Latest Tarot Decks

Hi everyone!

I haven't logged in for a while, and I think it's time for an update, chronicling my latest and proudest purchases!!

The Mesquite Tarot, which I wrote about in an earlier blogpost, has arrived and I've worked with it A LOT. It wasn't quite on time, and not cheap ($44 for deck and guidebook plus $12 shipping to Germany), but so completely worth it!

Mesquite Tarot with bag and guidebook (source: Kickstarter)

 

The cards are approx. Poker size, so rather small, which I LOVE. I have small hands, and limited space, and I like to shuffle cards extensively, which is a hassle with bigger cards. I love the format, which make the cards seem sturdier than they actually are. Which isn't to say that they are thin, per se. Just not as thick as some other self-published decks.

The cards have a matte finish and roll over nicely. However, I fear that the edges will wear out quickly.

When the cards arrived, I immediately threw away the comlimentary box. It was flimsy garbage and not very pretty. The bag, though useful and preferred (by me) is rather thin and doesn't feature the mesquite tree design, but instead a self eating snake. I don't love the bag, but it's a lot better than a box. I will possibly make my own bag for this deck.

I also purchased 2 new decks off Kickstarter.

The Cartomancer Poker Deck

 

source: Kickstarter

 

I found this deck on Kickstarter when surfing for new Tarot decks (of course), and was immediately taken. This is basically a sort of Lenormand/Etteila/Kipper deck, only with JUNGIAN THEORIES APPLIED TO CARTOMANCY. Yes, you read this right! It's Jung's psychological theories and concepts transformed into a working, deep analysis poker deck that does double duty as a divination and playing card deck. If that isn't enough reason to buy the deck instantly, it was also cheap ($12 early bird or $15 regular for one deck) AND produced by U.S. playing card company (famous for their bicycle decks!). I love USPCC decks, as they have the nice air cushion finish that makes them so fantastic for shuffling. Obviously there are no Cartomancy decks in casino quality out there, so this is completely new, and appreciated. I'm really excited to get my grubby hands on this deck and shuffle the cards for the first time.

 

 Source: Kickstarter

 

The 4 suits are linked in this Poker deck to four spheres of perception inked by Jung: Diamonds - Sensation; Spades - Thinking; Hearts -Intuition; Clubs - Feeling

 

Diamonds, Spades, Hearts and Clubs also work as the continuum of human life, portraying Childhood, Young Adulthood, Midlife and Old Age.

 

I have high hopes that this concept will work when used in practice and give accurate, special, deeply intuitive yet analytical readings.

The Last Unicorn Tarot deck

 

 

 

Let's say I'm a TLU super fan. I read the book, I watched the movie (a million times), and I pretty much know the dialogues by heart. The book by Peter S. Beagle has one of the most thoughtful and beautiful opening paragraphs I ever read. In short, I was subconsciously waiting for a bunch of people that would do a SERIOUS TLU tarot deck. And it happened! And I had some money on my hands to buy it! Yey!

The deck was pricey during the Kickstarter campaign ($65) and will be pricier after ($75) and the art isn't even finished yet. I have no doubt that most backers simply threw their money at the makers because of their love for TLU and its grand, dreamy character design and also maybe the fact that the author Peter S. Beagle, gets some money from the project as well. (This might not be known to many, but Beagle is famously being left out of the money pot that is being rattled by the film makers.)

The Hanged Man. Source: Kickstarter

 

A TLU tarot would have been amazing even with shitty, thoughtless art and an inexperienced Tarot reader for an author. But this is not the case here: the cards proposed until now feel thought-out, meticulously planned and drawn, and flawlessly colored. If the print quality isn't complete garbage (which it shouldn't be, as the campaign overfunded by 1200%, which resulted in front and back-foiling, guilded edges and a nice, sturdy box), these cards should be a treasure to behold. I am beyond excited for this perfect deck of my dreams which will of course be tried out in a TLU movie and tarot party with all my friends!!

