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.

Rumi Tarot

Creator(s): Nigel Jackson
Date: 2009
Country: USA
Publisher: US Games
Number of Cards: 78
ISBN: 978-0-7387-1168-3 
Type: RWS
Reference: aeclectic

Notes:
The Rumi Tarot has a traditional structure: 78 cards, traditional titles (with exception of the High Priestess, which becomes the Priestess, and Strength which becomes Fortitude), the four suits are entitled Swords, Cups, Staves and Coins, with the Court cards entitled King, Queen, Knight and Page. The minor arcana show a mix of both pip styling and small RWS-like scenes. 

The images are based on Rumi and Sufi beliefs, some of the features of the Rumi Tarot court cards are taken from the fifteenth-century cards of Mamluk design. Each card  has a verse from Rumi at the bottom.

The suits of the Minor Arcana symbolize the four Aristotelian elements and are corresponding to the alchemical mysteries of the Sufi path.  The basic positioning of the Trump figures and elements looks like in RWS Tarots, but everything from costume to architecture is Arabic.

The original paintings for the cards, done in tempera, are the same size as the cards themselves, also for the Minors, done in miniature portrait style.  The background color for the Major Arcana is blue, for the Minor Arcana and Court Cards it is green.

The box set comes with the 312 page companion book and a black organdy pouch. The book gives some history and background on Rumi and Sufism, offers a complete guide to the Tarot’s divinatory meanings, and also associates one of the 99 names of God with each card.

Tarot of the Curious East

Creator(s): Lynyrd-Jym Narciso
Date: 2010
Country: Philippines
Publisher: self-published
Number of Cards: 22
ISBN:  
Type: other
Reference: aeclectic




Notes:
The cards are landscape format and have traditional titles. Strength is 8, Justice 11.

The images contain elements from a variety of Asian mythos.

The Tarot of the Curious East was featured on the Tarot Lovers Calendar 2011.

It is a signed and numbered limited edition of 50 copies. Mine is number 48.

Tarot Rikit

Creator(s): Lynyrd-Jym Narciso
Date: 2010
Country: Philippines
Publisher: self-published
Number of Cards: 22
ISBN:  
Type: other
Reference: aeclectic

Notes:
"Rikit" means "pretty" in the Tagalog language of the Philippines. The deck features Southeast Asian themes, influenced by Austronesian, Indian, Chinese, and even Moslem cultures - with main focus on  Indo-Malay-Filipino indigenous feel. The cards have traditional titles and are not numbered.

This majors only deck is a signed and numbered limited edition of 50 copies, mine is number 48.

Tarot of the Journey to the Orient (Marco Polo Tarot)

Creator(s): Riccardo Minetti, Pietro Alligo, Severino Baraldi
Date: 2002
Country: Italy
Publisher: Lo Scarabeo
Number of Cards: 78
ISBN: 978-3898-755177  
Type: RWS
Reference: Encyclopedia of Tarot, vol.IV, pp. 386, 389

Notes:
This deck features scenes and dress described by the Venetian explorer Marco Polo. Each of the Major Arcana has two scenes one scene to represent the East, and one to represent the West. The numbered Minors alternate between Western and Eastern scenes. The top of the Minor Arcana cards feature the emblem of the given suit.

This deck comes with a small 64 page booklet in five languages. The minor arcana receive only brief two line divinatory descriptions while the major arcana are described in some detail.

Peace Tarot (Japanese Tarot Deck)

Creator(s): Misuzu Itateyama
Date: 2007, 2012
Country: Japan
Publisher: self-published
Number of Cards: 22+2
ISBN: 978-4-87035-473-9
Type: other
Reference: artist's page

Notes:
Misuzu Itateyama is an illustrator based in Fukuoka City. She was inspired by ancient Japanese culture, Buddhist art and Ukiyo-e. The deck on her website has a copyright 2007, my printed edition is from 2012.

The art is watercolor with elegant black lines of Chinese ink.

The deck came in a cardboard box with a Japanese only LWB and two extra cards. The English title on the box says "Japanese Tarot Deck", but it was sold on ebay as "Peace Tarot".

Javanese Folktales Tarot

Creator(s): Andhika Wijaya
Date: 2009
Country: United Kingdom
Publisher: Adam McLean
Number of Cards: 22
ISBN: 
Type: other
Reference: artist's page









Notes:
Andhika Wijaya is living in Jakarta as a graphic designer and childrens book illustrator. The Javanese Folktales Tarot shows on each card an illustration related to a particular Javanese Folktale, which can be found on her website.

