Albano-Waite Tarot
Rider-Waite-Smith clone
78 cards + 2 different title cards + a standard LWB in a cardboard tuckbox.<br /><br />The cards measure 2.75" wide x 4.75" long. The cardstock is sturdy yet flexible, with a smooth, lightly glossy finish. <br /><br />The card backs are white, with a gold sun design in the center that is non-reversible.<br /><br />This tarot is a recolor/clone of the RWS, and as such, adheres to the RWS system of card naming, numbering, and suit designations.<br /><br />The LWB notes that this is a "fasimilie" of the original 1968 edition of the Albano-Waite.
Albano, Frankie
U.S. Games
© 1991 (<em>date in the LWB</em>) <br />© 1968, 1987 (<em>dates on the box</em>)
78 cards
English
RWS
ISBN 0-88079-466-6
Happy Star Tarot
78 cards + 2 blank cards + a 97 page LWB in a thin cardboard tuck box.<br /><br />The LWB is entirely in Russian, with no English translations or equivalents. On the cards themselves, the titles are in English-only. The box has English text on one side and Russian text on the other.<br /><br />The cards measure 7.1 cm wide x 12.5 cm long. The card stock is very flexible, with a smooth, mostly-matte finish.<br /><br />The card back design is fully reversible. <br /><br />The major arcana are unnumbered. <br /><br />Suits are Swords, Cups, Wands, and Pentacles. The court cards are Page, Knight, Queen, and King.<br /><br />The minor arcana are scenic in the RWS style. Many, though not all, of the minor cards are clones of the RWS. However, the majors and courts depart too far from the traditional images for me to classify the deck as a RWS clone.<br /><br />Insofar as RWS style decks go, the one feature of the Happy Star that stands out to me is the sort of aqua-teal blue shade used for the card backgrounds. It's not enough of a selling point for me to recommend this deck to anyone other than collectors.<br /><br />I purchased this tarot from "irzhitarot" on Etsy in March 2020.
Eldemourov, Felix
Shvetsov, Dmitriy (artist)
© 2016
78 cards
Russian
RWS
ISBN 978-5-91937-188-5
Hoodoo Tarot
Hoodoo
78 cards + a 147 page softcover companion book packaged together in a sturdy, 2-part cardboard shelf box.<br /><br />The cards measure 7.1 cm wide x 11.7 cm long. The card stock is somewhat flexible, with a smooth, lightly glossy finish.<br /><br />The card backs are reversible.<br /><br />Strength is VII and Dr. Buzzard (<em>Justice</em>) is XI. The Free Man (<em>The Fool</em>) is numbered 0.<br /><br />The suits are Coins, Sticks, Baskets, and Knives. The court cards are Son, Daughter, Father, and Mother.<br /><br />The minor arcana follow the RWS pattern for the most part, with considerable thematic variation. <br /><br />I love the concept of this deck, and I <em>really</em> want to like the deck itself, but the art is noticeably stretched out of proportion in a number of the cards. <br /><br />I wish that the execution/printing of the deck had done more justice to the art; perhaps there will be a reprinting some day that fixes the skewed images.<br /><br />I purchased my copy from Amazon in April 2020.
McQuillar, Tayannah Lee
Foisy, Katelan V. (artist)
Destiny Books
2020
78 cards
English
RWS
ISBN 978-1-62055-873-7
Scratch & Create Magical Tarot
Scratch-off art
This tarot is in book format, with 78 perforated cards that are designed to allow the owner to remove them from the book and have a usable deck.<br /><br />If removed from the book, the cards would measure 7.5 cm wide X 10.5 cm long. The card stock is somewhat stiff, and the corners are square.<br /><br />The backs are a reversible purple star pattern.<br /><br />Strength is VIII and Justice is XI. The Fool is numbered 0.<br /><br />The suits are Swords, Cups, Coins, and Wands. The court cards are Page, Knight, Queen, and King.<br /><br />The minors are pips -- decorative arrangements of suit symbols.<br /><br />The unique gimmick of this deck is that the cards are covered in a black coating that is meant to be scratched off, revealing complete scenes. <br /><br />However, I really like how it looks in its original state, with the coating intact. It looks like a trippy, colorful, minimalistic sort of Marseille tarot. <br /><br />Having read user reviews that suggest the coating is very hard to remove, I'm opting to leave my copy as-is, in its original form. Also, it appears that the art underneath is underwhelming and perfunctory. The rainbow outlines have a "cool factor" that the scenic art lacks.<br /><br />I purchased this tarot from Amazon in April 2020; it was very inexpensive (under $5).
