Sacred India Tarot

Creator(s): Rohit Arya, Jane Adams
Date: 2011
Country: India
Publisher: Yogi Impressions
Number of Cards: 82
ISBN: 978-81-88479-78-8 
Type: RWS
Reference: artist's page

Notes:
Rohit Arya works and writes in India, and Jane Adams is an artist in the UK; they started to work on the project in 2001, exchanging images and ideas by email.

The Sacred India Tarot combines Tarot and Indian mythology. The Major Arcana depict the archetypal forms of the gods and goddesses of India. Initially, the project was called the Hindu mythology, Tarot, but the name was changed because the cards also draw plenty of Jainism and Buddhism.

The Suit of Staves (Wands) is inspired by the Indian epic Ramayana. The love story of  Shiva and Parvati is shown in the suit of Lotusses (Cups). The Suit of Arrows, based on themes from the Bheeshma episode of the Mahabharata. The author uses arrows instead of swords, because Indian myth is primarily an archer culture, swordsmanship being mythically of no account. The Suit of Disks (Pentacles) depict scenes from the life of the Buddha.


The allocation of the elements to the Cards in the Sacred India Tarot is:

Page - Air

Knight - Fire

Queen - Water

King - Earth

Staves (Wands) - Fire

Arrows (Swords) - Air

Lotuses (Cups) - Water

Discs (Pentacles) - Earth

The deck comes with 4 extra cards. There are two "blessings" cards called Ganesha and Babaji and there are alternative death and world cards.  The accompanying book provides information on the background of the Indian gods and goddess forms. The cards are in a box in the insert, which contains an image of Babaji, which can be pulled out and used as an altar.

Crystal Visions Tarot

Creator(s): Jennifer Galasso
Date: 2011
Country: USA
Publisher: US Games
Number of Cards: 78+1
ISBN: 978-1-57281-702-9 
Type: RWS
Reference: aeclectic

Notes:
This is a very pink deck. According to Galasso the Suit of Swords (element air) represents the intellect, communication, conflict and resolution, action, change, force, power, oppression and ambition. And thus she decorated the suit with birds and butterflies.

The Suit of Cups (element water) represents emotions, love, connections, the subconscious and relationships. The symbols used in the cards of this suit are different phases of  a pink moon, pink water lilies, pink dragonflies, and pink water nymphs.

The Suit of Pentacles (element earth) represents money and material things, work, business, trade and prosperity. It was decorated with pink dryads, trees, wildlife and pink crystals.

The Suit of Wands (element fire) represents creativity, inspiration, artistic endeavors, primal energy, spirituality, determination, strength, intuition, ambition and courage. The symbols used in the cards of this suit are candles, pink dragons, plush lions, pink unicorns and pink crystal balls.

Wildwood Tarot

Creator(s): Mark Ryan, John Matthews, Will Worthington
Date: 2011
Country: USA
Publisher: Sterling
Number of Cards: 78
ISBN: 978-1-4027-8106-3
Type: RWS
Reference: artist's page 

Notes:
The Wildwood Tarot is a reconception of The Greenwood Tarot, which was published in 1996 by Thorsons. The Wildwood Tarot  draws inspiration from pre-Celtic mythology and shamanic mysteries including the Green Man and Woman.

While the names of the Major Arcana cards differ from those in the RWS, many of the cards images are similar to the RWS Majors:

0 - The Wanderer
1 - The Shaman
2 - The Seer
3 - The Green Woman
4 - The Green Man
5 - The Ancestor
6 - The Forest Lovers
7 - The Archer
8 - The Stag
9 - The Hooded Man
10 - The Wheel
11 - The Woodward
12 - The Mirror
13 - The Journey
14 - Balance
15 - The Guardian
16 - The Blasted Oak
17 - The Pole Star
18 - The Moon on Water
19 - The Sun of Life
20 - The Great Bear
21 - The World Tree

The suits are Arrows (Swords/Air/Spring), Bows (Wands/Fire/Summer), Stones (Pentacles/Earth/Winter) and Vessels (Cups/Water/Autumn). The Court Cards, King, Queen, Knight and Page of each suit are animals.  The subtitle for each Court Card is the name of the animal pictured on the card. The Ace through Ten of each suit are also given subtitles.

The reversible backs of the cards are  forest green with a thin white border and tiny copyright attributions. 

