Gay Tarot [BOX SET] (Cards)

by Lee Bursten (Author), Antonella Platano (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
The universal symbols of relationships -- a man and a woman united as a couple and the eternal yin and yang - are substituted here by archetypes that define male homosexual union.  A brilliant blend of modern figures and classic imagery, the Gay Tarot provides an excellent means of understanding and introspection for those who are not afraid of diversity.


About the Author
Since 1987, Art Publisher Lo Scarabeo has published over 100 Tarot decks that have been acclaimed all over the world for originality and quality. Only the best Italian and International artists are selected for our new decks, and the result is that Lo Scarabeo's decks are all recognizable as an exceptional artistic value.

Tradition
One of Lo Scarabeo's goals is the preservation of traditional Tarot decks.

Development
New decks and ideas are continually gathered from all over the world. This allows Lo Scarabeo to produce some of the most innovative decks available today.

Quality
Lo Scarabeo is committed to ever increasing quality and beauty of their products.

Distribution
*Llewellyn is the exclusive distributor of Lo Scarabeo products in North America.

Product Details

• Cards
• Publisher: Llewellyn Publications; Cards edition (December 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0738705977
• ISBN-13: 978-0738705972
• Product Dimensions: 4.8 x 2.8 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #595,181 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Deep, modern, colorful, self-conscious, July 11, 2005

By	Charles Harrington (Calif, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I have never had as tempestuous a relationship with a tarot deck as I have had with this one. While working with it I have both loved and hated it. With any themed tarot deck there is always a feeling for the fans of whatever particular theme is being used that the creator makes some glaring omissions/mistakes/blunders and that. By and large I would have to begrudgingly say that Lee Bursten and Antonella Platano have created a cohesive deck that is accessible to people of al levels of tarot experience.

The art: As is common with decks by Lo Scarabeo the artwork in the Gay Tarot is what American tarot raders would call "comic bookish". The illustrations are slightly cartoonish without ever looking silly. The style actually reminds me quite a bit f the artwork of Joe Phillips, my favorite gay artist. Platano does lovely work with color and the deck is primarily made up of soft jewel tones. There is a light dreamlike quality to most of the cards.

The setting: The deck is set in a very modern world, other than the Guides all of the cards depict scenes that could be easily encountered by a contemporary reader. There is little overt occult symbolism but Bursten and Platano have cleverly inserted many little nods to traditional tarot imagery in creative ways that do not upset the setting (the four suit symbols appear on a curtain behind the Magician, a crocodile appears on a blimp fling above the Fool). Of all of the attempts at a modern setting in a tarot deck this one does the best job of creating scenes which are both familiar but also profound and complex.

The Courts: The courts are Youth, Man, Guide, and Sage. The Youth and Sages work well. They are easy to understand immediately and at the same time offer deeper meanings the more one works with them. The Men and Guides were, for me, hit and miss. The Men (traditional knights) worked in the sense that they continue the progression from Youth to Sage but on their own don't do much for me. The Man of Chalices (knight of cups) is a Fire Fighter... other than the notion of emotions drowning out passion there isn't much going on there. The Guides are winged nude spirits/angels. I believe they connect the Men to the Sages by representing the spiritual awareness that takes place between before consciousness/self actualization. On their own they are fairly hard to interpret, without a large amount of "stretching".