Otten, Marenthe
Rockport Publishers (imprint of The Quarto Group)
© 2018
Book with punch-out cards
English
TdM / Other
ISBN 978-1-63159-513-4
Book of Aradia Tarot: Aether Suit
Feminism
Matriarchy
21 cards + a signed title card, with a fold-out guide in a two-part cardstock sleeve container.<br /><br />The cards are round, measuring 4.75 inches in diameter. The card stock is very flexible. The fronts are uncoated, and the backs have a lightly glossy, smooth finish.<br /><br />Though the cards bear unique titles in keeping with the deck's matriarchal theme, most are clearly aligned with the 22 traditional major arcana. <br /><br />A notable exception to the overt feminism is card #4, <strong>Pan</strong>, which seems to be a fusion of the tradtional Emperor and Hierophant cards. Thus, there are 21 majors in total rather than 22.<br /><br />I purchased my copy from the AradiaTarot shop on Etsy in March 2020; at the time of purchase, I was given the option to have it signed.
Van Slyke, Jean (artist)
Mountainwater, Shekhinah
Morgan, Ffiona
Self-published
© 1984
21 round cards
English
Other
First printing, limited edition of 1000, signed by the artist.
Tarot of Innocence (color)
Fey
78 cards, with 12 additional cards that include a title card and various other information and guidance. <br /><br />No box was included; I store my copy in a small blue plastic box with a clear, snap-on lid.<br /><br />The cards are smaller than average, measuring 2.5" wide x 3.5" long.<br /><br />The card stock is sturdy yet flexible, with a linen (slightly textured) finish.<br /><br />The card back design is very colorful and non-reversible.<br /><br />Strength is 8 and Justice is 11. The Fool is numbered 00. That's not a typo -- all of the majors have 2-digit numbers.<br /><br />Suits are Chalices, Pentacles, Wands, and Swords. The court cards are Page, Knight, Queen, and King.<br /><br />The minor arcana are scenic and often referential to the RWS, but I wouldn't classify this as a RWS-style deck.<br /><br />No physical (printed) LWB was included; however, a 262 page LWB was provided to all purchasers, in PDF format, sent via email.  <br /><br />I paid $43 USD for my copy in 2015. The deck's creator, Davina Penny, promoted the deck on the Aeclectic Tarot forum, which has since closed, though an archived version remains online. Davina's screen name was Shadowdancer.<br /><br />A black & white "sketch" version of this deck was made available for sale at the same time, for the same price. (I have a copy of it, also.)
Penny, Davina (creator & colorist)
Polsz, Steve (artist)
<a href="https://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=238401&page=4" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Discussion of the deck on Aeclectic Tarot</a>
Self-published
2015
78 cards
English
Other
#7 of 150
Tarot of Innocence (b&w)
Fey
78 cards, with 12 additional cards that include a title card and various other information and guidance. <br /><br />No box was included; I store my copy in a small blue plastic box with a clear, snap-on lid.<br /><br />The cards are smaller than average, measuring 2.5" wide x 3.5" long.<br /><br />The card stock is sturdy yet flexible, with a linen (slightly textured) finish.<br /><br />The card back design is non-reversible. Curiously, the backs are the only part of this deck that aren't black and white (they are blue and black instead).<br /><br />Strength is 8 and Justice is 11. The Fool is numbered 00. That's not a typo -- all of the majors have 2-digit numbers.<br /><br />Suits are Chalices, Pentacles, Wands, and Swords. The court cards are Page, Knight, Queen, and King.<br /><br />The minor arcana are scenic and often referential to the RWS, but I wouldn't classify this as a RWS-style deck.<br /><br />No physical (printed) LWB was included; however, a 262 page LWB was provided to all purchasers, in PDF format, sent via email.  <br /><br />I paid $43 USD for my copy in 2015. The deck's creator, Davina Penny, promoted the deck on the Aeclectic Tarot forum, which has since closed, though an archived version remains online. Davina's screen name was Shadowdancer.<br /><br />A full color version of this deck was made available for sale at the same time, for the same price. (I have a copy of it, also.)
