This quaint little tarot deck and book set appeared in the major bookstores somewhat recently, although it has been in print since 1995.  I imagine in larger metro areas like New York City it has been out longer, but it's relatively new in most of the country.  The set contains 22 Major Arcana cards and a small paperback book in a lovely lidded box package.

The first thing that struck me about these cards was that the title is very close to the Lovers' Tarot by Jane Lyle.  Upon opening the deck, the cards look like the Lovers' Tarot by Jane Lyle.  Although they are a great deal smaller, one looking casually at the images might think they were the same deck.  The style of Victoriana collage work is very similar.  Once again, we have segments of classical paintings by the masters assembled into pictures which represent the various figures of the Major Arcana.  The collage work is done very well and the overall result is excellent.

Cards are bordered in white and have a white inset text box at the bottom of the card image with the title in black, all caps, in English only.  Roman numerals are set inobtrusively in the top portion of the image, but are not set in a white box, so they don't distract from the picture.  Traditional titling and order is used here; Strength is 8 and Justice 11.  The figures and symbolism is recognizably inspired by the Rider-Waite deck, although the scenes have not been copied directly.  I was very impressed with the close-up quality of the major figure in each card; very often, when collage is used, the figures are too small proportionately and look far-away.  In these cards you feel as though they are right there with you.

A simple back design of small gold stars on a navy blue field lends a sense of elegance and class to the cards.  Since there are only 22, shuffling and handling are a snap.  Slightly slippery coating is used on the cards, but the stock is thin and flexible enough and the coating should break in nicely.

The box is made to be wide enough to hold the book, which means that the cards sit in a well which is basically half the width of the box.  The well is made to be deeper than the cards by enough of a margin that you could really put two copies of the deck in there, and the way it is designed (well at one end, insert at the other) the book tends to fall into the well at one end to some extent.  I know I am picking on trivial details but sometimes these things can be irksome.  I wish a second insert had been placed in the bottom of the well so that when the cards were in place the book would lie level across the top of them.

The book itself is a small, wide glossy paper book with a cover that matches the box.  For only 100 pages, there is a surprisingly good amount of information in there, including several interesting spreads.  The Celtic Cross is not included, although one spread, the Mystic Seven, does show a distinct leaning towards the Celtic Cross style.  I was also very impressed by a small but thorough section on card combinations, something many larger books don't even attempt to discuss.

Each card's meaning is given in several ways, so you know immediately how to interpret it based on the position it is in.  Very good descriptions of the reversed meaning of each card are included and at times are the lengthiest explanations for each card.  I imagine Ms. Bartlett understands that reversals can be some of the most confusing part of a reading.

Since this is a Major Arcana only deck, there are no suits or court cards.

I highly recommend this deck and book set for the collector.  Beginners who wish to use the tarot immediately for quick questions in the areas of love and relationship can easily use this set to achieve their goals.  If you are looking for something to work with in greater depth, this will be a good start but you will outgrow it fairly quickly.  The art is excellent and the set complete enough to use on its own.  Prior knowledge of tarot is not necessary.

Click here for pictures
 
or here to purchase this deck and book set

or here to return

Please use your browser's back button to return from pictures

Review Copyright 1999 by Gina M. Pace

The Love Tarot by Sarah Bartlett and Nancy Tolford, 1995
published by Rider/Ebury Press/Random House, ISBN 07126 7472 1