The Lost Tarot Cards of Dominic Murphy

Autumn has arrived with its cold wet grey days and early evenings so it's time to present some decks that fit the feeling one gets from all this time of the year.
The The Lost Tarot Cards by British artist Dominic Murphy positions itself at the darker side of the autumn/end of summer spectrum (and although Halloween is still a month away this deck would be perfect for that) , no surprise knowing that the artist describes the inspiration to become a painter (seeing Bacon's portrait of pope Innocent) as "Francis Bacon ruined my life"

Murphy a prolific artist who also created some card decks before has now turned his attention to the tarot, his extended tarot deck (the majors plus 'lost cards' of the artist own imagination)  is executed in his own style that I'd call dark surrealism and shows the art of a schooled accomplished artist.  Showcasing lot's of sculls, alchemical & occult symbology and grim/severe facial expressions this is not a deck made to make you smile or feel better,  but one of those deck that feel magical and bizarre in a 'good way'.

The deck presents itself as a Major Arcana + Oracle deck, so on the one part the artst had he structure he had to follow for the first 22 cards, but could let his imagination run wild in any direction it wanted for the rest of the deck, and Mr Murphy sure has an interesting imagination to say the least...

This 36 cards edition (the artist still works on some more cards, not a 78 but rather a 54 cards deck, in the same structure as now 22 majors + extra cards) was only printed in a very limited edition of 10 because 2 cards: The devil card and the Hesperus card where misprinted, namely with a to small white border.


You can get his artwork friom his ebay store or his Facebook shop and also look at his work at his website

Update: o coincidence the same day I post about this version of the deck the artist starts selling his completed deck on his eBay store! 

The Fialko Tarot by Jeff Fialko

Rejoice tarot collectors of all nations, Adam McLean, fellow collector of tarot (with a truelly HUGE) collection has restarted to produce limited edition tarot decks in his  Artwork Tarots, after his project was stopped because of the theft of the Intellectual Property rights by scrupulous people sharing these free on internet thus making it unprofitable for Adam to continue the project.

Earlier this year he started experimenting with the new high quality printer and discovered a way to produce very good quality tarot cards in a way that is both more cost effective and faster than before, resulting in the fact he can now sell them at half the price of his earlier editions. Other changes he made are that he no longer prints card backs,  has reduced the size of the editions from 100 to only 50 and finally the customized boxes are replaced by clear plastic ones. This all will result in the fact that editions will sell out very faster and be followed by new ones, and based on how successful this edition was he is considering putting out more decks.

Indeed I wrote "was" because deck number 24 in the Artwork Tarots series the "The Fialko Tarot" by American artist and singer Jeff Fialko (hence the name) is already sold out, and it has only taken a bit over a week to do so, speaking of a succes, this is one! You can see some more of the deck at Adam's page about it...sadly that is all no more decks for sale.

The deck itself is filled with attractive looking slender yet believable normal humans, esoteric images and filled up with flowing lines, curves and roots(?). personally..the style reminds me a  lot of American comic books from the 70ies and 80ies( and to some extent the) 90ies.....

Robo Tarot by Pete Hague

I admit it I have e nerdy, geeky or whatever you want to call it side,I love sci-fi (both books, movies, as...whatever) so when I found a deck that combines my passion for tarot with my sci-fi love I just had to grab it!

Originally designed only to be featured upon T-shirts but the demand upon the artist for a 'real printed deck'  became that big he finally went along t make one - something I've been very happy about!

All the characters in the deck have been replaces by those wonderful 'living machines' who are portrayed in a wide array of shapes and poses,so to fit best the 'role' they are playing.
All are executed in a style I'd call retro Science Fiction (remember those old posters from the '40ies, 50ies and 60?) and each one of the 23 majors (yes 23, the artist created 3 versions of the Fool, each as funny as the other, it would have been, a shame not to see them) and 56 minors  is produced within a limited pallet up to maximum 4 I think  which accentuates the retro elements while giving the image a strong and solid feel.

For some the unillustrated pip cards might be a downside but with such a deck rich in colour these do have a soothing effect upon the eye, just enough to be ready for the courts. An other aspect that keeps the theme up to the very last (or very beginning as you open the parcel they come in) is the metal tin they come in an that's held together with a metal strap, nice touch and wraps the whole up very well.

