Customer Reviews

The Fey Tarot

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2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The Fey Tarot distills the best of both worlds in tarot and the art of Japanese anime, recombining them into something new and exciting. This deck is wonderful for both the young at heart and in age. The tarot presented here is lighthearted and kind, "bringing no shadows." However this lightness does not eliminate the darkness of traditional decks; instead, The Fey Tarot twists and subdues the negative card meanings inwards. In doing so, this set becomes easily accessible and understood by children.

"The Fey Tarot is a deck full of life," Minetti writes. There cannot be anything closer to the truth. The bold colors of the cards contrast with the simplicity of the design, creating a uniquely majickal and deftly detailed series of story-cards. Each whole card is alive; from the attention paid to the expression in each creature's eyes to the way the fey's world blends naturally into the card. Using a combination of unique and bold color palettes, Aghem brings the center focus of each card straight into the emotions the cards evoke. Every creature's face, every part of their actions, contains realistic emotions. Each card becomes a theater for the mind's eye; where the fey perform on center stage teaching their lessions and showing their perspectives and views of the world and the meaning of life. The cards beg to be played with and explored.

The book is also a masterpiece. At 156 pages long, it delves deeper into the concepts and ideas that made this deck possible. It begins with the core foundations and beliefs of the artwork, goes straight into designer Aghem's mind showing how she developed the cards' sketches and emotions. Then it introduces tarot and how the fey and tarot match one another perfectly. Lastly, the cards themselves are described in detail. Minetti adding layer upon layer of insight and meaning into the simple but intricate artwork. The book ends by showing 4 unique spreads to user the cards with, from simple 3 card on up to complex 8 card designs.

The Fey Tarot is a great addition to tarot enthusiasts' collections. This is the product of Minetti and Aghem's first collaboration (hopefully not their last!). This deck marks a new perspective on deck design fopr the new millennium. It also moves away from traditional meanings of the cards giving them a fresh and playful twist. I would also recommend this deck as a great way to introduce young children to the modern world of the tarot, as it presents a very accessible and non-threatening view of it and the concepts tarot contains.

This deck has given me the most accurat readings,given serious lessons in a gentle,yet powerful way.It's always right on the mark.I like it better than any of my other Tarot decks(I have 20).
This is not a cutsey deck,but it is warm and friendly,and very lovely.I recommend it with all my heart to new and experienced readers alike.The book is informative,and fun to read.

Without a doubt, The Fey Tarot is a fairy themed tarot. However, Riccardo Minetti's concept and Mara Aghem's artwork tarot evokes a more universal manga-influenced variety of fairies. This departure from traditional celtic fairies is refreshing, and makes this deck stand apart from other fairy themed tarots.

The artwork is particularly interesting. Aghem drawing are cartoonish and slightly manga-like, seemingly penciled in pastels colors. Her imagery is charming, joyous, and elegant, fitting for this fairy themed tarot.

The cards are labeled in five languages. English label stands alone at the top right of the cards while Italian, French, German and Spanish are arranged in two columns at the bottom.

The Major Arcana are numbered with roman numerals, starting at 0 with The Fool, which are written at the top left corner of each card. A yellow line is used as a border. A few have been renamed: The High Priestess is The Seer, The Hierophant is The Wisest, Wheel of Fortune is the Wheel, and The Star is The Stars. Also, the artwork in these is quite loosen from the traditional imagery although it somewhat follows the Rider's tradition. For example, The Hanged Man portraits a winged fairy diving upside down, and The Lovers shows two elementals, a sitting male from earth and a floating upside down female from air, looking at each other.

The Minor Arcanas are numbered at the top left corner also. On these cards, green, blue, red, and purple lines are used as border for the suits of wands, chalices, swords, and pentacles. The artwork in these follow the same style as for the Major Arcana. The imagery usually includes a single figure from the suit such as a tree (wands), a chalice, a sword or a pentacle.

Of the Court Cards, the four knights are the most interesting because of their rides. The Knight of Wands rides a multi-colored bird. The Knight of Chalices rides a giant lobster. The Knight of Swords rides a white dragon. The Knight of Pentacles rides a rabbit.

The book that comes with this set is really good, too. Almost every page of this book contain a small sketch from Aghem!

The book is divided into the following sections:

How to use this book
Introduction (to this deck)
Introduction to the Tarot
And finally... divination
Major Arcana
Minor Arcana
Court Cards
Divinatory Spreads

The first four sections are particularly informative about the deck and Tarot. How to use this book briefly describes the intent of the book as a manual for The Fey Tarot. Introduction explains how this tarot came to be discussing the ideas behind The Fey Tarot, describing in details the creative process and including small sketches in every page. Introduction to the Tarot gives a brief but comprehensive introduction to the history surrounding the Tarot. And finally... divination explains The Fey Tarot as a tool for divination.

Each Major Arcana is described within two pages. Each description starts with an introduction, The Sentence. Then it continues revealing insightful information about the image, a simple meaning, an advanced meaning and symbols used. Finally, it concludes with Reflections.

