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I have never been drawn to traditional Tarot decks, especially those fashioned after the Rider-Waite. Rather, I tend to go for the funky, the symbolic, and the high tech. One of the reasons for my preference is because modern life seems so far removed from the period in which traditional Tarot was created.
So I wasn't sure what to expect from Kat Black's Golden Tarot. I knew nothing about the deck, other than people were giving it high praise. When I opened the sturdy box with the lid that comes off the top, I was intrigued that therein was a deck with gilded edges. Remmeber your Grandmother's Bible? The one who's pages shined so brightly when closed? This luxurious deck has that same gilt edging. The cards follows traditional Tarot, with 78 cards total. The Minor Arcana is fully illlustrated like the Majors. The images are printed on heavy cardboard with a matte golden border. The back is a tapestry of subdued shades of camel and rust. You can't tell from the backs if a card is upright or reversed.
The most unsual aspect of Golden Tarot is that deck creator Kat Black has digitally collaged images from various lesser-known paintings from a period she calls International Gothic. This period of time, 1200-1500 A.D., evolved into the Reniassance. She deliberately avoided using art by well-known artists such as da Vinci and Michelangelo, and most of the paintings used for the deck are hanging in European churches. (A sight that most of us will never see!)
The collaged images are so seamless, that I didn't know I was looking at a digitally collaged deck until I read the 200 page bound booklet included in the package. I even showed my artist husband, and he had no idea, either! The images on the cards are truly breathtaking. I feel like I'm looking at a masterpiece with each and every one. I'm sure that Ms. Black intends this deck to actually be read not just admired as an art deck, but they're so gorgeous I'm reluctant to read with them! (So don't expect information on how they read...I'm too busy drooling over the images!)
The high-quality booklet not only contains the standard meanings for the images (upright and reversed), but also Appendices that list every part that was digitally collaged and the painting that it came from. The Hermit is one of the cards that I look at first when checking out a new deck, and its rendering in this deck resonated deeply with me: it's a picture of a gray-bearded St. Francis of Assisi standing in a darkened forest. A deer is at his side, he's holding a latern that gives off little light, and a gray cat is chasing a quail. The man's body and deer, the latern, the forest, the head, quail, and cat all come from different sources. As I mentioned, you cannot tell that this picture is collaged! An amazing technological feat indeed.
Kat Black mentions that this version of the Golden Tarot took 1,500 hours to produce. This deck was originally web-only, but fans of her work urged her to create an actual deck. Tarot enthusiasts and deck collectors alike will be much richer for having Black's breath-taking creation in hand.
If you want to see the cards and try a free reading with them visit the artists website; goldentarot.com
The artwork on the cards is really gorgeous, I for one did not immediately realize that it is collaged, as each cards imagery is so well integrated. Now a confession, I buy new decks all the time ever searching for that perfect deck which I can actually figure out how to read with. Always there are a few cards which turn me off and send me back to my trusty Rider Waite. This deck is the deck I have been looking for - finally a deck that incorporates the best of RW interpretive imagery, and actually improves on it! If you are comfortable with RW - you will actually find this deck even easier to read with! I never have had such an easy time coming up with interesting insights and more in depth perceptions. Excellent Deck - Highly Reccomended!
The truth is, there just simply aren't enough wonderful adjectives to even come close to describing just how supremely delicious this deck really is...
Incredible collage work and design, rich extravagant colors and textures, superb packaging, gilded edges, the perfect size, perfect weight, an awesome book, a great price... Kat Black has created a certifiable masterpiece.
How such an incredible deck could be sold for so little is nothing short of astonishing. I would easily expect to pay twice as much for this deck, and had I done so, I would still not be disappointed.
These cards will absolutely sing to you with meaning and radiance. The love that Kat poured into this work is clearly evident on each and every card in this amazing deck. I have no doubt that new tarot decks will be measured against this deck for a long time to come.
If you buy just ONE tarot deck in your life, make it this one!
Well worth the nearly 2 years that many of us have been waiting to see this deck transformed to print.
Many, many, many kudos to Kat and US Games for absolutely the most beautiful tarot deck I have ever seen!! A wonderful deck, from a wonderful person. Bravo!
