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Tarot Reflections

 April 01, 2003
 
     
 
Deck Review: Lo Scarabeo Universal Tarot
Christopher delaMaison, CPTR

Christopher delaMaison is a third generation Oregonian born in 1957. He has a Master of Arts Degree in Computer Studies from Vermont College of Norwich University.

He was originally introduced to the Tarot while a member of the Scottish Rite Mason in Portland. He is an active participant in the SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism), and OryCon (Oregon Sci-Fi Convention).

Christopher currently teaches computer science courses at Pioneer Pacific College, a private college in the Portland area, and can frequently be found off-campus doing tarot readings for students and faculty members at the nearest Starbucks Coffee Shop.

  

I found this deck at a Borders bookstore in Beaverton, Oregon last spring, when I was looking for a deck to use during a tarot class. The instructor wanted each student to have a Universal Rider-Waite type deck, with the Pamela Coleman-Smith imagery. As usual, instead of taking my time and doing some research, I picked the busiest time of the day to breeze into the bookstore to look for a deck. When I saw the word “Universal”, I plunked down the cash and took the deck. This turned out to be a very good surprise!

 One of the things that struck me at first was the vividness of the colors and scenes in this deck. The regular Rider-Waite deck shows a Devil card that looks almost like a cartoon character. In contrast, the Devil in this deck looks much more authentic, with a twisted grin that seems to fit the feel of the card.

I see the same “authenticity” in the Three and Nine of Swords cards. While the characters are covering their faces, they are conveying the ideas of their cards most effectively.

The animals in this deck also seem to convey the message of their cards. The horse in the Knight of Swords has a fierce look, which matches the Knight’s intent in this card. The horse ridden by Death almost seems to have the same expression his face, as does Death himself, with a black mane and black circles around the eyes.

The artist, Roberto DeAngelis, apparently used water colors, rather than painted-in pencil artwork, as has been the case in the original Rider-Waite deck. This adds to the conveyed ideas in the cards. The Knight of Swords, riding into battle against a broken sky; the cloudy, dreary greenish-gray sky in the Seven of Swords, setting an overcast of gloom as the character steals five of the seven swords, and the unrelenting rain of sorrow in the Three of Swords. In those cards with a brighter theme, there is a mixture of light clouds against a blue sky, as in the Three of Cups and Six of Wands. This brings to mind a lighter, more joyful feeling.

While the artist has maintained most of the qualities of the original Rider-Waite art, his efforts at reproducing the symbolism are, in my opinion, enhanced when you look at the background of the Major Arcana. For example, the blue sky and wisps of clouds in the Minor Arcana are replaced by more surrealistic skies in the Major Arcana. For me, this conveys the idea that the energy of the Major Arcana exists at a different level than that of the Minor Arcana.


Students of the Qabalah would note rather quickly some of the changes in the artwork of this deck. The Magician is not pointing down to the symbols of the suits located on the table, as he does in other decks. From my Masonic background, this image was to convey the idea of charging wand, sword, cup and pentacle. Instead the table is located away from where the Magician is pointing. This, however, is a minor point. The only other item I noticed was the cat sitting at the feet of the Queen of Wands. For all the dignity, grace and inspirational qualities this queen has, she needs to spend a few moments brushing her cat! The poor thing looks a bit scruffy.

Compared to the earlier Universal deck from Lo Scarabeo, this deck has six languages, English, Italian, French, Spanish, German, Dutch, and is a bit smaller, and narrower than the decks released earlier by Lo Scarabeo. Again, in my opinion, this makes them a little more manageable for a beginner to work with. This deck comes with a simple foldout type booklet, giving the customer a quick reference guide.

Lo Scarabeo has been involved in creating tarot decks since 1987, and has produced over 100 different tarot decks. Lo Scarabeo is also known for their illustrations and comic artwork, having won the 1997 "Yellow Kid” best Publishing House of the Year award.

This is an excellent deck for a beginner to work with, as it retains the original intent of the Rider-Waite deck, while bringing with it a fresh interpretation of the Renaissance artwork. For readers with a classic background in Masonic, Hermetic or Qabalistic studies, this deck would make a fine addition to their “magical toolkit.”

Published by Lo Scarabeo, Torino, Italy. Available in the U.S. from Llewellyn Worldwide, Ltd. ISBN 0-73870-007-X.
         
 
 
 

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Tarot Reflections is a publication of the American Tarot Association - Copyright (C) 2003
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