Customer Reviews

The Bohemian Gothic Tarot [With Instruction Booklet]

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I've had this amazing and one of a kind deck since it's release by the publishers, Magic Realist Press, in end of December. It's only recently become available in the US.

It quickly and without hesitation became my absolute favourite deck (I have over 200 decks!). There is no other Tarot on the market like the Bohemian Gothic. In my opinion this is now THE quinnessentail Gothic Tarot deck. Vargo's Gothic and others pale and wither in comparison!

First off they're 3x5 inches and of a sensual and silky cardstock. They shuffle like butter in your hands, and only get better with use. I've used this deck everyday now for 4 months! The backs have a striking skull and arch interlocking pattern with the words "Memento Mori". There's a silver ink sheen to the image. Completely reversible. I can tell you they're extremely eyecayching!

The creators Karen and Alex desired to create a deck truly inspired by the earliest Gothic novels and chapbooks from the 18th & early 19th centuries....books like Mysteries of Udolpho, The Monk, The Recess etc. And also the fascinating, mysterious and chilling resurgence of Gothic fiction and fad for ghost stories that started in the mid-1800's until the early part of the 20th century. These are the stories, images and inspiration for theses resplendent and breathtaking images!

They wanted the sublime terror, not the gorey horror affect of recent times and some decks. Honestly there is no other deck currently on the market that has this inspiration and ideals. The chill in the air, the glimpse of something out of the corner of your eye, the distant moan and creaking door. Goosebumps and sighs. Mystery and eldritch primal energies.

The images themselves are beyond words almost, you must behold before your eyes to get the full eerie effect! The cards are done luxurious deep colours. Various shades of blue abound, from a haunting blue, to melancholy, to strong rich brew of blue. The most varied and chilling collection of blues! Dark reds, reddish-orange, pink, a deep absinthe green are seen on quite a few cards. The colours play an extremely important part in this Tarot. The mood and ambience they create is amazing!

The art and images were very much taken from actual late 19th cen to early 20th cen. cabinet photographs, people just "looked" different back then! The creators created each card anew, with incredible attention to detail and atmosphere, the result, though each image is composed of many various parts of other images is completely seamless! There are NOT collage in the normal sense! Totally and completely brilliant artistry. The effects of light, mostly moonlight is one of the most amazing things about these images. The effect makes the light appear real and moving! I have no idea how they've done it, but it's surreal.

The images speak very loudly, clearly and eloquently to me. They sing, they whisper, they laugh, they sigh and cry.....yearn and love. These images will spark your imagination and inspiration! The tales, stories and fairytales to be unveiled and discovered in this deck are unlimited, like hidden jewels within a buried treasure chest they await to be discovered by you as you plunge into the dark waters of your subconscious.

Speaking of dark, yes this is a "dark" deck, in content, image and colour. But don't let that label make you pigeon hole this deck and have you use it in a narrow and slotted way or role! I've found the Bohemian Gothic is a deck to savor and get to know over time. She will reveal herself to you in layers and stages, but you must devote yourself to her! She demands your time, paitence, love and commitment. But it's no hard slog, I've done all this and more with the most intense excitement, joy and a feeling of finding, finally, "THE ONE" perfect Tarot for me. The vast rewards you will get back are nothing short of magnificent for the time and love you put into spending time and studying this deck, doing daily readings, studying the images....all of it. The more you work with the Bohemian Gothic the deeper and deeper it gets, I can't believe it!

So yes it's a Gothic deck in the truest, sublimest sense of the word, it's a "dark" deck, but at least for me, it's an everyday deck....the images run the complete gamut and convey the entire range of human emotion and experience. Besides the chilling foreboding and wickedly eldritch images there is plenty of joy, light and sublime happiness too! It reads fantastically for me on any question and with any spread. It's the deck I've turned to daily now for 4 months for a myriad of reasons, and it's never failed me!

