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Fantastical Tarot - tarot decks

Playing Cards
Playing Cards -> Tarot decks

Price: US $15.50

ProductID: alt969

Shipping and handling:   US $4.99
Each additional item:    US $0.00

Quantity:              0  available  /  21  sold


About this item
  • A magical fantasy interpretation of the Rider-Waite. The Fantastical Tarot card borders are gold and cards are traditionally named, while the artwork style is unique, wonderfully complex, and occasionally gothic.


Specifications
Name Fantastical Tarot
Creators Natalie Hertz
Publisher US Games 2004
Deck Type Tarot Deck
Cards 78
Deck Tradition Rider-Waite-Smith
Minor Arcana Style Unique Scenes With Suit Symbols
Suits Cups, Swords, Wands, Pentacles
Court Cards Page, Knight, Queen, King
The Fool is 0
Strength is 8
Justice is 11
Card Size 2.75 x 4.75 in. = 6.99cm x 12.06cm
Card Language English
Card Back Unknown


Reviews
eatly detailed, and not without a touch of humour. This deck is a contradiction. When it's good, it's very, very good. When it's bad, it's not horrible or childish, but a pathetic shadow of what it could have been. Confused? Read on.

The Magician is my favourite card, done in shades of blue and gold - he hurls the four suit signs upwards and holds them in thrall, a claw reaching upwards while the sky swirls behind. Justice is equally impressive. While most Justice depictions are regal and cool and seem to carry themselves with the aura of Queens, she slumps against her sword; I found this one extremely evocative, especially in an age where true justice is all but dead. The Sun blazes with unleashed energy, and the Emperor is imperious, expecting your deference.

But they are often unrepresentative of their meanings, on the flipside. Take the Fool. He looks like something out of a nightmare - no naïve youth here, but a mocking, simpering joker with a somewhat feminine posture, the bo dy of an old tree trunk and nasty plans hidden behind his too-wide grin. There isn't even a cliff. To me the Fool is the most menacing card in the deck; he reminds me very much of the Vampire's Fool, especially since they share a similar creator in Nathalie Hertz. (Personally, and not from a general view, I like the Fool, because I like the gothic art style.) The Empress does not look fertile at all - compare her to the Mythic's Empress and you'd think of a barren winter moor compared to a summer field. Then again, gaunt figures are an art theme in this deck. They also often lack traditional symbols you have come to expect. The Tower looks ominous indeed, but lacks that all-important streak of lightning, and the High Priestess' peacock must have gone into the pot. Yet, without exception, they are all beautiful.

The Minors are not as successful, compared to the Majors. To me, the Minors must especially be representative of the meanings, whilst I can excuse a few creative liberties in the Majors purely because the Majors' meanings are easier to read (for me) but the Minors must be crystal-clear. For another thing, many are not well drawn, in artistic terms. For example, the Five of Pentacles does show two old men in patched jackets, but they have glasses of wine and a roaring fire - this is contradictory and they don't seem all that pathetic to me. The Ten of Wands, possibly the worst-drawn card in the whole deck, is an inconclusive-, indefinite-looking card to me. It shows a man simply standing between ten wands, depicting not at all the heavy, burdensome feeling of this card. Unfortunately, the artist seems to get lazy sometimes and draws far too many figures just standing (argh!) with the suit symbol - the Three, Six, Seven and Ten of Wands, for example.

Now for the individual suits as a whole. The Wands and Pentacles are a letdown. I like the overall look of the Wands, dark and rich, but the yellow-and brown Pentacles suit was a disappointment, the biggest fly in my ointment. The Wands look like carved staves with rounded ends, also bearing a similarity to the Vampire's wands. Pentacles look like shiny golden cymbals. I find I don't care much for the Pentacles, preferring the Pentacles to be more like something in the Londa Tarot - pentagrams.

However, the look of the Pentacles themselves doesn't bother me so much as the overall pictures. The Pentacles suit seems to lack detail - the representations of the meanings are weak (Six of Pentacles, lucky windfall? Looks like a sleepy old man to me) but the Eight is well done. One thing I DO like, though, is the way the artist has drawn the pentacles when they are being juggled - there is a floaty quality about them I like.

The Cups (colourful and bright) and the Swords (dark and cool colours) are the saving graces. Butterflies and green fields abound in the jeweled chalices of the Cups suit. The Four of Cups spells despair, and the Nine of Cups is truly a treasure trove worth of wishes. Have a look a t the Ten, though. Are they really doing what I think they're doing? As for the Swords, they are gleaming sharp, while the figures here look even more gaunt than usual for the Fantastical. You feel so sorry for the man in the Five, and the King looks about to murder someone. The Three of Swords, however, is lousy. I would prefer the traditional swords through the heart.

All the Aces and Court Cards are nice - I especially like the Aces, which show the suit symbol upright on the ground, and a field behind. The Knights, which, if are all pictured against a night sky (as Wicce notes on her site: nice pun on the knight/night thing) are womanly but have long beards ;) The Kings and Queens look distinctive and have a range of (mostly sombre) facial expressions, too. Take a look at the Queen of Wands' super-long eyelashes and fancy hairstyle in huge russet pigtails. As for the LWB, the Queen of Cups is on the cover. It gives two spreads (CC and Venus Spread), and is generally well-written, with short paragraphs on each of the Major illustrations, but some of the meanings given, especially for the Minors, clash with the ones I am familiar with.

In conclusion, I like this deck. Very much. But I wish it could have become THE deck, instead of slipping and sliding on its way to gothic-inspired glory.


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