A Review of Renaissance Tarot

Renaissance Tarot

by Brian Williams

Published by U.S. Games Systems, Inc.

Review by Christiana Gaudet

How did I miss Brian William’s Renaissance Tarot when it first came out in 1987?

It really doesn’t matter, because it’s back!

That’s right. US Games has republished this amazing deck, along with the full-size guide book, also by Brian Williams.

Brian Williams combined his love for classical and renaissance art and his love for tarot in this project that took more than ten years to complete. Williams is known for a number of interesting tarot projects, including Ship of Fools Tarot and PoMo Tarot. His death in 2003 robbed the tarot world of one of its greatest minds.

Renaissance Tarot is a deck like no other. At first glance it looks like an historical tarot deck, similar to a Marseilles deck. The art is of renaissance style, and quite detailed with interesting and symbolic nuances. The deck comes with a little white book, also by Williams.

If you want to work with this deck I would strongly advise you to buy the big yellow book entitled” A Renaissance Tarot”. This tarot is a complex work above and beyond a standard tarot deck. The large-size format 197-page book gives a great deal of information about each card, as well as the art, history, mythology and philosophy of the renaissance on which this deck is based.

The deck is structured fairly traditionally, The Wheel of fortune is called Chance and Judgment is called The Angel. Strength is card 11 and Justice is 8.

The intricate cardbacks are not reversible, though reversed meanings are given in the little white book.

The deck includes a presentation card and a title card.  The presentation card is beautifully illustrated.

The Pip cards have unobtrusive keywords written on ribbons in the corners. The top right hand side is in English. The keywords differ from the Crowley pip keywords, and are very different from standard Waite keywords.

The Minor Arcana suits are Coins, Cups, Staves and Swords. Although the focus of each pip card is the icons, there are some small illustrations on the cards that will help with memory and interpretation.

The associations for the suits go way beyond simple elemental associations. Williams discusses the symbolism of each icon as a way of summing up the flavor of each suit.

The book also includes some heady tarot spreads and a wealth of illustrations. It is easy to believe that ten years was spent researching and creating this deck.

The art is really stunning, especially for a Marseilles-like deck. The colors are muted. The images are drawn with very fine lines that allow for a lot of detail.

Don’t expect to make an easy leap from a Waite deck to Renaissance Tarot. Crowley and Marseilles readers may have an easier time embracing this deck. Tarot beginners who are willing to work with the book will find an intensely rich divinatory tool. Tarotist of all levels of experience will enjoy opening up a new exciting tarot world for themselves with Renaissance Tarot.

There are numerous tarot decks available that work on a system that is somewhat different than the old faithful traditions we know and love. What separates Renaissance Tarot is its scholarly nature. This isn’t a system that someone made up or channeled from some unseen spiritual entity.

Renaissance Tarot is based on history, mythology, philosophy and art that was contemporary to tarot’s actual birth. There is something about that fact that makes Renaissance Tarot special and important.

It took Brian Williams ten years of his all-too-short life to create this tarot. Don’t worry if it takes you a while to master it.

Renaissance Tarot is a worthy legacy, and an important contribution to the body of tarot art, knowledge and understanding. Three cheers for US Games’ decision to allow this deck its own renaissance!

Christiana Gaudet Reviews Renaissance Tarot

Video of Christiana Gaudet Reviews Renaissance Tarot

The Fine Art of Living Life: A Review of Art of Life Tarot

Art of Life Tarot
Charlene Livingstone
Published by US Games
Review by Christiana Gaudet

With her new Art of Life tarot deck, Charlene Livingstone is not the first to use existing works of art to illustrate a tarot deck.  Kat Black’s Golden Tarot used digital collage of medieval art to create a tarot deck very true to the Rider Waite Smith images.

Neither is Charlene Livingstone the first deck creator to ascribe famous quotations to each card of divination; Ciro Marchetti’s Oracle of Visions companion book includes a quotation for each card.

Nevertheless, Art of Life Tarot from U.S. Games is a truly unique and valuable deck.  It easily teaches two important concepts with which tarot students often struggle.  First is the concept of archetypes.  That the deck creator illustrates each card with a famous work of art and famous quotation drives home the concept of archetypes; the idea that each tarot card portrays a universal theme that is repeated many times over in art, music and literature.

