro's at most.

Taylor Mccall Tarot Prints

I've recently moved homes, one of the painfullest and difficult part of the whole wasn't the furniture but my collection, terrified as i was/am of damaging one i've packed them each very carefully and moved them from my parents home to my current location. as a matter of fact i'm still doing that, taking a few, packing them carefully and moving so i can get them a place in my home where they are at their very best, this is off course a wonderful way to get re-accustomed to those treasures i wasn't always able to access regularly before.

This one is one of those treasures, due to it's massive size, 32' x 23" (32" x 16" per 'page') when it's fully opened it is very difficult to move or even simply handle. These silk-screened images are printed and folded in the middle as pages from a huge book, on the left the  description by P. D, Ouspensky (translated by A. L. Pogossky) of  the Major Arcana  on the right the designs Taylor McCall made based on these, by hand-cutting screens for each color. To further the cosmopolitan images of this creation it was printed on hemp paper handmade by the Amatruda family in Amalfi, Italy and hand-pulled for each page up to nine times by serigrapher Hugh Blackwell of London

Limited to an edition of only 150 sets and finally published by Bocaccio Press of Santa Fe in 1975, what is my birth-year so that makes it even more special to me.
 

Art Postcard Tarot by Marcia McCord

This is the second deck from Marcia McCord that is born out of her love for postcards from by-gone era's more precisely  from the first decennium of the 20th century ,a time of great change both technological as social. It's a limited edition of only 100 - and believe me these baby's are fast to go, especially since it came out October last year, so perhaps they might already be sold out.

Once more the result is a nice limited edition treasure that will, i'm sure of it, any collector of tarot and/or Victoriana very happy. These 79 cards (the normal 78 + the happy squirrel) are displaying a wide range from sources influences and styles, the whole giving this deck a light-hearted feeling that may at many moments get a smile upon your face or a 'how sweet' from your lips.

Tarot of the Psychicks & Tarot Tarot by Lynyrd Narciso

The 2 fun mini majors only decks came as freebies with the Tarot Rikit, but they are playful and amusing enough to deserve a separate posting from that one.

The "Psychicks" is an adaptation of the young urban girlie theme, these elongated figures (and thus also cards) are all form so nothing deeply esoteric but they are playful and just make you smile at the artist sense of humour.

 

The other deck simply called Tarot Tarot is a humorous simple black and white TdM deck, far from Lynyrd's previous TdM adaptation the "el Tarot de Marcelino" but cute & innocent (with a twist) and worthy of having in it's own right.  

Tarot Rikit by Lynyrd Narciso

My favorite artist from the Philippines has been busy again, the very prolific Lynyrd Narciso has since a few years self published a steady and impressive list of decks all limited editions, one of his latest decks to arrive from him last year is this stylistic effort in Asian style, not going for one specific country or region but rather for the feeling and ideas conjured up by the theme.

Most of the cards stay very easy to identify, being Asian counterparts/incarnations of the common WCS images, yet some are refreshingly new and feel exotic as the far east is for most persons, a very nice addition to any collection.

Science Tarot by Various artists

Who ever said the esoteric and hard science don't mix? well in this deck they do and in a way that brings out the best of both worlds combining the archetypes contained in each card with great scientist, discoveries or principles or like the creators say in their own words: "Science Tarot is a creative science communication project that combines science, art and mythology into a tarot deck to engage and awaken people's curiosity about science and the natural world".

The deck had many fathers and mothers, a real groups effort towards a common goal the team behind it consisted of post-doc scientists, experienced tarot readers, graphic designers and published artists, despite that many people working on it the whole deck looks like a whole not like a bunch of cards thrown together. Fitting the whole theme some renaming had to be done the Wands, Pentacles, Swords, and Cups became Bunsen burners, Magnifying glasses, Scalpels, and Beakers in the court cards Kings became Visionaries, Queens became Storytellers, Knights became Innovators, and Pages became Explorers.

For more information and to buy the deck here is its homepage
The deck is also availlable at Tarot Garden

Le Tarot de Charles VI by Hipeau, Gilles

Here is my second deck by Mr Gilles Hipeau (his other decks are in cooperation with Anne Hipeau but here I found no mention of her).This deck from 1982 is the recreation of the well known so called "Tarot de Charles VI", now housed at the "Bibliotheque Nationale de Paris", of that one only 16 majors and the page  of Swords survived.

