Publication Facts and Rating (0 to 5 stars) "At-a-Glance"

Publisher: Smithmark Publishers (New York, NY)
Publication Year: 1998
Number of cards: 78
Quality of artwork -- 3 stars
Usefulness for meditation/pathworking -- 2 stars
Readability (Divination) -- 2 stars
Symbology -- 1 1/2 stars
Value to Collectors -- 2 1/2 stars

General Commentary
All right, I admit it... I'm a sucker for bright, colorful imagery in my tarots. And Fenton and Bale's "Tarot" deck certainly does have colorful images. Lots of them. Which, for someone with my tastes, is good... because that's about all this 1998 deck-and-book set has to recommend it.

It's hard to even know where to begin in reviewing this deck. For starters, it doesn't even appear to have a name. The box containing the deck and book for this set simply reads "Tarot" in large letters. It does include the words "Your color guide to the fascinating world of Tarot" in small print, so I've used this extended "title" above as the "distinguishing name" for this set.

Second, I cannot determine from the information provided who is responsible for the "concept" behind this deck. It's clear that Sasha Fenton is the author of the book, and Samantha Bale is the card illustrator. But who designed the cards? Fenton is the name most prominently associated with the overall set; her name is listed first (and sometimes alone) when it appears on various retailers' lists. But were the cards conceived and designed by Fenton, and then given to Bale to execute? Or did Bale create the cards, which were then given to Fenton to document in the book? Of the two collaborators, Fenton is the name that is more "well known;" she has written several other books on tarot and astrological divination techniques. Therefore, even if Bale is solely responsible for the cards themselves, it would not be surprising that Fenton's name would be given as the "primary" author.

In either case, it's clear that whoever created the Tarot YCGTTFWOT (ugh!) deck itself either did not have a very deep grasp of tarot symbolism, or didn't care to take the time to incorporate her knowledge into these cards. The images are stereotyped and unoriginal... but, as I said, very colorful and attractive to look at nonetheless. The artwork has a very "innocent" feel to it that I personally find appealing. As such, this deck's most useful application may be as a storytelling tarot for children. In fact, if you like the artwork and overall feel of Lerner and Lerner's Inner Child Cards or Rohr, Winter, and Perry's Tarot of Love, you may enjoy Bale's work as well.

However, even if you "connect" well enough with the Tarot YCGTTFWOT deck to use it for divination (or as a storytelling tool or for some other creative purpose), it's doubtful that either the book or cards could withstand much handling. The book, while printed with a very attractive and colorful hardcover binding and glossy color pages, is bound so poorly that the pages will probably begin to fall out after just a few readings. The cards are sized and coated well for shuffling, but are printed on such cheap, thin card stock that they are certain to noticeably bend, crease, and fray if used regularly.

The book itself provides little information of interest to anyone with any tarot experience. It begins with a brief discussion of the history and uses of tarot, and commits the usual error of presenting speculation as fact... in this case, stating that tarot was brought from Egypt to Europe by traveling gypsies. There is then a card-by-card rundown of the various divinatory interpretations. None of the card descriptions include any explanation of the symbolism used in this deck. The book finishes with the usual card-reading instructions and examples. In short -- there's nothing new here.

Again, despite my criticisms, I have to emphasize that I do enjoy looking at this deck. From a collector's standpoint, it may be worth obtaining a copy of the Tarot YCGTTFWOT deck if you find the artwork as appealing as I do. In fact, if you are a collector of "rare" or "soon-to-be-rare" tarots, you might want to be aware that Amazon.com lists this deck as being out-of-print already, even though it was originally published only two short years ago (that means 1998, as of this writing). It does show up on eBay with some regularity, however, and a copy may still be sitting on the shelf of your local mega bookstore.

In summary, the very "basicness" of the Tarot YCGTTFWOT set suggests that it may have been created and marketed as a tarot for beginners. And, in fact, it might work well as a "tutorial" tarot for children or teens if its overall construction were not quite so flimsy. However, if you're looking for a good "starting deck and book" to recommend to your adult friends, you'd probably do them more of a favor by simply suggesting that they purchase a copy of the Universal Waite set.

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Guest review copyright 2000 by Jeannette Roth
Used with permission