The second concept is that tarot is more than a simple device for fortune telling.  Tarot cards offer inspiration and bear spiritual wisdom, just as art and literature can.  The box in which the oversized cards are packaged actually turns into a standing frame wherein we are encouraged to place one card each day for inspiration.

The accompanying Little White Book is written in the first person by the deck creator, and tells the poignant story of her own tarot journey.  The card descriptions are based on key words for suits, numbers and rank.  No mention is made of elemental associations.

The cards themselves are large, with a white background.  The traditional name of the card is at the top.  The top half of the card is a reproduction of a work of art.  Under that, in small italics, is the name of the work and the artist.  Under that, in large italics, is a quotation.  The works of art and quotations are classic.  They span several centuries and come from many cultures, although many will be familiar to those of even modest education.  There are no ultra-modern works – no album art or wise quotations from Bart Simpson.

I identify Lisa Hunt and Kris Waldherr as the primary innovators of this kind of archetypal assignment tarot deck.  What is true for their decks is also true for Art of Life.  At the end of the day, artists’ choices are their own, and completely subjective.  It is very easy for an experienced tarotist to go through this deck and say, “Why did she choose this painting for that card?” or “I could think of several quotations that would illustrate this card much better!”

The important point is that even if we don’t agree with every choice, this deck gets us thinking about the archetypes of tarot, and how they are expressed in art and words.  In this way, Art of Life is engaging and educational.

Some of the cards are particular apt, or at least they speak to me very personally.  For instance, the Wheel of Fortune is Mucha’s Zodiac accompanied by the famous passage from Ecclesiastes, “To everything there is a season and a time for every purpose under heaven: a time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance.”

Another I really like is The Moon, which is Rousseau’s The Sleeping Gypsy.  Its quotation is from Thoreau.  “Go confidently in the direction of your dreams.  Live the life you have imagined.”

Art of Life is a wonderful teaching deck, and a wonderful deck to inspire us about tarot, and about life.  As a workable reading deck, some may see it more as an oracle than a standard tarot.  Because of the quotations, a novice could easily pull cards at random, or lay them in the simple Creativity Spread included in the LWB, and get a meaningful reading.

I took Art of Life Tarot on a test drive with a simple two-card “This or That” decision making spread, and was shocked by the clarity of the answer.  As an experienced reader, I could read blank cards with only the card names on them.  But the quotations and the images were particularly striking, and added depth to the standard interpretation of each card.

Art of Life Tarot will serve well as a companion for the tarot journey, rather than as a primary learning or reading deck.  Those who are not tarot-centric can use this deck simply as cards of inspiration, divination and meditation.  Art of Life Tarot will be especially appealing to lovers of art and literature.

On a side note, this deck is good news for those of us who don’t want to draw but might want to design a tarot deck someday.  There are many ways to be creative with tarot, and many ways to illustrate a deck.  Charlene Livingstone has done an exemplary job illustrating a tarot deck with the art and words of the masters.

Art of Life Tarot by Charlene Livingstone is a welcome addition to the body of tarot, and will be a welcome addition to most tarotists’ collections.  Its title is more descriptive than we might first realize.  In meditation and divination, it will most certainly inspire us with counsel from the ages in the fine art of living life.

Now Here I Go Again, I See the Crystal Visions: A Review of Crystal Visions Tarot

Crystal Visions Tarot
By Jennifer Galasso
U.S. Games 978-1-57281-702-9
Review by Christiana Gaudet

Thank goodness for the fantasy artists who have brought so much new life to modern tarot.  I have often wondered what might have happened if an earlier generation of artists like Roger Dean and Alton Kelley had turned their attention to tarot. 

The past few years have brought to tarot talented artists such as Lisa Hunt, Ciro Marchetti and Stephanie Pui-Mun Law.  These fantasy artists and collectable card game (CCG) designers have changed the face of tarot, evolving it into the new century. 

Now we can add to that list Jennifer Galasso.  In some ways, Galasso’s art is not quite as strikingly detailed as that of those aforementioned tarot artists.  But Galasso has done something that none of those artists have yet done.  She has created a truly traditional deck in fantasy style.