Cat's Eye Tarot

Creator(s): Debra M. Givin
Date: 2011
Country: USA
Publisher: US Games
Number of Cards: 78
ISBN: 978-1-57281-685-5   
Type: RWS
Reference: aeclectic 







Notes:
The Cat's Eye Tarot artist is a feline veterinarian and the cats in her deck are extremely realistic housecats. The suit of Wands shows Red Tabbies, the suit of Cups Black and White Tabbies, the suit of Swords Siamese, and the suit of Pentacles Brown Tabbies.

The Major Arcana carry the traditional titles (with the exception of the Hanged Man, which becomes the Hanged Kitty) and have purple backgrounds.

Wands are of orange color and show reptiles as the cats prey, the suit of Cups  red color with fish, the suit of Swords blue and has birds as temptation, and the suit of Pentacles green with mice to catch.

 The art is watercolor. The card back features a close-up of a cat’s face with green eyes and is not reversible. In the LWB it is suggested to use Cat’s Eye Tarot to read for cats.

TaRat

Creator(s): Nakisha VanderHoeven
Date:  2011
Country: USA
Publisher: self-published
Number of Cards: 78
ISBN:    
Type: RWS
Reference: artist's website

Notes:
The cards were created  in ink and watercolor on 2.5" x 3.5" sized paper. It was in 2010 originally designed to be a mini novelty deck, but due to demand, is now available in various sizes. This is the largest edition, which is still smaller than average, measuring 8.9 cm tall x 6.4 cm wide.

The TaRat is a 78 card deck, each card with a different image of white rats. There are Swords, Cups, Pentacles and Clubs in this deck, as well as underlying themes of stars, moons and planets and some birds.

The majors are un-numbered. The minors are scenic and are sometimes, but not always, similar to the RWS. The backs are reversible. It came with a one-page sheet of card meanings and an envelope of inclusions from the artist. No title card, no bag, no box.

Russian Tarot

Creator(s): Boris Monosov, A.N. Golod
Date: 2011
Country: Russia
Publisher: Vektor
Number of Cards: 78
ISBN: 978-5968419248 
Type: Marseilles
Reference:

Notes:
Boris Monosov is an author who wrote some books on tarot and magical arts. Each card has a signature A.N. 

According to Adam McLean the Russian Tarot by Boris Monosov has been designed in 1994 but not been printed that time. This edition  was issued by the Russian publisher Vektor in 2011.

It came in a box with a Russian-only booklet.

Emanations Tarot

Creator(s): Richard Moult 
Date: 2011
Country: Australia
Publisher: Black Glyph Society
Number of Cards: 64
ISBN:  
Type: other 
Reference: artist's page 






Notes:
The Emanations Tarot is a rare deck by "Christos Beest", a pseudonym used by the Shropshire based composer and artist Richard Moult. The deck includes his 21 major arcana of the original Sinister Tarot, the published court cards and alternate versions of some cards. A selection of Richard Moults newer paintings created almost two decades later, such as his Sappho series, are also part of the deck.

Beest/Moult created this deck while in the Order of Nine Angles (or ONA). Moult was involved with the ONA for about a decade, from 1989 to the late 90s. At some point during this decade, he created a tarot deck reflecting the ONA's philosophy and worldview. Part of this deck was published in 2007 as "The Sinister Tarot," in a limited edition of 40.

Unlike most occult tarot decks, this one is not connected with the Golden Dawn. Its major arcana, and court cards, differ from tradition. A few cards, such as the Lovers, are traditional, though the imagery is not.

According to an accompanying document, this deck is not for telling fortunes, but for "visualisation, and attracting cosmos energies, called 'Dark Gods,' according to the Tree of Wyrd." Each tarot trump represents a Dark God, as well as a pathway in the Tree of Wyrd. These correspondences don't follow the Golden Dawn's interpretations––neither do the images themselves.

Only 24 sets of Emanations using the white ONA Sigil on a black velvet tarot bag were issued, another 24 sets were supplied with red tarot bags adorned with the newer golden sigil designed by Moult. My copy has the black bag with the ONA sigil. The deck came with a black tourmaline stone, a CD with chants and a little booklet.