You can find the tshirts, prints and deck (in 2 sizes) at the artists Etsy shop, and on the tarots Facebook page, and for those who want there is even a website (very creative man isn't he and really passionate about his art and the works it produces).

Alexander Daniloff's 78 card deck

The second of May   I posted about the impressive majors only deck created by Alexander Daniloff, tarot he was still working upon finishing a minor arcana at the time. Now a few months later the finished version is almost reaching the point where it can be printed, Mr. Daniloff expects it for this autumn, some of these finished cards can be seen at his website here . 

The cards are 78 pieces of stunning work of art, each one of them. As one can notice some of the majors underwent ‘some’ changes, a few differences are small other very noticeable, but every one of the new ‘versions’ look wonderful to me!! One thing that did not change between this and the majors only version is the way the artist uses color and contrast in a way that make the images come alive, vibrant with energy ready to pop of the paper and right in your face.

The price and number of decks printed in this edition will off course depend upon how many people are interested in getting one (or more) decks, so let me advice you to contact the artist, that way he will have an idea of how many to print – and I’m under the impression there will be only one print run….(so the more interested, the more printed & the more affordable it will become, simple laws of economics), afterwards it’s too late to say there were not enough available….

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. 

The Tarot of the Sevenfold Mystery - fundraiser

A project that has been in the making for many many years has finally come to it's conclusion, a 78 cards deck in Robert place's style and filled with alchemical and mystic  links and can be viewed as his masterpiece, a synthesis of all his knowledge and the artistic style he has gained over the years.

Robert has become over the years an 'household-name' with a well deserved positive reputation and who has fathered quite some decks with very varied subjects (Tarot of the Saints, Angels Tarot, Buddha Taro & Vampire Tarot) but executed in a immediately identifiable style. For this deck besides his own knowledge and craftsmanship he took inspiration from the Pre-Raphaelite painter Edward Burne-Jones, who in his turn was inspired by the paintings of Botticelli and Michelangelo, rolling back into time towards a mythical golden age of mystique and mystery so to speak and towards the cradle of the tarot.

Back in 2009 Robert already published a major’s only version of this deck under the title ‘Annotated Tarot of the Sevenfold Mystery‘ showcasing a larger size version of the cards at 8½" by 5½". That ‘deck’ was not intended for divination but showcases the Neoplatonic mysticism and symbolism expressed in Robert’s tarot, his magnum opus so to speak. Each one of these prints brought together the words and images that make up each individual archetypal power, so to form a magical unity in one print, to meditate upon and study from.

Robert is now wanting to self-publishing the finally finished 78-cards version of his latest deck, the 'Tarot of the Sevenfold Mystery' (isn't that a wonderful name that holds a promise of great discoveries and wonder), as he did with the third edition of the deck that made him famous in the tarot-world the 'Alchemical Tarot' and to do so has turned towards Indiegogo to raise the needed funds.You can find the page here with all information and funding options.

Sacred Indian Tarot by Kiren Rai & various artists

Recently I reported here finding a deck from India and how rare it was a deck from that huge country, well here I am back with yet another one from over there, published closely to each other with names that are almost similar (only one letter difference) yet in style and number of card they are as different as they can be (what is not really a surprise knowing the size of India and its number of inhabitants)

Consisting of 22 hand painted cards by young talented Indian artists, each working in their own techniques making this deck as diverse as the traditions and spiritual landscape of the country itself. The deck combines the western tradition and concepts of the tarot with vibrant images from powers, Gods and Goddesses from Indian mythology resulting in a spicy yet very digestible major arcana deck suitable for both the collector ans the tarot reader, for westerners as Indians, beginners as advanced tarot-users. 

The deck is easy to obtain through the mainstream distributors.

Pre-order Victorian Romantic - Second Edition

Rejoice tarot lovers after some time the well-know even well-loved Victorian Romantic Tarot who was for some time OOP (with prices exploding on eBay and similar sites) comes back into print scheduled for November 2012.