These were my latest purchases. I am excited!

 

WIP: Sleeping Beauty Lenormand first Card: The Princess

A few weeks ago, I did a blog post on how I wanted to create a Sleeping Beauty Lenormand. Since then, I've made some progress! I stasrted sketching some of the cards, first in my sketch book, then on actual canvas! The canvases I use to paint the cards are 13x18 cm (5,1 x 7 inches) and very thin. I chose this format because you can buy these in stacks of ten, making material costs a lot cheaper than if I used normal canvases.

 

 Step one: after sketching in coal, the background and face are colored in acryllic.

For this project, I decided to go with acryllic paint, which is very versatile and lends itself beautifully when layering colors. 

 

The first few layers of skin tone still let the original sketch show: I used contouring style to give the skin more dimension.

My sketch on canvas was pretty rough and thick, so I had to do many layers of skintone to get the face right. Here, you can see how I layered skin tone with white highlights. 

The background, so that it resembles the movie's bed and curtain, is done in blues, turquoises and greens. I am very satisfied with the misty effect.

I opted for a neutral background which all the other cards will share as well in order to limit the details in each card to a minimum. In Lenormand, being able to grasp a Grand Tableau at first glance is the most important thing to keep in mind when designing a deck (in my opinion, anyway). That's why neutral backgrounds and clear, easy to identify pictures are a must.

Layers of skintone: this is a rough but important step (for me at least), to get more or less realistic skintone on canvas. I added shadows and lines to the highlights and painted the lips darker.

At this point, the card is starting to take shape: my painted pictures often look quite different from the initial sketch, as color and depth adds a lot to any design. But this clarity and peace of mind which the face is portraying surprised me as it formed on the artwork in front of me. As you can see, I did the background first, then the skin, and now the hair. The hair might become blond at some point, but I'm tempted to leave it like this. The contrast is very nice.

Nearly done: The face is made softer, the hair layered again, the crown and choker have a first coat. Only the rose remains.

While a painting takes shape, the ideas and visions often change from the moment the sketch was made. I painted the Princess without color guidance, only the sketch was done while looking at sleeping Aurora. This is what this turned out to be: quite a unique version of the princess asleep. The hair needs some work done, as do the crown and choker. But the skin and background are done. Finally, I have been thinking about replacing the rather tepid rose by a nicer flower, which suits the color scheme more. Perhaps a pink spotted orchid?

What do you think about the first card in my lenormand deck?

Blessings and balance ~

Peachess

Mesquite Tarot: New simply elegant Tarot deck on Kickstarter

Buying new Tarot decks is my vice

I love buying new Tarot decks. Or Lenormand decks. Or historical Gypsy decks. It doesn't matter. I just love getting my hands on new decks. I'm not normally such a shopaholic. I only have this terrible affliction in relation to books (I have more books than I could finish in a year piled up at home), comics (which I have read, at least) and decks. I'm a collector at heart. Always have been, always will be. However, I have been trying to limit myself. I don't want to clog my home up with a million decks that I don't use. So while a lot of decks come into my house, a lot of decks will also leave my house at some point because I don't click with them.

Purchasing decks on Kickstarter is (normally) a terrible idea

I love new decks and new inventions, so I love Kickstarter.com. However, I try to avoid shopping on kickstarter.com for several reasons:

1. The product isn't finished
2. The price tag might not be worth it
3. the product might not be on time
4. the end result might be cringeworthy
5. for tarot decks in production, you might not click with the unfinished cards

I made a new rule for myself back in December 2016 that I would not be purchasing any more decks off Kickstarter. I have a number of decks from there, and I'm still waiting for more than half of them, a year after I bought them. This gap between pricey purchase and actual arrival is just too big.

The decks I got from Kickstarter

-  Hannibal Burning Heart Tarot designed and published in a Kickstarter-only campaign by Ginger Breo. I love this deck and will cherish it forever. I will definetely do a blog post about this deck at some point.