The cards where redrawn and the missing ones recreated by the artist and published in 2 editions, one limited edition of 500 hand-painted decks and some unnumbered decks where left black and white, both editions came in the same navy blue lidded blue card board boxes decorated with 3 fleur-de-lys emblems and the title in gold ink.

D.O.M.E. Tarot by Sheila Ross

Yet another interesting deck that found its way to my collection. This strange extended deck (majors + 10 cards representing each sephiroth) was published in 1978 by the D.O.M.E. services in a normal edition and a larger sized version. The whole deck looks clean drawn and executed black and white although the whole looks not entirely harmonious it has its charm and even an interesting sense of humour.

There is one availlable at Tarot Garden for those interested

Tarocco di Garbarino by Mauro Garbarino

Yet another interesting deck I've got out of the Hans Wesseling-Collection, and this on many accounts what to think about a deck made by an Italian artist with fresh titles on the cards printed in (probably) 1983 in a limited edition by a now no longer exciting publisher in a limited edition with the quaint run of 831, but with on the cards themselves the name of Jollycards of Genova as publisher (or where they just the printers?) .To top all that it is a modern rendition of the Etteilla Tarot in black and white.


This rarity among deck is populated by strange personages, organic shapes and wild dreamlike compositions  forming a true Art Tarot.

Tarot Collectors Forum 2010 Colloborative Deck

For the third year in a row now some members of the "Tarot Collectors Forum" have created a deck and as different and individual as each member is so, so is each card. Once again, and to the joy  off all who participated, this deck turned out very well. All kinds of techniques where used from photographic over collage, paintings drawing etc..


Besides the unifying  borders and typesetting there was a special element to be incorporated into each creation namely a blue line. Despite some apprehensions of some this was executed in the best possible way without sticking out as a foreign thing.


And as something special the extra card in this deck must be one with the longer names around namely: "The Obsessive Collector & Incidentally Also The Happy Squirrel Card"


See also:

• Tarot Collectors Forum 2011 Colloborative Deck
• Tarot Collectors Forum 2009 Colloborative Deck

Tarot of Frown Strong by Leo

This deep & bizarre deck has earned his followers and fans these last 4 decades, and is still going strong and very much being sought after despite being long OOP, and most important for me has found its way into my collection. It was created by the Swiss esoteric teacher Leo Armin, a healer and guru from the 70's and 80's who had his own group of followers (among who actor Peter Sellers) and also ran a church.

The deck has been printed at (least?) three different times, after some research I’ve reconstructed a printing history

1978: hinged black box edition with green velvet interior (this seems not always to be the case – but I’m not sure of it means there where several print runs or that there where simply different boxes in regard to the interior furnishing). This is the original version that was published by Cobwebs Press (London). It was released to the US in 500 signed copies by U.S Games Inc.   

1986: "white box edition 1"

The edition was printed by the “Regal Print Company” (London) and was probably printed in 1986. This edition wasn’t signed and differs from both the original English version and the US Games version in that the numbers do not have dots on either side and the lettertype is not the same. “Leo” isn’t mentioned here as  world copyright is attributed to “S.B. Armin 1986”.

1991: "white box edition 2" 

French version copyright 1991 by R.Armin. The text an edited and expanded version of the original LWB, there are also quite a few differences in the images also. The French version also has slightly smaller cards then the original English one, but with a much better print quality.

Le Tarot des Grands Peintres by Jacques Breyer

This deck is also known as "l'Arbre du Thot" and under the English title of ""Fine Art Tarot"" was published in 1979 by the artist in 2 different formats the large one being 8.75 in x 4.5 in, (22 cm x  11cm), this is the one I posses,  and 4.25 in x 2.25 in (11 cm x 5,5 cm) and sold in a nice wooden box, and to make the whole even more special the edges where gilded, there was also a version of this deck distributed by US Games Inc. in 1981 for the USA.

The creator started his work linking the 22 majors to great works of art in the spring of 1979, (and a great season that is to let things grow organically isn't it?), using sections of these pieces of classical art, well known paintings by famous artists (for ex. Botticelli , Bosh, Rubens and many more), illuminations from manuscripts and colored engravings he created a nicely balanced yet eclectic deck that portrays the creative genius from past era's linked to the tarot archetypes. He also gave every card a motto fitting each card's personality and actions..

Arica Tarot by Oscar Ichazo

As Egyptian themed decks go this 79-cards deck is probably one of the if not the biggest around, each card is sized 11 inches by 8.5. (278mm by  142).