On first glance, U.S. Games’ Crystal Visions Tarot by Jennifer Galasso struck me as just another art deck with fairies, unicorns and skinny young women in sexy medieval clothing.  It seemed cheesy, and a bit flat.  I didn’t like the addition of “The Unknown Card,” and the stark setting of some of the Major Arcana characters.

Somehow, I felt compelled to look through the cards a second time, and a third.  Each time I did, I saw something I hadn’t noticed before.  There are figures of people in the twisted tree branches, and delicate angels in the clouds.  The lush flowers and trees have lovely texture, as do the brilliantly colored dragons.  The skies and landscapes are evocative.

When I looked closely at each card, I realized this isn’t a trite deck.  I felt like an old woman who has mistakenly assumed a young, pretty girl to be shallow and stupid.

Crystal Visions Tarot is true to Rider Waite Smith structure and interpretation.  In many cards, the subtle symbolism honors a wealth of tarot tradition, often in clever ways.

The Major Arcana is no more ornately illustrated than the Minor Arcana.  The suits are easily identifiable by color and style.  The beautiful cardbacks are reversible, and reversed interpretations are given in the Little White Book.  The deck is standard size with white borders, and is packaged in the classic U.S. Games box.

My least favorite cards are the Magician and the High Priestess.  The Magician fails to hold his arms in the traditional “as above, so below” pose.  He does have the Four Tool of Magic, and stands above a crescent moon.  The High Priestess stands directly on that crescent moon.  Butterflies surround her – what’s up with that?  Butterflies, in tarot, are best reserved for air cards.  The High Priestess is a water card.  Humph.  But, honestly, these are small complaints when compared with the overall beauty and readability of this deck.

It would take a long time to describe all the cards I love in this deck.  They include the Fool, who is female.  Butterflies, appropriate for the air correspondence of this card, also surround her. Her dress has red ribbons, one of which has casually wrapped around her leg, giving her the ancient tradition of the Fool’s red-striped legs.

In the World card we see a large lotus flower cradling a globe on which sits a woman in lotus position.  More butterflies here, not elementally appropriate, but acceptable, because they are flying out of her palm chakras.

As I mentioned earlier, I question the addition of a seventy-ninth card, entitled The Unknown Card.  This card says that the answer is, at present, unknowable.  Perhaps we need to look within and find the answer in our own heart.  The card is actually quite lovely.  It shows a modern Goth-looking young Pagan woman holding a crystal ball.  The image is rather different from the rest of the deck.  It stands out as a special card, belonging to none of the suits.

It is a legitimate tradition in random token divination to use a blank token.  Many tarot readers include one of the title cards for this purpose.  Some Rune casters use the Blank Rune.  On one hand, it makes sense for Galasso to offer us this option.

On the other hand, I feel the seventy-eight cards hold every message we could want or need.  The Moon may say, “It’s a mystery,” while the Wheel of Fortune may say, “Anything can happen.”  The High Priestess may say, “Look deeply within for your answers.”  With all that wisdom already available, I have a hard time justifying The Unknown Card.

That I have already started using Crystal Visions Tarot for professional readings is the highest praise I could give any tarot deck.  However, I was initially unsure if I wanted to use the Unknown Card, or use my prerogative to remove it.  So far, I have left it in the deck.  I must admit, it pops up at very appropriate times.

As I explored this deck, its title kept grabbing at me.  Where had I heard those words before, Crystal Visions...?  When I read the very informative Little White Book, I slapped my forehead in a classic Homer Simpson D’oh moment.  The title is a tip of the top hat to the Welsh Witch herself, the legendary Stevie Nicks. What might have seemed cheesy makes perfect sense when inspired by the ethereal Unintentional Godmother of Goth. I am so pleased to use a deck that honors Stevie, whom I have loved for thirty-four (yikes!) years.  That’s just a bit longer, even, than I have loved tarot.

It has been a while since I’ve discovered a new deck to add to my short list of professional reading decks.  Crystal Visions Tarot is attractive, evocative and easy to understand. Unlike many fantasy art tarot decks, its images are uncomplicated and traditional.  Do not be fooled by its youthful energy, Crystal Visions Tarot will give great wisdom and depth.  It will be a solid learning and reading deck for anyone from beginners to seasoned professionals.

