About this item
- The Art Nouveau Tarot by Matt Myers is decorated in a gorgeously coloured, vibrant (though rather eighties-looking),
- stained-glass style of imagery. The major arcana are reasonably traditional, while the minor arcana are unique in that
- they tell the story of four couples going through the trials and tribulations of life together.
Specifications
Name
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Art Nouveau Tarot
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Creators
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Matt Myers
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Publisher
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US Games 1989
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Deck Type
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Tarot Deck
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Cards
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78
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Major Arcana
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22
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Minor Arcana
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56
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Deck Tradition
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Mixed
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Minor Arcana Style
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Unique Scenes With Suit Symbols
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Suits
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Cups, Coins, Staves, Swords
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Court Cards
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King, Queen, Kight, Page
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The Fool
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is 0
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Strength
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is 11
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Justice
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is 8
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Card Size
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2.87 x 4.37 in. = 7.30cm x 11.11cm
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Card Language
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English
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Card Back
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Non-reversible
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Reviews
The major arcana have some interesting "simple"
symbolism in it. The Moon card is a woman and The Sun card
is a male, this goes along with older esoteric
teachings and I am surprised to see it here so blatantly (I
like it myself). The Strength card is also a winner,
the girl in the card is holding an acorn while sitting
with a lion. I love the idea that she might not have
found strength (or know how to develop it yet), but
she's on the right path (working on it) all the same.
The tree in the backdrop of this card is there to show
the fruits of her labor and that someone can get there
through hope and faith. The Lovers is a very sexually
charged card (as it should be) and refers more to the
marriage bed than the wedding ceremony. The Death card is
a real beauty here and shows a skeleton dancing in a
bed of blooming flowers, how true that seems to be.
I really like The Priest card a lot (maybe my fav. along
with The Moon), it depicts a dark haired man standing
in deep prayer
in a church at the communion rail. The
Priest is in Anglican dress and the three rings on his
rosary, the three candle candelbras, and the illuminated
background refer to the Holy Trinity. Some of the majors
could have been done slightly better as far as symbolism
is concerned. On The World card I would have put a
double flamed candle in the woman's hand. The Priestess
is a little too "mean" looking for my taste.
Some of the cards (I'm talking about the whole deck here)
depict overly young looking people on them. It's not
enough to keep me from being able to read with this deck,
but I admit it did rub me the wrong way at first. The
artist is my age (middle to late 30's) and since the deck
was first printed in '89, he was a still "a kid" when
he painted it. Being male, I know we do mature later
than females. I don't doubt that he, like myself, has
come to understand the meaning of the word "maya". At
any rate, some of the major arcana suffer from the
Barbie
& Ken look. It may be because we can actually
see their faces on this deck. It's easy to forget
that the persons in the Rider-Waite deck are also very
youthful, because that deck is painted in a softer style. I
personally can accept the youthfulness of this deck without
considering it a flaw, but some tarot lovers might not reach
that same conclusion.
The minor arcana court cards are very well done and in some, like The Knight of
Swords the reader is actually given more symbolisn than
included in older traditional decks. I would have liked to
have seen the Pages a little less masculine looking in
this deck.
The pip cards are where the trouble with this deck gets started for many people. I hated them
at first, but after reading the little instruction
book included with the deck, I began to understand the
pips. The pip cards depict four different couples in
the stages of their relationships. The meanings of
the cards are the same as the traditional decks, but
the scenes are totall
y new. A few reminders of older
decks are thrown into the pips here and there. This
might be too much for some people, but for myself I
found that I can relate to the pip card story lines. I
also find that I'm really reading the card and not
giving the meanings a romantic spin that the pips
suggest, unless that romantic spin is called for. Yes I
admit, this deck is awesome for readings concerning
matters of the heart, but not only for that subject. I
know that some people have a lot of trouble remembering
the pip cards (I've been there too) and this system
might be one that works for them "memory wise". I love
the cup cards with the baby (makes me wish all the
harder for the right woman and child in my own life) and
the Celtic knots in the coin suit add an "earthy
touch" to the deck. It's great to have a deck that
inspires the hopes and dreams of the reader as well as the
consultant, in my humble opinion, because it kind of puts you
both in the same boots.
All in all
, I really like this deck. Let me state again that in my opinion the
art is just outstanding compared to most tarot packs
(even the backs with the double planet design). If I
was to place any themes on the deck they would be,
romantic, darkly beautiful, Christian, Celtic, very slightly
Pagan/Wiccian, and innovative. If you like those things (like
myself) I'd highly recommend this deck.
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