The deck subtitled Coloring Cards for the Game of the Scarab has 2 dates on in 1978 & 1982 and was published in New York  by the Arica Institute Press as a learning tool with color instructions for each detail put in the detachable borders.

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

Satanic Tarot by Juha Vuorma & Faustus Scorpius

One of the subsections in my collection are dark decks and what could be more dark than a satanic deck  (from a conventional view - no offence meant to satanists) and this New-Zealand one has been on my wishlist for quite a while.

Low-budget printed with black ink on red paper it's the adaptation from the satanist point of view, like the renaming of the Emperor into The Anti-Christ but largely following the normal tarot structures. The deck, that is a majors only, resulted and reflects the path-working of Faustus Scorpius, and given form by Finnish artist Juha Vuorma and is accompanied by a 20 page booklet with information about the cards and for each a description of the 'astral journeys' from where the images came from and also  a  satanic spread .

El Autentico Tarot De Dr Gerard Encause (Papus) (1865 - 1916)

A long title for a deck I know very little of, I would even say nothing sadly, but it was at a nice price and i already had a big lot in my bag so how could I resist. The Papus "format" is one rarely used nowadays so every one I see draws my attention.

The deck itself is a black and white rendition in Spanish (judging from the printing quality and materials used I'd say South American rather than from Spain) of the Papus tarot drawn by Jean-Gabriel Gouliat from Papus’ 1909 work Le Tarot Divinatoire.

Le Tarot Traditionnel by Jean Chaboseau

Yet another treasure from another era- created & printing during or just after WWII, this deck does show a certain agelessness, it could have been printed recently or over 100 years ago. It is a well balanced mix of age-old artistry and a style non limited or limited to fading fashions.

The majors are different than the WCS and Marseille decks and show an elegant yet powerful view of the archetypes, due to it's bi-tonal coloring namely deep reds on a yellow (originally white?) background. The minors seem to follow the design from Eudes Picard executed in a flowing & elegant design showing the craftsmanship of the artist..

 

Below you can find a picture of the original box it came in - a bit damaged but knowing its age still a pretty good  condition

 

Minotarot by Eric Provoost.

This is yet another piece I’ve obtained from the Hans Wesseling-Collection (see A.E. Thierens Tarot , Tarot de Marseille by Gilles and Anne Hipeau, Gli Arcani di Elisabetta (color) & Annabella Magie Noire Tarot). 

Self published in 1982 this remarkable deck using only a minimal pallet of black, white and a something between deep red and brown. One of the peculiarities is that it has 2 numberings showing 2 possible sequences, there is the normal one (in roman numerals through all the majors and minors in Arabic all in traditional order – but with the suits being spades, hearts, clubs & diamonds), and then there is the numbering devised by the artist so you can lay out the cards in a panorama telling the story of Theseus and the Minotaur.

The Minotarot was published in a limited edition of 2000 and has achieved to gain a status as being very collectible and sought after so if you happen to stumble upon one (at a good price) snatch it up immediately because if you don’t there are lots who will!

I’m back!

After an interruption of more than a week, due to me moving homes, I’m back online and back onto blogging, I hope to be a bit more regular and catch up some of the time I’ve lost lately. First I will continue to add the decks I’ve bought out of the Hans Wesseling-Collection, followed by new acquisitions (and there are quite a few)

So here I am again, take a seat and (I hope) enjoy my new postings!

Stefan.

A.E. Thierens Tarot

This one is one of the oldest esoteric tarots in my collection, printed in the 1930ies (I have no precise date but I presume it would have been printed around the same period as A.E. Thierens book  now in English as 'General Book of the Tarot' was printed)


Despite his age this tarot has many modern elements and also one of the first to attribute different people to each of the minor arcana's for example the cups are represented by mermaids and the swords by dwarfs. Thierens who was a  Dutch officer in the Royal Marines, an astrologer (he is seen as the founder of the modern astrology in the Netherlands) and esoteric author  redesigned the associations of the cards in a way different to Waite (of whom he seems to have picked up some info) and of the Order of the Golden Dawn, yet some of his influences are said to been the Theosophical movement.
One example of the changes he made in the majors is that he assigned the zodiac signs to the first twelve and planets to the remaining ten.

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 .

