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Reviews: Tarot Decks
Tarot & Cartomancy
Deck & Book Reviews
by Bonnie Cehovet, TE
Tarot Master
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Ancient Tarots of Bologna
review by Bonnie Cehovet
artist: Giacomo Zoni
Lo Scarabeo
1995
ISBN #0738700231
The "Ancient Tarots of Bologna" (copyright 1995) is part of a series of historical decks published by Lo Scarabeo. It is a reproduction of a deck originally printed in 1780 in Bologna, showing the Marseilles influence, and follows the traditional Tarot structure.
The Major Arcana, titled in French, are as follows: Le Fol, Le Bateleur, La Papesse, La Imperatrice, Le Empereur, Le Pape, L'amoreux, Le Chariot, La Justice, Le Ermite,
Roue de Fortune, La Force, Le Pendu, La Mort, La Temperance, Le Diable, La Maison Dieu, Le Toille, La Lune, Le Sole, Le Jugement, Le Monde.
The suit names are Bastons (Wands), Coupes (Cups), Spe (Epees - Swords), Deniers (Pentacles). The court cards are: Roy (King), Reine (Queen), Cheval (Knight), Valet (Page).
The package consists of 78 Tarot cards, a title card, and nine double-sided cards carrying information on how to perform a simplified cartomancy reading, along with keywords for each of the cards (upright only). The cards (which take the place of the traditional LWB (Little White Book) are printed in English, German, Spanish, Italian, and French.
Some of the keywords are a little stilted, such as that for Le Fol (The Fool): "strangeness, infantilism, holiday, detachment from worries, madness." The Court cards indicate where the person fits into the life of the Seeker, as well as listing keywords. For example: "Queen of Chalices - woman friend, wife or faithful fiance. Romanticism, sensuality." The Pips (numbered cards) list upright keywords only.
Before I move on to the cards, I want to briefly look at the simplified cartomany method listed in the informational cards. The Minor Arcana are separated from the Major Arcana, and one suit of cards is chosen to read from, based on the question (Wands represents work, Chalices love, Swords legal questions, and Deniers business.) An interesting note here is that the cards are titled Deniers, but referred to as Pentacles in the reference material. The chosen suit is shuffled, cut, and three cards dealt. The procedure is then followed for the Major Arcana. The three positions are read as Past/Present/Future. However, the instructions neglect to say how the Major Arcana are incorporated into the reading!
The cards themselves are approximately 2 1/4" by 4 1/2". The back are an ochre color, with a brownish-red imprint. At the bottom of the cards appears the words "ALL' AQUILA", also in brownish-red. A card drawn in the reversed position would be evident. The faces of the cards carry the same ochre background color, with a thin black line approximately 1/4: from the edge creating a border. The Aces carry no suit name or number, simply the suit symbol. Cards 2-10 carry the appropriate number of suit symbols, with the number in Roman numerals in the middle of the right and left hand sides of the card. The Court cards carry the court title and the suit name at the bottom of the card. The Major Arcana carry the number in Roman Numerals at the top of t he card, and the title, in French, at the bottom of the card.
Some of the cards are a bit unusual, The Ace of Coupes (Cups) shows a hexagonal bottom, with a hexagonal top with what appear to be turrets at each corner, with what appears to be a building in the center. The 2-10 of Coupes all show the same type of cup: a hexagonal bottom and a rounded top. The Two of Coupes carries the illustrator's name (Giacomo Zoni) as a signature. Several of the hats are of the broad variety, strongly resembling the lemnescate (Cheval and Roy de Bastons, Roy de Coupes, Valet and Roy de Deniers, Valet and Roy de Spe (Espees), Le Bateleur, and La Force. In the suit of Spe (Espees, Swords) the even numbered cards show blades that are all curved, while in the odd numbered cards the central Sword is straight, with the remaining Swords curved.
The art appears to be black line drawing that has been colored in. The color scheme is a gentle melding of ochre, medium blue, light green and yellow. This deck would appeal to collectors, historians, those who read (or wish to learn to read) with a Marseilles style deck, or those who are simply looking for a very gentle deck.