Penny, Davina (creator)
Polsz, Steve (artist)
<a href="https://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=238401&page=4" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Discussion of the deck on Aeclectic Tarot</a>
Self-published
2015
78 cards
English
Other
#3 of 150
Elven Tarot
Fantasy art--elves
27 cards and a little handmade pendant on a ball chain. No title card, box, or bag. I keep my copy in a small, 2 part, plastic box with a snap-on lid.<br /><br />The cards are smaller than average, measuring 2.5" wide x 3.5" long. The card stock is flexible, with a smooth, yet slightly textured finish.<br /><br />The card backs are almost fully reversible, but if you look closely, there are a couple of red spots that aren't symmetrical.<br /><br />While the cards don't bear English titles, they can be identified by number. Strength is VIII and Justice is XI. The Fool is numbered 0.<br /><br />Essentially this is a majors-only tarot with one bonus major, plus 4 cards representing each of the 4 suits.<br /><br />No identifying information is included with this deck, and the artist didn't mention the year of publication in the Etsy listing, but Adam McLean's online collection database identifies the Elven tarot as having been published in 2010.<br /><br />I purchased my copy from the artist's Etsy shop in January 2014, for <span class="currency-symbol">£</span><span class="currency-value">15.00 (about</span> $25.50 USD). Her shop's name is MyBizarreBazzar, and it currently appears to be dormant.<br /><br />The artist seems to be known most frequently as Karla-Chan with a hyphen, but I've also found her name online without the hypen (Karla Chan).<br /><br />Her Etsy store gives her location as Manchester, UK.
Karla-Chan
<a href="https://www.deviantart.com/karla-chan/gallery#Tarot-Cards" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Karla-Chan's gallery on DeviantArt </a><br /><a href="https://www.patreon.com/KarlaChan" target="_blank" title="Karla-Chan on Patreon" rel="noreferrer noopener">Karla-Chan's Patreon</a>
Self-published
[2010]
27 cards
Elvish (<em>invented</em>)
Other
Cat's House Tarot
Cats
78 cards, with a softcover guidebook (in Japanese), in an upright, lidded tin box.<br /><br />The cards are longer than average, measuring 7 cm wide x 13 cm long. The card stock is flexible, with a semi-matte finish that is smooth on the back and very slightly textured on the front.<br /><br />The card backs feature a reversible black and white design.<br /><br />Strength is VIII and Justice is XI. The Fool is numbered 0.<br /><br />Suits are Cups, Swords, Wands, and Coins. The court cards are Page, Knight, Queen, and King.<br /><br />The minor arcana are plain pips.<br /><br />There is no date, or at least none that I can identify, on the cards or box. Adam McLean has mentioned this deck online a couple of times, both times listing a different year (2000 as well as 2001). <br /><br />Likewise, I'm not sure of the publisher's name. The name "SSS Factory" appears in English on the last page of the booklet.<br /><br />I don't know the original retail price of this deck, nor do I recall what I paid. But for the sake of reference, I wrote a note that a copy was for sale in July 2015 on eBay (offered by the seller known as baby_dream) for $78 USD. This was at some point after I'd bought my copy.Â
Hiroko, Miyamoto
SSS Factory (?)
[2000] or [2001]
78 cards
Japanese
Plain pips
Tarot Box (mini Sharman-Caselli)
Gift set
The "Tarot Box" set consists of 3 parts: a 78-card mini deck, a 336-page guidebook, and a snap-together cardboard mat offering a visual aid for laying out and reading the cards. The 3 components are housed in a clever cube-shaped box that flips open diagonally.<br /><br />The cards measure 5 cm wide x 9 cm long. The card stock is very flexible, with a smooth semi-matte finish on the front and a slightly textured finish on the back.<br /><br />The card backs are dark blue (or purple?) and fully reversible. A copyright line (<strong>Copyright</strong> <span><strong>© Giovanni Caselli 2001</strong>) </span>appears in the upper right and lower left corners.<br /><br />The deck is a mini-sized version of the Sharman-Caselli tarot, which has been published in multiple sizes and as part of multiple sets over the years. From what I can find, the Sharman-Caselli was first published as part of the <em>Beginner's Guide to Tarot</em> set in 2001. (Read more about it <a href="http://www.tarotpassages.com/sharmancaselli.htm" target="_blank" title="Sharman-Caselli tarot" rel="noreferrer noopener">in this review</a> by Diane Wilkes on her <em>Tarot Passages</em> site.)<br /><br />The major arcana are unnumbered, but the book lists Justice in the eighth position and Strength in the eleventh. <br /><br />The suits are Cups, Wands, Swords, and Pentacles. The court cards are Page, Knight, Queen, and King. <br /><br />The minor arcana are scenic and closely follow the RWS style/system. <br /><br />Pinning down a year of publication for this set is challenging, as different sites list different publishers/imprints and different years for what is essentially the same "Tarot Box" set. No copyright year appears on the box, but the publication information in the book lists the "BOOKINABOX" Barnes & Noble edition as © 2005.