- Circo Tarot by Marisa de la Pena: I have owned this deck for a year or so, but have yet to open the shrink wrap. Right now, it doesn't call to me and I might sell it.

- Ashleigh's Illustrated Tarot  Bought this one on a whim a while ago. It hasn't arrived yet, and the images might be abit too whimsy and childish, but who knows? It wasn't too expensive.

- Ethereal Visions Tarot (hasn't arrived yet and will probably sell it) I kind of liked the idea of this one (as did the other backers, of whom there were a multitude), but it turns out many of the newly released images don't really appeal to me at all. I will have to see once this deck arrives.

- Eros Tarot by UUSI. This beautifully designed and clever Marseille-style deck is one I had to own. It's strictly limited, so I definetely am lucky to have pre-ordered it through the Kickstarter campaign.

- Dark Days Tarot The last deck I got from Kickstarter but curiously, one of the first to arrive. It arrived last week and I haven't had the chance to really work with it yet.

Overall, I am happy I discovered Kickstarter for new and exciting Tarot decks. However, given the fact that the decks are mostly unfinished and the quality of the cards is unknown, it is hard for me to recommend buying Tarot decks through this website, instead of waiting until the decks get published the usual way.

The beautiful Mesquite Tarot

 

Key 0: The Fool Picture credit: Kickstarter

The Mesquite Tarot is drawn by hand by its artist and then colored digitally, using a very soft, pastel color palette. I really like the composition of Key 0: The Fool. A woman (at least, I suppose it's a woman although it technically could be a young man) wearing what appears to be a muslim headdress is heading towards the edge of a cliff while staring intently at the sun above. The symbols presented here (sun, cliff) are classic and a soft reminder of what the card is about. Instead of relying on a ton of unfamiliar symbology that could overwhelm a newer reader or even a client unfamiliar with Tarot, these cards are simple and direct, but without being too simplistic.

 

Key I: The Magician Picture credit: Kickstarter

The concept of the Magician is one that I didn't like too much at first. The drawing looks a lot like a wall painting you'd find in ancient cave. At a second glance, though, the imagery is clear and precise. Although only showing a stickman with raised arms and a bunch of symbols, it does accurately portray the vibe of the Magician without giving him a clear gender and personality, which would detract from his power. The fact that both arms are raised instead of one doesn't bother me, because the legs seem to form a good balance and adds the thought of "As above, so below".

 

Key II: High Priestess

Picture credit: Kickstarter

The High Priestess is perhaps the closest Major to the RWS system among the cards I've seen. I do wish the team had done more to simplify the imagery.

 

 

Key III and IV: Empress and Emperor Picture credit: Kickstarter

Empress and Emperor where the key figures that decided me on buying the deck no matter what. The smybology is witty and brilliant, all the while being true to the character of the cards.

Guidebook page Key V: Hierophant Picture credit: Kickstarter

 
The accompanying guide book is also quite smart: the writing appears to be less esoteric and more down-to-earth, which I love. Also, the diagram in the lower right part seems well-thought out.

Although I dislike buying incomplete Tarot decks on Kickstarter, there is always this compulsion because the decks are limited or super special awesome kickstarter-only releases, making them hard to resist. Even though I wanted to never buy a deck on Kickstarter again (because of the many decks I've regretted buying), I will of course be buying the Mesquite Tarot. Even if only the Empress and Emperor really speak to me, my soul is telling me I definetely need this deck.

Blessings and balance ~

Peachess

Grand Tableau: Using the Fairy Tale Lenormand

Grand Tableaus are the mother of disciplines in reading Lenormand cards.

Personally, I often struggle reading Grand Tableaus, because there are simply too many cards and it's hard to decide which ones are important, and which cards you can leave out. I don't look at everything while I read. Also, I'm a picky Lenormand deck collector. I love collecting these decks, even though unlike Tarot, if the symbology deviates, the cards become basically unreadable, which means every Lenormand deck SHOULD read the same.

