Extispex: Tarot and Tarot Readings

I love the artwork of Klimt, and I’ve been wanting this deck since it was released. I received it in the mail yesterday, a surprise gift from a friend. I couldn’t be more pleased with it.

The Golden Tarot of Klimt was designed by Bulgarian artist A A Atanassov, who also designed the Golden Tarot of the Tsar, the Bosch Tarot, and also worked on the Visconti Gold deck. The Klimt tarot is a glorious tribute to the artwork of Gustav Klimt, and some of the cards are directly derived from Klimt’s artwork, such as The Kiss, for The Lovers, and Salome in the Strength card, among others.

Klimt’s artwork was packed with mythology, legend and mystical allegory, and Atanassov maintains the spirit of Klimt’s imagery throughout the deck. The Klimt tarot is lushly textured, and it features gold stamping that ranges from subtly sparkling to downright dazzling.

Among my favourite cards in the deck are the female Magician, the sleeping, foetally curled Moon, the winged Isis of the Ace of Pentacles, and the 2 of Swords. At first, the pugilistic stance of the two men in the 2 of Swords might seem better suited to the combative nature of the 5 of Wands, but further inspection reveals something more in this card. The posture of the men sags beneath the weight of a leaden sky, half-exhaustion, half hug, a surrender, a reunion perhaps - a compromise. Peace gained after struggle. This deck is full of such subtleties.

This one is a must-have for collectors, and fans of Klimt will appreciate the fine tribute to a wonderful artist. But is the deck usable?

A few of the cards seem to loosely follow the traditional Rider-Waite design and meaning. But most of the cards deviate from the RW tradition and tend to yield up their own meanings. For beginners, or those who are accustomed to the RW structure, the Klimt tarot may fall out of reach. But for people who tend more toward intuitive readings, deriving interpretations from the images rather than rote meanings based on number and suit, the Klimt tarot can prove very evocative and inspiring.

The cards are printed on sturdy card-stock, yet flexible enough for shuffling, and are a good size, fitting even my small hands, yet large enough to show the fine detail of the artwork. Borders are plain black, with some geometric gold stamping, and frame the illustrations attractively without detracting in any way from their impact. The card titles, like most Lo Scarabeo decks, are in multiple languages, in this case six. Titles are small and at times I find myself spending more time than I would like, searching for the English title, which is in the upper left-hand corner. But with time, I’m sure I’ll get accustomed to the unfamiliar position of the title (kind of like using a Mac instead of a PC).

The gold-stamping makes me a little wary of shuffling and handling, but I prefer decks that I can use. I think with care, the cards will maintain their luster.

Llewellyn’s kit edition comes in a large-sized shelf box with an attractive gold satin bag that is fully lined and embroidered in burgandy. I don’t know about you, but I can’t have too many bags.

The little white book, like all LWBs, is a skeletal overview of the tarot’s meanings, and is best ignored or discarded.

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