Gay Tarot [Cards]

I have had an interesting journey with this deck. When I first got this deck I projected what I wanted in a gay tarot deck onto it instead of fully allowing the cards to speak for themselves. With any themed tarot deck there is always a feeling for the fans of whatever particular theme is being used that the creator makes some glaring omissions/mistakes/blunders and that. With the monumental task of creating a deck that will touch people at a very personal level, I feel that Lee Bursten and Antonella Platano have created a cohesive deck that is accessible to people of all levels of tarot experience.

The art: As is common with decks by Lo Scarabeo the artwork in the Gay Tarot is what American tarot readers would call "comic bookish". The illustrations are slightly "cartoonish" without ever looking silly. The style actually reminds me quite a bit f the artwork of Joe Phillips, my favorite gay artist. Platano does lovely work with color and the deck is primarily made up of soft jewel tones. There is a light dreamlike quality to most of the cards.

The setting: The deck is set in a very modern world, other than the Guides all of the cards depict scenes that could be easily encountered by a contemporary reader. There is little overt occult symbolism but Bursten and Platano have cleverly inserted many little nods to traditional tarot imagery in creative ways that do not upset the setting (the four suit symbols appear on a curtain behind the Magician, a crocodile appears on a blimp fling above the Fool). Of all of the attempts at a modern setting in a tarot deck that I have seen this one does the best job of creating scenes which are both familiar but also profound and complex.

The Courts: The courts are Youth, Man, Guide, and Sage. Traveling through the court we see a progression of gay men's lives and experiences. The youth shows us at our most buoyant and awkward stage. The Men show us making our mark on the world. The Guides are winged nude spirits/angels/faeries in four different races. I believe they connect the Men to the Sages by representing the spiritual awareness that takes place between before consciousness/self actualization. The Sages show gay men in the dusk of their lives, profound elders we can look to for guidance.

The Gay: For a very long time gay readers have had a handful of unofficial gay decks. The Renaissance (Williams), Light and Shadow (Goepferd), and especially the Cosmic Tribe Tarot have a lot in the way of queer symbolism but it is subtle and involves a lot of reading between the lines. Bursten was the first non-erotic deck to to "come out of the closet." There are men in this deck that some people feel represent stereotypes (theater for example). Otehr folsk (admittedly myself at first, thought needed a bigger dose of "gay." But like us the deck is as gay as it is meant to be and doesn't need to be more or less so to please anyone. The deck is also racially the most diverse deck on the market next to the World Spirit Tarot and also showcases more middle aged and elderly figures than any deck I have ever seen. Bursten has claimed that he wished for the deck to be a spiritually empowering deck for gay men in the way that the Motherpeace deck was for women and many men will be able to find themselves in these cards (and quite possibly some may not).

A very readable deck - and that's what ultimately counts.

I love this deck. Finally a gay specific Tarot deck. People who criticize this deck for it's "gayness" and say "why do we need a Gay Tarot?" clearly don't get it. The traditional Tarots (Marseilles, Rider-Waite, Thoth) and all of their clones and copycats are so full of heterosexual symbolism that many gay folk (myself included) are often tired of having to re-interpret the cards from a gay perspective.

The Gay Tarot by Lo Scarabeo goes so much further than any deck before it...beyond a simple addition of Same Sex Lovers cards...EVERY card in this deck comes from a gay male perspective. And it takes it one step further by embracing as many facets of the gay male community that it can.

It is diverse in its representations of the gay male community...showing different ages, body types, careers, spiritualities, and masculine and feminine traits. It explores pride celebrations, coming out, making love, grieving, commitments, families...it makes a genuine effort to show as much diversity as it can, in a very modern world.

The artwork is very "comic-bookish", and may cause people to have a knee-jerk reaction...shrugs, laughter, eye-rolls, etc. But despite the fact that some of the images are a little too comic-like...there are many that seem to work as well. Particularly the Court cards...the Guides and Sages are beautiful cards to me, as well as the cards that represent families, gay kids, gay parents...truly awesome.

I thoroughly enjoy picking up this deck and just studying each image from beginning to end...joining in and celebrating the life journey of my gay brothers exhibited in this deck, and being reminded that I am not alone.

This deck is to be cherished...and should really be looked at more thoroughly by those who laugh it off or claim it's not diverse enough in its representations.

A major step. Bravo Lo Scarabeo!

I have been reading tarot off and on since childhood. I won't say how long that it is, but it is a few decades. This is an awsome deck. The artwork is refresing and wonderful to read. It would be great if Lee Bursten would write a book to accompany the deck and provide discriptions for each card, but it is not absolutely necessary. I read a sample reading of his on the web for this deck and he is wonderful in his description of each card, that is why I feel a book is in order. Lee if you are out there, let me know when you have a book ready. You can see a lot in them just by looking at them. The cards are modern and representative of our times. I think they will truly be of historical value. The artwork is somewhat of a comicbook style, but beautifully done. Of course they are gay oriented and I feel they are true to what our society represents, acceptence, inclusiveness and non-racial. The figures are pretty much all male, so some of the traditional cards have been renamed, but that makes no difference if you are used to Waite style, you should have not problem expanding your mind with this deck. Of course everyone has different tastes, but I just love these cards and highly recommend them. Also, if you are looking for an erotic deck, this is not the deck for you. If I were a collector I would buy a set and leave it unopened for prosperity.