Sharman-Burke, Juliet (author)
Caselli, Giovanni (artist)
Barnes & Noble Books
© 2005 (appears only in the book, not on the box)
78 cards
English
RWS
ISBN 9780760774373
ISBN 0760774374
White Sage Tarot
Animals
New age spirituality
78 cards + 2 chakra/reference cards + a 63-page LWB in a 2-part, lidded tin box.<br /><br />The cards are pocket sized, measuring 5.1 cm wide x 9.6 cm wide.<br /><br />The card stock is flexible, with a smooth, slippery semi-matte finish. Indeed, the cards are so slippery that shuffling becomes a challenge.<br /><br />The card backs feature a reversible, basket-weave design, with copyright information printed in the upper left and bottom right corners.<br /><br />Strength is 8 and Justice is 11. The Fool is numbered 0. No humans appear in any of the majors (or in any of the cards, for that matter). Many, though not all, of the majors feature animals.<br /><br />Suits are Wands, Cups, Swords, and Pentacles. The court cards are Page, Knight, Queen, and King. Instead of human courts, each suit features a different animal: raptors (birds of prey) in the court of Wands, otters in the court of Cups, big cats in the court of Swords, and elephants in the court of Pentacles.<br /><br />The minor arcana are illustrated, but not fully scenic. Some of the minors hint at RWS-style meanings, but others are little more than arrangements of suit symbols.<br /><br />To me, the White Sage tarot falls into the general category of "clean and contemporary" decks marketed to people who know nothing about tarot, but want something soft and pretty and Instagrammable. <br /><br />I can't see any way to read with this deck other than consulting the LWB, or applying memorized, rote meanings; there's not enough "there" in the images to spark intuition.
Hutch, Theresa
U.S. Games
© 2018
78 cards
English
Other
ISBN 9781572819542
Dark Mansion Tarot, Limited Ed.
Tim Burton's <em>Corpse Bride</em>
80 cards + a title card + a "certificate of authenticity" signed/numbered card. The cards are housed in a drawstring bag that fits inside a wooden box with a hinged lid. (<em>According to the Taroteca website, the wooden boxes for the limited edition were handmade</em>.)<br /><br />The name of the deck is woodburned on the box lid and also stamped in gold on the drawstring bag.<br /><br />The cards measure 8.78 cm wide x 14 cm long. The cardstock is flexible, with a soft, matte finish that I can only describe as luxuriant and velvet-like. Seriously, these cards are a joy to hold. The cards are edged in matte gold.<br /><br />The card back design is fully reversible. <br /><br />Strength is VIII and Justice is XI. The Fool is numbered 0. <br /><br />Suits are Wands, Cups, Swords, and Pentacles. The court cards are Page, Knight, Queen, and King. <br /><br />The minor arcana are scenic in the RWS style, but with art clearly inspired by Tim Burton's 2005 film <em>Corpse Bride</em>.<br /><br />Two extra cards are included -- alternate versions of the Sun and the Moon.<br /><br />My copy is #282 out of a limited edition of 500. The certificate of authenticity is hand-numbered and signed.<br /><br />I'm having difficulty pinning down the publication date/year. No year is printed on the cards, box, or bag, and the Taroteca website doesn't list a year, either. However, the first product reviews of the limited edition were posted in December 2018, so that seems to have been when the deck was first available. <br /><br />According to the Taroteca site, the limited edition retailed for $139 USD, and is sold out.
Wasiuk, Krzysztof (creator/producer)
Kaczan, Magdalena (artist)
<a href="https://www.taroteca-studio.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://www.taroteca-studio.com/</a>
Taroteca Studio
[2018]
80 cards
English
RWS
#282 of 500