Primavera Tarot (Tarot Art Nouveau)

Creator(s): Antonella Castelli
Date: 1998
Country: Italy
Publisher: Lo Scarabeo
Number of Cards: 78
ISBN:   
Type: RWS
Reference: Encyclopedia of Tarot, vol. IV, pp. 222, 223  

Notes:
The Primavera Tarot was also called  Tarot Art Nouveau, but there is another deck by Matt Myers called the Art Nouveau Tarot. The Myers deck is less representative of art nouveau and shows mainly influence of stained glass design, while Castelli's tarot looks like the works by Alphonse Mucha and Aubrey Beardsley.

The cards are are elegant, flowery and ornate, the minor arcana do show a distant influence from the Waite-Smith designs. People, which are the focus of the deck, are uniformly young and attractive. The colours are soft greens, blues,  pinks, and yellows, inset into a white border. The main title, in Italian, is purple; other language titles are pink.

There are Knights and Knaves, rather than Prince and Princess or Knight and female Page; but the Kings all have women beside them who appear to be consorts, whereas the Queens are alone. Most of the minor arcana cards have only women in them.

Death is female and Strength is male, the rest of the majors adhere to the genders usually assigned to them. There were no deeper esoteric meanings, no associiations with Kabbala, Numerology or Astrology.

The deck comes with a lwb that gives very brief card meanings.

Tarots Universels

Creator(s): Segio Toppi
Date: 1991
Country: Italy
Publisher: Lo Scarabeo
Number of Cards: 22
ISBN:   
Type: other
Reference:  Encyclopedia of Tarot, vol. IV, pp. 570, 571








Notes:
Sergio Toppi (1932-2012) was an Italian illustrator and comic-strip artist

The original edition of the Tarocchi Universali from 1988 was limited and numbered; this is a later, smaller-format edition that is not officially released as a limited edition.

The deck has Italian titles. It included a title card, a card with a poem and came with two little leaflets in Italian only. The double-ended back design shows the bird from the Magician card.

Graphik Tarocchi

Creator(s): Zoltán Tamássi
Date: 1992
Country: Italy
Publisher: Lo Scarabeo
Number of Cards: 22
ISBN:   
Type: other
Reference:  Encyclopedia of Tarot, vol. IV, pp. 367, 370

Notes:
Zoltán Tamássi (1912-1997) was an important poster artist and graphic designer. In 1945 Tamássi was one of the leading graphic artists who renewed the visual language of the political poster in Hungary. He designed election campaign posters for opposite parties, like the Peasants’ Party, the Social Democratic Party and the Hungarian Communist Party. Tamássi was initially the propagandist of the Peasants’ Party, but he was commissioned by other political parties as well.

The art for this deck was rendered in tempura. Each card is titled in Italian and includes a poem by Gianni Brunoro. The reversable red and white back design shows a hand surrounded by the alphabet.

Tarocchi Romantici

Creator(s): Giorgio Trevisian
Date: 1991
Country: Italy
Publisher: Lo Scarabeo
Number of Cards: 22
ISBN:   
Type: other
Reference:  Encyclopedia of Tarot, vol. IV, pp. 494, 499







Notes: 
There are three editions of the "Tarocchi Romantici": a small edition with English titles, a larger edition with Italian titles and Roman numbering on the cards, and this small edition with Italian titles and Arabic numbers.

The English edition includes a card with a verse, the large Italian edition came with a LWB and has the verse on the box, my small edition has no verse and two explanation cards instead of the LWB. The back design is the same on all three editions.

The watercolor paintings are similar to Trevisan's Tarots of the Renaissance. 

Dame Fortune's Wheel Tarot

Creator(s): Paul Huson
Date: 2009
Country: Italy
Publisher: Lo Scarabeo
Number of Cards: 79
ISBN: 978-07387-1529-2 
Type: Etteilla
Reference: artist's page


 

Notes:  
Paul Huson is the author of Mystical Origins of the Tarot. Dame Fortune's Wheel  is a historic style deck with scenic pips, but not a Tarot de Marseilles with RWS-illustrated minors. Huson mixed Marseilles inspired iconography with Etteilla's 18th century cartomantic tradition.There are no cabbalistic and few astrological associations on the cards. The Hanged Man, Death, Justice, and a few others, are derived from the 15th Century Gringoneur deck. Other images are related to medieval mystery plays such as the Dance of Death and to historical and allegorical figures like pope Joan and Judas Iscariot. Justice is VIII and Fortitude is XI, its The Female Pope and not the High Priestess, The Fool is unnumbered and Death unnamed.

