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Trzes’ Mamluk Deck: The Granddaddy of European Playing Cards
In 1931, Leo Mayer discovered a nearly complete deck of medieval playing cards in the Topkapi Museum of Istanbul, giving the world solid proof that European playing cards originated in the Islamic...
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I Tarocchi Marco Benedetti: An Homage to the Visconti-Sforza Deck
I came across this deck on The Gamecrafter while looking for something else and was immediately taken by the graceful, clean lines and minimalist design. The deck designer, Marco Benedetti, is not an...
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Oswald Wirth Facsimile Decks by Marco Benedetti
For the first and last time on this blog I’m reviewing a deck by a DFO (Dead French Occultist). I usually run out of the room when someone starts in about Kabbalistic associations with tarot (it’s a...
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The Jean Dodali Tarot Recreated by Sullivan Hismans
The Dodal/Dodali Tarot, one of the earliest and most historically important Tarot de Marseille (TdM) decks, has been beautifully recreated by Sullivan Hismans at Tarot Sheet Revival, after two years of...
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The Visconti Sforza Tarot: A Book by Cristina Dorsini
Just released: The third book in Dorsini’s trilogy about the fifteenth-century Visconti decks. In the fifteenth century, Italian aristocrats would commission an artist to make a one-of-a-kind tarot...
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Speed Reading the Tarot with Christiana Gaudet
Christiana Gaudet is my kind of tarot reader: concise, no-nonsense and practical. She gets right to the point without stalling for time; and knows immediately what aspect of a card to highlight. Her...
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The Deck and Book of the Deification of Sixteen Heroes
The legendary “da Tortona” deck, grandfather of all tarocchi/tarot decks, is now accessible thanks to a small but incredibly rich book by Ross G. Caldwell and Marco Ponzi; and a recreated deck by...
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I Tarocchi Rosenwald by Marco Benedetti
There’s something compelling about the Rosenwald deck. It’s enough like the Tarot de Marseille to feel comfortable; yet its quirky details give it a slightly exotic tone. For a transcendent experience,...
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Rereading the Classics: Yoav Ben-Dov
About this series: If you want to read with the Tarot de Marseille (or any deck with non-illustrated pips) and only know English, get acquainted with these six essential authors: Yoav Ben-Dov,...
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The Triadic Tarot
A square Tarot de Marseille with cards that can be turned in any direction! Pips arranged in triads according to a system described by the French occultist Papus. This radically unique deck will spark...
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Spread and Reading with I Tarocchi Lando
I discovered this spread in a booklet by Giulia Orsini included in the Lando Tarocchi produced by Giordano Berti. It works best for providing an overview of a situation and for advice on how to get the...
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Sicilian Tarot Exhibit Catalog: Il Mondo in Mano
This beautifully illustrated catalog is a rare opportunity to see cards that have been hidden for centuries, until this exhibit on display from September 2019 to January 2020 at the Castello Ursino,...
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A Tarot de Marseille Book for Everyone
The Tarot: A Strange and Wondrous Thing by Annette Wakulenko will give you a solid foundation for reading cards with the Tarot de Marseille (TdM). The card meanings, spreads and exercises in this book...
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Nicolas Rolichon Tarot Recreated by Marco Benedetti
This phantom of the tarot world is possibly the earliest Tarot de Marseille we know of. The only traces of the Rolichon tarot’s existence are a brief listing in an 1851 French auction catalog, and...
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The Budapest Tarot Second Edition by Sullivan Hismans
Introduction One of the most exciting events in my twenty years of collecting historic decks occurred in 2017 when Sullivan Hismans (Tarot Sheet Revival.com) introduced the Budapest Tarot. He...
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Jodorowsky Card Selection Technique
I’ve been watching Alejandro Jodorowski read cards on Youtube. He has a unique method of picking the cards for his three-card line. I’ve described it below and demonstrate with two readings. You’ll...
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Origins of the Minor Arcana by Ben Hoshour
This beautifully illustrated book delves into a neglected aspect of Tarot history. Historians usually skim over the suit cards (minor arcana) in their rush to the juicier trumps. This book gives the...
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Tarocchi Corband Produced by Giordano Berti
Some of the most beautiful Tarot decks I’ve ever seen emerged from nineteenth-century Piedmont. Giordano Berti has been producing limited editions of these precious but forgotten decks for several...
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Tarocco Bolognese Al Mondo
The Al Mondo Tarocchino is one of very few Bolognese-style decks to survive from earlier centuries with all cards intact. This deck comes to us from a narrow slice of time—after 1725 when Bolognese...
View ArticleFrom Trionfi to Major Arcana
How did we get from there to here? How did the Fool go from being a medieval village idiot to a vagabond, to a free spirit on the road to enlightenment? Does the medieval Popess have any relation to a...
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