Customer Reviews

Secret Tarot

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

 

 

I have about 35 tarot decks at the time of this review and the Secret tarot is my trusty, faithful favorite. This deck has given me more breakthroughs than any other... and I have almost no idea why. At fist glance it seems slightly comic bookish in style with a lot of pale white women. Also rather than getting stuck in a pseudo-renaissance it seems to exist in all times as Julie Taymor's Titus does.

Some of the symbolism incorporated is just brilliant and was revealed slowly, a little at a time over a long period. I wondered what was going on with the Ace of swords... a sword is stuck in a piece of stone work with an engraving of a strange bird-man creature devouring a fish on it. This boggled me until one day I looked and got it, the bird (air intellect logic) devours the fish (emotion, felling, understanding) and thus the card represents a triumph of the mind over the emotions. The otter on Temperence was a wonderful idea: a creature that can survive both on land (solidity) and water (emotion again) but has been largeley forced to retreat to the waters (emotion) when it is in danger. I preferred not to use the little white book at all (read the first paragraph of it once) when learning with this deck, I had a much better time observing the cards on my own.

I try to read with a number of decks so that I can continue to get new information from the cards but the Secret Tarot is the one I turn to when I want to know what is going on.

This is an interesting deck that uses the traditional titles printed on the cards in 5 languages (English, Italian, French, German and Spanish). The fully illustrated Minor Arcana uses the Chalices, Pentacles, Wands, and Swords as the four Suits. The Major Arcana numbers Strength as XI (11), and Justice as VIII (8), while the Court Cards are made up of Knaves, who appear androgynous, Knights, Queens, and Kings.

I am not a fan of comic book art, but many of the cards do seem to have that "look", but this is not a detraction for me at all. The style of the artwork is not consistent, which is one of the things I enjoy about this deck. The characters are portrayed in 17th, 18th, and 19th century, medieval, renaissance, ancient, modern, and fantastical garb. Some of the female characters are nude or partially nude, but are not exaggerated in the way that comic book art often portrays women. Many of the cards have a distinct 1930's or 1940's look to them, and some of the faces are much more detailed and of a totally different "look" than others, so it seems that there was more than one artist at work on this deck. The colors are rich and deep, the expressions and postures are subtle and effective, and often evoke meanings or impressions that don't always follow the "standard" interpretations.

For me, it is the mixing and combining of these various "looks" or styles that draws me to this deck. I love it, because the mixed manner of costume alone can stir up images, ideas, concepts and entire stories. Take the Lover, Trump number VI (6) as an example. Here we have a young man in renaissance costume standing on the ground holding out six fingers. A glamorous 1940's style woman stands on a set of stairs, sideways, holding out two fingers, and a "can-can" sort of woman holds up her dress on a second staircase. These untraditional images add a whole new layer to my understanding of this card through their different styles of costume, and expressions, over and above the standard Rider-Waite Man and Woman with "Eros" or blind Cupid between them. (To read a rather untraditional interpretation of this card, visit the CosmicCards.com website

http://www.cosmiccards.com

The Fool, Trump 0, is another example of finding "twists", or exceptions to the "standard". Generally, The Fool suggests that you may be ready to embark on a new way of life, or take a "leap of faith", and that you may be confident that everything will turn out "ok". The Fool can represent a clean slate or new beginning, where hope, optimism, and wonder can lead to a new sense of freedom. However, The Fool in this deck tells me something more. He seems to have commitment issues as the root cause behind his desire or need to make a "new start". He appears to be resentful of the reminder of the domestic life he is leaving behind, and as such, he is probably not an "innocent", but more of a transient, always on the move, living out of a suitcase, as it were, on his way to the next "big" thing when he tires of his current state. He probably doesn't last long anywhere, and seems to be an angry loner, who may have too much pride, or by contrast, too much self-pity for the apparent unfairness of life. His fist is clenched, and it is not too far of a stretch to imagine him swinging his stick and bundle at the dog, or giving it a good kick. This is probably not his first "journey".

When I was first able to put voice to my instincts on both of the above examples (The Lover and The Fool), I began to accept, without reservation, my own way of interpreting the cards. This was the first deck that, in a sense, gave me "full clearance" and complete confidence to interpret the cards from my own intuition and perceptions, which is what I had been doing anyway, rather than from some little white book, or "standard" meaning according to those who had gone before me. I don't put much stock in the LWB's. I don't read them, and I don't keep them, so I can't share with you what IT has to say, which is probably for the best. (I should mention that my peculiar perception of The Fool in The Secret Tarots was again brought forth when I came upon the Tarot of the Old Path, but that will be for another review).

