Fey Tarot Deck

by
~*~Velvet Angel ~*~

The Fey Tarot

~*~ This deck is suitable for any question you wish to ask of the Tarot. ~*~

Deck by Riccardo Minetti and artist Mara Aghem

The fey Tarot is a charming deck, devoted to the sprites, elves, pixies, and fairy folk and what these delightful beings can tell us about dreams, joy, magic, and the world of nature. Each card portrays a scene from the world of the fey. This is a new deck which just became available in early March of 2003, and when I saw the previews of this work, I was eager to purchase a copy!

A lot of words come to mind when I look at the beautiful art in this deck . . . delightful, charming, mystical, cute, fun, whimsical . . . so one might ask, "Does this deck work?" Yes, it does! For me, its a perfect deck for the playful frame of mind . . . or when I need to find that sense of playfulness, knowing that I can have fun and still get some serious answers from the Tarot. The Fey Tarot does wonders for making the imagination work, and this allows one to really see so much more that each card can offer. Tarot never has to be all about just book definitions and interpretations, and these cards express so much within their beautiful images. In fact, going beyond what's in a book really brings about a more enlightened experience with the cards. This is certainly a deck that can bring a smile to your face as you journey through the enchanted realm of the fey :-)

Many of the scenes are quite enchanting and seem to resemble something that would come out of an animated cartoon or Disney movie (but no Mickey Mouse or Donald Duck here) . . . so at first appearance, it would seem to be a wonderful deck to use in reading Tarot for children. However, you'll want to use your own judgment on that due to the fact that a few cards do contain some minor nudity above the waist -- nothing at all drastic and not at all graphic, but it's something to keep in mind. I do think that cartoons of today portray figures which are far more scantily clad than in the past, and so even though I'm not an avid viewer of cartoons today, these few card images that may be questionable for children might not be so questionable in comparison to modern cartoons and animated shows geared for kids.

A whimsical atmosphere can be found within this deck, but I would not call it childish . . . nor simply "whimsical" either, because there is so much more to the Fey Tarot than that! The characters in the cards seem to come to life in the glorious art and color presentation. Detailed attention was given to the characters' facial expressions, which makes a difference in picking up the correct emotional responses which the artist intended to portray. I feel that the scenes, the stories, expressions, and the mood each card evokes are all real strengths for this deck. The creators of this deck spent three years on this work, and it's obvious they really put their hearts and souls into it.

In the Fey Tarot, suits are traditionally named, with the exception of Cups which are known as Chalices. We find sweet dreamers in the suit of Chalices, activists in the Wands suit, wounded fey for Swords, and craftsmen for Pentacles. In the border of each card is the number along with the name of the card in five languages, with English being printed at the top border.

The companion book, The Fey Tarot, was written by Riccardo Minetti and describes each image and offers both simple and advanced meanings for each card. Approximately two pages are dedicated for each of the Major Arcana cards and one page for each of the Minors. Black and white images of the cards are included in this book, including some early art work and the history that was involved in making this Tarot deck. These creative processes for the deck are highlighted with sketches of early card designs.

Minetti's outline for the cards include the following in his book:

MAJOR ARCANA:
The Sentence: information to generally sum up the card
The Image: description of the card's meaning
Simple Meaning: keywords and phrases
Advanced Meaning: expanded interpretation
The Chosen Symbols: what the symbols used in the card mean
Reflections: Author Minetti's comments

The Minors are organized in a similar fashion with Image, Simple Meanings, Advanced Meaning, and Symbols Used.

Court cards also follow tradition, but just as the Suits contain a slight deviation from the norm, so do the court cards, with Pages being called Knaves in the Fey Tarot.

Court cards are outlined as follows in the book:

COURT CARDS:
Personality
Image
Simple Meaning
Advanced Meaning

Although I wish the same outline used in the Major Arcana had also been applied for all of the cards in the deck, it's still a good companion book overall. Many Tarot books do tend to put more emphasis on the Majors, and this book is similar in that way, but it still does a good job in offering sufficient information that can be worked with.

I truly appreciate the great time and effort of the artist and authors of this deck to create something so extraordinary. It won't be in everyone's tastes, I'm sure, because there are some readers who are quite adamant about not using a deck which they feel is "too cute." I can respect this, because each reader must hold true to his or her own likes or dislikes and follow what feels right for them. If a deck doesn't seem to "speak" to the reader or he/she feels distracted in any way due to a particular deck, then the reading can certainly be affected by this. And definitely, even a seeker should be able to feel comfortable with the deck which his or her reader is using . . . it helps a lot when both reader and seeker are comfortable and in tune to the reading at hand.

There are many who will like this deck, however. Both deck collectors and those who enjoy story telling with Tarot will find a special appeal for the Fey Tarot. Anyone who enjoys vivid images that seem to jump right out and tell a story in a different kind of way can get a lot of enjoyment with these cards . . . and certainly the seeker who wants a non-threatening, but enlightening deck of cards to look at in their reading will find a certain magical quality within the Fey Tarot as well.

The Fey Tarot offers a refreshing approach to the experienced reader. This charming Tarot of dreams, joy, and magic is like no other.

Number of Cards in Deck: 78 cards (22 Major/56 Minor)

Size of Cards: 2-5/8" x 4-3/4"

Included with deck: The Fey Tarot companion book (160 pages).

Major Arcana: (non-traditional titles highlighted in blue)
Fool, Magician, Seer, Empress, Emperor, Wisest,
Lovers, Chariot, Strength, Hermit, Wheel, Justice,
Hanged Man, Death, Temperance, Devil, Tower,
Stars, Moon, Sun, Judgement, World