This is not a true tarot despite its name, there being only 60 cards and no Major and Minor Arcana delineation.  However, I was delightfully pleased with the set nonetheless.  Anyone familiar with the Osho Zen Tarot will see a strong familiarity with the concepts and titling of this deck, although there isn't a direct correlation, card for card, between the two decks.  I cannot find a copyright date of any kind on the set, but I would venture a guess that this was the forerunner, and the ideas begun in this set were then developed into the full 78-card deck that is the Osho Zen.

Both sets are produced by the Osho International Foundation and lean heavily on the teachings of Osho himself, a Bodhisattva or enlightened teacher of Buddhism.  Osho passed away some years ago but his students still run the commune and produce the teachings which are circulated worldwide.  The back design of these cards, and the cover of the substantial white booklet which comes with them, are decorated with pictures of Osho himself.

The cards are numbered one through sixty at the top in Arabic numerals, black on a white border.  At the bottom are the titles in all caps, in English.  Most of the titles are one or two word expressions which correlate to specific teachings of Osho.  If you look at the entry in the little white booklet which matches each card, there is a teaching taken directly from one of Osho's many books, and it tells a story; then a meditation about the meaning of the story follows.  Osho taught in parable form so the stories are always very easy to understand and the points are well taken.

The first card, that of Osho, is a photograph, but the rest of the cards are watercolor images which illustrate the characters in the story by Osho designated for each card.  Overall there is a light, attractive appearance to the images.  A few of them appear rather grisly at first (for example, the card Repentance shows a naked old man having both his feet chopped off as a public form of punishment) but once you read the accompanying story and meditation it becomes a lot less ugly.  Everything that is shown and done, is so for a reason, and the book is marvelous for showing why it is so.

The cards themselves are larger than standard but are not unwieldy, since there are only 60 of them, this offsets the larger card size.  Flexible thin card stock makes for easy shuffling, and the edges are polished nicely.  The little white booklet is 85 pages thick and is excellently done.

Overall, this is a lovely set.  I was lucky enough to pick up a used copy on ebay since I don't believe this one is readily accessible anymore.  However, it is possible that the Osho International Foundation might still be selling it directly.  I shall include their contact information at the bottom of this review in lieu of an ISBN and copyright date.

Click here for pictures

or here to return

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

also see Osho Zen Tarot

Review Copyright 1998 by Gina M. Pace

For further information on this tarot contact:
Osho Commune International
17 Koregaon Park
Poona 411 001, MS
India

or

CHIDVILAS, Inc.
P. O. Box 17550
Boulder, CO  80308
(303) 449-7811