The Secret Tarots has many cards that challenge the reader to look a little deeper in order to uncover its "secrets", and as a Certified Professional Tarot Reader (CPTR), I hunger for this challenge. For all its depth, the images seem willing to give up their stories with just a bit of effort on my part. I don't see any (obvious) references to astrology, or specific magickal schools of thought or systems, and yet I wouldn't classify it as an "art deck". It can reveal much simply by looking at the pictures, even with no previous knowledge of the tarot. I highly recommend it to any teen or adult tarot reading level, including novices and experts, but probably not to young children because many of the references would most likely, but not necessarily, be over their heads. As with all Lo Scarabeo tarot decks, the quality is second to none.
copyright 2002 by Jo-Anne Penn-Kast

This is a very beautiful, acurate deck. Using the card meanings found in the included booklet, this deck is deadly accurate. So much so that I work with it almost exclusivly these days, although it's naturally wise to have another deck to fall back on. In fact, a few friends and myself were using them to 'cheat' at a basketball game, and they were accurate every time.

The artwork is just fabulous, too. Just goin' through the deck without doing a reading is fun just to look at the beauty of the cards. The magickian and temperance cards are deffinatly two of the most beautiful cards I've seen in any deck.

Also, they are fairly easy to read.

My only complaint is that the included booklette is absoloutly non-informative. It includes the intended meanings for the cards in about a two-three word description, and they are generally far from the traditional meanings, which can leave a beginner very... confused, to say the least.

However, if you don't mind a slightly non-traditional deck (never been a traditionalist, personally) and you know enough about the tarot via your own translations or the traditional ones, which you can find online, then you'll love this deck. I did.

I haven't had this deck for too long but I already love it. Its dark images appealed to me from the first moment I saw them and I couldn't help myself. I just had to have them.

Some people complain about Lo Scarabeo's borders (with the card name translations, etc.) but I don't find them annoying or obtrusive in the least. The wonderful images of the cards overwhelm them and I don't even notice the borders, nor do I think that they cut down the image size by very much at all.

That being said, the images force you to look deeply into them and search for the meanings in the cards. The artwork is, on the whole, somewhat dark. Even the more simplistic looking cards hold a whole depth of details that might be missed for quite a while. Some cards are rather straightforward in imagery while some others are positively puzzling and may elude personal understanding for a long time. Its images invite you to ponder them, even after you've finished your reading.

Definitely one to look into for those looking for a deck with great art, or darker themes. However, I am a semi-beginner at tarot and this deck takes a lot of concentration for me to even get some shade of general meaning out of it. I welcome its challenge!

-I wouldn't recommend it for someone who is looking for a first deck.
-I would recommend it for someone who is trying to move past the beginner's state and into reading more with intuition.

This deck has some of the most striking art work of any deck I've come across. Very gothic. Some of the cards such as the Moon are very beautiful. Even the stranger cards like the alien-elven fellow in the Magician really "work." There are only a few cards that I haven't gotten used to. Not recommended as a first deck. Learn on a Waite-Rider clone first.

a beautiful deck...the symbolism is very similar to popular decks like Rider Waite (Wands, Pentacles, Cups, Swords - e.g. 8 of Swords is a woman surrounded by swords imbeded in the earth)...the illustrations seem to be a blend of watercolor and markers not unlike the high quality illustrations found in graphic novels...the women are protrayed for the most part gothically... the deck draws on various periods - 18th and 19th Centuries, the Crusades and Medieval court images...yet it all seems to work together...not an ideal introductory deck but a good one if you're thinking about experimenting

The reader is introduced into a different universe via the "story" the artist created to go with the card art. I think this is a really cool idea, and although the artist's story plot is the archetypal fool's journey, it is told in a unique way.

As with all Lo Scarabeo decks, the art is lovely. My biggest complaint about this - and all other Lo Scarabeo decks, for that matter - are the card borders. I understand that Lo Scarabeo is an Italian company; so it makes sense an Italian translation would be available on all the card packs they produce. But I hate how they always include the Italian AND the English AND the French AND the Spanish translation of the card names on the borders of the cards. This seriously cuts down the size of actual picture shown on the card, and in my opinion is unnecessary.

Otherwise the deck is easy to understand and accessible for all level readers. I really liked the court cards, and I especially found the Queen of Wands to be intriguing.