Gli Arcani di Elisabetta (handcolored) by Elisabetta Cassari

This is another rare deck I got out of the collection i mentioned last time, the Gli Arcani di Elisabetta is the third tarot by Elisabetta Cassari and is limited to 99 decks only but halfway through the artist stopped coloring them which is very understandable hand-painting 99 x 22 cards is a huge task for any person - and knowing the low price these where going (only € 130 according to the information I got, at that same time the black and white version was sold at € 50) not that rewarding.

This deck and all deck by miss Cassari dare to depict the human condition is all it's painful and negative sides possible - no compromise no bright side to be found here. Man is worst danger possible to his fellow man, the powerful use that power to grind and torture those under them down into total submission at their only whim. These are truly the dark ages depicted here, but done in such a stile one can only admire the artists craftsmanship.
This whole set stands out as a special luxury product, the sturdy nice sized cards are housed in a cardboard box this is in his turn placed in a cork made box with vinyl top and printed on with gold the frontispiece. 

Annabella Magie Noire Tarot (Dutch version) by Giancarlo Carloni

I was recently lucky enough to be able to buy some decks from a collection being sold off, so my collection got enriched with some new and interesting treasures.

This deck was commissioned by Lancôme (a luxury beauty brand owned by L’Oreal since 1964) to promote its perfume “Magie Noire”. The cards were presented and described in the May 1979 issue of the Italian magazine Annabella. But knowing this is a promotional item, it’s normal, yet not obvious to find always, to see it appear in other languages as here in Dutch.

The artist who created this deck Giancarlo Carloni did a wonderful job combining the archetypes of the tarot with the world of refinement and luxury as represented by Lancôme these cards breathe that atmosphere that would be fitting to any grand mansion or 5 star hotels from the seventies. 

Picture Postcard Tarot by Marcia McCord

For those into tarot tarot comes through other areas of their lives. A prime example is the creator of this deck, reader and all-round tarot lover Marcia McCord created this deck out of her passion for antique picture postcards and dedicated to her mother who ran an antique shop and died in 1983, the last conversations miss McCord had with her mother was about antique picture postcards.

From the LWB we learn that picture postcards were approved by the US Post Office Department in 1898. Same day delivery allowed friends to keep up with the evenings entertainment, as well as personal news. The images used in this deck come from the period 1900 to 1909 to for an eclectic mix ranging from the sweet to the comical and all possible variations, with depictions of persons of all walks of lives and origins to the personal taste of the creator and each time to make a great fit between the image and the meaning of each card.

This 79 cards tarot (78 + happy squirrel card) was published in a limited edition of only 50 decks and is sadly sold out now

Tarot Iniciatico of Alma Ajo

Miss Alma Ajo produced a nice little treasure here, well actually 2 as she sells them in two versions "as they came from the printer" and one version where she hand colored with added glitter and heightened color version (this hand made precede makes each deck of this version slightly different and individual).
I of course got this deck in both versions and am very happy i did - not only are these very limited, of both versions there are only 20 decks, but the differences and feels between both make it well worth getting them.

The style could be described as surreal with a sense of humor and a vibrant sense of life shining through, at only 3,2 x 4,8 inches they are 22 little tarot portraits.
The artists website is here
I posted images from both the "normal" edition here top as the hand colored (bottom) 

Nybor tarot by Nybor (aka James Robin Odbert)

There are many erotic tarot decks, most of them are a 'spiced-up' version of the Waite-Colman-deck not so this one. After his first encounter with the tarot, while creating  a card for the "Fantasy Showcase Tarot" this artist got inspired and researched & worked over thirty years on his own deck, trying it bring up-to-date to our modern world and sensitivities.

The majors are still all there but renamed and put into 5 groups: Beginning & End, the seasons, 6 "realms" cards and 7 family cards, all with updated.Sexuality is  the central theme ranging from soft to over and beyond the legal and ethical, because as Nybor says not everything is good and beautiful, but there is more also  - there are also elements from mythology, psychological insights, pagan & ritual practices and much more.
  
This limited edition of 500 doesn't come cheap but for those looking for erotic deck and for something very special could be interested by it.
For those interested you can see the deck,get information and/or buy it at the artist's  homepage

Millénaire Tarot de Marseilles (Second edition) by Chris Butler

Here's yet another little precious one to add to the neo-Marseille* part of my collection!