The four cardinal virtues are also part of the Majors. Three of the cardinal virtues are named, the fourth, Prudence, is represented by trump XXI The World, where it is illustrated with an image based upon the 15th century Este design in which the figure of Prudence stands upon the material world holding mirror and snake. The backgrounds of the Majors are green and yellow. 

The elemental associations of the suits were acknowledged in the colour coding. Coins are green, Cups are a dark indigo, Swords are orange and Batons sky blue. Other than these thematic colours the elements seem to play little part in the design of the cards; instead the meaning and symbology follows almost entirely  Etteilla's  interpretations. The court cards (except the Knights) have -according to the French playing card tradition-  names and personalities from history or legend : Hector as Knave of Batons, Pallas as Queen of Swords etc. Kings and Queens are enthroned, Knights on horseback and Knaves are standing.

The backs are reversible. All card titles are in English (not as in other Lo Scarabeo decks titles in different languages) and the deck came with an additional  significator card.
  

Zodiac Tarot

Creator(s): Lee Bursten, Luca Raimondo
Date: 2007
Country: Italy
Publisher: Lo Scarabeo
Number of Cards: 78
ISBN: 978-0738712383  
Type: other
Reference: aeclectic 

Notes:
The astrological attributions have been placed within a modern day concept set in a 1940s era world, rather than that of mythology or medieval times. In the Major Arcana, each card is assigned a sign or one of the planets. The seven traditional planets on the Major Arcana are represented by people in a family: grandparents, parents, son, daughter, and infant.

The zodiac signs are represented by scenes that bear an analogy to the astrological meaning of the signs. The Quadruplicates of the Signs are shown by the time of day seen on the card (Cardinal cards are daytime, Fixed cards are night, and Mutable cards take place at either sunrise or sunset).

Unlike the Golden Dawn, this deck uses the modern planets Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto (which was not even discovered when the Golden Dawn invented its system). The cards that the Golden Dawn assigned to the Elements are assigned to the three modern planets and show scenes associated with the major societal changes that these planets represent.

The Minor Arcana is divided into decants (each sign is divided into three decants of ten degrees each). Each Decan is assigned a planetary ruler, so each card carries a planet and a sign. The pip cards use the images from the Major Arcana to depict various permutations of people and scenes (planets and signs) as outlined by the Golden Dawn.

Also unlike the Golden Dawn, this deck relies solely on the astrological attributions to delineate the cards, whereas the Golden Dawn used a combination of astrology, the Kabbalah, and Picatrix for most of its interpretations.

The Major Arcana have traditional titles, with the following exceptions: the Hierophant becomes the Priest and the Wheel of Fortune becomes the Wheel. Strength is in position VIII, and Justice in position XI. The four suits are Torches (Wands), Waves (Cups), Clouds (Swords) and Stones (Pentacles). The Court Cards are Princess, Prince, Queen and King. 

Elemental Tarot (Turini)

Creator(s): Marco Turini
Date: 2010
Country: Italy
Publisher: Lo Scarabeo
Number of Cards: 79
ISBN: 978-0738721835  
Type: other
Reference: aeclectic  








Notes:
The traditional suits are represented by the elementals given by Paracelsus for the corresponding elements:

Wands /  fire / salamanders

Cups / water / undines

Swords / air / sylphs

Pentacles / earth / gnomes

The Minors are illustrated but they don't reflect the usual RWS scenes and meanings.

The deck has an extra Significator card and came with a LWB.

Celtic Tarot (Gaudenzi)

Creator(s): Giacinto Gaudenzi, Saverio Tenuta
Date: 2000
Country: Italy
Publisher: Lo Scarabeo
Number of Cards: 78
ISBN: 978-0738700137  
Type: RWS
Reference:  Encyclopedia of Tarot, vol. IV, pp. 267, 268

  




Notes:
The Celtic Tarot is illustrated by two different  artists. The Major Arcana were created by Gaudenzi in a style that is found in book illustrations. His work appears to be pen and ink colored with watercolors. The Minors Arcana are by Tenuto and recalls comic book art. The Majors were originally released in 1994 as an art deck under the name of Tarochi Celtici, and the Minors were added some years later and the deck re-released.

The Major Arcana's images are from Celtic folklore and fairytales. The Minors are based on the Rider Waite symbolism with the suits being attributed to Irish tribes. Wands represent the Fomori, Pentacles are the Tuatha De Danaan, Swords are the Ulaid, and Chalices are the Fianna. The deck attributes Wands to Air and Swords to Fire. The Court Cards follow the traditional pattern- Knave, Knight, Queen King.

