This page is dedicated to my tarot hobby. What follows are a few brief discussions of my favorite decks. Not all my decks are discussed here. Some decks I'm still "getting to know."

Coming Soon! I'm working on a deck, tentatively titled, The Tarot of Memory. I'll post sketches and completed cards as they become available.

The Rider Deck

The term "Rider" refers to the original publishing company and not to the authors, A.E. Waite and Pamela Colman Smith. This is the most influential deck of the Twentieth Century. Tarot practitioners owe Smith a debt of gratitude due to her artistic insight. Before this deck, the minor arcana cards were generally rendered as pips, like a regular deck of playing cards. It is believed that Waite, a frequent visitor to the British Museum, guided Smith to take inspiration from the Sola Busca, which does contain illustrated pips. Ever since then, tarot artists have

illustrated the pip cards, the minor arcana, These are usually modeled after the Rider deck. For years I assumed that the illustrations dated back to the Middle Ages, but that is not the case. Pamela Colman Smith's illustration style is so primal and timeless, with a fairy tale quality to it, that I can be forgiven for thinking that the cards come from antiquity. I would encourage tarot beginners to study with this deck first, before branching off to the many derivatives of it.

Tarot of the New Vision

This deck reminds me of the play and movie, Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead . This deck is rendered in the style of the Rider deck, but it is a sort of "behind the scenes" look of the cards. In some ways, this is lifting the curtain and we can see further aspects of the card that were hidden. A favorite is the Chariot, and just what is behind it. The Empress is always called the card of motherhood, but now we get to see her kids playing behind her throne. In some respects, this deck breaks our traditional views of these old cards. The treatment of 5 and 6 of Pentacles are good examples. You will remember the 5 of Pentacles showing two beggars out in the snow, while a chapel of stain glass is in the background. We get to see what is in that church. It is not what I expected, but I'm delighted. In the 6 of Pentacles we see a generous man givng to two needy people, but now we see that his very own cloak is torn. This one little thing adds a new complexity to the card.

Victoria Regina Tarot

I love this deck. I'm generally not wild about collaged decks, but this is so well done, that it almost seems like these illustrations were meant to look this way. Very similar to the artwork of Max Ernst, in this respect. This deck is made from Victorian-era engravings, advertisements, and portraits. It's brilliant. Swords are rendered as pistols and rifles. Coins are clocks. Cups are mason jars. Wands are fountain pens. If this all sounds ridiculous, it's not. It's a very powerful deck, really well thought out. The court cards are all Victorian Royalty, which being an American, I have to look at the accompanying guidebook. I suppose British people would be more familiar with them, and their corresponding Court Card personalities. Queen Victoria is used many times, but different times in her life.

Giger's Tarot

I have been a fan of H.R. Giger since my dad took me to go see Alien. I also liked his artwork that was in the now-defunct magazine, Omni, that my parents read. So, being literally a lifelong fan, I always wanted his deck. When I finally got it, I was disappointed that it only has the Major Arcana, which are 22 cards. Also, they are older paintings, with tarot names tacked onto the bottom. He didn't paint anything new, despite sketches of tarot cards inside the book. However, even with the limited number of cards, I still use this deck from time to time. The accompanying book, by Akron, is so full of insight, mostly of an uncomfortable nature, it is worth reading alone, even if one didn't like the artwork.

This deck is not for everyone. Giger's paintings are often very disturbing and very ugly. This is the only deck I have that comes with a warning, and Akron and Giger mean it.

This is not a tarot book in the usual sense. It has not been written for people who seek the truth without questioning themselves, or hide behind the mask of the "positive." Nor is it for those who are addicted to the quest for enlightenment, believing they have long overcome the darkness within themselves and only looking for (and finding it) in others. As the ultimate "Shadow Tarot," the cards and book provide a panoramic view of the psychological and mental underworld. They reveal that the true darkness lies in repressing the shadow- by "striving for the light." The search for enlightenment is actually like an addiction: The drug that enslaves us is shadow itself! So this book is intended for people who first want to discover why they should seek the truth before they try to find this truth.

The Decks of Lo Scarabeo

Lo Scarabeo a Italian company, makes a wide array of beautiful decks that you should check out. Here are a few of my favorites, that you can also order below.

Secret Tarot A beautiful, dreamy, slightly "gothic" in the modern usage of that term, deck. I use this deck a lot, and it seems inspired by the Rider deck and Tarot of Marseilles.

Tarot of Dürer Dürer used a lot of symbols in his artwork that are familiar to tarot practicionners. Although this deck is not rendered by Albrecht Dürer, the illustrations look like his engravings.

Tarot del Art Nouveau Perhaps the prettiest deck I own. It's beauty and femininity sometimes work against it. I find it hard to explore negative questions with it.

Tarot of Casanova Very pretty, sometimes naughty. Just as the Art Nouveau tarot is a little too feminine, this deck seems more geared to titilate bookish male readers. The women are alluring, yet the men are always dressed in costumes of that era. But I suppose that if women like their men in masks and powdered wigs, this might be just what they are looking for!

Kat Black's Golden Tarot

Artist, Kat Black, has a terrific tarot, that is extremely well done. It is a collage deck of artwork from the Middle Ages up to the Renaissance. This was a deck made as personal project of the artist, but was soon pirated by hucksters who took low resolution internet pictures and sold it. Fans of the deck actually began a write-in campaign, and helped it to get published.

The Archeon Tarot

A very striking deck made of collaged photos. The artwork of Timothy Lantz is reminiscent of some of the works by Dave McKean, particularly his Sandman covers. This is a very interesting deck, full of intriguing imagery. My only criticism is that it seems too full of skulls! The ace of swords has a skull being pierced by a sword. The King of Cups, of all court cards, has a brooding chap sitting amongst weathered skulls. The ten of wands, you guessed it, tens skulls atop poles. Perhaps the artist's intention is to make a kind of "shadow tarot" and in that sense, the Archeon Tarot succeeds admirably.

The Works of Robert M. Place

Artist Robert M. Place has several beautiful, well researched decks. A favorite is The Alchemical Tarot, which is currently out of print, but so wonderful. I read it regularly. There are so many wonderful insights to that deck, that I'm sure it will come back into print. Although I'm not Catholic, I love his Tarot of the Saints. Place has taken Christian mysticism and applied it to tarot. A marvelous achievement. He is currently working on the Tarot of the Sevenfold Mystery, which is rendered in the style of Sir Edward Burne-Jones, one of my favorite Pre-Raphaelite artists. I can't wait for that. He is also the author of the very wonderful Buddha Tarot as well as the Angels Tarot. I can't recommend his book on tarot enough. Please see link below.