Tarot of the Secret Forest

Creator(s): Lucia Mattioli, Pietro Alligo, Riccardo Minetti
Date: 2005
Country: Italy
Publisher: Lo Scarabeo
Number of Cards: 78
ISBN: 978-0738707631   
Type: RWS
Reference: aeclectic








Notes:
As explained in the LWB by Minetti, the cards do not have precise symbols, but rather are meant to be explored intuitively. 

 The cards have no titles. The Majors are marked with a Roman numeral at the top and bottom borders, and the numbered Minors have an Arabic numeral at the top border and a suit icon at the bottom. The Courts have the same suit icons at the bottom, and at the top a graphical icon representing the rank (a flower for the Page, a horse’s head for the Knight, a crown for the Queen, and a more elaborate crown for the King).

On the back the card duplicates the same image as on the front, but in a  black and white sketch instead. The monochromatic sides of the cards all contain the same borders and numbers, but aren’t simply monochromatic printings of the same painting, but are new renditions of the same image. They seem almost like preliminary charcoal sketches for the final painted color images.

 Interestingly, the black-and-white images often have different details, or different emphases, than the colored side. E.g.the moon shines with unearthly light through twisting branches. On the black-and-white reverse of the card, there are no branches; instead, thin concentric circles emanate from the moon, forming a celestial tunnel.