Major Tom's Tarot of Marseilles [Cards]

There are some, who disagree with the non-anatomically perfect persons contained in this deck.

If you've ever spent time with Tarot de Marseilles Tarots, regardless of pedigree (Dodal to Marteau), none of the original TdM's have anatomically correct persons. They are all cartoony, owing their flavor from carving human figures into wood blocks. That's the history of Tarot.

This deck takes the Tarot de Marseilles out of the Sixteenth Century (thank gawd).

It has been a trend to recreate the `original' and `true' Tarot de Marseilles. These recreations or reconstructions often have `documentation' detailing the `justifications' used to create such reconstructions the `Tarot de Marseille'. Some have their colors enhanced, some have added or subtracted or rearranged minutiae.

I don't live in the mid-sixteenth or eighteenth century, and apparently neither does Major Tom Schick, creator of the Major Tom's Tarot of Marseilles.

Major Tom used the historical Tarot de Marseille as a starting point, studying the historical decks, and then created a modern version. He also incorporated his extensive knowledge of modern tarot in general to incorporate into his creation.

There is a strong sense of color awareness displayed throughout. Each of the suits has its own hues, the backgrounds of the pips variegated in intensity creating brilliant eye-candy.

As a reader, I find the updating of the clothing is nothing short of brilliant. The Courts become familiar and approachable.

Major Tom has taken a bold step in his treatment of the presentation of the Majors. The Magician is brightly colored, his multi colored costume and hat, standing before his table - he could easily be a huckster at a fair or carnival, pitching his nifty wares, "It slices, it dices, isn't that amazing - but wait - that's not all..." And then Major Tom gives us The Papess; caped, in her bikini top and skirt and the ubiquitous tome on her lap... she could be a trapeze artist, a hoochie-coochie girl, a Vegas showgirl, or a priestess...ready to get up and perform. It helps create a unity yet separateness between these first two cards and the next two (or three), which I find important.

I think it's a brilliant deck - and exceptionally readable. Like I said, I don't live in the mid-eighteenth century... Major Tom's Tarot of Marseilles is the Tarot de Marseilles of and for the twenty-first century.

One thing I particularly like about this deck is that it is so very NOW. Many people seem to feel we must only use Marseille decks from the dark ages; this one maintains the traditions while bringing the imagery up to date. I regret a couple of cards - and I very much regret that it is not as attractive as the original (I own both) but it is well worth having - and incidentally, the BOX is excellent - useful to know if you carry your decks around a lot !

It also makes people laugh - which is a good way to get around initial fear of older tradition decks.

If you aren't worried about owning a copy of every deck ever made, you can rest easy if you save this one for your wish list. Or, after making a deck of your own, you can share it with the world too.