 Fairy Tale Lenormand by Lisa Hunt. Comes in a tin box with a LWB and additional Man/Woman cards

I have a love/hate relationship with Lisa Hunt's decks. On the one hand, I love fairy tales and I love her art. On the other hand, I do own her Fairy Tale Tarot deck and never use it, because it's just too detailed and there is no focus on the symbolism, making it a chore to read. 

When I ordered the Lenormand deck, it didn't even occur to me that this might be the same with this type of deck. Unfortunately, I was right. The images in the pictures are clogged and detailed. A few are easy to get on the first glance - The Tree, Tower, Whip and Stork. However, others are just confusing to look at. The Bear features two girls that are more prominent than the image of the bear. The Sun is outshone by the kissy-faced people in front of it. The Scythe has little contrast and you can't recognize it from far away.

 

My Grand Tableau of the week using the Fairy Tale Lenormand

As you can see, these cards don't lend themselves too well to the Lenormand structure and demands. The images are just too busy to draw conclusions at a glance.

 

 The female significator, preceeded by the Sun, followed by the Cross. Topped by the Mice, the Lilies (not the Frog in spite of the prominent Frog on it!) and the Birds.

Because the deck is so hard to take in at a glance, I struggled even more to read this usually simple "One Week Forecast" Grand Tableau which I did as an excercise. I identified the Woman card (Cinderella) in the lower left of the Grand Tableau. Because she sits in the lowest row, little can be done by me to influence the situation, a lot is weighing down on me. The Woman is preceeded by the Sun, but as you will see below, the Sun is weighed down by the Mice and preceeded by the Fox. Whatever success I achieved in the last week, I couldn't really enjoy it because of petty stresses and work.

 The present row: Tower, Garden and Lilies topping the woman.

Then, I took a closer look at the present situation: The Woman card is below the Tower, the Garden and the Lilies. I take the Tower and Garden to mean rigid society and the Lilies a mature view and action toward that society. A real adulting situation.

 All the bad cards: Clouds, Whip, Snake and Mice around the Tree

I don't look at everything, but I do look for the Clouds. The clouds aren't anywhere near my significator, but together with the Whip, The Snake and the Mice they are surrounding my pretty health tree. So bad health awaits, mostly because of stresses.

 The Man: Surrounded by the Rider, Stork, Dog (not Ring, in spite of the Ring!), Letter and Crossroads

I have a more positive outlook for the Man (my boyfriend. Next to him is the Stork. combined with the Rider that precedes him and the Child that comes after the Stork he will have a pretty decent week, maybe he'll even find a new passion or rekindle his connection to some friends far away (Dog+Letter+Crossroads).

 Path to the future week: Cross, Anchor, Heart, Clover, Bear, Scythe

Looking at the week ahead, I have here exactly 7 cards. One for each of the day (Yey!). The Cross comes first with theAanchor, so troubles and heavy burdens will remain throughout the week (I do have some important stuff to do). However, I will be happy with my boyfriend (we are visiting the cricus!) but I might get into a fight with my mother (Bear+Scythe).

 Between Womand and Man: Direct diagonal with Birds and Dog

Finally, the Womand and Man are connected by the Dog and the Birds, so socializing will bring a deeper connection between us. Maybe there is a party we could go to!

 

Final thoughts: It is possible to read with the Fairy Tale Lenormand, but honestly, it's twice as exhausting as a simple deck would have been. The stress of relooking at the cards to make sure you have the Dog instead of the Fox and the Ring instead of the Dog (the dog looks like a Fox and features a big ring that looks the same as the ring in the Ring card -.-) isn't really worth it. Maybe for 2 or 3-card readings, this deck is suitable. Right now, I only do Grand Tableaus and it's pretty annoying. I suppose that like the Fairy Tale Tarot from the same artist, I won't be using this deck much.

