The Philippine artist Lynyrd-Jym Narciso is no stranger to designing divination tools. If you look on the page of his studio Paraluman you will see several published and (as of yet) unpublished tarot decks and Lenormands. His most recent project is the Anino Lenormand – now on Indiegogo. A…
Uusi is renowned for their creative playing cards, but with the Pagan Otherworlds Tarot they’ve really conquered the world of divination. After falling in love with the examples shown on their Kickstarter campaign, I pledged and followed the deck’s progress on Instagram. I think I have been gushing and drooling over practically every card. Which makes this review a difficult one: can Pagan Otherworlds Tarot live up to the expectation or will I hear that record screeching in my mind?
This is one of these decks you either hate or love. Which probably makes it a typical Battersby & Aguilar production. They – kind of – have a track record of releasing decks that conjure up some heated debate. Their Twisted Tarot Tales recently came out. Heated debate: check, love & hate: check. If the curiosity is killing you, or you are yet undecided to which team you belong: read along.
What is better for a Tarot de Marseille month than being able to review a book dedicated to reading with the tarot trumps of the Marseille: old-school divination style? The book Tarot Triumphs by Cherry Gilchrist uses the Marseille tarot trumps ‘for Divination and Inspiration’ and introduces a new way to read with only the Major Arcana. Gilchrist’s publication comes in a thick paperback in the French flag’s…
Unlike RWS-readers, Tarot de Marseille lovers have a limited amount of decks to work with and aren’t treated to exciting deck reviews very often. All the more reason for The Queen’s Sword to ask TdM experts & professionals*: Which TdM decks that are already out there *should* you collect or read with. Here’s their Top 9 Tarot de Marseille decks: #9 Pierre Madenie Several Tarot de Marseille (TdM) decks got the same number of votes but coming in on a joint last place (therefore 8&9) are the Pierre Madenie TdM (c1709) and Le Veritable Hadar TdM. These two decks reflect the differences between TdM decks; a facsimile copy of the original deck or a reproduced modernized version. The Madenie is one of the oldest TdM’s in existence and usually called ‘the most beautiful’. Sherryl Smith (from the multimedia tip) prefers the Paul Madenie TdM “because of the faces, because it’s a photo-repro and not restored and diddled with …” Yves Reynaud and Wilifried Houdouin made their reproduction based on copy in the Swiss National Museum. The Reynaud/Houdouin Madenie will be available again in fall 2016. A redrawn version of the Madenie is also available from Mary Packard. #8 Le Veritable Hadar…