I really cannot put into words the sheer power, poetry and stunning beauty these cards have when they're layed out together, either in different spreads or in a row. Being borderless the images bleed together to create this powerful swirling vortex of energy and emotion! You MUST see it!

As a last comment I wanted to mention the limited edition Silver Edition of the Bohemian Gothic that was released end of December also. There were only 500 and they're completely sold out now! Can you believe they took only 2 MONTHS to sell out?! If you've seen them, you know why. I snagged 3 copies for myself. They're going to be a HUGE collectors item, just a month or so after selling out the swt already sells for double (the set sold for $49, they're now selling on Ebay for $99 and upwards)!

The antique silver ink the creators have overlayed on crucial parts of each card is truly unique...never been done before! A few Tarot decks have silver foil....this is not! The haunting moonlight effect is magical and plain eerie. All the cards look lit up from within...as if each scene is in the moonlight. Some of the cards have a 3D effect, they look like photo negatives. The play of light on them is otherworldy, moving the card under the light creates all these varying effects. Hypnotic. I'm extremely proud to own 3 copies. The Standard Bohemian Gothic and the Silver edition have such different energy and vibe that I honestly consider them differennt decks, even though they both have the same images. Many have said this and noted it! The artfully applied antique silver ink makes each image come alive and read in a whole new way!

If you can, GET a copy of the Silver edition, they are completely worth it and then some. Think of the many 1,000's of tarot decks out there then think this Silver edition with the ink overlay has NEVER been done before, you've never seen this effect and beauty!

Yes this review is long-winded. But it's MY deck, my one true Tarot I've been waiting my entire life for. That alone makes it worthy of my immense praise and recommendation!

Just to let everyone know who is viewing this page that this particular Deck is the 2010 STANDARD 2nd Edition Re-Print of the original 2007 Bohemian Gothic, (for which the bulk of these Reviews, prior to Sept 2010, are raving about).

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THE ORIGINAL 2007 BOHEMIAN GOTHIC CAME 3 WAYS:

1) a Signed & Numbered Limited Edition Silver Kit (only 500 printed), with black silk Tarot Bag, and extra 'Danse Macabre' card; but NO companion book, just an LWB (Little White Booklet); (the cards themselves were overlayed with silver paint);

2) a Deck and Companion Book Kit, (no silver overly, no tarot bag, and no 'Danse Macabre' card); and,

3) just the Deck with LWB (Little White Booklet).

The pictures in each version of the original are the same. The only difference is the silver-overlay of paint on the Silver Edition.

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THE 2010 RE-PRINT CAME TWO WAYS: (the deck on this page being the Standard 2010)

1) a 1,000-copy Special Edition Pewter-gilt-edged Deck with LWB, (that sold-out in six-weeks). 'Special Edition' means that Magic Realist Press reserves the right to re-print this deck at any time; whereas Limited Editions, such as the 500-copy Silver Kit above, will never be re-printed; and,

2) a Standard Deck, (no gilt-edging), with LWB of which this Amazon page pertains to. Alas, it's November 9-2010 and already the shipping dates listed are 2-5 months, which leads me to believe these are probably already sold-out.

The pictures in each version of the 2010 Re-Print are the same. The only difference is one has Pewter-gilt edging.

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COMMENTARY ON THE 2010 RE-PRINT

I, personally, have all versions of the Bohemian Gothic and love them all.

It is important to note that Karen Mahony, Designer & Alex Ukolov, Artist, (the husband and wife team that ARE both Baba Studios who create the decks, and Magic Realist Press who publishes them), have pretty much completely re-worked this 2nd Edition Bohemian Gothic deck.

The cards are brighter in their colouring making the detail much easier to see; and on many of the cards the main character has been brought more into the foreground giving them a more up-close and personal effect.

The box the cards come in, usually called a 'Tuck Box', is anything but standard fare for this new 2010 Re-Print. Instead of being the thin, flimsy cardboard box that opens at the top, (with the flaps ripping off in short-order), this is a strong, sturdy front-opening box that will stand the test of time. Oh, that ALL decks were packaged this way!

