Kalevala Tarot [Paperback]

Kalervo Aaltonen (Author), Taina Pailos (Illustrator)

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Finnish

Product Details

• Paperback: 222 pages
• Publisher: United States Games Systems; 1st edition (July 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0880791861
• ISBN-13: 978-0880791861
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 4.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,395,967 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Inacurrate and forced, January 7, 2003

By 

"[e-mail]" (Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Kalevala Tarot (Cards)

In the book accompanying the Tarot deck, Aaltonen makes many mistakes who undermine his own understanding of the Kalevala and the credibility of his work. 1)On page 159 he mistakingly writes that in the Kalevala, Lemminkäinen achieves the three tasks that Louhi set for him, including killing the Swan of Tuonela. In fact, he doesn't kill the Swan, but gets killed himself just before. Lemminkäinen's death is an important scene in the Kalevala and one wonders how Aaltonen could forget it altogether. 2)On page 75, he pretends that the name Ainikki was given to two different characters in the Kalevala, eg, the sisters of Ilmarinen and Lemminkäinen. In truth, Ilmarinen sister is not Ainikki, but Annikki, a wholly different person (associated sometimes with with Tapio's daughter in other Finnish folk songs, while Ainikki was associated sometimes with Kyllikki and the character which became Aino). 3)On page 99, he states that Marjatta's Son was brought before Ukko. That's a mistake since he was rather brought before Virokannas, sometimes called ukko Virokannas (meaning : old Virokannas, while Ukko with a capital U designates the god Ukko). 4)On page 153 and on his Three of Stakes, he describes Väinämöinen and Joukahainen fighting for the courtship of Aino. In the Kalevala, they are not fighting for her at all; she is Joukahainen's sister whom Joukahainen promises to Väinämöinen ultimately to save his own life. 5)On pages 14 and 16, Aaltonen lists a bunch of people which he says to be of Kaleva clan, and among them, he lists Louhi, the mistres of Pohja! (clearly not Kaleva). That'S for the Kalevala. Now, about the Tarot, his book contains a series of kabbalistic diagrams of the sephiroth and the links between them grouped together and associated with several cards, suits or characters. Most of these diagrams are, in substance, copies from Crowley's Book of Thot (or any other book who copied from it) and Aaltonen doesn't give any explanation or reference. What's more, the kabbalistic associations that he makes with the Tarot cards are incoherent with the associations he makes betwen the Kalevala and the Tarot cards (already poorly fit). His choice of court cards is dull, introducing a lot of characters unknown to the Kalevala! Some of the card designs just try to reproduce the Smith-Waite cards with funny substitutions, such as antlers instead of a crown, bears instead of horses and so on. I also found that the cards' interpretations often overlap each other, because the symbolism is too dense. The catchy sentences printed in the booklet in order to summarize the meaning of each card, sometimes have little to do with the book.

8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Looks nice, but a poor fit to the Kalevala, July 14, 2000

By 

M. S. Green (Anchorage, AK United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Kalevala Tarot (Paperback)

As a tarot deck, this one is attractive. The accompanying book has brief descriptions of the various characters from the Kalevala, the Finnish national epic, and their histories. Unfortunately, the fit between the characters and the meanings given for the cards is often very forced -- a disappointment to me as a Kalevala lover. I guess I'll stick to keeping the Kalevala and tarot separate.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Kalevala as Tarot - A Special Creation, February 15, 2008

By 

Fulgour Prentice (Flora Township) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Kalevala Tarot (Paperback)

It's no good to be an "expert" if you don't have anything good to say, especially in this case: here is a genuine work of art, inspired and joyous! Let your imagination guide you, and fill in your own details... a book is a book, not a straight-jacket. Read it, if you wish to, but then pick up the cards! No reviewer seems to have been listening to the spirit of this work, but rather just enjoying speaking their opinions. But why not listen to the cards...

The cards are magical, and they speak volumes.