As with all Baba Studio's before a deck comes out of the OOP status and back into circulation it underwent a thorough renewal, reworking to fit the artist high standards, elegant taste and inspiration.

You can now pre-order it in a bundle together with a mini version of it. (and you even have the possibility to ad some special extras. The pre-orders will be taken in batches, you can subscribe to a list to be notified when the next one starts.
The link to the pre-order page is here. 

Wonderland Tarot by Rodney Howington

Alice in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll (real name Charles Lutwidge Dodgson) are not only 2 great works of Western literature but it is also a great source of inspiration to create a tarot deck, what isn't really surprising knowing Carroll was a member of Society for Psychical Research (an organization for the study of spiritualism, ESP, clairvoyance and all type of paranormal activity)

This interpretation of these works looks very colourful, and outspoken, it could have been made by some characters, I'm thinking of the Mad Hatter, Cheshire Cat or the Caterpillar here strong,colourful, perhaps a bid insane even....a look that fits the more psychedelic aspects of the books. 

Artist Rodney Howington didn't hold back and went all the way in the chosen look making this a bold statement and powerful visual item popping right at you, in your face and proud of it a deck fit for 21st century lovers of Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass. 

You can buy it at the artist Etsy shop here.

The Symbolist Tarot fundraiser 2nd try

The Symbolist Tarot sadly didn't make it's needed financial go last time, but rejoice, the artist is back on Kickstarter to make an other go at it!

So i really really hope this time the funds are raised and the deck gets printed (and yes into my collection it will go) I'm once again a backer, are you too?

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• Update: as of 16 august 2012, the tarot met its funding goals, and Richard expects receiving the final decks in October, shipping them out to the backers will follow quickly, so I expect getting mine mid-November.

Dante Tarot (Tarot of Dante's Divine Comedy) by Vera Sklyarova & Alexander Razboynikovym

I recently obtained a new Russian deck by prolific deck creator Vera Sklyarova, this time in collaboration with the artist A.Razboinikov.Published end of 2011 this is a fairly recent addition to the Russian subdivision of my collection, and as with miss Sklyarova's previous creations published in a very good quality set, with book in Russian (sadly, because I'd love to know moere about how she made her connections between the deck and Dante's work..) .

As with all her decks this one is themed and this time she used the Divina Comedia (an epic Dante Alighieri between 1308 and his death in 1321, the work written in the first person, tells of Dante's journey through the three of realms of the afterlife namely Hell, Purgatory (guided by the Roman poet Virgil), and finally Heaven (guided by Dante's personification of the perfect woman Beatrice).

The structure and imagery follows closely the book, so you need to know it or at least have the book close to you to grasp the deck and what the artist is saying in these 78 cards, the major arcana follows closely the WCS structure, the minors, as with all of miss Sklyarova, follow a more liberal, personal interpretation, guided by her own experience and the used theme.

The Symbolist Tarot Deck by Richard Fox

A quick round of snooping around the net and I found a new deck to my pleasing, well not an actual deck yet, it's still in the fund-raising stage at Kickstarter.com ... so fingers crossed it meets it's goals and materializes after some time into my always needy collector-claws.

The theme of the deck is masterpieces from the Symbolism Art movement a deck that will echo and interest many readers and collectors, I know, I've heard the longing for such a deck for many years on many and various tarot forums around the world.And from what I saw from the artist's Blog and Facebookpage the artist knows the subject matter at heart and has a very warm and passionate relation with it, what results in choices I do love and understand!

You can pledge to the project so it may be at the kickstarter page here and also follow it on twitter, yes it is a well documented  and represented project, one I hope will succeed, success can be an elusive thing and hard to predict or calculate... 

Alexander Daniloff Tarot - Majors

Alexander Daniloff an in Russia born and raised artist who since 2000 lives in Rovigo (Italy) has produced a very nice high art tarot series that where exhibited in 2010, and that wonderful work of art has found it's way to my collection, 2 times even.

On the occasion of an exhibition in Russia the 22 tarocchi where printed in a small edition in card-size format (9,5x15 cm) on thick pearled cardstock, not entire satisfied with the result Daniloff has made them now available in A4 format printed on normal thickness clear pearly paper with creates a stunning effect, I have both versions and even if the small format looks very nice the larger one brings out the details and presents the art in the most flattering way.

