Sunday Showcase- Rainbow Travellers Tarot

It's been a while since I have done a Showcase post, which is meant to show you a beautiful or unique deck that I love, but may not have time to use for a whole week soon enough for my tastes.  Lately, this has been because my back is giving me more and more issues, and I am facing a spinal fusion surgery soon.  I hope to be blogging regularly again soon, but for now my whole life is a day by day kind of thing.

Today I have chosen the Rainbow Travellers Tarot, self published by +Carmen Waterman, a beautiful deck of fantastical images that is sure to appeal to all lovers of fantasy, beautiful women and men, medieval influences, and tarot collectors and readers who love the whimsy!  My husband and both my 17 year old sons both think the deck is pretty darn cool, and it is making the rounds with me through our gaming nights as well as in my personal readings.

Carmen herself is a very knowledgeable tarotista, and the accompanying booklet offers wonderful insights into each card.  She lives in Canada, I in the US,and this particular deck was a Christmas gift from my handsome, kind, but sometimes procrastinating husband.  Carmen was an absolute doll to deal with, and she made sure the deck arrived quickly, in perfect condition, and in a lovely tie dyed bag that perfectly suits the vibe of the deck.

Here are some images for you to peruse, and I hope you will take a gander at Carmen's website, where she offers the deck, readings, and a fascinating blog of her own!

Rainbow Travellers Tarot- The High Priestess, The Hierophant, Death/Rebirth

Rainbow Travellers Tarot- The Shadows (Devil), The Star, The Sun

Rainbow Travellers Tarot- Nine of Wands, Five of Cups, Ace of Swords

Rainbow Travellers Tarot- Seven of Swords, Five of Pentacles, Mentor of Pentacles

These cards are from Rainbow Travellers Tarot, self published by Carmen Waterman, and available here.

Sunday Showcase- Songs For The Journey Home

As I get ready to leave San Francisco BATS today I am featuring an aptly named deck, Songs For The Journey Home.  This one hails from down under, Australia, and as soon as I heard the name I had to have it.  I didn't care what the pictures looked like.  It turned out I got lucky, because the cards are just as lovely as the name.  I received this deck from a lovely fellow blogger and tarot enthusiast who decided to take matters into her own hands and rustle up an order when we could not find any locally, and I will be forever grateful because this deck is a shining jewel in my collection.

I love the round cards, which are not clones of Waite Smith images, which makes sense since nowhere on the box does the deck claim to be tarot, though the structure IS there.  The beautiful, soft, warm and gentle pictures really showcase the shining spirits of the deck creators, one of whom sadly passed away last year.  I am sure she was sang home gently, though, if these images are any indicator of the kind of life she led.

These cards come from Songs For The Journey Home lovingly created by Dwariko von Sommaruga and Catherine Cook.

Saturday Showcase- Tarot de Marseille ISIS Version

A whispered buzz in the tarot community had me all agog early on for this deck, and I will never regret its' purchase.  Bringing Tarot de Marseilles into modern times... I am down!

It is everything a Marseilles tradition deck should be - stately, rich, elegant.  Self published in Japan, it is a joy to shuffle and merely look through, too.

Lots of other tarot writers have become enamored of this deck as well:  See Le Fanu, who tends to be my ultimate enabler, and has written a rave review, Alex Satin whose engaging post first brought the deck to my attention, Mr. La-Luna whose collection makes me green with envy, and Bonnie Cehovet who added another dimension with her review.

These cards are the Tarot de Marseilles, ISIS Version, produced by Tadahiro Onuma.

Sunday Showcase- Sakki Sakki Tarot

This is a weekend for big, bold colors for me, as today I feature the Sakki Sakki Tarot by Monicka Clio Sakki, and available at her website, although in a limited run, so who knows how long that will last. Do not mistake that Artist card for the Fool, because it is not.  The book, Playing with Symbols by the artist with Carol Anne Buckley, is a pretty darn good tarot book in its' own right, even separated from the deck.  The book also explains why some of the figures are headless.

This is not the first deck I think to reach for, but it's quirky, fun energy, and outstanding companion book, make it a keeper in my collection, as I feel it adds something to tarot that makes it different than before the deck made its' appearance.

  

If you like your colors and art large and in charge, if you like to play with symbols, which is what I feel the basis of tarot learning is, then you may like this deck!

These cards are from the Sakki Sakki Tarot by Monicka Clio Sakki and available at her website.

Saturday Showcase- Phoenix Tarot

The Italian Phoenix Tarot, by Paola Angelotti is a deck I have to take in small doses.  The colors are incredibly vibrant, and the line art is simple yet striking.  Something about these cards causes me to have a visceral reaction, almost making me dizzy at times, and causing me to fall straight into the artwork.

The cards are large, 3.25" x 4.75" and printed on a non glossy, fairly stiff stock.  They are labeled in Italian, with the Fool being 22, and the Minor Arcana being pip cards.

This deck is self published and I am not sure where you could find one, but the good folk at Tarot Garden are amazing with finding things we think we unfindable.  They have a knack!




These images are from the second edition of the Phoenix Tarot of Paola Angelotti.

Sunday Showcase- Surrealist Tarot

Today's showcase deck is the Surrealist Tarot by Ari Bach, who you can visit on facebook or at Tarotsmith.

I adore black and white decks, and this one definitely fits the bill!  It has been self published and came to me all the way from Singapore.  It is definitely not a traditional tarot, and it is not aiming to be, either, so hold on loosely and take a ride.  The cards themselves are playing card size, and the images show up quite well even at that smaller size.  It seems to be a deck with a sarcastic sense of humor!  There are some carsd some people may find disturbing, though I sense they are meant to be more a "black" kind of humor, or the sort of disturbing that makes you think, not just goes for the gross out factor, but all the images are available online and I encourage you to check them out, not just take my word for it.

Can you tell these are naughty cards that do not wish to line up in the scanner properly?  They are beautifully printed on lightly laminated card stock, I promise you!  I am the one with issues.





These cards come from the Surrealist Tarot by Ari Bach, and can be seen and purchased at Tarotsmith.

Saturday Showcase- The 7th World Tarot Deck

I am achingly aware that I have many, many tarot decks, more than I am ever going to be able to use in my lifetime, so many of them are just here for my own personal delight.  I very much enjoy the exercise of using each deck for a week, but if I stopped obtaining decks now (fat chance) it would take me about twelve years to use each one for a week on this blog, but they deserve to be seen!

The 7th World Tarot Deck, created by Australian artist Terry Whidborne is my feature for the day, and it is beautiful!  I am reminded of Alice in Wonderland, but under his own direction.  The Seventh World website is full of all manners of curious, quirky, and engaging art.  The deck itself is printed on sublime card stock, and so much fun to look at.  My only quibble, which is a matter of personal preference only, is the unillustrated pip cards, in the Marseilles tradition.

Nisaba Merrieweather has written a review about the deck here, and J. Dev has also written a review here.  One day I hope to add to their body of work, but go on over and see what they think after you take in these beautiful images!

These images were created by Terry Whidborne at  The Seventh World.  Visit his web home here.