This version, as did the previous one, was created from only photoshop custom shapes and clipart to form a modern, and tongue-in cheek Marseilles deck. Stylistically size- and colorwise Chris took inspiration from the Flornoy restoration of the Noblet Tarot but that is where it started but it ended up becomming a very modern vibrant even with a certain pro-active feeling to them, especially in the minors and it's workable deck for readings and a great item for the collector.

For those on FaceBook here is the page for this deck

and you can contact Christ through here

Amy Von Harrington's Homemade Tarot Cards

Fun things can come in little pouches sometimes, like this deck that doesn't take itself too serious, you can almost feel the jolliness that had to be going on while creating it.

The images are collage old stile it seems (being paper, scissor and glue method) to form images ranging from chaotic to playful and comical. Some of the cards are landscape others in upright directions (others i'm not sure what's up- down, or any-other-way) some images are filling the cards entirely some leave some border - the deck as a whole ranges from sweet over playful to a bit chaotic but somehow that adds to it's charm.

For those interested they are sold here and here  is an interview with miss Von Harrington
(o and yes they accept paypal)

Tarot MEM by Mark E. Merrill

Recently I received this very limited edition deck of only 13 decks (the artist always a coven hence this number).

Some tarots are produced in only a few months from conception to printed deck, not so in this case where the first seeds have been planted in 1979 by an 1960's Encyclopedia Britannica article entitled 'Psychic Boom' by Samuel Moffett, the artist was then only thirteen years of age. Many years and also many stages in the decks and also the creators evolution later the decks was ready and in my collection.

The long gestation period gave this deck the possibility to mature and gain a deepening and variation of tarot-understanding that fitted the personal study and insights of its creator, this include also some renaming and switching of cards.  

For those interested in learning more about the artist here is his blog

And here an whole page about the artist by the artist

I Tarocchi Della Cattedrale by Federico Manicardi

There are always new treasures coming out and finding their way into my collection, one of the latest new ones is this deck inspired by the carvings of the Romanesque Cathedral of Modena.

The result is both surreal and at the same time with a playfully ancient feel, some cards show only partial figures, heads, parts of legs or other parts falling outside of the card giving it a very bizarre and playful feeling.

Tarot of the Boroughs by Courtney Weber & George Courtney

Self-described as "a contemporary urban deck set in New York City" this is a deck that brings a modern-day and working view of the world we are living in seen through the eyes of the tarot - and pretty eyes they are. Full colour, glossy and taken with a keen sense of drama and esthetics these 78 pictures of true people, New Yorkers from all walks of life, including well known writers, performing artists (like for example Moby), some less known persons (at least to me) as well as ordinary people.

An interesting element of this deck are the stories told by the minors and that you can see evolve from 1 to 10 with the protagonists coming back as the court-cards.
The website of the deck with all kinds of information and buying possibility is here or at the Tarot Garden

Tarocchio - I Tarocchi Di Pinocchio by Massimiliano Frezzato

There are a few decks inspired by the story of Pinocchio the wooden puppet that came to live and wanted to be a "real boy" made famous internationally thanks to the Disney adaptation. This tarot adaptation is a portfolio (sized 377 x 285mm) by the artist Massimiliano Frezzato a well-known Italian comic book author.

This Pinocchio is fresh and with strong colours, mister Frezzato knows his art, and how to tell a story within a given frame - here that of the tarot and this without changing its structure. The scenes linked to each of e 22 majors are well chosen like for example Geppetto inside the whale as the hermit and as the World Pinocchio after his transformation into a real boy.

I Tarocchi Surrealisti - Emilio Ortu Lieto

This month saw the addition to my collection of Emilio Ortu Lieto's latest tarot, limited to only 30 decks it's not a inexpensive one but to me its worth every cent i paid.

Mr Lieto's has been productive these last five years with 4 decks, published in a limited editions these are  the:Tarocchi Gay Orsi , I Tarocchi Metafisici and the I Tarocchi Sardi.
The artist being a set and costume designer he knows how to create an atmosphere and hold it working and alive over the 'period' of 22 cards, this time the world he created was a surrealist one reworking the images we know all to well into something surprising and fresh.

With some luck you can find one on eBay or here

Revised Edition of The William Blake Tarot by Ed Buryn

This will be a first on my blog - I'm telling about a deck that's not yet out (but you can preorder it at now before October the 1ste a nice special discount). I am always happy to hear about great decks getting a second (or third) youth and the William Blake sure deserves to reach as many persons as it can, and 15 years after its last run a whole new generation of Tarot lovers of any kind will be able to get one!