The style is reminiscent of medieval and early renaissance paintings, with a curious  detail almost all personages seem to wear masks (what is particularity noticeable in the A4 prints), reminds me of the phrase by Shakespeare: 'Life is like a play - we merely go through the stages of our life acting it out' 

The prints can be ordered directly from the artist through his website, expensive yes, but it's worth every cent and even more!

The artist wants to expand the 22 cards to a 'full' 78 cards tarot, something I look forwards to but that will take a looong time probably

Update: here

• The 78 cards version is ready to be printed (well actually 81  cards. 78 cards with 3 cards added: carte blanche and two variants of the numbering Arcane Force and Justice (VIII and XI).

• Limited-editionS , printed in 450 copies of each, numbered and signed. Cards are printed on paper of 350 grams and are covered with a protective varnish. Card size: 73 х 141 mm. 

Hexen 2.0 Tarot by Suzanne Treister

All that's called tarot is not a tarot (or is it?)
At this very moment the Science Museum in London is holding an interesting exhibition by the artiste Suzanne Treister what is it about, what the theme? Well hold on to your seatbelt cause here comes the description from the artist herself: "HEXEN 2.0 looks into histories of scientific research behind government programmes of mass control, investigating parallel histories of countercultural and grass roots movements. HEXEN 2.0 charts, within a framework of post-WWII U.S. governmental and military imperatives, the coming together of scientific and social sciences through the development of cybernetics, the history of the internet, the rise of Web 2.0 and increased intelligence gathering, and implications for the future of new systems of societal manipulation towards a control society" if you're asking WHAT right now when reading that, don't be ashamed, everyone has that reaction.. I think...

These concepts/idea's/analyses/... are condensed and projected into heavy extremely busy and filled to the maximum images that look like alchemical drawings with influences from 60ies underground poster- & music album art, as seen through the the world of the occult, the supernatural, conspiracies or just plain bizarre views on modern (post WWII) world history, with some exceptions that go a bit furted back into time .

Personally I cant see it as a Tarot deck, or at least what conventionally and traditionally is seen as one, for me it's an art project under the form of a social/trans-social/analysis/visualisation (insert far-out-word-here) something that is titled tarot.It has 78 cards divided into 22 majors 4 suits 4 court cards so yes the basic structure is there but the links and correlations to what they mean are gone and replaced by the artist personal world-view. But then any deck containing Aldous Huxley as The Fool, Cybernetics as The Wheel of Fortune,  Nikola Tasla as the King of  wands and Hackers as 6 of Wands is bound to at least be worthy of some attention and curiosity. 

All the works are also published in the HEXEN 2.0 book and HEXEN2.0 Tarot both by Black Dog Publishing. 

 

I Tarocchi Dell' Amore Sacro E Profano by Franco Coletti

Ah love, no one can live without it, merely survive and it inspires us to create great works of art. This deck is not only inspired by the artist for his beloved muse but has love as a theme.A true work of art and testimonial to Love.

The decks title roughly translates to 'Tarot of love the sacred and  the profane', from the highest to the most corporeal, all aspects are linked to the 78 cards in the tarot and this in a style that combines both aspects, all at the same time dreamy elegant and earthly sensitive. The artist also linked each card and image to parts of songs or literary excepts to evoke the correct mood and kind of love best fitting each arcana.
The king and queen of Pentacles are depicting 2 special friends and inspirations in the Artist's life the queen being Morena Poltronieri from the wonderful Museo dei Tarocchi and the king is Osvaldo Menegazzi from Il Meneghello


This wonderful tarot comes in a very very limited edition of only 12decks, you can check the availability and order directly from Ill Meneghello by email.

There is also a 'follow-up' deck to this one you can find here

The Sacred India Tarot by Rohit Arya & Jane Adams

India is one of those countries that despite being depicted in deck or it's mythology being used in many decks has produced very little tarot decks itself,  this one is only the second one I have that is produced there.

