This deck is a reproduction of an historical almost-tarot deck that comes from Florence several hundred years ago.  The Minchiate tradition is a little known and seldom used one that is finally beginning to get some attention, due to reproductions like this one which are getting the deck out there for people to see and use.

The Minchiate deck contains 97 cards in total, including 41 Major Arcana cards and 56 Minors.  A lot of additional cards are included in the Majors.  Most of the traditional elements are present, but the 12 signs of the Zodiac are also here, as well as all the virtues and the elements of Earth, Air, Fire and Water.  The order has been rearranged so you can't compare it to a traditional tarot deck.  None of the cards bear any kind of title or text bar whatsoever.  The Major Arcana cards simply are marked with a tiny little banner scroll on the image area with the Roman numeral of the card on it.  The image area takes up the whole card.

The titles can be learned from the little folded pamphlet which comes with the deck to explain the divinatory meanings of the cards.  This also gives a short treatise on how to do readings using the Minchiate deck.  They have historically been used slightly differently than traditional tarots and so you need some guidance to their use.  According to the pamphlet, the order and titles are:

0 - The Fool
I - The Magician
II - The Empress
III - The Emperor
IIII - The Hierophant
V - The Lovers
VI - Temperance
VII - The Force
VIII - Justice
IX - The Wheel of Fortune
X - The Chariot
XI - Time
XII - The Hanged Man
XIII - Death
XIIII - The Devil
XV - The House of the Devil
XVI - Hope
XVII - Prudence
XVIII - Faith
XVIIII - Charity
XX - Fire
XXI - Water
XXII - Earth
XXIII - Air
XXIIII - Libra
XXV - Virgo
XXVI - Scorpio
XXVII - Aries
XXVIII - Capricorn
XXIX - Sagittarius
XXX - Cancer
XXXI - Pisces
XXXII - Aquarius
XXXIII - Leo
XXXIIII - Taurus
XXXV - Gemini
XXXVI - Star
XXXVII - Moon
XXXVIII - Sun
XXXIX - The World
XL - Justice

Yes, I know that makes two Justice cards.  I don't know either.  I also noticed that the Roman numerals used are not consistent; in some cases the subtractive form is used and in other cards the old style is used.  Sometimes the booklet says one form and the card says another.  The English is a translation in this booklet, it isn't originally composed in English but in Italian, which accounts for spelling errors and so on.

The Minor Arcana are also untitled, so one has to gather the titles of the suits from the booklet again.  However the suit icons are fairly clear and straightforward, so seeing that they are Chalices, Swords, Clubs and Coins isn't hard.  Court titles are harder, but the booklet describes them as King, Queen, Knight and Valet.  Looking at the cards, though, you can see that in the "feminine" suits of Chalices and Coins, the "Valet" is actually some sort of handmaiden, while in the "masculine" suits of Swords and Clubs, he is genuinely a Page of some sort.  The numbered cards are basically just pips in this deck, very close if not identical to the traditional Marseille tarots.  All of the deck's variation occurs in the Majors and Court Cards.

The cards themselves are smaller than standard sized and handle and shuffle fairly easily despite the thicker deck size.  They do feel kind of clunky but it's not too bad.  The card stock used is nice and good quality with the right amount of flexibility and a semi-gloss coating to protect it.  The back design features an engraving of a somewhat androgynous figure and the lettering underneath spells "ETRURIA."  This design is not reversible.

This deck will appeal mainly to those who are interested in historical decks, and collectors in general.  People who are accustomed to reading with Marseille tarots will probably be able to adjust to reading with a Minchiate deck; those who have learned with the Rider-Waite decks will not be able to adapt as easily.  This deck is *not* for beginners.

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Review Copyright 1999 by Gina M. Pace

Ancient Minchiate Etruria
published by LoScarabeo, Torino, Italy