The Sinister Tarot, like all ONA material, is not copyrighted. An accompanying document to the Sinister Tarot can be downloaded here. Medium to high resolution scans of all available cards are available as torrent

The Arcanas of the Star

Creator(s): Philippe Rouchier
Date: 2011
Country: France
Publisher: Editions du Chaudron Magique
Number of Cards: 22
ISBN: 
Type: 
Reference: artist's page

Notes:
Philippe Rouchier is an artistic director and designer for cinema and TV and is a published novelist. ‘Eye of Myrrdin’ and ‘The Tarot of the Storm’ were his  previous major arcana decks.

The title (in French and English) and number is at the bottom of the card. ‘The Fool’  is unnumbered in this deck.The reversible card backs are black with a yellow central circle within a geometric design of a star. The deck came with a 42 page  booklet written in both French and English.

Ghosts & Spirits Tarot

Creator(s): Lisa Hunt
Date: 2011
Country: USA
Publisher: US Games
Number of Cards: 79
ISBN: 978-1-57281-661-9 
Type: RWS
Reference: artist's page

Notes:
The deck follows a traditional structure, with Strength at VIII and Justice at XI. As in Hunt's other tarots the Hierophant becomes the High Priest, and the Devil becomes Chains. The suits are entitled Wands, Cups, Swords, and Pentacles. The Court Cards are entitled King, Queen, Knight, and Page.

There are 79 cards including an unnamed card which could serve  as a Significator, it  shows the head of a figure that appears to be behind bars, another face  right of the central face and more faces  below.

The cards are standard U.S Games size, with a glossy finish and beige borders The titles are in a cursive script. The deck comes with a 60 page LWB in English. The background is  blue, with a triskelion of three white ghosts  in the center. The card backs are reversible.

Raven's Fool Tarot

Creator(s): Vicky DeFrancesco
Date: 2011
Country: USA
Publisher: self-published
Number of Cards: 78
ISBN:
Type: other
Reference: ravensfool

Notes:
The cards are wider than average, nearly square (10 cm x 9 cm) . Justice is 8 and Strength is 11. The Fool is numbered 0. Suits are Wands, Cups, Swords, and Coins. Courts are Page, Knight, Queen, and King. The backs are non-reversible.

The cards came in a bag, tied with a bit of blue plastic raffia.

Tarot of the Sidhe

Creator(s): Emily Carding
Date: 2011
Country: USA
Publisher: Schiffer Books
Number of Cards: 78 
ISBN: 978-0-7643-3599-0  
Type: other
Reference:  schiffer

Notes:
This edition of the Tarot of the Sidhe has 78 cards with original, colourful Faerie paintings. There also exists a sold-out  majors-only version from Adam McLean.

The artist claims that the deck is painted through direct inspiration from the Sidhe, (pronounced Shee, the ancient Gaelic name for the Faery race).

The cards use original, non-derivatory symbolism within traditional Tarot structure. The Major Arcana retain their traditional titles, with the following exceptions: Pan replaces the Devil and the Hierophant becomes the Elder. Justice is VIII, Strength is XI. The suits are: Dreamers / Air, Warriors / Fire, Dancers / Water and Makers / Earth. The Court card titles are King, Queen, Prince and Princess. The backs are a solid black, with a non-reversible center image in gray of the Great Glyph of the Sidhe.

The deck and 96 page companion book-with a foreword by John Matthews- come in a sturdy cardboard box with a lift-off top.

Tarot of the Holy Light

Creator(s): Christine Payne-Towler, Michael Dowers
Date: 2011
Country: USA
Publisher: Noreah Press
Number of Cards: 78 
ISBN:  
Type: other
Reference:  artist's page





                                      Notes:
The Tarot of the Holy Light is a traditional Continental-style deck full of images like they are used in alchemical and hermetic texts. The associations for the trumps from this deck are keyed to the ideas taught by Ettteilla and Papus. The Pips and Court Cards are distributed in a classic astrological pattern. The signs, planets, and elements that rule them are marked on each card.

The traditional names have been used for the Major Arcana, with the following exceptions: Magus (Magician), Priestess (High Priestess), High Priest (Hierophant), and Tower of Destruction (Tower). Justice is VIII, with Strength at XI. The suits are Wands, Cups, Swords, and Disks. The Court Cards are Queen, King, Knight, and Page.On the Queen of Swords are the Initials of Christine Payne-Towler.

