Victorian RomanticMagic Realist Press
Russian Edition printed by Pryha 2010
Okay. Yes, I know. I stalked the store waiting for the deck to come up for sale in those little batches. Finally! On the third try, I was in the right place at the right time. The deck is absolutely beautiful. One of the things I have noticed over the years is that my tastes in tarot decks is starting to get stabilized. I do love all things Victorian and as such, this deck makes my heart go all a-flutter.
I really like the way the artwork fits to the card. Like most of their decks, the imagery is enough RW to make sense on that level, but still have a freedom about them for intuitive interpretation and story telling. It is easy to fall into making a "backstory" for the cards that fit into a broad RW (or even Thoth) definition.
The card stock is unbelievable. I will say that this deck has the best card stock I have ever felt. It is more like a high quality playing card - supple and strong - than a typical tarot card. The publishers in Finland did a good job. Bonus Emperor with this deck. I like them both - but they each wear their power differently. The Russian Czar is a very masculine power - strong, martial, unyielding. A conqueror who will maintain his power with an iron fist. The regular Emperor is more effeminate. His power is in being confident that his authority will be backed up by gods. He is more about pleasure than martial concerns. He is languidly relaxing on his throne, being admired. I like the contrast and I leave them both in.
As a reading deck, it is quite vocal. It wrings out details that were overlooked. For some reason, it just goes into detail - this is probably due to the depth of the images. This Tower is one of the most intriguing cards in the deck. The details that catch your eye during a reading can change the outcome of this card in subtle ways.
Rating: Favorite / Collectable
