Minchiate Tarot [Cards]

For the serious collector of tarot comes this elegantly redesigned version of the Minchiate deck originally created in the 1500s. While artist/tarot expert Brian Williams titles his 1999 version "tarot," he is quick to point out that it is more a "sister to" than an actual tarot. To those familiar with the standard Ryder version that most of today's decks seem to be based on, the distinction is most immediately evidenced by the fact there are 97 cards instead of the more familiar 78. Cards 16 through 35 in the Minchiate are "missing" from the standard. They include four virtues (hope, prudence, faith, and charity), four elements (fire, water, air, and earth), and the 12 zodiacal signs. While Williams did design and illustrate this deck himself, it has a Renaissance period feel. He followed the original designs fairly closely so that the same graphic elements and even postures of the figures are maintained. --P. Randall Cohan

A deck for the serious aficionado. Long faded into obscurity until now, it offers a new survey of an ancient tradition. -- New Age Retailer, May/June 2000

A deck for the serious aficionado. Long faded into obscurity until now, it offers a new survey of an ancient tradition. -- New Age Retailer, May/June 2000

A superb resource for Renaissance symbols and deepening of the Tarot experience. -- Napra Review

A superb resource for Renaissance symbols and deepening of the Tarot experience. -- Napra Review

A wonderful addition to Tarot knowledge and art. The book alone is a treasure, with its hundreds of Renaissance illustrations and its witty and detailed text. Brian Williams is a rare combination of talents--a superb artist, a genuine scholar, and a man with a true sense of the inner mysteries of symbolic images. -- Rachel Pollack, author of The Complete Illustrated Guide to Tarot

Brian Williams has done a great service by reclaiming the allegory-rich Minchiate deck for the modern world. All Tarot readers will benefit from his detailed explication of Renaissance symbols and iconography. His insights apply to all Tarot decks and will deepen readings. This exquisite deck by a consummate artist is sure to become a classic. -- Mary Greer, author of Tarot for Your Self

The book for this deck is one of the best books I have seen written for a deck. . . . Highly recommended. -- Michele Jackson

Williams has taken the ancient Minchiate designs and re-visioned them for our own time with incomparable grace and delicacy. -- Tom Tadfor Little, Wellspring

* The first deck in several hundred years to present the expanded 97-card Tarot system of the Renaissance. * Based on the original Italian Renaissance Tarot deck, with contemporary interpretations by the best-selling author of The Light and Shadow Tarot. * Includes cards for the 12 astrological signs and the 4 elements, as well as additional Virtue cards for the major arcana. * Includes stunning variations of many traditional Tarot images. * 272-page book with 400 black-and-white illustrations. * 97 full-color cards

The Minchiate is one of the most unique decks ever to emerge from the centuries-old Tarot tradition. In the first modern presentation of this divinatory system, artist and writer Brian Williams explains the allegorical, esoteric, and symbolic meanings of this expanded deck that not only includes cards for each of the astrological signs, but also for the four elements and several additional figures in the major arcana. Although those familiar with the traditional Tarot will recognize many of the cards of the Minchiate, even Tarot afficionados will be surprised and delighted by many striking differences, such as the knights who are now transformed into mythical beasts or the Chariot card in which the armored warrior has been replaced by a peaceful maiden.

Brian Williams's insightful interpretations of the cards, based on his extensive knowledge of the Tarot and Italian history, enable readers to use this deck as a tool for profound self-exploration and transformation. One of the most popular Italian Tarots, the Minchiate served as the basis for many other famous decks before fading into obscurity during the nineteenth century. Now this important Tarot, reformulated with the author's extensive commentary and subtle interpretations of the original art, is finally again available for modern readers and devotees of the Tarot.

Brian Williams has written and illustrated numerous Tarot decks, among which are The Renaissance Tarot, The PoMo (Postmodern) Tarot, and, along with artist Michael Goepferd, The Light and Shadow Tarot. He lives in the Bay Area of California.