Tarot from a Cat’s Perspective: A Review of Cat’s Eye Tarot

Cat’s Eye Tarot
By Debra M. Givin, DVM
US Games 978-1-57281-685-6
Review by Christiana Gaudet

So many tarot lovers are also cat lovers.  I must admit I am the exception.  Yes, I have loved a few kitties over the years, but I am not what you would call a “cat person.”  Therefore, I would likely never meet the artist of the new Cat’s Eye Tarot in her day job as a veterinarian.

I love it when smart people go public as tarotists.  I admire someone who is multi-talented enough to make it through veterinary school, keep a medical practice, read tarot, be an artist and create a tarot deck.

The marriage of cats and tarot has created some interesting offspring.  We have Tarot of the Cat People, Medieval Cat Tarot, Tarot of the Pagan Cats, and Baroque Bohemian Cats’ Tarot, to name only a few.

One might ask if the world needed yet another cat tarot.  Given the number of tarot-reading cat-lovers, there can probably never be enough, and Cat’s Eye Tarot differentiates itself from the rest of the litter quite nicely.

The cats drawn by Debra M. Givin are extremely realistic housecats.  Any of them could be a patient at her felines-only veterinary hospital in Portland, Maine.

One of my favorite aspects of Cat’s Eye Tarot is that these cats, unlike most tarot cats, don’t wear clothes, ride horses, mix potions or brandish swords.  They do cat things.

The cat things they do are enough akin to Rider Waite Smith symbolism that many of the images are immediately understandable.

Dr. Givin has taken care, in many cases, to identify the type of cat in each card within the Little White Book.  Happily, the multi-talented Debra M. Givin is a decent writer, and the LWB is detailed and informative.

The deck follows RWS symbolism, structure and interpretation, so it will be easy for RWS-schooled readers to make the transition to this deck.  New readers, especially if they are cat-lovers, will find the interpretations logical and appropriate for the images.

The cards are standard size, glossy with white borders, and of the quality we expect from US Games.  Packaged in the classic simple box, the deck is affordable and ecologically sensitive.

The card back features a close-up of a cat’s face with green eyes.  The back is not reversible, and the LWB gives no reversed meanings.

One of the two title cards features a “Nine Lives Spread,” designed specifically for the deck.

The art is colorful watercolor, and very reminiscent of Maine. 

Non-feline creatures in this deck include prey (mice, lizards, snakes), companions (humans, dogs), enemies (also dogs), and temptations (birds, fish). 

In the LWB, and the deck’s website, we are encouraged to use Cat’s Eye Tarot to read for our cats.  That’s not as crazy as it might sound.  I spend a great deal of my professional life reading for clients’ pets, both living and deceased.  Tarot is an effective tool for animal communication, and spirit communication.  I would imagine such a realistic cat tarot would be even more effective for communicating with, and about, cats.

Cats themselves have an affinity for tarot.  When I give tarot readings at a party, every feline in the house will spend the entire evening at my feet, under my tarot table.  Some of the less well-behaved cats will choose to be on top of the tarot table as well.

The thing I love most about Cat’s Eye Tarot is also the thing I like least.  That is its realism.  I love the Empress kitty, sitting on the staircase with her kittens.  I love the Hierophant kitty, prowling the desktop amongst the keys and books.  The Ten of Wands kitty carrying the huge snake up the stairs – yuk!  It must be good art, because it produces in me a visceral response.

The final straw for me is the excrement in the Suit of Swords.  A cat spraying the wall illustrates the Seven of Swords.  It’s clever, but gross.  The Ten of Swords shows a messy kitchen filled with uncared-for cats.  The litter box is overflowing.  It’s a smart interpretation of the Ten of Swords from a cat’s eye view.

The reason I don’t keep cats in my house is the same reason I won’t use Cat’s Eye Tarot – I don’t want to deal with cat urine and feces.

But for the many, many people who love their cats unconditionally, Cat’s Eye Tarot is the best cat tarot ever.  Cat’s Eye Tarot is clever, pretty, playful, intuitive, and cute– just like a kitty!