This deck is a rare treat.  Originally published back in 1991 as a 22-card Major Arcana only deck, it has been published in 2000 as a full 78-card deck.  I loved it back then, and still do now, the early copy that I have has always been one of my favorite art decks.  Therefore, the release of the full deck has been very much anticipated for a long time.  When I finally got a copy of the deck, it lived up to every single one of my expectations, and then some!
 
Much of what I am going to offer in this review will come in the form of a comparison to the earlier printing, since such comparison is more or less inevitable anyway.  I find it helps me to cover more of the details anyway.  I will include the original review at the bottom of the page so you can read my earlier opinion of the deck, though it hasn't changed much!
 
The artwork from this deck is some of the most powerful imagery I've ever seen.  I've obviously encountered many, many tarot decks and a wide variety of tarot art styles, and yet this deck, which was one that I had reviewed in my early days of tarot collecting, still remains one of the most visually haunting decks that I have ever seen.  Toppi paints in a style which is unique and highly evocative, and definitely fitting to the theme of this deck, which is primeval peoples and primitive life.  While not being photo-realistic, you can feel yourself being taken back to a period before time, when the passing of the days was measured not by calendars and clocks, but by the phases of the moon and the tides of the water.  Furthermore, Toppi's careful use of perspective relays the sense of man's own interdependence upon the very creatures around him and the features of the land.  Even the colors used appear to be straight out of nature itself.
 
The titles in the Major Arcana remain the same in this deck as the original printing, and are based on the European model of the Marseille tarot, with several changes which fit the theme more closely.  On each card the titles appear in a text box above the image, in six languages; Italian, French, Spanish, English, German, and a sixth language that I believe may be Dutch.  I've listed the English titles below:
 
O - The Fool
I - The Magician
II - The Great Mother (Priestess/Popess)
III - The Mother (Empress)
IV - The Father (Emperor)
V - The Shaman (Hierophant/Pope)
VI - Union (Lovers)
VII - The Chariot
VIII - Abundance (Justice)
IX - The Hermit
X - Time (Wheel of Fortune)
XI - Creative Power (Strength)
XII - The Sacrifice (Hanged Man)
XIII - Death
XIV - The Source (Temperance)
XV - The Demon (Devil)
XVI - The Menhir (Tower)
XVII - The Star
XVIII - The Moon
XIV - The Sun
XX - The Prey (Judgment)
XXI - The World
 
The biggest surprise of all for me came in the Minor Arcana, because I suppose I had more or less expected to see Toppi paint them more or less like standard cards, just kind of filling out the deck from Majors to a full 78.  You have to remember that many tarot artists seem to neglect the Minors, and it is definitely true that most decks based on the Marseille style don't illustrate the Minors at all.  Almost everyone, no matter how much work they put into every card, sees more significance in the Majors, and you can tell when you look at the finished results.  Instead, with this deck, Toppi has created a totally different way of handling the cards which is refreshing and also would fit in with the primordial theme of the deck itself.
 
Each of the suits in the Minor Arcana is represented by a *color* instead of an icon; this in turn ties in with the elements, but they may not apply in the traditional sense.  For example, Pentacles are replaced by the Yellow suit of Jewels, because to the primitive tribal cultures, jewels would be a symbol of money and value; normally we might associate yellow with Air, and thus with either Swords or Wands (depending on your correspondences of choice) and not with Pentacles.  The four suits are thus:
 
Suit of Blood - color red - replaces the suit of Swords.
Suit of Jewels - color yellow - instead of the suit of Pentacles.
Suit of Nature - color green - takes the place of the suit of Wands.
Suit of Souls - color blue - replaces the suit of Cups.
 
As you can see this is vastly different from what you might be used to, and yet every single card in this new "system" works really well.  Each of the numbers within the suit is also given a name, so that each position in the suit has a significance which carries across the board.  However, these titles are not on the card, only in the booklet.  The cards themselves each bear only the number and the name of the suit.  The titles appear in the booklet so as to help you interpret the cards more clearly.  I think I would have liked to see these titles on the cards, but since they too are shown in six languages, I'm sure space was at a premium. At any rate, the numbers are titled thus:
 