The deck comes with a LWB that briefly explains the legends associated with each Major Arcana card.

Tarocchi dell' Incubo (Dylan Dog)

Creator(s): Tiziano Sclavi, Angelo Stano
Date: 1991
Country: Italy
Publisher: Lo Scarabeo
Number of Cards: 22
ISBN:   
Type: other
Reference:  Tarot Garden







Notes:
Dylan Dog is an Italian horror comics series ( featuring a paranormal investigator ) created by Tiziano Sclavi for the publishing house Sergio Bonelli Editore. Though published in Italy, the series is set in London, where the protagonist lives. Angelo Stano is an Italian comic book artist. He is mainly famous for his drawings for Dylan Dog, for which he drew the very first story. He is the current cover artist of the series.

The 22-card tarot is part of Lo Scarabeo's 'Tarocchi d'Arte' series. It came with a booklet (size A5) in Italian only.

Tarocchi Marvel

Creator(s): Claudio Villa, Luca Poli
Date: 1995
Country: Italy
Publisher: Lo Scarabeo
Number of Cards: 22
ISBN:   
Type: other
Reference:  Encyclopedia of Tarot, vol. IV, pp. 419, 420





 
Notes:
The cards are Major Arcana only, the Minor Arcana were never actually made for the deck. Marvel Comic characters star as the various portraits on the cards. Artist Claudio Villa drew the cartoons, which he and Luca Poli colored in. The backs show a double-ended picture of Dr. Strange.

The 22 cards are oversized (5 3/8" x 2 7/8") and came with a title card and a card giving the names of the characters on each card.

Sacred Sites Tarot

Creator(s): Massimiliano Filadoro, Federico Penco
Date: 2012
Country: Italy
Publisher: Lo Scarabeo
Number of Cards: 78
ISBN: 978-0738735009  
Type: other
Reference: Lo Scarabeo

Notes: 
The concept is by Massimiliano Filadoro and Federico Penco did the original artwork for this deck in watercolors. Its imagery includes sacred sites, people, and mythical characters from a huge number of cultures.

The cards do not have titles. The Majors are numbered in the upper left and lower right corner, using Roman numerals. Courts have a suit symbol top and a title-related symbol at the bottom (helmet for Knave, horse for Knight, different types of crowns for Queen and King). Pips have a suit symbol at the  top and a number at the bottom, the Aces bear the number "1" instead of the word "Ace".

The backs are not reversible and the deck came in a standard cardboard tuck box with a LWB in English, Italian, Spanish, French and German. 

I Tarocchi del Re Sole

Creator(s): Paolo Piffarerio
Date: 1986
Country: Italy
Publisher: Lo Scarabeo
Number of Cards: 78
ISBN:  
Type: other
Reference: Encyclopedia of Tarot, vol.IV, p. 475, 480

 Notes:
The title translates as Tarot of the Sun King. The szenes are based on Alexandre Dumas' The Three Musketiers, which was set in the reign of France's "Sun King", Luis XIV.

The pip cards are illustrated and the four suits are represented by the four musketeers.The suit of swords is associated with D'Artagnan, batons with Portos, cups with Aramis, and coins with Athos.

The deck was issued by Lo Scarabeo Azzurro in a limited edition of 936 decks, comprising two versions: the first 530 decks have faces printed in black and the backs printed in blue; the remaining 406 decks have faces and backs printed in brown. Mine is number 889 and printed in brown. The Titles are Italian.

The deck included a title card and a presentation card and a leaflet in Italian.

Decameron Tarot

Creator(s): Luciano Spadanuda, Giacinto Gaudenzi
Date: 2003
Country: Italy
Publisher: Lo Scarabeo
Number of Cards: 78
ISBN: 978-3898-755153  
Type: other
Reference: Encyclopedia of Tarot, vol.IV, p. 304






Notes:
This is an "Adults Only" deck with sexually explicit imagery. The images do not specifically match scenes from Boccacio's Decameron (written ca 1350). Rather they illustrate the milieu of the time.


The major arcana were first published 1993 by Ideogramma Arte Editoriale in an edition limited to 300 copies. In 2003 Lo Scarabeo printed an unlimited edition of all 78 cards.

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.

Ramses: Tarot of Eternity

Creator(s): Giordano Berti, Severino Baraldi
Date: 2003
Country: Italy
Publisher: Lo Scarabeo
Number of Cards: 78
ISBN: 978-3898-755313  
Type: other
Reference: Encyclopedia of Tarot, vol.IV, p. 716

Notes:
The deck is set in a specific time frame, 1304 BCE to 1224 BCE, which is the life span of Ramses II. The Major Arcana show scenes from the life of Pharaoh Ramses II, and the Minor Arcana show scenes from the lives of ordinary people. Only two cards show figures from outside the period, The Fool, which shows Akenaton, and Judgement, which shows Moses.

