February 11 - 17, 2012 ~ Rosetta Tarot

Rosetta Tarot
M.M. Meleen
Atu House, 2011
ISBN-13: 978-0-9840010-4-0

I excitedly purchased this deck the second that the author made it available on her website. I am the proud owner of #17 / 777.  Pretty cool as #17 is one of my "lucky" numbers.   I also ordered the accompanying book, The Book of Seshet. 

It is very much a Thoth inspired deck.  And the author has kindly shared her experience in the creation of this deck at her blog.   What a fascinating journey, and I am appreciative of her willingness to share it.

The deck itself is nice to shuffle - very supple and easy, but it doesn't feel cheap or as if it will easily tear or bend.  I found that I spent much of the week just shuffling over and over.  As will happen with black borders, there are already little scratches and hints of white, but I don't think that a flaw.  Rather, it is just par for decks with black borders that are printed on white card stock.  The colors in the deck are vibrant and just seem to pulse off the page.  I find that the different mediums gives the deck texture.  It seems more dynamic rather than just static images on a card.  The Ace of Cups is a card that just POPS right off the page.  In fact, all the Cups just POP.  The backs are just as interesting as the front, too.

One of my favorite cards is the 5 of Disks.  And I think that why I like it is why this entire deck appeals to me so much.   Ms. Meleen has managed to bring the imagery of this card into a frame of reference that I understand.  Dials and gauges are all nearing critical measurement.  Disaster is imminent! Any second the entire thing is going to blow up!  But wait! See! There, just in the in the lower right corner, is a switch.  It is in the ON position.  Turn it OFF.  Take control of the situation and dissipate the worry into something less harmful.  This is why I like this deck.   This is the Thoth refigured to a symbolic language that I can understand.

As a reading deck, it was very Thoth-like.  Just like my beloved Thoth, it delivered readings with depth and meaning. Punches were not held, feelings were not spared.  It just stated it the way it was and just like the Thoth, within the images of the cards, I was able to find solutions to the problems it exposed.  


Rating: Favorite