The Secret Tarot is a gothic looking Tarot deck drawn by Marco Nizzoli and based on the Tarot of Marseilles and Rider Tarot. This deck screams "Renaissance meets Gothic". Nizzoli comic book style artwork shows glimpses of a world where the bygone era is still alive, heavily influenced by a gothic flair.

Nizzoli images are inked with non intrusive outlines, and painted with low contrasting colors and subtle shadows. Nudity is more persistent through this deck than in any others, although is tastefully done at all times.

The cards are labeled in five languages. The Italian label, written with dark blue ink, is prominently shown at the bottom. The English, Spanish, French and German labels, written with black ink, are shown at the top of the card and at both side of the numeral written in dark blue ink.

The Tarot of Marseilles is evident throughout the Major Arcana with few nods to the Rider and Visconti Tarots. This is a deck where Justice is 8 and Strength is 11. The Marseilles tradition can be easily identified in cards such as The Lovers, a finely dressed man deciding between two different women, The Wheel of Fortune, a dog, a winged monkey and non-winged monkey around a wooden wheel, and The Sun, two naked boys standing under the sun. A nod to the Rider tradition is seen in The Fool, a traveler walking left toward the end of a cliff, and a lone nod to the Cary-Yale Visconti tradition in Death, the characteristic bony figure on a horse wielding a scythe.

The Minor Arcanas depict the story of four secret kingdoms presented in the Little White Book: The Kingdom of Pleasure (Chalices), The Kingdom of Richness (Pentacles), The Kingdom of Sorrow (Swords), and The Kingdom of the Work of Man (Wands).

This deck is recommended for those tarot collectors who like a gothic theme. It comes in a fitting box and includes a Little White Book.

Other decks by Nizzoli:
Dream Enchantress Tarot
Secret Mini Tarot

One of the first Lo Scarabeo modern tarots in 1997 that featured a little white book with a storyline. This is an imaginary landscape, the Land of Secrets. The journey of a young soul that might be called a Fool that meets a Magician...and after his journey through 22 scenes of the majors, he returns to the Magician, a changed soul. In this minors in each kingdom or sui, we have a story told from the King down to the Ace.

While I've reviewed this beautiful tarot on [...], I left out the story of the LWB, hoping others would discover this textual treasure on their own...but I've heard through fellow fans of this deck, they've thrown this text away, thinking it doesn't have much meaning.

Fans might also buy the small mini-tarot that lacks the LWB that came with the earlier, bigger version of this deck and be unable to enjoy the text. Lo Scarabeo has been good enough to post the LWB for free.

[...]

I have an earlier version of the larger deck and the small mini. I appreciated the storyline many times to help get my imagination going along with the scenes. The storyline and suggested meanings are vague, dreamlike, suggestive, but not overwhelming for those who like to come up with their own ideas.

I happen to like the older Italian and French tradition of tarots being ordered, with Justice being eight and Strength being 11. But I also don't mind illustrated minors that pull from the Rider Waite Smith style of English-language decks. So this is a modern mix that suits me.

Also, I realize that the Sword scenes can be harder-edged and grim for some who desire lighter or softer scenes. The scenes remind me more of a singular soul's journey across a landscape rather than a family-friendly storytime hour. This is more a deck, in my opinion, for mature person-to-person style readings--a personal take.

Anyone who's read tarot for a while will have figured out this really obvious statement: good decks have personalities, and not all decks work with the reader. When I read for others, my 'default' deck is Hanson-Roberts--it looks like a fairy tale picture book, and gives very warm and positive readings. Insightful, but nice, like your gramma.

However, when I need something to cut through all the nonsense (which is a major problem when reading for oneself, isn't it?) this is the deck I turn to. Sure, it's pretty--but there are a LOT of pretty decks out there. And it has scene pips, so intuitive readers (like myself) have a lot to work with. But best of all, it's got a strong take-no-prisoners voice to it. It's not *mean* (the Thoth deck, in my opinion is just downright nasty), it's sort of like that super cool older sister you always wanted coming into your room late at night and telling you the 'what-fer.' It's by far my most accurate deck, and when I can get readers to take it (I often double read with HR and this deck--laying out the cards in one deck, and then fliffling through the other to find the matches so we can compare images), once they get past the kinda silly headwear, they are always blown away by the insight this deck gives.

Sure, the LWB is a bit thin. Aren't they all? I chuck the darn things anyway. You want to learn how to read tarot, you read *the cards*, not some silly booklet. Or you get Bunning or Greer and work your way through. It takes a little commitment, and this deck makes you get to know it a bit (there's definitely a warming-up period here)but it's a tremendous deck for insights into motivations and hidden causes.