© June 2006
Ancient Tarots of Lombardy
review by Bonnie Cehovet
illustrator: Ferdinando Gumppenburg
Lo Scarabeo
1995
ISBN # 0738700282
The "Ancient Tarots of Lombardy" is a Marseille-style reproduction of a neoclassical deck created around 1810 by Ferdinando Gumppenberg, in the region of Milan, Italy. Gumppenberg was an engraver, which allows this deck to have a finer sense of detail than the wood block images of this time period. The original deck was printed from metal engraving plates and hand colored.
The deck follows the traditional style (Justice as VIII and Strength as XI), with the titles in Italian. The Major Arcana are as follows: Il Matto, Il Bagattelliere, La Papessa, L'Imperatrice, L'Imperatore, Il Papa, Gli Amanti, Il Carro, La Giustizia, L'Eremita, La ruota della Fortuna, La Forza, L'Appeso, (Death - untitled), La Temperanza, Il Diavolo, La Torre, La Stelle, La Luna, Il SoleIl Giudizio, Il Mondo.
The suit names are: Bastoni (Wands), Coppe (Cups), Spade (Swords), Danari (Pentacles). The Court cards are: Il Re (King), La Regina (Queen), Il Cavaliere (Knight), Il Fante (Page).
The cards are approximately 2 3/8" by 4 1/2", on sturdy, good quality card stock. The backs are ochre, with an overall pattern in brownish-red. It would not be possible to tell if a card had been drawn upright or reversed. The face of the cards has an ochre background, with a figurative border approximately 1/4" in from the edge. The Major Arcana show the card number in Roman numerals at the top of the card, in the middle. The card title is written in delicate script, in Italian, in the middle of the bottom of the card. The card of The Fool is unnumbered.
The Minor Arcana show suit symbols only, against a plain, colored background. There is no suit title, but the number appears in small type in the upper left hand and lower right hand corners of the card. The Ace of Coppes (Cups) shows the name of the illustrator (Gumppenberg), and the city the deck originated in (Milan). The Court cards show the title and suit across the bottom of the card, in delicate script, in Italian.
The suit of Coppes (Cups) uses an ornate cup as its symbol. The suit of Danari (Pentacles) shows a disk as its symbol. The suit of Bastoni (Wands) uses what amounts to a club as its symbol. In the cards the symbol is alternated in the upright (wide end on top) and reversed (slender end on top) positions. The symbol that the court cards carry is amusing - it is so large that it looks like a weapon - something to conk someone over the head with! The suit of Spade (Swords) shows all straight swords, rather than a combination of straight and curved swords.
The Major Arcana are interesting, and largely traditional. Il Matto (The Fool) is seen as an older traveler, and his companion animal appears to be a cat. Il Bagatteliere (The Magician) is dressed somewhat like Napoleon, and appears to be carrying a chest with is "tools of the trade" in it. La Papessa holds a book in her lap, and has a veil behind her, but there are no pillars. Il Papa (The Hierophant) is shown seated, with a supplicant before him. Gli Amanti (The Lovers) shows one woman and two men - one of Royal class, and one that appears to be of the warrior class. La Forsa (Strength) shows a male figure with the lion. Death (which is not titled) is one of the most pleasant Death cards I have ever seen, with a skeleton standing, his right arm leaning on his scythe, and a red cloth hanging from the back of his head, forming a backdrop for the skeleton. La Torre (The Tower) shows an upright tower, top intact, with no lightening, no people falling, and no water. Il Guidizio (Judgment) shows a trumpeting angel above, with the figures below standing amidst flames of red fire.
There is no accompanying Little White Book (LWB). In its place are nine double sided cards, which give a simplified method of cartomancy (based on the meaning of the suits, with a Major Arcana card drawn in accompaniment), and upright only meanings for the Major Arcana, Minor Arcana, and Court cards. The cards are printed in Italian, German, English, Spanish and French.
I found this to be quite a gentle deck, and one that was easy to read with (which is saying something, because I do not generally read with a Marseilles style deck). This is a collectors deck, but it is also a deck that can be used by all levels of Tarot readers.
