This exciting and interesting new deck from LoScarabeo is one that had been previously published and available a number of years ago as a 22-card, Major-Arcana-only art deck.  At that time it was published as I Tarocchi Celtici.  Now that the deck has been completed as a 78-card deck, it has been packaged as Celtic Tarots.  You can see a comparison of the same card from both versions of the deck here.

It's fairly challenging to determine that the art is done by two different artists; I've seen decks done by single artists that are less integrated in style.  Tenuta did an excellent job of translating the style for the Minors based upon Gaudenzi's earlier work.  However, the difference is there if you look at the symbolic style rather than the art style.   While both are excellent, for once I find that I like the Minors better than the Majors.

The designs for the Major Arcana feature legendary characters from Celtic mythology, legend and lore.  Characters like the Morrigan, the Dagda, and Cu Chulainn grace these cards.  The names of these characters are placed in the border underneath the image area, in red.  The card's traditional title appears at the top in English, French, German and Spanish.  Interestingly, there is no Italian title.  Roman numerals are placed at the top center of the card.  The Major Arcana follow traditional Marseilles style ordering, with Justice being 8 and Strength 11.

The Minor Arcana, done by Saverio Tenuta, were completed several years after the Majors were published.  They follow a Rider-Waite symbolism very heavily.  I happen to like this.  Not everyone will.  Each suit has been chosen to represent a specific ethnic group or a people who have lived in Ireland.  This complements the legendary figures in the Majors.  The Chalices suit represents the Fianna people, Swords are the Ulaid people, Wands symbolize the Fomori, and Pentacles are for the Tuatha De Danaan, with King, Queen, Knight and Knave for the court titles.  Since this is following the Rider-Waite model, there are full scenes for all cards, not just pip cards.  The art style *is* different from the Majors but it is compatible and attractive.  One thing to note is that according to the designer, the Wands represent the Air signs, and the Swords are for Fire, which is a contrary elemental association from the Rider-Waite.  Many decks use the Wands-Air, Swords-Fire, but most common is Wands-Fire and Swords-Air.

The cards themselves are approximately standard sized, and are printed on a nice flexible cardstock that feels good in the hand. It has a protective coating that feels slightly slippery when the deck is new.  This will soften up a bit over time, with use.  The edges are very nicely polished to a smooth finish, and the corners are perfectly rounded and even.  The cards shuffle and handle fairly well.  There was a problem with the box that mine came in, in that the little side flaps that tuck in at the top before you fold the top down tended to break apart at the crease after only a couple of folds.  None of the rest of the box seems to have this problem.  I taped it up and no harm done.  The back design is a reversible double-ended sepia monochrome version of the King of Chalices.  He is also featured in a circle on the front of the box.

The little white booklet actually explains the scenario on each card with the legendary figure in the Major Arcana.  I have to admit my knowledge of the Celtic pantheon of deities, and of Celtic mythology, is horrendous, so I don't know how accurate these are, but the ones I did know sounded about right.  They describe a specific scene in the "life" of these figures so you know what is depicted on the card and not just the figure in question.  The booklet goes on to explain how each suit refers to the specific ethnic group it describes.  With so much detail given to this, it leaves very little room in the booklet for actual divinatory meanings.  However, as close as these cards are to the Rider-Waite, one can pretty easily get the meanings.

I recommend this deck for anyone who is interested in Celtic mythology, but the most interesting thing about this is that out of all the Celtic decks I have reviewed this is the *only* one that uses Rider-Waite symbolism.  Most Celtic decks create their own totally different system, and so are difficult for beginners to use and learn from.  While this wouldn't be as easy as actually using the Rider-Waite itself, it would be comparable and much easier perhaps than the difficult Celtic systems which always intimade me, at least. Collectors will enjoy this deck, too  For more information on purchasing this deck, email Wicce.

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Review Copyright 2000 by Gina M. Pace

Celtic Tarots by Giacinto Gaudenzi and Saverio Tenuta, 1994, 2000
published by LoScarabeo, Torino, Italy