The 'Bohemian Gothic Tarot', (no matter what version you may get or be interested in getting), is THE standard by which all other so-called 'gothic' decks are compared. It is, in the truest sense, reflective of actual gothic literature and does not disappoint in the genre for which it was intended, like so many 'wannabe' gothic decks do.

....this deck is absolutely my personal favorite. I own over 1043 decks and I can say - this deck represents all a Gothic Tarot should be: deep, dark, mystical, and words left unspoken except by the interpreter. The netherworld never looked so enticing. This deck will forever be at the top of the Gothic Deck genre.
I have both the 1st and 2nd editions - BOTH are the jewels of my collection. Kudos to Karen Mahony and Alex Ukolov. I could not wait and had to have the silver edition as well as the standard when it became available. Trust me when I say the standard deck is well worth adding to any collection.
I purchased multiple copies so as to have one for reading and to add to my collection.

This is one of the Best Card Decks on the Gothic Culture that i have seen.
The art work is Exquisitly done, i just cannot stop looking at the cards. I am waiting for the book on it to come out. I would highly recommend this to anyone into Gothic Culture and Gothic Art.

I can add little to the above review other than this deck is not only an extraordinary Tarot deck, it is also a gallery of 78 Gothic pictorial vignettes that will prove inspirational and illustrative for writers and poets working in the genre. A wonderful companion gallery to HP Lovecraft's survey of Supernatural literature as well. ghos

This is a beautiful and interesting tarot. It is gothic and elegant.
This deck is not for everyone. You should love gothic and victorian style. It is not very optimistic but more dramatic, melancholic. I love it; the pictures are real art and it is a rare deck. A real collector's item!

I couldn't believe how gorgeous these cards are when I got the deck. I had bought them when they weren't in stock and had to wait a while before they finally arrived but it was totally worth it. This a truly Gothic deck too; on the Lovers card she looks entranced while he looks like he's going to kiss -- or bite -- her neck, on the three of pentacles we see a character in bandages who bears a great resemblance to Frankenstein's monster, etc. I have only one real complaint and that is the cards are thinner and less sturdy than what I'm used to. Virtually every other Tarot deck I've had before this (4 total) were thicker and than this one and were laminated to protect them. I must admit to having a minor quibble in that the backs of the cards with the bones, well, they look a bit like common Halloween decorations. I'd have preferred something like Gothic pillars against a night sky, just something a little more elegant. But if you're into gorgeous, richly dark and classic Gothic artwork, don't let my complaints deter you! If that describes you then you'll love this deck.

Do not hesitate to acquire the latest tarot deck from Magic Realist Press.
I find this deck to read with a very subtle humor.
It is not too dark for everyday use, yet lends itself nicely to shadow work.

I never expected to like the Bohemian Gothic Tarot as much as I did. This deck is really something special. I love the symbolism and some of the cards are quite clever. The Devil card was the most disturbing one I have in my growing collection of tarot decks. The King of Cups is really creepy and the King of Pentacles an excellent interpretation. The LWB is more helpful than most and has the regular and dark interpretations. My first reading was dead on accurate and I know this deck is going to be one of my favorites.

Or are the images on this deck a tad TOO dark? Not the content, but the actual printed image. My absolute favorite deck is the Victorian Romantic by the same artists, so I eagerly awaited this new deck. So it was with some disappointment that I noticed right away how dark the card images are. You can especially see the difference when comparing to the small black & white photos in the book, which, even in much smaller form, contain so much more detail. Otherwise, I completely agree with all the positive reviews previously mentioned here. The book is also first-rate. The thought and research that went into each card is impressive. This will still be a treasured deck in my tarot collection, and I would give it a full five stars if not for the extreme darkness of the card images. There's so much rich detail in the artwork, and it's a shame some of it can't be seen unless you take a look at the corresponding book photo. Still ... a beautiful deck brilliantly conceived.