The Gay: For a very long time gay readers have had a handful of unofficial gay decks. The Renaissance (Williams), Light and Shadow (Goepferd), and especially the Cosmic Tribe Tarot have a lot in the way of queer symbolism but it is subtle and involves a lot of reading between the lines. Along comes Bursten's official, Gay tarot and to be honest the first time I flipped through the cards I kept thinking "Where's the gay?" The deck falls into a recent pattern of gay men feeling like the media has paid too much attention to stereotypes about effeminate, self-involved, shallow men (and to a degree they have). The deck seems hell bent on proving that gay men are mostly just like straight men. While one can understand the reasoning the deck ultimately seems embarrassed by its own sexuality. The great irony is that while the deck is racially the most diverse deck on the market next to the World Spirit Tarot and also showcases more middle aged and elderly figures than any deck I have ever seen it has no interest in showing femininity with the exception of the Protector (Empress) and some would say the Magician. Bursten has claimed that he wished for the deck to be a spiritually empowering deck for gay men in the way that the Motherpeace deck was for women. In my opinion the deck falls short of that goal by completely ignoring any range of gender expression. Drag queens, who were largely responsible for the Stonewall riots and the fight for gay civil rights make no appearances in the deck but gay angels do? If this were the Men's Tarot it would work, as the Gay Tarot it was missing something.

This was my initial reaction to the deck. Later, I was surprised by the large number of gay men who saw the deck and thought it pandered to stereotypes by including references to theater. It appears that for many gay men the gay tarot wasn't butch enough. This sobered me a bit but the deck always feels for me like it is too self-conscious. Again to be fair, I believe that I set higher standards for this deck than others because of the desire for a "perfect" gay deck.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awsome Deck, December 13, 2004

By	Dale "d888" (Colorado Springs, CO United States) - See all my reviews

I have been reading tarot off and on since childhood. I won't say how long that it is, but it is a few decades. This is an awsome deck. The artwork is refresing and wonderful to read. It would be great if Lee Bursten would write a book to accompany the deck and provide discriptions for each card, but it is not absolutely necessary. I read a sample reading of his on the web for this deck and he is wonderful in his description of each card, that is why I feel a book is in order. Lee if you are out there, let me know when you have a book ready. You can see a lot in them just by looking at them. The cards are modern and representative of our times. I think they will truly be of historical value. The artwork is somewhat of a comicbook style, but beautifully done. Of course they are gay oriented and I feel they are true to what our society represents, acceptence, inclusiveness and non-racial. The figures are pretty much all male, so some of the traditional cards have been renamed, but that makes no difference if you are used to Waite style, you should have not problem expanding your mind with this deck. Of course everyone has different tastes, but I just love these cards and highly recommend them. Also, if you are looking for an erotic deck, this is not the deck for you. If I were a collector I would buy a set and leave it unopened for prosperity.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bravo Lo Scarabeo!, April 25, 2006

By	Chris Hoffman-Wiley (Columbus, Ohio) - See all my reviews

I love this deck. Finally a gay specific Tarot deck. People who criticize this deck for it's "gayness" and say "why do we need a Gay Tarot?" clearly don't get it. The traditional Tarots (Marseilles, Rider-Waite, Thoth) and all of their clones and copycats are so full of heterosexual symbolism that many gay folk (myself included) are often tired of having to re-interpret the cards from a gay perspective.

The Gay Tarot by Lo Scarabeo goes so much further than any deck before it...beyond a simple addition of Same Sex Lovers cards...EVERY card in this deck comes from a gay male perspective. And it takes it one step further by embracing as many facets of the gay male community that it can.

It is diverse in its representations of the gay male community...showing different ages, body types, careers, spiritualities, and masculine and feminine traits. It explores pride celebrations, coming out, making love, grieving, commitments, families...it makes a genuine effort to show as much diversity as it can, in a very modern world.

The artwork is very "comic-bookish", and may cause people to have a knee-jerk reaction...shrugs, laughter, eye-rolls, etc. But despite the fact that some of the images are a little too comic-like...there are many that seem to work as well. Particularly the Court cards...the Guides and Sages are beautiful cards to me, as well as the cards that represent families, gay kids, gay parents...truly awesome.

I thoroughly enjoy picking up this deck and just studying each image from beginning to end...joining in and celebrating the life journey of my gay brothers exhibited in this deck, and being reminded that I am not alone.

This deck is to be cherished...and should really be looked at more thoroughly by those who laugh it off or claim it's not diverse enough in its representations.

A major step. Bravo Lo Scarabeo!