The reversible backs show an extract from the Emperor card mirrored from the centre line. The deck comes with a LWB in five languages,  but there’s no mention of the depicted historical events save the names associated with the Majors.

Dante Tarot

Creator(s): Giordano Berti, Andrea Serio
Date: 2001
Country: Italy
Publisher: Lo Scarabeo
Number of Cards: 78
ISBN: 978-3933-939951  
Type: other
Reference: Encyclopedia of Tarot, vol.IV, pp. 305, 305






Notes:
This Deck is named after the Italian philosopher and poet  Dante Aligheri (1265-1321). The Dante Tarot is a themed art deck, not a standard tarot deck. The 22 major arcana cards combine ethical, philosophical, and spiritual concepts, as expressed by Dante in his Convivio, with the traditional tarot images.

The Major Arcana is almost entirely renamed, reflecting the Renaissance list of virtues and ranks of celestial authority:

0 - Need  (Fool)                          I - Intellect  (Magician)
II - Philosophy (Priestess)           III - Wisdom (Empress)
IV - Government (Emperor )         V - Hope (Hierophant)
VI - Love (Lovers)                        VII - Direction (Chariot)
VIII - Justice (Justice)                  IX - Prudence (Hermit)
X - Luck (Fortune)                       XI - Strength (Strength)
XII - Charity (Hanged Man)           XIII - Death (Death)
XIV - Moderation (Temperance)     XV - Authority (Devil)
XVI - Virtue (Tower)                      XVII - Thrones (Star)
XVIII - Angels (Moon)                   XIX - Domination (Sun)
XX - Archangels (Last Judgement) XXI - Principalities (World)

The suit of Bricks (Pentacles) traces Dante's life, depicting influential characters, his work, and his marriage. The other three suits correspond to the sections of the Divine Comedy.

 Flames (Swords) depict the main events shown in Dante's Inferno. The cards feature Charon, Cerberus, the suicides, and the King of Flames -Dante’s meeting with the Devil, which is the culminating event in the Inferno.


The suit of Clouds (Pentacles) shows slices of Purgatorio, the place where souls come to reflect their earthly sins. Lights (Cups) representing Paradiso-the ascension into heaven.

The backs are not reversible, and depict Dante seated at his desk, writing the Divine Comedy with a feathered pen. The LWB gives background information on Dante and explains how the works of Dante were integrated into the framework of the tarot. The artwork is surrealistic and created in pastels.

Bambini Tarot

Creator(s): Lele Luzzati
Date: 2001
Country: Italy
Publisher: Lo Scarabeo
Number of Cards: 78
ISBN: 978-3933-939968   
Type: other
Reference: Encyclopedia of Tarot, vol.IV, pp. 279, 280







Notes: 
"Once upon a time, there was a tarot deck designed as if people had never grown up and all of the adults remained children forever..." is printed on the box and the characters on the cards look as if they are playing at being in a tarot deck. Death shows a child removing a skull mask, the Devil shows a boy with his tongue sticking out.

The minors have pip-style arrangements with small illustrations included. The reversible backs are  purple, with an image of four  birds. The art is hand coloring and applying patternd paper.

Dark Angels Tarot

Creator(s): Luca Russo
Date: 2010
Country: Italy
Publisher: Lo Scarabeo
Number of Cards: 78
ISBN: 978-0738720715   
Type: RWS
Reference: aeclectic










Notes:
"At the end of time, as the world spins slowly beneath a dying sun, the creator of that once glowing orb, broken by grief, turned his back upon his ruined creation. In opposition to their overlord the Dark Angels disobey his command and descend to walk the ravaged earth. Clothed in memories, garbed in flesh, they took their places upon the bitter landscape to partake in the last act of a cruel tragedy. Their self appointed task to succour the dying land and the last remnant of humanity, to lead them gently into the embrace of death and to cross with them the wasteland of their dreams. "


The art is computer generated figures to which an artistic overlay has been added. No words appear on the cards. 

The Major Arcana have Roman numerals, while each suit is denoted by its standard symbol at the bottom and a number at the top. The Court cards have a symbol -for example a horse head for the knights- plus the suit symbol. Besides the suit symbols, each set has a narrow ribbon border: the Major Arcana in gold, Wands in grey, Cups in red, Swords in blue and Coins in green.

The accompanying booklet is written by Aeclectic Tarot Forum member Lillie.