All cards where stripped down to their archetypes, transported from western esoteric thoughts and concepts into India and dressed up in it's still living mythology (with elements drawn from Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism to form a coherent system) 

It is a 82 cards deck consisting of the classic 78 + 2 versions of both death and the world and also 2 'blessing cards' Blessings of Ganesha & Blessings of Blessings of Babaji. The style is directly identifiable as Indian, not the opulent rich golden one but the contemporary swirling vibrant version of it.

  

The majors depict the Indian Gods & Goddesses while the minors are retelling the epic stories from the Ramayana and Mahabharata, the life of the Buddha and the love story between Shiva and Parvati, poured in a narrative form best suiting for each suit. All information you need and even more about the cards and what they stand for, their background and meaning is found in the well-written 350 pages handbook.

Silent Tarot by Esmeralda Rupp-Spangle

One of my big soft-spots when it comes to tarot are decks who have been created by collage, and I recently obtained one from this Etsy shop.The tarot has a limited print run of only 125 decks  so be quick to grab one if you like it too.

I'd describe the style as (neo)Victorian & romantic, a multi-media project combining old images with various techniques to obtain 78 little works of art that would fit everyone with a love for decks that have a well balanced nostalgia vibe.
Despite being well filled up, but in a good way, these cards do not feel heavy or overwhelming, partly thanks to it's larger than standard size, partly to the whole way they are made up. Balancing out the busy fronts of the cards, the backs have a soothing, classy red fleur-de-lys pattern.
Opulent could be a perfectly fitting term to describe them.

Fitting the whole theme and look the suits are named Sticks, Coins, Swords & Hearts adding to the turn of the previous century, gipsy (perhaps even a bit decadent) feeling.

Tarot Droga by Barbara Marzena Mirewicz-Czumaczenko

There are interesting decks to be found on eBay that do not seem to pop up elsewhere (or at least not at locations one can easily find/aces) like this Polish tarot for example.The first print-run of the deck is limited to 100 decks (but not a numbered edition)

 From what I was able to gather (all info thus far is in polish, and translation programs are not that good for that language, so you end up with some chaotic gibberish at the end adding nothing to your knowledge) the artist engraved and painted each 'card' in the period between 2005-2010 upon clay tablets.

The title of the deck is the road, and by lying out the deck in the correct way in 2 rows you can see this road connecting each major arcana, as can be seen on her website. In the minors this road-system is abandoned in stead each suits has his own characteristic colour and backgrounds are formed by digitally mixing engraved clay images and images of fire, water, sky and stone for the cards Ace through 10, the court cards are in feeling and technique similar to the majors. Once the 'cards' where ready they where photographed and treated to give this coherent and natural earthy feeling deck.

Floriography Tarot Deck by Ana Haydeé Linares

At the moment there is a revival it seems, of all things vintage or new with a vintage-feel, a trend that also can be felt in tarotdecks.

This collage deck mixes images from various ethnic and periods in black and white, sepia or 'age-discoloured' replacing the peoples heads with flowers, herbs, plants, and trees to represent their characteristics the whole set against decorative non-scenic backgrounds and surrounded by different coloured borders. The minors are pip cards and the suits are renamed to: Woody Trees (Wands); Sunflowers (Pentacles); Birds of Paradise Flowers (Swords) & Tulips (Cups)

Although the artist has put lots of efforts into the deck and into the research to link the best fitting plants to each card the whole looks elegant and airy, nothing heavy but 78 cards of elegance and nostalgia.

You can get the deck from the artist's Etsy webshop or her website and yes she is also on FaceBook.

Le Tarot Des Archétypes by Bernard Chaumeil

The last few years and even decade the  tarot has left the traditional places where he was to be found and entered a more mainstream phase of its existence, one of these are the Jungian (based) therapies.

The creator of this deck who approaches the person as a whole taking into account the psyche and  body but also the social dimension of the person has created this deck as a way to help us identify problems and linked to them strengths and so proposing a solution to mend those.

All 22 cards in this colourful and semi (or in some cards almost entirely abstract) deck have been renamed and received 2 'titles', representing polarised archetypal dynamics, 22 human resources linked to 22 problems, called archetypes. These 22 archetypes correspond relatively well to the classic tarot archetypes or some of their aspects.