Customer Reviews

Tarot of Marseilles

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

 

 

(Note: This is a review of The Tarot of Marseilles by U.S. Games Systems, ISBN 0-913866-60-1. Make sure Amazon sends you the correct deck.)

To be honest, when I first saw this deck I didn't like it because the pictures are crudely drawn. The male figures on the Lovers and Chariot cards look sleep-deprived, and the figure on the World card is male rather than female. However, I came to appreciate the deck a great deal after researching its history. The deck is a re-creation of one published by Jean Dodal in Lyon, France around 1701 and is one of the oldest Marseilles designs currently on the market. Card titles are in English, and suits are Wands, Cups, Swords, and Coins (not Pentacles, as in occult decks). Coloring is based on the original artwork and is done in aqua blue, golden yellow, clear red, hunter green, and flesh tones.

The male figure on the World card depicts Christ. Some early Marseilles decks show the World figure as a nude, risen or ascended Christ--with halo, cape, scepter, and sometimes a leafy girdle. The Christ figure in the Dodal deck has a cape, scepter, leaf girdle, but no halo. (Somehow this figure metamorphosed into the female dancer that later became the Marseilles standard for this Trump.) Other interesting cards in the deck include Justice, who is winged rather than enthroned, and the Devil, who has a face on his belly and eyes on his knees (a depiction invented by medieval monks). The Dodal designs closely resemble the Payen tarot, circa 1760, pictured in Kaplan's Encyclopedia of Tarot, Vol. II, pg. 316.

Included with the deck is a small (4.75" x 2.5") 55-page instruction booklet that describes symbolism, traditional interpretations, and card combinations for each Trump, all of which I found interesting. However, some of the descriptions refer to occult symbols not found in the Dodal deck, and many of the card combinations are weird (e.g., Sun + Wheel indicates "persecution"). The booklet also lists interpretations and card combos for the suit cards, but these tend to be brief, nontraditional, and confusing. The only problem in doing readings with the deck is that you can't distinguish reversals for half of the pip cards (mostly wands and coins). For each of these cards, I marked a small dot with a permanent black marker in both "top" corners of the card to designate its upright position. This works well and detracts little from the designs.

This deck is a reproduction of a centuries old Marseilles deck, rather than a new Marseilles-like deck.

The Marseilles deck is the historical predecessor to the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn's tarot deck, and it's influence can be seen on the Rider-Waite-Smith deck, the Crowley Thoth deck, and Wang's Golden Dawn deck.

The deck is worth it's price just to get a perspective or background on those prominent decks. I've found Wang's book on his deck a valuable addition.

The deck is artistically beutiful, yet simple - it has only four or five basic colours, and the pictures are simple and not loaded with symbolism (in contrast to the Crowley Thoth or the Haindl tarot).

It's interesting to look at the Camoin & Jodorowsky's restoration of the Tarot de Marseilles, which is based on hand drawn versions of the deck (the 'modern' version are based on the first printed versions, which had to use a small number of colours), which can be seen at (...).

This deck is very comfortable to shuffle - the cards are relatively narrow and long, and made of good material. An instructions booklet, which contains several spreads and card intepretations, which are quite different from those of Waite and Crowley, e.g. the 2s through 10s of each suit have no reversed meaning (the cards are symmetrical).

I've found the instruction booklet sufficient for people who simply want to read with the deck, but it covers nothing else.

There are some books on reading with the Tarot of Marseilles deck, so one can find plenty of literature to expand on the booklet. I agree with the previous reviewer that Sallie Nichols' Jung and Tarot is a good one, though be warned that :

- The book is about the major arcana only, and the minor arcana (pips and court cards) are not discussed.

- The book is psychological in nature, and it gives a lot of psychological insights, it is not a book about reading with the cards per-se.

For the historical perspective, there are several other good books, e.g. Dummet's books and the first two volumes of the Encyclopedia of the Tarot.

For Tarot enthusiasts, this is a deck to have and to hold. It is one the earliest -- if not the earliest -- Tarot decks in popular circulation, and the spare beauty of its images makes it one of the most valuable. As soon as I received it, I knew this was the deck I was looking for. Its beauty and power lay in the simplicity of its design. These archetypal Tarot images were copied and embelished by Waite, Crowley, and the Golden Dawn. Seeing the originals is an unmatched experience. (For a book to go with it, check out Sallie Nichols' Jung and Tarot.)

Tarot of Mareilles is MY deck. I have several, mostly modern decks representing historical periods which I do like, but I prefer things that have remained strong through the centuries. I had a Marseilles deck in high school. It somehow got misplaced, but still when using any other deck, I think in the French of the Marseilles deck: when The World comes up, I immediately think "Le Mond." I currently have this deck on order and eagerly await its arrival. If you also find the history of the tarot as one of its most appealing aspects, you should try this ancient deck.

Really. I was hoping to buy this reproduction of the Dodal deck, dated from 1701, but for some reason, Amazon sent me the wrong deck, an ugly Tarot of Marseille (convos) by AGMuller. I complained about it and they then sent me another one, which was the same one that I already received. I complained once more, and then they answered me that the item was misplaced and the deck I received was in fact the only one they had for sale with that reference, so there was nothing to do. I never received the deck advertised, and more than 6 months have passed. Therefore, do not buy this Tarot, for you will receive a different item!

If this is your first deck of cards, please buy a book to go along with them. The book will teach you nearly nothing about tarot, how to read them or what they mean. The cards are absolutely beautiful though and made a fine addition to my collection.

go for a tarot deck from Lo Scarabeo or US Games. this edition is soooooo poor, the paper is awful and cheap.

This is a reproduction deck based on the original French deck. The book won't offer much info in the manner of learning tarot, so I would advise finding a book to go along with it. The cards are standard, well constructed and look very nice.

If you want a copy of the Tarot of Marseilles I suggest you search out a copy of the Camoin Tarot. Produced in France by the last remaining original publisher of the original Tarot of Marseilles, this deck (the Camoin) is the product of two years careful research by two experts with over 40 years study of the tarot between them. Carefully working back to the original images, they have produced a reconstruction that is likely as close to the true original Tarot of Marseilles any of us will see in your lifetimes. To understand the esoteric significance of that original deck I suggest you seek out Whitely Stribers the Path. You may think Whitely is just the "UFO Guy" but he is really going to suprise you here with is mastery of this subject. Nuff said by me ... check it out yourself.

As a student of wizardry, this is my first deck, which is particularly handy for later reference. The "Lovers" card here is not an Adam and Eve scene, and this tarot ditches all the biblical crap you come across these days, leaving pure French patriotism. The Magician card here may not look as good as he does in "The Vampire" Tarot or "Robin Wood Tarot", but the pope card is perfect( I am not a Christian, so I find this card annoying), while the High Priestess is absolutely lovely, and the "Death" card may cause mirth or fear, depending on your personality .Based on medieval woodcarvings, this is a great beginning Tarot deck for ALL students of witchcraft and wizardry.