The information for the Minor Arcana is more limited and brief. Only one page is spent for each, giving information about the image, a simple meaning, an advanced meaning, and the symbols used.

The information for each Court Card is as short as for the Minor Arcana differing only in context. It starts describing the personality of the card, which in turn, replaces the description of the symbols used. A simple meaning, and an advanced meaning is also included.

The final section, Divinatory Spreads, shows how to layout the cards for divinatory purposes. There are four layouts presented here: a three cards layout named Dream, Joy, Magic, a two cards layout named The Fey Child, a full deck spread named The Cross of the Four Kingdoms, and a six cards layout named The Six Stars.

I recommend this kit for collectors looking for nontraditional fairy themed tarot. This set comes with a fitting box and a full size book.

Other decks by Minetti:
The Fey Tarot
Manga Tarot
Manga Mini Tarot

The Fey caught my eye a few years but I put off buying because it seem too childish on some level. I finally break down and bought it a few weeks ago I have to say that I'm seriously and wonderful surprised at how friendly and open the deck is. The images may seem more kid like but the depth of the readings it gives is anything but kid like.

The Majors are well done with a spin on how you view traditional ideas of the tarot. The Minors are done in such a way that the elemental suits have a small role in the images of the overall card allowing you to really look at the situation being depicted. The Court are simple, truthfully I have a hard time relating to a few of them because they do step out of the traditional meanings so far.

Overall the images are beautifully drawn and colored, the overall deck follows traditional tarot assignment with slightly different take on the tarot...the spin is enough to force you to think outside of the box but not so far that you can't relate to the deck itself.

This is a wonderfully magical set! This kind of deck isn't usually my thing so I very plesantly surprised I am ao in love with it.

The images are alive with gorgeous colour, emotion, movement and magic. This one deck you can read with complete intuition. The colours are something very unique and powerful. They just pop off the cards.

This is not a cutesy, sugary deck. It has immense depth and profound messages for the seeker. The Major Arcana alone is stunning! So so hard to choose favourites here. The Fool is now one of my all time favouries of any deck. The Hermit? Looks like something Escher would have drawn. The Tower is an evocative, new and insightful take. The Court Cards are some of the best ever done. Queen and King of Wands are just awe-inspiring.

I very highly recommend getting the companion book, it is one the best deck companions I have ever had the pleasure of reading. A really in-depth look at the creative process behind the images. He does a wonderful job of relaying the essence of each card and it's symbolism. It has some great spreads as well. Dream, Joy, Magic is one of my favourites now to use with any deck.

The art just sings to the reader. This is a very unusual and special Tarot, I think it really was created with some pure magic.

I find this set very enchanting, but then I like the Fairytale and Fairy type decks very much. This is very well put together, a friend of mine favors this over a lot of other decks, I love it and feel it's worth the money.

I got this Tarot set for my Wiccan boyfriend and he absolutely loved them! He says they give the most accurate tellings. He also loves the designs. Hw says they're very well detailed and keep you happy in the heart and soul. He says they make you feel very spiritual. I telol you this is a very good set! I reccamend!

I see much in the reviews here about this being an anime-inspired deck, even that it is geared toward the "younger person". But while the deck is brightly-colored and often whimsical, there is nudity in the art, so if you're one of those worried about your teen seeing cartoon nipples, you might want to reconsider purchasing this. You've been warned. Personally, I love the art. It reminds me very much of the art produced by UDON Studios for White Wolf's Exalted role-playing game.

I would also like to praise the packaging of this set. Not only does the deck come securely nested in the thin plastic tray, but it is also secured in a retail box, complete with the little "mini booklet" that accompanies most decks. This is most welcome since many tarot publishers who offer a set like this go "on the cheap" and give you a deck wrapped only in cellophane that leaves you searching for something to put them in once the wrapper is removed. The Fey Tarot is neat and clean.

Finally, the book was also arranged with the user in mind. It is a well-organized paperback with a lot of background information on the set and with each card illustrated in black and white in its own section. There is a fair amount of what some publishers might deem "wasted space", but the end result is much cleaner and easier to reference. Very well done, Lo Scarabao! Other publishers of tarot sets should take note of how this set was designed. It is wonderful!

A lovely deck with a clear sense of open-eyed wonder, this is a deck I'm really looking forward to using more.

This was the first deck I bought. The images and pictures are moving and beautifully done. I really responded to this deck, and just starting to learn tarot, I found it very helpful that the images were powerful enough to convey the meaning of the cards. Very happy with this deck, artwork is great, and the book that comes with it is invaluable, especially because I am a beginner. =)

I love everything about this deck. The artwork is lovely to say the least and the readings are right on the mark. Hands down, this has to be my favorite deck because it is both beautiful and precise. The descriptions of the cards themselves give the usual broad meaning, then a detailed description that gives more insightful interpretations. The cards are illustrated in beautiful color and each fey depicted is unique. You won't regret buying this deck!