Customer Reviews

Universal Tarot of Marseille Kit (English and Spanish Edition)

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This is one of three Marseille tarot decks produced by Lo Scarabeo in Italy. This one is a recoloured version of the deck drawn by Claude Burdel in 1751. This makes it one of the oldest available Marseille decks, much older than the versions of Grimaud (1898) or Paul Marteau (1930), but not as old as the decks by Jean Noblet (1650) or Jean Dodal (1701-1713).

If you want one of those older decks: Cartamundi have produced a recoloured version of the Dodal deck, but the recolouring is not very sympathetic - if you were going for an older deck, then the colouring would be important to you. In this case, you have to go to the hand-coloured works of Jean-Claude Flornoy.

This deck also appears under the ISBN 0738709506: Universal Tarot of Marseille.

Usually in these kinds of kits, the accompanying book isn't that great, but the book, written by Lee Bursten, that comes with the beautiful cards is really erudite in this kit, and shows that lots of research on the subject has been done.

I just received this deck and kit today. Although I own ALOT of tarot decks I have never seen anything quite as magnificent and beautiful as this Universal version of the Marseille tarot. Let me tell you why!
Its beauty and enchantment lies in its pure simplicity of ancient design. The faces and figures seem to capture each singly, a mystery all their own from an era long perished; even though these cards were quite familiar to Europeans back in the 17th century and prior till! The colors are gorgeous, rich and draws you into the card. Each SUIT (chalices, swords, disks/coins and staves) is color coded, the chalices have a mauve/pink background, the swords have a blue background, the staves have a green background, and the disks/coins, a golden background.
The sheer mystique of these cards is unmistakable and irresistable. The accompanying book that comes with the cards, written by Lee Bursten is EXTREMELY well written, describing the use of the Marseille deck during its time as a playing card game and not a divinatory tool; he goes into history and use, each of the major arcana, the court cards, what they all meant at THAT TIME before the Golden Dawn threw occult meaning and symbolism into it, and the minor arcana with their strange, floral and vine patterns -- what it all meant as far as history can tell us! He then finishes the book with a great way of learning how to use the Marseilles deck with or without the minor arcana, - how to use it the 17th century way! Honestly, I am thrilled with this kit. I will spend many long, engaging hours with friends in the discovery and playing of this 17th century 'card game of life' ! Two of my friends have ordered their own set, they were so enchanted by it. For the price, this set is EXQUISITE and worth every penny.

I absolutely love this tarot deck. The cards are bright clear with a lot of details. The book is not the best, but it does help to get a initial understanding of the meaning of the cards. For the price this is definitely a great buy. I even bought 2 extra sets for my a friend.

Dating back to long before modern revisionists will honestly admit, the ancient Tarot appears as a divination tool brought forward by the Gypsies as far back as the time of Dante. In the spirit of this historic tradition, Lo Scarabeo presents an exciting new version, with a modern flavour. Cheers to All!