Blessings and balance ~

Peachess

Owning your deck part 5: Custom Titles

Have you ever felt like a certain rendition of a card didn't match the interpretation you learned?

I studied the RWS system. That is, I read a ton of books on the RWS Tarot, regurgigated again and again the individual meanings of the cards until I finally reached a point where I feel comfortable reading cards pretty intuitively. Since many decks are based on A. Waite and Pamela-Coleman-Smith's famous rendition of the Tarot, reading intuitively usually just means connecting the keywords in my mind to the image I see on the card.

6 times Death:

RWS (top) (left to right) Morgan Greer, Triomphes de la Lune, Fairy Tale Tarot, Prisma Visions Tarot, Sakki Sakki Tarot

As you can see here, I laid out 6 renditions of the Key XIII, or Death, card. The uppermost one is obviously both the most famous and also lends itself to inspiration for other artists. While many decks are direct RWS clones borrowing from Coleman-Smith's art without questioning the symbols and composition of the image, many new interpretations are seen, especially in the Major Arcana. The Majors, unlike the Courts or Pips, are often reinterpreted, leading to entirely different meanings.

In this set of 6, you can see Death as a skeleton that ends the life of rich and poor, young and olf alike (RWS). Then, there is Death as the classic grim reaper, shown to be more of a boogey man than a fact of life (Morgan Greer). Next, Death is both the end with a sdword through her head and rebirth, with the newborn already crawling out of her belly (Triomphes de la Lune by Patrick Valenza). Lisa Hunt's Fairy Tale Tarot goes as far as to give the card a new title. Instead of choosing an actual occurence of death in a fairy tale, the artist chose Beauty and the Beast to depict Key XIII. Beauty and beast look at each other and realise that this relationship between woman and animal must end to make way for man and woman (as seen in shadows above their two heads). This death is not simply an end, but a Transformation.
The Prisma Visions Tarot, while not a direct RWS clone, borrows a lot from Coleman-Smith's symbology. In this card, a skeletal hand holds the white rose that is also depicted in the RWS and Morgan Greer decks. A very clear, but slightly more abstract and less morbid way to present Death.
Finally, the Sakki-Sakki Tarot is a complete clone of the RWS deck, but has its own sense of humor. Death, while the symbols and depiction remains nearly the same as the original Key XIII, doesn't seem frightening but rather comical. The horse looks more like a dog and the skeleton has funny features.

Depending on which deck I use, I see the Death card in a different light. I don't like to read the Fairy Tale Tarot with the RWS meanings without questioning what I see. The same goes for every other deck. The picture decides what the cards want to say to you.

This is the reason why I decided to add new titles to some of the cards in the Romantic Tarot. As I said before, the Romantic Tarot is my most customized deck. It barely ressembles its original form, having been stripped of its box and its borders and having gained red edges and some glitter.

 "ACE" written in gold pen

I was afraid edging would ruin the cards and smudge them. Then I was afraid the glitter wouldn't look good. Finally, I didn't want to take a gold metallic pen and draw on my beloved deck. I overcame this fear by doing this to a deck that doesn't have a great material worth. Also, I bought a second, replacement deck of the Romantic Tarot (it being one of my favorites), in case I ruined my copy.

 

 Key XIII Death retitled "Black Widow"

Many Majors in the Romantic Tarot have some symbology from the RWS deck, but they use it differently and the cards simply don't feel the same. As you can see above, Key XIII: Death in the Romantic Tarot shows a young widow wistfully glancing at a grave. It is unclear whether she loved the person or not, or whether she has gotten rid of an unwanted husband and now basks in her success. The soft coloring and the wistful style of the illlustration make it hard to view this as a classic Death card. The end has already happened (the person in the grave has been dead long enough to set up a stone) and the new beginning has already started. Thus I retitled this card "black widow", as the woman has now reached a new identity and phase of her life. 