For the creator of the William Blake tarot this deck has been a long standing passion, first he tried pushing Mary K Greer (to whom he was married at that time) to create one, but then after a (not that gentle push) did it himself. The first was as a majors-only edition in black, white and dusky browns printed upon thick cardboard-like stock. These majors only decks where sold at BATS where someone from HarperCollins saw them, was impressed and thus a new incarnation followed a full deck with a 79th card Eternity.

This new revised edition has had hundreds of changes - such as cleaning up images, reducing the size of the white borders, modifying the borders of the Science and Poetry suits, changing some of the images to make them less cluttered (as in the Ace of Science and 10 of Poetry), brightening some of the images and many other improvements to them.

The price of this new deck will be $32 plus $5 shipping, for a total cost of $37 each. For California orders, add $2.85 sales tax, for a total cost of $39.85 each. Orders to Canada and Mexico are $32 plus $7 shipping, for a total cost of $39 each. Orders to other overseas countries are $32 plus $10 shipping, for a total cost of $42 each.

ADVANCE ORDERS: Orders received before October 1st 2010 will be $26 plus $5 shipping, for a total cost of $31 each. For California advance orders, add $2.35 sales tax, for a total cost of $33.35 each. Advance orders to Canada and Mexico are $26 plus $7 shipping, for a total cost of $33 each. Advance orders to other overseas countries are $26 plus $10 shipping, for a total cost of $36 each.

The Major Arcana by Jak Flash

Supported by BCU's Students' Union and a Grant from Birmingham City Council artistic photographer Jak Flash recently has put on a photographic exhibition and consequently published his tarot inspired work as a book simply called "The Major Arcana".

The result of this project is a very personal and stylish creation, with many many deviations from the classical way the archetypes are portrayed and yet it all fits in.

On his website the artist says about this project: "I developed my own themes based around things like geometric shapes so that I could encode my images with meaning. The images link to each other and can be read to some extent almost as a progressive story, or commentary. Various signifiers are used throughout the images such as cubes, triangles and spheres to help communicate my ideas...." well in my humble opinion the artist has succeded in creating something worthy to be admired and shared - so I'll do just that with you.

Below you can find the images of the Lovers, The Wheel of Fortune and the Moon.
all images van be seen here

I Tarocchi Dell'Archetipo Blu by Claudio Parentela

At the complete opposite, and strangely enough perfectly balancing out the previous deck is this creation by Claudio Parentela, an illustrator,mail artist freelance journalist & cartoonist, very active in the international underground scene. He collaborates with numerous zines, magazines and publishers in Italy and around the world.

Mister Parentela is no stranger to the tarot, previously he collaborated to the Tarocchi eVoluti, "Tarot Christmas Tree Postcard Mail Art Project "and created a black and white deck that was later released in a very boldly colored version as the I Tarocchi Dell’Iride. This very latest of his Tarot endeavorments is true to his style, busy & chaotic yet also playful and original, the result is a art deck fit for the collector who is looking out for something different that leaves a strong impression - good or bad like it or hate it it will not leave you indifferent.
It's published in a limited edition of 100 signed and numbered decks available from the Museo dei Tarocchi (or for those from the USA through the wonderful Arnell Ando)

Daimon Tarot by Jari Casagrande

There are many sorts of collage decks some busy some elegant but they are for the most part figurative this one is the complete opposite of that minimalistic and abstract. The artist crafted these cards with craft papers and a handful of vintage images to form strong yet restfully images that capture the essence of each archetype.
These meditative tableau's invite those looking at it to take a journey into the collective unconscious, there you will meet Daimon.

The deck is published in a limited edition of only 100 decks by the Museo dei Tarocchi (or for those from the USA through the wonderful Arnell Ando) and comes in a big sturdy hinged box that closes thanks to a magnet fastens the overhanging lid nicely to the bottom portion.

Black Tarot by Masahiro Obara

I recently acquired this majors only deck after some considerable efforts by myself and my usual contact for Asian tarots. This stunning black & white deck was created by the (for me) unknown Japanese artist Masahiro Obara . The art is stunning and powerful and has a massive appearance without being crude or heavy the technique used is reminiscent of wood of lino prints but I'm uncertain that that was the technique used here.

The cards are unnumbered and untitled but are easily recognizable yet have definitely a look of their own. A true find and new pearl to my collection