About this item
- Also known as Tattoed Tarot, Tattoo Tarot
Specifications
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Name
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Tattooed Tarot
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Alternate Names
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Tattoed Tarot, Tattoo Tarot
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Creators
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Pietro Alligo,
Cristiano Spadoni
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Publisher
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Lo Scarabeo 2006
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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 Without Suit Symbols
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Suits
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Chalices, Swords, Wands, Pentacles
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Court Cards
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Knave, Knight, Queen, King
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Major Titles
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The Fool, The Magician, The High Priestess, The Empress, The Emperor, The Hierophant, The Lovers, The Chariot, Justice, The Hermit, The Wheel, Strength, The Hanged Man, Death, Temperance, The Devil, The Tower, The Stars, The Moon, The Sun, Judgment, The World
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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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2.60 x 4.72 in. = 6.60cm x 12.00cm
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Card Language
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Spanish, Italian, German, French, English, Dutch
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Card Back
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Reversible
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Back Design
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A mirrored design of the tigers from the Five of Wands on a green and black pattterned.
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Companion Material
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64-page multilingual companion booklet.
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Reviews
This isn’t a criticism! It’s simply the reason I found this deck difficult to understand at first. However I was initially struck by the high quality of the art and I’m glad I returned to it, as it has now become one of my favourite tarots.
Solandia has described already how the images are realised in relation to the character on the card, the symbol for the card and its appearance on the body of the card’s protagonist. I would like now to add a few of my personal thoughts about the chosen imagery.
First of all, I have to say that I am generally disappointed when a tarot fails to stay at least 50% faithful to what it is generally accepted a tarot deck is: 78 cards, 56 minor, 22 major, with images that reflect the generally accepted meanings of the cards agreed by the Golden Dawn. Lo Scarabeo have often, and to varying degrees, changed the meanings, as the images themselves from many of their other tarots attests, to the frustration of collectors and readers alike (the Reincarnation Tarot, Imagination Tarot, Dante Tarot, Kama Sutra Tarot – it goes on…..) However, I continue to buy (most) of their offerings as occasionally they come up with something wonderful. Also, I can’t deny that they are contributing to the tarot world from the spiritual home of Tarot, Italy itself, where it all started over 500 years ago.
The suits most faithful to the traditional tarots of the past are the major arcana and the suit of swords. However, there is no slavish abeyance to the Waite-Smith here! Getting the balance right is what really makes a new tarot worthwhile. As already observed by Solandia, the fool looks a little like Jim Morrison – I think there’s a bit of Anthony Keidis from the Chilli Peppers in him too. And as you’d expect from an image honouring great rock’n’rollers, this guy’s no fool! His symbol is simply a feather – a great take on the familiar representation of the card.
We do come across my afore-mentioned observation within this suit, a mix of cultural symbols: the Egyptian Ankh on the Priestess, the Mayan death’s head on Death, the Tasmanian Devil on – (you’ve guessed it), the Native American symbol for the Sun (on the Sun!) And a wonderful image on Strength – Samson’s column, breaking.
However as I said at the beginning, this isn’t a criticism. It’s simply something that takes getting used to, if you’re used to decks which follow a pattern. Within the suit of cups, the Middle-East is represented by Jesus wearing a crown of thorns on the 2, Native America by a warrior holding a peace-pipe on the 8, and Tibet’s Buddha appears on the 10.
To me the deck isn’t perfect. I don’t think there is a deck that is. Some of the cards bear imagery that confound me, when I try to square them with my familiar notions of what the meaning should be. But this won’t stop me enjoying this deck – a wonderful contribution to the tarot world.
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