The Transparent Tarot [Misc. Supplies]

I am very pleased with this tarot it's just a great idea. You put one, two, three or as many cards on top of each other and every time it makes up a new composition. So you have an endless source of inspiration.

It cames with a useful white napkin to put it as a white backround. While you can always use it like this, you can adventure yourself in using other backgrounds and so expanding the posibilities of inspiration.

The only thing I don't like is the pakage it came in. The cover is in transparent plastic (flexible an fragile). The box is divided in three containing sections to put the cards, the book and the napkin. The problem is that there is no individual box to contain the cards and because the plastic cover is very loose, the cards can come easily out of place. I am thinking of hand making a small box to keep the cards safe and in place.

Totally recomend this cards!

Tarot, being an image-focused medium, so obviously lends itself to a transparent medium that one wonders why this idea hasn't been taken up beforehand!

Whatever the reasons, British artist/Tarotist Emily Carding has now created a full 78-card Tarot deck in transparent acetate that puts this particular Tarot collector's radar on high alert.

Firstly to the contents of the box - a full deck, a white reading cloth (an absolute necessity!) and a well-thought out book of 280 pages.

The premise of the deck is this: take the images on the Tarot and layer them up into brand new composite images and let your intuition run riot!

It's fantastic fun!

Each card has been distilled down into what Emily regards as the single essence of that card and into a simple image. I love all the images, but if pressed, have to say that I am less keen on the Court Cards structure than the other cards.

As far as downsides go - limited criticism from this Tarotist :-)

Let's see....ok, you need to be careful when handling the cards because
it is easy to inadvertently cause them to 'mirror' (ie they fall the wrong way around. What else? Sometimes the acetates stick together, so you can turn more than one card at a time (this might sort itself out as the cards are handled more frequently by you!) My last concern is simply with the dye/acetate combination - although I don't have any information of this happening, I would recommend that you handle the cards with care, *just in case* the dyes start to come off the cards. I must stress again that this might NOT happen, but care pointers never go amiss, do they?!

These glitches are minor, but worth pointing out so that you can make your purchase with full awareness of the product :-)

Another draw back for many Tarotists is the price. However, if you can't afford this deck outright, might I suggest that one simply saves up over a period of time to buy it. It's *so* worth it!

I would say that this deck is more suited to Tarotists who are looking for a working deck that will really help them push their intuitive envelope to the max. Handling issues aside, this is a great deck to have in your collection and I hope Emily Carding's deck is a great success for her.

The Transparent is literally a new perspective on the tarot, taking it into three dimensions and adding a whole new world of possibilities for interpretation. Well done Emily, first for thinking up such an amazing concept, and then executing it so beautifully.

The deck is simply but elegantly packaged with a plain white cloth and the book is well written and well produced. The deck itself is pretty much regular size for tarot cards, but probably requires slightly more careful handling to preserve the finish. The artwork is simple and pared down - it's only when you see the cards in combination that the startling potential of this deck begins to reveal itself.

This is a new frontier for the tarot. I was lucky enough to witness the Transparent Tarot taking shape online at Aeclectic Tarot Forum and it's wonderful to see such an innovative idea finding its way into the marketplace. With so many tarot publishers retreading old ideas or playing it safe, I'm glad that Schiffer have taken a chance on the TT.