Deck by Raymond Buckland; Art by Lissanne Lake

© 2001 LLewellyn Publications

Buckland drew on inspiration from hearing tales as a child about the Gypsy colorful way of life and from his grandmother who read Tarot.  From this gypsy-themed Tarot deck, Buckland hopes to preserve memories of the older Romani way of life.

Anyone interested in the history of gypsy life -- or who want to learn about this culture -- will appreciate this deck.  Gypsies made their living as traveling entertainers, using their mysterious charms to amaze people, and for some of them, Tarot was a special part of it.

You'll find some criticism from a few reviewers who don't feel that the accompanying book accurately describes the card's meanings, yet it's important to remember that this particular Tarot deck was designed to depict scenes from true Romani life.  Buckland has not forced traditional symbolism into his work just to say it was there.  As with other theme decks, this one is unique to what it represents and the cards portray the colorful and fascinating lifestyle of Buckland's heritage . . . people who may have been materially poor, but yet did not lack in spiritual richness.

The Major Arcana of the deck are called the "Boro Lil," which means "Big Book" in Romani.  The Minor Arcana are known as the "Tarno Lil" which is Romani for "Little Book."  As the Tarot can be considered a book of knowledge or secrets, this fits nicely with the idea of Major and Minor Secrets -- or "Big" and "Little" secrets of the Tarot.

The cards are printed on a thin and flexible cardstock.  There are no borders on the cards, which is actually a nice feature, as some say that borderless cards give one the feeling that he or she could step into the picture.  Many Tarot decks today have wide or colorful borders -- which can certainly be very attractive -- but the scenes on the borderless cards are not interrupted or limited by the extra space used for a border.

The cards make use of numbers rather than a printed name, so some knowledge of the Tarot numbering system is helpful with this deck.  Although I wouldn't recommend a beginner to start learning with this deck, the Romani Tarot deck, used as a second deck, can offer a lot to the beginner who finds the gypsy theme to be of interest.

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

Size of Cards:  2-3/4" x 4-5/8"

Included with deck: Full book, 239 pages that contains information on the cards and the history of the gypsies.

Major Arcana:  (Non-traditional titles are highlighted.)
Fool, Magician, High Priestess, Empress, Emperor, Hierophant,
Lovers, Chariot, Strength, Hermit, Wheel of Fortune, Justice,
Hanged Man, Death, Temperance, Devil, Lightning-Struck Tower
Star, Moon, Sun, Judgement, World

Suit Names:  Kosh or Staves (Wands), Koros or Cups, Chiv or Knives (Swords), Boler or Wheels (Pentacles)

Court Cards:  King, Queen, Knight, Page

Back Design of Cards:

THE BUCKLAND ROMANI TAROT Tarot Deck and Book Set is Available from Amazon.com: (Availability is Limited)

TAROT DECKS -- CLICK HERE FOR FULL LIST Animals Art-Styled Celtic Decks Christian-Based Decks Cultures/Multi-Cultural Decks Historical Myths & Legends Other Traditional/Beginner Decks Whimsical Decks Wiccan-Based Decks Women

The gypsy image above (and below) is not associated with the Buckland Romani Tarot . . . but it seemed such a fitting image for this "gypsy" theme page that I couldn't resist including it here :-)
As I do not know the artist of this lovely picture, if it is yours or you know who created it, please let me know.  If it belongs to you, I will promptly remove it at your request, or provide a link to you, as per your wishes.