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Name: The Witches' Tarot
Artist: Martin Cannon
Publisher: Llewellyn Publications
P.O. Box 64383-660
St. Paul, MN 55164
Art Quality: **** (* = poor, ***** = excellent)
This is a very nicely designed deck of 78 cards (22 Major Arcana,
56 Minor Arcana) in which the theme Qabala and Paganistic
symbolism. A book titled "The Witches Tarot" by Ellen Cannon Reed
is also available from Llewellyn Publications, but is not actually
included with the deck itself (you must order it extra). The deck
was originally released in a box that was too big for the deck and
had a piece of styrofoam stuffed to fill out the box. Now the deck
is sold in a front-opening box. At one point there was an
incorrect card, when the deck was first released in the
front-opening box. If you purchased one of the incorrect decks you
can contact Llewellyn to get the correct card.
The back of the cards is a solid black with a silver pentacle in
the center of the card, and the Llewellyn symbol in the lower
right hand side. The pictures on the cards take up the entire face
of the card with no border. The number of each card is printed in
unobtrusive black print at the top or bottom of the card. This
sometimes makes it hard to find the number or title.
The artwork on this deck is suffused with a luminous quality. The
cups glow, the swords appear to reflect a bright light, and often
the human figures appear to radiate an aura. The human figures are
mainly realistic without being distracting, and in good
proportion. An added plus is that (apart from the Court cards) all
the human figures appear to be different, unlike many decks in
which the artwork may be superb but you get the feeling you are
seeing the same person over and over dressed in different
costumes. The Court cards are the same four individuals (Princess,
Prince, Queen, and King) with minor differences in background
season or clothing. The Prince of each suit, for example, carries
the symbol of his suit, but other than the stream that flows by
only the feet of the Prince of Cups, and the different colors of
their clothing, it appears to be the same painting done over four
times. An explanation of this will be given in the Minor Arcana
description.
THE MAJOR ARCANA
The Major Arcana figures follow the traditional Rider-Waite
symbolism with minor differences relating to the Qabalistic/ Pagan
theme. Odd colored circles are shown on each card. Even after
studying the book, I'm not certain what these colored circles
actually mean. Possibly something to do with spheres of existence.
THE MINOR ARCANA
The Minor Arcana moves away from the traditional Rider-Waite
symbolism with few exceptions. An interesting deviation is the use
of the Court cards as "modifiers" of the cards following them. For
example, if the Queen of Pentacles is dealt, it is laid down and
the next card is laid directly on top of it. The card laid on top
of the Queen of Pentacles is then "modified" by the influence of
the Queen of Pentacles (if reversed, things have not yet proceeded
to become a concept, not yet manifested past the stage of the
creative urge).
The scenes on the cards lend themselves to different
interpretations for the individual reader. For example, the Two of
Cups shows a male figure climbing the side of a cliff toward a
female figure who holds two cups. But is she sitting there in wait
for him, or is she walking away briskly? It could be either.
Even in the suit of Swords, where usually depressing scenes are
found, an emphasis is made on scenes of action rather than
aggression.
SPECIAL NOTES
While the book is interesting, it is mostly useful to the reader
who is heavily into Qabala. The notes about spheres and symbols
will mostly confuse anyone else. For those persons, the pamphlet
enclosed with the deck will be sufficient.
This deck is beautifully conceived and illustrated. It has a warm
feeling to it which will commend it to most readers and
collectors.