Ramses: Tarot of Eternity [Cards]

I have been a tarot reader for almost 30 years. In addition to reading, I also collect decks that strike my fancy, with Ancient Egyptian-themed decks being my facourites.

On first glance these cards are quite lovely. As I went through the deck card by card, I realized that this deck is just not what it should be.

Minuses:

These cards are created by Llewellyn Publishing (La Scarabeo). As soon as I saw that half-moon logo on the side of the box, my heart sank. Llewellyn is notorious for producing tarot decks on less-than adequate card stock. This deck is no exception. The card stock is flimsy and unacceptable. Good average use of this deck by reading with on a daily basis would most likely render them all but useless in six months.

The illustrations, while some of them are lovely do not follow traditional tarot meanings in any way. There are cards that are illustrated completely opposite as to what the standard meanings infer. How the artist came up with these interpretations is a mystery and the included guide does very little to give insight as to why this deck's symbolism is the way it is.

Also, because I have studied the Egyptian religion for many years, and have two egyptologists in my immediate family, it is quite clear that these cards have little connection to the Egyptian religion either. This is Llewellyn cashing in on collectors of all things Egyptian. The people illustrated in the cards are ethnically incorrect. They don't look like Egyptians, with the exception of the Queen of Swords card, who looks like Queen Tiye, the mother of Amunhotep IV (Akhenaten) and grandmother of Tutankhamun.

The inclusion of Moses for the Judgement card really is rather absurd if not downright disingenuous. First of all, Rameses II would be the wrong Pharaoh to have ruled during the so-called Exodus. Secondly, because there is no archaeological evidence that substantiates this event having happened outside of biblical or scriptural acountts, the inclusion of Moses is wrong for the type of deck this is.

Everything else on the 78 card deck looks like something that came out of a 1950's National Geographic artist's rendering or a storyboard used in pre-production Cecil B. Demille's "The Ten Commandments". Of course, back ion the 50's the female frontal nudity would not have been tolerated in either the film or in National Geographic. With these, not-so-subtle touches, this deck ends up looking very gauche on multiple levels. My overall rating of this deck is 2.5 stars, so with Amazon, it gets 3 stars. This is an extremely harsh rating coming from someone like me, who loves ancient Egypt with all of my heart. However, it is not a rating that I make lightly.

If you want a very good Egyptian tarot deck that stays true to its roots and has far superior artwork on every card, then I would strongly recommend searching for a copy of Clive Barrett's "Ancient Egyptian Tarot" and bypassing the Ramses deck altoghether. Barret's deck has sadly gone out of print, however, some do make their way to Amazon's marketplace. You will udoubtedly pay a premium for it, most people who do have it never let them go. In spite of this, Clive Barret's Ancient Egyptian Tarot is a much better deck, it has a far more detailed booklet and it follows the traditional tarot format making it far easier and reliable to read with.

This is my favourite egyptian deck by far, but if you're not into egyptian history or egyptian religion, then this might not be the deck for you since many cards will just make no sense. For example, The fool in this deck is no other than Akhenaten (there are two cards that are not from the rameside period), so unless you have an idea of who he was, there's no way you'll understand why he's the fool. Another example is the Heb Sed card, unless you know what that ceremony was, you'll just see a king being incensed by gods.
The only card I don't really like for this deck is "Judgement" since it's "Moses"... to include a Bible mithology that is not historically accurate in a deck that pretty much IS historically accurate was wrong, but oh well... it's just one card.
I love this deck!

"...all of the `Trionfi' refer to fundamental episodes of the very long existence of the `living god' User Maat Re Setep-en Re (Powerful is the truth of Ra, the Chosen One of Ra), better known as Ramses II (1302-1224 B.C.). The main wives of Ramses, as well as his most famous children, enemies, battles, etc. were therefore translated into `Trionfi figures'". - From the LWB

Based on the storyboard of Giordano Berti, the illustrations of the Ramses: Tarot of Eternity deck--painted by Severino Baraldi, a master of historical illustrations--concentrates on a well-defined Egyptian era. The father and son of Ramses begins and ends the Major Arcana, but the specific time period for the deck ranges from approximately 1304 B.C. (Sethi I's ascension to the throne) and 1224 B.C. (the reign of Merenptah).

While the Majors depict scenes from this historical period, the titles follow common Tarot naming (e.g. Fool, Hermit, Temperance, etc.). However, the LWB provides the actual Egyptian names for the individuals (e.g. Aken-Aton, Khaemwese, Hathor-Nefertari, and so on.)

Unfortunately, as with most Lo Scarabeo decks, the wealth of historical references and connections behind Mr. Berti's intent are lost since the LWB explains NONE of the illustrations. So unless you're an expert on Egyptology circa 1302-1224 B.C., you'll basically be lost as to what is happening in the pictures (except for the rare recognizable incident such as Moses parting the Red Sea on the Judgment card which is, incidentally, one of two "outside of time" cards).

As usual, this is discouraging because the lack of information renders the deck useless for most readers, in my opinion. And it's a pity, because I bought the deck with the desire to learn more about a specific period in history and how Mr. Berti connected these historical incidents with Tarot iconography. Although the LWB boasts that the Ramses: Tarot of Eternity is one of the few Egyptian-inspired decks that have a "soul" and artistic, as well as philosophic, coherence--I fail to see how one could recognize the historical congruence without explanations provided.

Some of the illustrations for this deck are outright stunning, notably the Moon card showing the gaping maw of a purplescent hippo in the foreground, with a moonlit sky, papyrus boats and (presumably) the Luxor temple at Thebes in the background. Because the LWB only provides the name "Opet" for this card, I did some research--and assume that this card refers to the annual Opet Festival (an unusual choice for The Moon card, actually, unless the connection is merely "travel by water".)

The cards from the Ramses: Tarot of Eternity deck measure approximately 4-3/4 x 2-5/8 inches with fully reversible backings. Minor suits are Wands, Swords, Chalices and Pentacles, with the Courts following the Knave, Knight, Queen and King ordering. The LWB provides solid upright and reversed meanings as well as a nifty Eye of Horus spread, but there's no mention of historical events save the names associated with the Majors.

If you love Egyptian themed decks, there's movement and emotion galore in this one. However, those unfamiliar with the specific historical period represented by Ramses: Tarot of Eternity may find it challenging and disappointing--unless you're willing to take up the challenge of researching the names connected with the Majors and attempting to fill-in-the-blanks regarding the Minor and Court cards.

(To see 12 images from this deck, visit the Reviews--Decks section at [...])

Janet Boyer, author of The Back in Time Tarot Book: Picture the Past, Experience the Cards, Understand the Present (coming Fall 2008 from Hampton Roads Publishing)