The card backs are done in black and white, with a Sun  in each corner.  At first glance the backs are reversible, but by looking closer one could tell if they were upright or reversed. The backs show some sort of a doorway into the cosmos, with the Sun representing the material world, and the Moon representing the celestial world. 

The box features art by Patrick Dowers, which is in a very different style to that of the deck. The cards themselves are 3” by 5”, with a linen texture. The LWB contains brief, Etteilla-based interpretations and spread suggestions. It is a limited edition of 1224, only 200 were signed and numbered. I have an unsigned one.

The Secret Language of Birds

Creator(s): Adele Nozedar, Linda Sutton
Date: 2011
Country: USA
Publisher: Schiffer Books
Number of Cards: 78 
ISBN: 978-0-7643-3900-4 
Type: other
Reference:  schiffer books




                                          Notes: 

The cards are big (4  x 5 1/2 inches). The name on the Major Arcana and the suit names of the Minors are in Italian. The court cards are named Queen, King, God, and Goddess. The minors from Ace to Ten are not  illustrated other then the corresponding number of birds to the number of the card. Each each suit is assigned to a particular type of bird. The associations are as follows:

North - Earth - Wren - Coins (Denari)
South - Fire - Skylark - Wands (Bastoni)
East - Air - Seagull - Swords (Spade)
West - Water - Kingfisher - Cups (Coppe)

There are some prominent humans pictured (Johnny Depp/Magician, Liz Taylor/Queen of Cups, Pavarotti/Hierophant...). The card back is reversible in blue with a diamond shape in the center. It comes in a  well constructed box with a metallic closure and is hinged on each side by white ribbon.

Baroque Bohemian Cats' Tarot - mini

Creator(s): Alex Ukolov, Karen Mahony
Date: 2011
Country: Czech Republic
Publisher: Magic Realist Press
Number of Cards: 78 + 1
ISBN: 
Type: RWS, mini
Reference:  artist's page

Notes:

Mini deck (83 x 52 mm) with gilded edges. Special edition of 1200.

The deck comes in a sturdy hinged box and with its own small drawstring bag with gold cording and Czech glass beads.

As the standard size edition this has an extra "The Fortune Teller" card.

The backs of the mini edition are reversible.

Baroque Bohemian Cats' Tarot (Third Edition)

Creator(s): Alex Ukolov, Karen Mahony
Date: 2004, 2007, 2011
Country: Czech Republic
Publisher: Magic Realist Press
Number of Cards: 78 + 1
ISBN: 978-1-905572-12-0 
Type: RWS
Reference:  artist's page

Notes:
This is the third edition of the deck (November/December 2011). The original deck was way back in 2004, this version has completely reworked the cards, with many changes in images - these include changed to the cats themselves, as well as alterations to colours, backgrounds and overall styling, but the spirit of the deck has been preserved.

Miniature models dressed in miniature custumes were used for the cat characters, and these are set against Baroque backgrounds mainly taken from Prague and other parts of Czech Republic (for details see here ). The general composition of the illustrations largely follows the Rider-Waite designs.

The majors are not numbered (allowing us to place Strength and Justice wherever we choose). The deck came with a title card, a LWB and the new extra card "The Fortune Teller" (in the first edition it was "Hermes").The backs of the standard size edition are not reversible.

Rosetta Tarot

Creator(s): M. M. Meleen
Date: 2011
Country: USA
Publisher: self-published
Number of Cards: 78
ISBN: 978-0-9840010-4-0 
Type: Thoth
Reference:  artist's page

Notes:
The  name of the deck is referring to the Rosetta Stone, a fragment of an ancient Egyptian granite stele discovered in Rashid (Rosetta) and dating to 196 BC. The slab is inscribed with three identical scripts in Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, Demotic text, and Ancient Greek and proved to be the key to decoding the previously unknown Egyptian hieroglyphs. In the same way that the Rosetta stone ties together the languages of these cultures, the Rosetta Tarot is intended to combine  Egyptian symbolism and Greek mythologies with alchemical symbolism.

The cards measure 7.1 cm x 11.2 cm. The backs of the cards are reversible and the background is a dark blue. They feature a red rose and a cross design that represent the four elements.

The major arcana show the title at the bottom of the card and the number, in Roman numerals, at the top. The court cards show the title at the bottom. The minor arcana have the number and suit at the top of the card and the titles (same as in the Thoth Tarot ) at the bottom.