 

Key 0: The Fool and Key XXI: The World retitled as 

"sans-soucis" (French for "without worries")

Another thing I did is to use my own interpretations of certain core ideas and form them into words. The Fool and The World - being the beginning and the finale of a full circle, always formed a couple to me. Those two cards really needed a deeper connection, because the RWS Fool and World are disjointed and don't allow for the reader to grasp the journey or at least the circular nature of the Tarot.

I had a striking inspiration for this dilemma while visiting Castle Sanssouci near Berlin.

Castle Sanssouci in Berlin. Picture credit: wikipedia

 

The castle and adjoining gardens are beautiful, and Frederick the Great aptly named his new abode "Sanssouci", which is French, for "without worries". It suddenly occured to me that the Fool and the World did have one single, connecting idea: that of being free of worries.

Obviously the Fool is worriless for different reasons than the character of the World, which is complete instead of foolhardy. However, the word does connect both concepts seamlessly.

In the Romantic Tarot, we see both the Fool and the World with a blue sky in the background. While the confident Dandy steps onto a flying dove, the parents in hold up the globe on which sits the child. This connection is really renedered more obvious to me now that I added the titles.

Have you ever changed the titles on your decks? And if so, did you write the changes down or did you simply start viewing cards differently?

Blessings and balance ~

Peachess

Solid Perfume DIY

Making a solid perfume is relatively simple, as I found out online. Unfortunately, easy directions don't always yield the planned results. It was like this for me with solid perfume.

 All you need: Beeswax, Carrier Oil (Using Sweet Alomd), a container and the essential oil of choice!

 I'm using the yellow kind of beeswax. The flakes are pillowy and very small, probably to make them easier to melt.

Beeswax and carrier oil are poured in equal measure (1 tablespoon plus 1 tablespoon)

 Using Lavender Essential Oil by Mystic Moments

 This is Lilac Perfume Oil (not essential oil!). And I'm not sure this even smells like lilac at all ...

 The container I chose - I bought it like this

 There's even a plastic flap in the middle.

 The container looks small, but it fills about 15ml

 Experimenting with two pots ... 

 This little container is where the essential oils are mixed (before the wax and oil come in)

 The stuff dries REALLY quickly ...

The way I did it (probably not the right way, because it doesn't smell the way I wanted it to)

1. Get Beeswax, Carrier Oil and Essential Oil of choice and a tiny container

2. Melt Beeswax and carrier oil in a pot that is put into another pot which is filled with boiling water

3. do not boil the oil and beeswax directly!

4. in a separate bowl or cup, mix your favorite scents. Do NOT pour them into the heated mixture

5. pour hot beeswax and oil into the scented oil cup and mix quickly

6. pour everything into the chosen tiny container and let it set

The whole procedure takes only about 20 minutes.

Unfortunately I'm a terrible perfumist, so I'll have to try harder next time!

Blessings and balance ~

Peachess

The Deviant Moon Family: two decks, one soul

Here it is!! Patrick Valenza's Triomphes de la Lune French Text Edition wrapped in beautiful gold paper (sadly the glittery paper is hard to distinguish on my shitty phone camera) and signed on the back by the artist (see below).

The first deck I owned: The Deviant Moon Premier Edition 

with hideous white borders. Picture credit: amazon

The Deviant Moon Tarot was the first deck I ever owned. I remember ordering the fancy "Premier Edition" set off amazon, which at the time included a big box that wasn't very sturdy, another smaller box with the (original, bordered) deck and LWB. Also included was a pretty flimsy sheet that has a 12 card layout drafted on it. The meanings and keywords in the LWB were sketchy at best, so as a complete novice I struggled to do this 12 card layout and quickly gave up.

Sorry for the bad quality :( 4 of Wands, 9 of Cups, 6 of Cups, Borderless Edition)

As you can see, the cards ARE aligned with RWS tradition and a lot of themes are directly cloned from the original deck. However, this deck is also somewhat busy and very unique, making it hard to tell the emotion on the card if you take them in all at once. Now that I've learned all the card meanings, the Deviant Moon is an excellent deck for me to work with. However, as a novice it was very intimidating and hard to connect to (with or without borders!).