Ace - the "Etching" of Blood (Jewels, Nature, Souls)
Two - the "Age" of Blood (Jewels, Nature, Souls)
Three - the "Mask" of Blood (Jewels, Nature, Souls)
Four - the "Bones" of Blood (Jewels, Nature, Souls)
Five - the "Stone" of Blood (Jewels, Nature, Souls)
Six - the "Rite" of Blood (Jewels, Nature, Souls)
Seven - the "Era" of Blood (Jewels, Nature, Souls)
Eight - the "Spirit" of Blood (Jewels, Nature, Souls)
Nine - the "Birth" of Blood (Jewels, Nature, Souls)
Ten - the "Environment" of Blood (Jewels, Nature, Souls)
 
After this, the four court cards in each suit continue the same thread, adding to the order with four more progressions of the suit element or item.  The four cards of Page, Knight, Queen and King are replaced by Child, Animal, Woman and Man, so you end up with the following:
 
"Child" of Blood (Jewels, Nature, Souls)
"Animal" of Blood (Jewels, Nature, Souls)
"Woman" of Blood (Jewels, Nature, Souls)
"Man" of Blood (Jewels, Nature, Souls)
 
This isn't the first time I've seen it done where the four court cards were seen as continuing the energy from the pip cards, instead of being a separate section of the deck.  They are not continuously numbered, however, as in some decks.
 
The cards themselves are done in a standard size format and are printed on a nice comfortable stock that is coated with a thin gloss for protection.  They handle quite nicely although a bit stiffly until worn in.  The back design is done in a monotone sepia and features one of Toppi's primitive warriors and a spearhead; it is not reversible.  Reversals are not given in the little white booklet, however, so I believe that Toppi's system does not use them.  The booklet is actually a folded pamphlet several pages in length, and offers brief but insightful meanings for each card, explains the suits difference clearly, and in addition, gives a new and unique spread to be used when reading the cards, called the Circle of Stones.
 
Overall, I can't recommend this deck highly enough.  I'm obviously prejudiced, so I've included plenty of images for you to look at to make up your own mind.  The art style is strong and will not appeal to everyone, but I do believe it has wide appeal.  The other good news is that now that LoScarabeo decks are distributed by Llewellyn, this deck is now very easy to obtain, as are all the LoScarabeo decks that are in print.  So if you like what you see, you can get one right away!
 
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also by Sergio Toppi:
Tarocchi Universali

Review Copyright 2001 by Gina M. Pace

Tarots of the Origins by Sergio Toppi, 1991, 2000
published by Lo Scarabeo, Torino, Italy
ISBN 0-73870-025-8
 
Original review follows:
 
It's one of the art collectibles published by Lo Scarabeo, and it was printed back in 1991 so it is not widely commercially available today.  There are still some shops out there that have them in stock, mostly small stores which don't turn over their inventory very often.  I was fortunate that a friend located one for me in a shop near her and grabbed it for me.  (Thanks, Jean!)

The deck is a Majors-only, 22-card art tarot.  The box is printed on very nice textured card stock, making for a nice presentation before you even open the deck.  The cards slide out of the box in this neat little plastic tray that works kind of like a miniature "drawer."  This protects the cards nicely.  Two little white pamphlets accompany the deck, one is "The Historical Background" by Giordano Berti, and the other one is a fold-out sheet with divinatory meanings on it for the deck.

The artwork in the cards is breathtaking.  I recall seeing this in an old US Games catalog a number of years ago (back when it was still widely available) and I didn't think I would like it all that much. But it is certainly high on the "wow" factor.  The art depicts primordial peoples in their natural elements, bearing items like hand-hammered discs and hewn tools.  Without being gaudy, the richness of color used is alive and exciting and the images in these cards have a pulse of their own.

Many of the traditional titles have been changed to reflect the theme of the deck.
In order, the new titles are:  The Fool, The Magician, The Great Mother, The Woman, The Man, The Shaman, Union, The Chariot, Abundance, The Hermit, Time, The Creative Force, The Sacrifice, Death, The Fountain, The Demon, The Menhir, The Star, The Moon, The Sun, The Prey, The World.  Card titles appear at the top along with the Arabic numerals corresponding to each card.

Since this deck is Major Arcana only, there are no suits, no courts, no pips.  This is a deck meant more for display in a collection than to be used in a reading, although with the supplied meanings I'm sure an experienced reader could certainly use them.  I would not recommend them to a beginner except as a collectible.  Since they are a rare deck, I would definitely say that if you see one, you should grab it.  There aren't many left unless you travel to Italy to buy one!
 
Review Copyright 1998 by Gina M. Pace
 
Click here for a second opinion by Donna Davis

or here for a second opinion by Runa WyrdRaven