© June 2006
Ancient Tarots of Liguria-Piedmont
review by Bonnie Cehovet
illustrator: Giovanbattista Guala
Lo Scarabeo
1995
ISBN # 0738700274
"The Ancient Tarots of Liguria-Piedmont" is one of a series of historical decks from Lo Scarabeo. It is a 1995 reprint of an 1860 deck from the Piedmont region of Italy, created by Giovanbattista Guala, following the Marseilles tradition. Some of the more unique features of this deck are the printers stamp that appears on each of the cards (in some cards it is more visible than in others); the numbering of the Major Arcana, in Roman numerals, in the upper left hand (upright position) and lower right hand (reversed position) corners of the card, and in the middle of the bottom of the card; and the artist signature on each of the Court cards and the Two of Cups.
The Major Arcana are as follows: Il Pazzo, Il Bagatto, La Papessa, L'Imperatrice, L'ImperatoreIl Papa, L'Amore, La Carozza, La Guistizia, L'Eremita, La Ruota, La Forza, L'Impicato, La Morte, La Temperanza, Il Diavolo, La Torre, Le Stelle, La Luna, Il Sole, Il Giudizio, Il Mondo.
The suit names are: Bastoni (Wands), Coppe (Cups), Spade (Swords), Denari (Pentacles).
The Court cards are: Re (King), Regina (Queen), Cavaliere (Knight), (There is no name on this card) (Page).
The cards are approximately 2 3/8" by 4 1/2", of flexible, quality, glossy card stock. The backs carry an ochre background color, with an overall floral design in brownish-red. The faces show a black border approximately 1/4" in from the edge, followed by a 1/4" ochre border, followed by a thin black border. The Major Arcana are titles in Old Italian at the bottom of the picture, with the title in smaller lettering, in black, under the picture (in English, French, Spanish, and modern Italian). The card number appears, in Roman numerals, at the top left hand corner (in the upright position), the bottom right hand corner (in the reversed position), and in the middle of the bottom of the card.
The Pips (numbered cards) are shown Marseille style, with symbols but no pictures. The Two of Chalices (Cups) carries the illustrators signature. For the suit of Chalices and Pentacles, the number appears in the middle of the card, on the bottom, between the card titles, which are listed in four languages: English, French, Spanish, and modern Italian. For the suits of Wands and Swords, the card number is listed in the middle of the bottom of the card, with the suit titles (listed in English, French, Spanish, and modern Italian) on either side. Cards two through ten also have the number in Roman numerals on the top left hand corner (upright) and bottom right hand corner (reversed). The suit of Swords shows curved swords, with the odd numbered cards showing the odd sword as a straight sword.
The Court cards carry the title and suit at the bottom of the card, in English, French, Spanish and modern Italian. They also carry the signature of the illustrator. All of the cards, with the exception of the Page, carry the title in Old Italian across the bottom of the picture portion of the card.
The deck comes with a title card and instruction cards (taking the place of the Little White Book (LWB). The instruction cards are in English, French, Spanish and Italian, listing the upright meanings of the cards and a simplified method for reading, based on the meaning of the suits.
The coloring for this deck is muted red's, blue's, and gold's. The Pips include limited floral imagery, rather than the more austere clean background of decks like the "Ancient Tarots of Lombardy". There is a very gentle feel here, and could be used with all levels of Seeker's. the "Ancient Tarots of Liguria-Piedmont" would appeal to historians, collectors, and those who read with Marseille style decks, or wish to learn to read with them.
© June 2006
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Bonnie Cehovet,
Tarot Educator, Reiki Master/Teacher
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Bonnie Cehovet is a Tarot Educator, a professional Tarot reader with over ten years experience, a Reiki Master/Teacher and a writer. Bonnie holds a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology from the University of Hawaii, Manoa campus, and is certified as a Tarot Educator with the American Board For Tarot Certification.
She has served in various capacities with the American Tarot Association, to include Secretary on the ATA Board. She is co-founder of the World Tarot Network, and Vice President (as well as Director of Certification) for the American Board For Tarot Certification.
Her articles and reviews currently appear in the World Tarot Network newsletter (www.worldtarot.com),
The Meta Arts Magazine (www.themetaarts.com),
the Aeclectic Tarot site (www.aeclectic.
net/tarot),
and on her own site,
www.tarot.
thecrystalgate.com.
For the past three years she has edited her own monthly Tarot newsletter - Gateway to Tarot. She also has articles appearing in the 2004 and 2005 "Llewellyn Tarot Reader".
www.americanboard
fortarot certification.org
www.tarot.
thecrystalgate. com |
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