Tarot of the New Vision - tarot decks

Price: US $15.58

ProductID: alt1021

• Ever wondered what the Magician was looking at? The Tarot of the New Vision is based on the Rider-Waite, but with a
• fascinating 180 degree change of perspective which reveals new scenes, people and shades of meaning in the familiar
• images.

Have you ever wondered what the Magician was looking at? What was behind the High Priestess? What the Kings and Queens were contemplating? Most tarot enthusiasts are familiar with Pamela Colman-Smith's drawings used for the Rider-Waite deck, and this tarot turns the original drawings around 180 degrees and looks at them from a completely new perspective.

I have been waiting to see these cards since I first heard of "the deck no one thought of" several months ago. My first impression was how much more populated the cards now appeared. More people, new objects, and different landscapes are revealed. Many cards that originally showed only a single figure, now showed them with a spectators, acolytes, children, or animals. There were also more angelic and demonic elements - extra demons or gargoyles appear in the Devil and the Nine of Swords, an angel appears in the Eight of Wands, a winged horse in the Four of Cups, a ghost or spirit in the Seven of Pentacles.

Some cards are not exact 180-degree reversals, and, understandably, some artistic license has been taken so that each image works. Seated figures, like the court cards and Justice, have been treated by showing a frontal view of the card in bas-relief, to look like decoration on the back of the throne.

The art style is detailed; fairly realistic looking pen and ink drawings filled in with watercolour. The colouring has been kept reasonably similar to the original Rider-Waite drawings, but is softer and not as garishly primary coloured. (Interestingly, the two artists for this deck were twin brothers, Raul and Gianluca Cestaro.)

The change of perspective in the card artwork does often also change the perspective of the meaning. While such classic archetypes as Death, the Wheel, the Tower, the Sun, the World don't appreciably change, others are definitely altered. For example, we see the Magician is standing behind his table and performing for a crowd; which tilts the meaning closer to the historical Bateleur than the solitary magical adept of the original Rider-Waite. The Hanged Man faces a jeering mob and has a less spiritual focus and a booklet meaning of 'repentance, points of view, final difficulty'. The Chariot's meaning is also very changed by the reversal of perspective - behind the cart we see a man and a women chained and forced to follow.

In the minors, the card that struck me as the most changed was the 8 of Cups. Previously a person dressed and setting off for a journey, we know see what they were leaving - and it doesn't appear to be a willing departure. The sky is brightly lit with fireworks and the city is in apparent celebrations. The Eight of Wands is also markedly different; usually a simple card of eight wands in the air, this now a view of the wands pointing upward from a farming village, as though departing, and a winged angel. Another interesting turnaround is the Five of Pentacles. This card still shows two figures, lame, poor and weak, but now they are on the inside of the building and light is shining through the stained glass window from the outside.

While beginners could use the Tarot of the New Vision, I recommend this deck for intermediate and experienced readers and students seeking a novel take on the familiar Rider-Waite images.