The Gothic Tarot
by Dawn Williams
 
Not to be confused with the Gothic Tarot by Leilah Wendell, this 22-card Major Arcana deck is self-published by Williams through Mystic Eye.  Like others published by Mystic Eye, the Gothic Tarot is a deck that tells a story.  Each card design was inspired by a single concept line which runs through the entire deck.  In the Gothic Tarot, the story is of a vampire and his search throughout the world for another of his kind, someone to spend his eternity with.  In all the world, he finds no one, and so the hunt begins for a human mate who will be good enough to be changed into a vampire and spend eternity with him.
 
Titles in the deck are quite different at times from the traditional, yet you can see where they follow the basic theme of the Rider-Waite decks.  Each card has the Arabic numeral at the top of the image, and underneath is the title of the card, as well as an explanation of how it ties into the theme, in parentheses.  For example, the Magician is (worker of the dark trick).  Ordering is traditional, although with the unusual titles it's not easy to tell.  Titles are as follows:
 
The Fool -- Humankind
The Magician -- Magician
The High Priestess -- High Priestess
The Empress -- Empress
The Emperor -- Emperor
The Hierophant -- Hierophant
The Lovers -- Lovers
The Chariot -- Hearse
Strength -- Dracul
The Hermit -- Hermit
The Wheel -- Karma
Justice -- Vengeance
The Hanged Man -- Awakening
Death -- Death
Temperance -- Restraint
The Devil -- Demons
The Tower -- Tower
The Star -- Star
The Moon -- Moon
The Sun -- Sun
Judgement -- Judgement
The World -- The World
 
As you can see many of the titles remain traditional but those that are changed are quite different.  I noticed that Vengeance is spelled wrong in the title, it's spelled as Vengence.  Not that big a deal....
 
The cards themselves are larger than standard and seem to be printed on a thin paper stock and then covered with a glossy laminate on both sides for protection.  Edges are not quite perfectly smoothed because the cards seem hand-cut.  They are an excellent job of cutting and laminating, however.  Even the box is handmade. The back design is a dragon, skull and leaf pattern that is reversible.  A blank card is included with the deck.  Instead of a little white booklet, a folded sheet of instructions and divinatory meanings is included.  This paper has the entire short story of the vampire in it for you to read also.  The art style of this deck is computer clip art collage; this will not appeal to everyone, but it is well done.
 
Especially for collectors and fans of the gothic occult, this deck will be a pleaser.  Many people like to collect self-published decks because by their very nature they are rare and limited editions, and down the road often they prove the most valuable.  This deck was the first deck done by Dawn Williams and produced by Mystic Eye.  Fans of this work will be interested in her other decks as well.  Any of these decks can be purchased directly; email Mystic Eye for details.
 
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also by Dawn Williams and Mystic Eye:
The Electric Tarot
The Woo-Woo Tarot
The Pet Tarot
 
Review Copyright 1999 by Gina M. Pace
 
The Gothic Tarot by Dawn Williams, 1995
published by Mystic Eye, Chicago