Triomphes de la Lune, signed by Patrick Valenza. The flap held the two bonus cards.

 Exclusive bonus cards for the French Text Edition were Key 20 Judgment and Key 17 Star (not shown) as well as this random playing card of which I'm not sure it was supposed to be included.

I remember that this was the beginning of my fascination with fortune telling decks. I'm not sure what exactly triggered my initial interest, but I always was fascinated by the occult and supernatural, and also by Buddhism etc. I got my first Lenormand deck around the same time, the Under the Roses Lenormand. It is a great beginners deck, although I didn't grasp the meanings quickly because I only studied with the LWB instead of getting a full size book on the subject.

My Tarot Practice really started when I got my first books on the topic. And it really grew when I got Benebell Wen's Holistic Tarot, which is the best and most relevant book on the topic.

I stand by the opinion that the Deviant Moon is a poor beginners deck. I also strongly suggest you get the borderless edition.

Bordered and borderless Edition of Deviant Moon deck. Picture credit: Patrick Valenza

As you can see, even if borders don't normally bother you, the borderless edition on the right gives off a much deeper vibe of the card image, while the frame and pale coloring in the left really detract from the experience.

Recently, Patrick Valenza of the Deviant Moon Tarot released the Trionfi della Luna Major Arcana. it was a Majors only deck with Italian text titles and with some extra bonus cards, and Patrick released it in some so-called paradoxical versions as well (with strange, inverted coloring of the antique deck, which might appeal to some but not to all. Also, they glow in black light!!).

The Majors only deck was then followed by the full-sized 90 cards deck that includes 12 extra cards (1 extra major, 10 oracle cards and 1 Title card). You can get this deck here.

The deck has Italian text, but an English booklet with meanings is scheduled to be released online at some point. Even without knowledge of Italian, the practiced Tarotist should be able to identify all the cards with ease.

Signed extra card of the original Deviant Moon deck (with borders) that came with the new Triomphes de la Lune deck (see back of the box on the right) as a free gift

On top of the box, there is this nice illustration, which reminds me of Key 8: Strength (the image happens to be one of the extra Oracle cards in the deck!!)

On the side of the box, there is a brief explanation of the deck (in English even though this is the French text Edition ... so weird but ok)

Two examples for the Oracle cards in the deck (there are ten of them and they are numbered but without titles). As you can see, I made them borderless. The lower card is left with a border for this image for reference)

The deck is limited to 500 copies and while there might be an English edition at some point, nothing is clear yet so you might want to check out this deck for yourself before it sells out.

The Pips are all like this! No RWS symbols on the Pips! Borders are already removed ~

As you can see, the deck is Marseille both in (art) style and in meaning. That is, the meanings of the cards, while they can be read in the RWS tradition, are very obviously Marseille. There are unfortunately not many books in English concerned with the Marseille meanings and use, rather than RWS or Thoth.

Some Court cards

While Pip Cards in Marseille decks aren't anything to be excited about, Patrick Valenza's rendition of them is very nice. The Courts, on the other hand, are full of personality and humor. They are a delight to look at and play with. I adore these cards.

My favorite Majors: The World, Judgment and the High Priestess (called Popess in this deck)

The Majors themselves, which had been released before in the Majors Only edition, are absolutely groundbreaking (in my opinion anyway). The World, who is a blue, fat lady with so much energy you can hear her breathe down your neck while looking at her, is my absolute favorite. I love that she is blue to represent our blue planet <3

The Judgment card that you see in my picture is a special extra card ONLY included in the French text Edition. I absolutely recommend getting the French version instead of the Italian one because you get 2 extra majors instead of just one.

I haven't worked with this deck more than once or twice yet, because I try to focus on RWS right now. But I'll keep you posted once I've done a particularly memorable spread!

Blessings and balance ~

Peachess