The suits are Wands, Cups, Swords and Disks. The Major Arcana have titles that match Aleister Crowley’s Thoth Deck.   Adjustment (Justice ) is number 8 and Lust (Strength ) is number 11. The Court cards are titled Princess, Prince, Queen and Knight. Wands are associated with fire and Swords with air.  Most of the minor arcana cards are closely based on the Thoth symbolism with some slight variations.

The artist has chosen different mediums for each of the suits, which shall represent the spirit of the particular suit. The major arcana have been done in acrylic paint, for the suit of Wands she used a combination of coloured pencil and acrylic paint, the suit of Cups are done in watercolour, water-based ink and acrylic, the suit of Swords use a dry-point etching technique and acrylic, and for the suit of Disks it's oil pigments and acrylic.

The cards are packaged in a fold out box that opens on the horizontal. The box also contains an informative 56 page LWB. There is a face card that is numbered as one of 777 and signed by the artist. Mine is number 137. Also included is an extra card with my name in hieroglyphs.

Tarot "Droga"

Creator(s): Barbara Marzena Mirewicz-Czumaczenko
Date: 2011
Country: Poland
Publisher: BMMC  Pracownia Artystyczna
Number of Cards: 78
ISBN: 
Type: other
Reference:  artists website






Notes:
"Droga" is Polish for "road", and - laid out in two rows- there is a road connecting all the major arcana. The Majors can be arranged in different ways showing different roads through the arcana (compare with the Minotarot where Provoost had done a similiar thing). The majors have a roman number and a Polish title at the top and an English title at the bottom. The images for the major arcana were created as hand-made fired glazed clay tablets, which were engraved by scratching out lines. Then they were painted and the result photographed.

The minors have a Polish title at the top and an English title at the bottom. There are no roads in the minors but each suit has a characteristic colour. The backgrounds are formed by digitally mixing photos of engraved clay images and images of fire, water, sky or stone.

The card backs show a non-reversible labyrinth.

The first print-run of the Tarot Droga is limited to 100 decks, the edition is not numbered but came with a signed card and an exhibition catalogue instead of a LWB.

Dark Tantra Tarot

Creator(s): Mark & Ruth Ramsden
Date: 2011
Country: United Kingdom
Publisher: self published
Number of Cards: 22 + 4
ISBN: 
Type: other
Reference:  dark tantra tarot  

 Notes:
The court cards – normally King, Queen, Knight and Page – are represented in this deck as Mistress, Master, Slave and Sub. The suits are rods (wands), rumps (pentacles), yonis (cups) and linghams (swords). 

The Fool is renamed The Seeker. Next, the Dark Magus, shows a hermaphrodite magician. Sorceress replaces the High Priestess. The Mother replaces the Empress, Ba'al replaces the Emperor. No V is The Teacher and replaces the Hierophant and shows someone getting spanked. Pet Mistress replaces the Chariot, horses replaced by "subs". Self Love replaces The Hermit. Discipline shows a Dominatrix which replaces Justice. Suspended in black rubber suit and gas mask replaces the Hanged Man. Divine Androgyne replaces Death. Serenity replaces Temperance. A Baphomet-like "Bitch Rascal" replaces The Devil. Chaos replaces the Tower. Sacred Blood (Menstruation) replaces the Star. Majesty replaces the Sun. Eternal Goddess replaces Judgement.

The 78 card deck is still unpublished. This is a signed and numbered limited edition of the Dark Tantra Tarot’s 22 major arcana, which comes with 4 additional ‘Mistress’ cards, a booklet and a black velvet bag. The 4 additional cards portrait "renowned London Mistresses".

This B&W deck is printed on good quality card stock, with  matt finish on the illustrated side, and deep black glossy backs. The pen drawings which are the basis of the designs were printed in two colours, dense black with thick lines and grey thin lines.

Tarot Taré

Creator(s): Olivier Texier
Date: 2011
Country: France
Publisher: Le Dernier Cri
Number of Cards: 22
ISBN: 
Type: other
Reference:  Le Dernier Cri  

Notes:
Taré is a slang word meaning mad, insane.

Large cards (20x12,5 cm) in foliopack. The Tarot Tare comes with a DVD containing a documentary about the artist and his work. Limited edition of 200.