The cards are unnumbered. Each has an English title at the top and a Javanese title at the bottom. The deck came in a lidded gold cardboard box with a ribbon inside for lifting out the cards. The backs are reversible.

My copy is number 43 of a limited, numbered, signed edition of 100.

Roots of Asia Tarot

Creator(s): Amnart Klanprachar, Thaworn Boonyawan
Date:  2001
Country: Switzerland
Publisher: AGM
Number of Cards: 78
ISBN: 3-905219-81-6     
Type: other
Reference: aeclectic







Notes:

The deck is a standard 78-card tarot deck. The court cards consist of Pages, Knights, Queens and Kings. While the titles adhere to conventional Tarot, the card illustrations of the Roots of Asia are not at all like the illustrations associated with Rider-Waite decks

The pips cards are illustrated, the Cups feature fish, Pentacles feature elephants, Swords depict birds and the wands feature the tiger/leopard family.

The art is oil on canvas. For his paintings the artist used unconventional tools such as his hands, knives, and rods.

The deck's creator, Amnart Klanprachar, is an artist teaching at one of the major universities in Bangkok. According to the book that comes with the deck, he has spent the past 30 years dedicated to translating his understanding of Buddhist philosophy through the arts, and his paintings have been exhibited in various countries.

The 87-page LWB accompanying the deck, in addition to explaining the meanings of each of the 78 cards, includes information about chakras, general Buddhist philosophy, and an introduction to Insight Meditation. 

Tarot Nusantara

Creator(s): Hisyam A. Fachri
Date: 2009
Country: Indonesia
Publisher: GAGAS Media
Number of Cards: 78
ISBN: 9797803568 
Type: RWS
Reference: artist's page

Notes:
“Nusantara” is an Old Javanese word meaning “archipelago”, thus this deck is quite literally the “Tarot of Indonesia”.  It has slim, elongated figures with multiple draped layers of heavily patterned, brightly coloured fabric.

Majors and Minors have Roman numerals at the top of the card Strength is 8   Justice is 11.  It has rounded corners, grainy glossy card varnish/laminate in front, the card backs are reversible and not varnished/laminated. The titles of the deck are in Bahasa Indonesian.The deck comes with a book called The Real Art of Tarot, also  printed in Bahasa Indonesian.

Golden Dragon Tarot

Creator(s): Jean-Louis Victor, Marie Delclos 
Date: 1993
Country: Switzerland 
Publisher: AGM 
Number of Cards: 78
ISBN: 3-908646-39-1
Type: other
Reference: Aeclectic








Notes:
The deck is called "Tarot Chinois" in the French version and "Tarot und Chinesische Weisheit" in the German version, but it is not the same deck as the U.S. Games "Chinese Tarot".

I would recommend the set with the full length companion book, because without the book it is hard to understand the meanings of the cards and the intended relation between the chinese philosophy and the tarot.

The top border has the card number and what appears to be the name of the card in Chinese for the Major Arcana, and the suit name (without a number) in Chinese for the Minor Arcana. The bottom border has the card name in German.

Most of the Major Arcana have been renamed:

I - Der Lehrling (The Apprentice)	VIIII - Der Weise (The Master of Wisdom)	XVII - Der Stern (The Star)
II - Die Wasserträgerin (The Waterporter)	X - Das Schicksal (Destiny)	XVIII - Der Mond (The Moon)
III - Die Reiskönigin (The Queen of Rice)	XI - Der Drachen (The Dragon)	XVIIII - Die Sonne (The Sun)
IV - Der Herrscher (The Emperor)	XII - Der Gehängte (The Hanged Man)	XX - Das Tao (The Tao)
V - Die heilige Pagode (The Illuminated Pagoda)	XIII - Der Tod (Death)	XXI - Der Affe (The Monkey)
VI - Das Labyrinth (The Labyrinth)	XIV - Der Ausgleich (Balance)	XXII - Die Ernte (Harvest)
VII - Der Sieg (Victory)	XV - Das Gewitter (The Thunderstorm)
VIII - Die Gerechtigkeit (Justice)	XVI - Zerstörung des Tempels (Destruction of the Tempel)

Tarot du Roy Nissanka

Creator(s): Maria Mestre
Date: 1999?
Country: France
Publisher: Grimaud
Number of Cards: 78
ISBN:
Type: Marseilles
Reference: Aeclectic Tarot