10 Alluring Tarot Card Decks

Tarocchi became 'tarot' from Italy into Europe and beyond as the first known tarot was traced back to the Visconti Trumps. Jean-Baptiste Alliette invented the divinatory meanings to the cards in 1770. Seven eight card decks are divided between the major arcana 22 and the minor 56. The minor includes; wands, coins, swords, and cups some of which are substituted by other elements.The major include cards such as; the Magician, the Fool, the Emperor, the Moon, the World and the Hanged man. The Major Arcana were the first of the tarot to be developed in the 14^th century. I've included ten particular decks with which I resonate most artistically and psychically. Tarot decks are mini voyages into the subconscious vortex of infinite perception, interpretation, intelligence, soul and heart communcation.

1

Waking the Wild Spirit ^{_{by Poppy Palin}}

Inside this deck is an amazingly colorful world of artwork designed by Poppy Palin British artist, illustrator, author, and animal advocate. Poppy, an insightful psychic and professional tattooist is gifted with a wild creativity that is wide-spanned into multiple styles. She's authored a guide that teaches you how to work with the 'unseen', entities and spirits. And her wild Spirit of Trilogy is a series of novels she wrote mixing her artwork with magical fiction. Looking into her cards that are so full of life and mystic symbols, one can become lost in the music that they play and the invocation of inspiration.

The cards retain the structure of an original tarot deck, although creative titles replace traditional names. They give the feeling of what the otherworld expresses, many depicted by mystic characters. The themes are very deep and mysterious that draw you into their particular essence and whichever particular story needs to be told. The Minor Arcana have become the four elements: Air, Fire, Earth, and Water.

2

Tarot De St. Croix ^{byLisa de St. Croix}

Lisa De St. Croix is a symbolist painter from Santa Fe New Mexico who's take on the tarot interpretations is quite unique. Her deck 's theme is terracotta and the images are painted in oil. This theme color seems to invite a warmness that bursts into a particular feeling for the other colors. The back of the cards show a mirroring design that depicts two moons, clouds and portals each opposite from the other. Seeing a bit of ourselves in everything else. This deck was created with passion and deep retrospection insisting the user use an open mind and heart in order to steal peek into interpretation or further unravel metaphoric meanings rolled in between. The Strength card depicts a lion opposite a nude woman, the pose, alike, as if she is of him and he of her. Her hair is a long thick orange mane like his, twins, support.

3

The Victorian Fairy Tarot ^{by Gary A.Lippincott & Lunaea Weatherstone}

The reality of daily life of plants and bees and flowers of a fairyboat ride on a lily pond dwelves ladders into this Victorian Fairy Tarot deck. The deck's melody of Victorian scheme lives up to its name. Cups are Summer, pentacles Autumn, Wands are Spring and Swords became Winter. On the Two of Spring—Wands, a male fairy sits happy-capped and pondering with quill in hand, sketch on paper, as he rests high on a tree branch with awe as expression. Perfect depiction for this card, a time for reflection and imagination. Temperance Major Arcana 14 represents 'opposites' and an ability to adapt to change also calls for connection, balance and blending, here displayed is a fairy pouring green liquid droplets of absinthe down a leaf to fill a chalice. The Sun Major Arcana 19, is a field filled with large long-stemmed sunflowers overseeing euphoric fairy dancing such an accurate analogue to bliss, growth, enlightenment and vibrancy all which the sun illustrates.

4

Paulina Tarot ^{by Paulina Cassidy}

Paulina's delicate detailed sketchings burst with life in this set of cards. You truly enter a world where faeries reside and all sorts of beings with funny feet. Soft gentle muted colors fill the images with hints of zestfully alivened colors that accent the soft tones. In the Two of Cups a faerie couple with butterfly headdresses sitting inside of a pink flower cup, arms locked with glasses of wine within their grip. Underneath it, little pumpkin-faced flowers smile happily in their soil as they are surrounded by long-stemmed mushrooms and button-like daisies. The gorgeous Ace of Pentacles is a tree faerie playing a horn. Doves rush up from the earth alongside her like a single beam of light reaching for the sky. She is protected by a pentagram symbol above her crown. Paulina's love for faeries is depicted in this deck and her knowledge of the little beings interconnect ion with humans.

5

Anna k. Tarot ^{_{by Anna Klaffinger}}

The artwork in this deck is not only a muse for readings, but every card tells a story without narrowing the capacity of interpretation while the images seem to speak effortlessly to the subconscious mind. Even for newbies, these cards grab the soul's attention. The cards seem to flow with tales unlike a typical card reading and are easily to read. Besides beautiful artwork, this deck seems to magnify energy and pull you into the cards. The images are paintings which come forth from her imagination without the use of models. Anna's love for storytelling and human faces that depict real emotion is evident. I become mesmerized as I look into them, and it's slow to get out of them. The Seven of Swords is depicted by a thief climbing out of a window onto a ladder with five swords in his bag and two in the bag of gold he stole

6

Ghosts and Spirits Tarot ^{by Lisa Hunt}

Lisa has illustrated six tarot decks. Wow. Her work is magnificent. Lisa says her paintings are merging layers of creative energy. This deck pulls up every speck of skin on my body. Voids, chasms, abysses, and mystery all in watercolor. The eerie Fool card of an innocent boy venturing out with his dog into a wood full of watchful faces blinded to ploys, an innocent beginning, a new adventure. The Magician like a shaman infiltrates himself into the sun to draw in wisdom as he keeps himself encased inside a line of non-human faces or guides for working his magic or yours. The Hanged Man dives into the lower world seeking cleansing or change whilst his skeleton watches from above. He aspires to adapt, accept, and forgive what he finds during his exploration. The Five of Swords is a boy on a galloping horse moving downwards through a wood filled with ghostly heads and one ghost descending from the dark sky behind grabbing at him with long bony arms and hands. Wonderful deck.

7

Tarot of the Hidden Realm ^{by Julia Jeffery & Barbara Moore}

Back to the center of nature with these cards. They are filled with emotion and feeling, butterflies, unicorns, birds and other animals and humans. One of my favorite cards imagery-wise is the nine of swords “The dark night of the soul” representing nightmares, guilt, mentally overwhelmed, breakdowns, terrific worry. In this deck the card depicts an elfen-type girl crouched by a bare leafless tree with a skull image as a knot in the trunk and a white owl with its wings spread as if it's not at ease and ready to take off. Numerous white feathers are falling all around the girl.

The Knight of wands is another favorite and very beautiful in this deck. A red-eyed elfin man with hair standing back like a flame, flames representing 'speed' is camouflaged in a rich greenery. The browns and shades of green are amazing as is the intense look on his face. This card pops up when suddenly you get noticed in a big way or have an inspiration manifest.

8 Maiden of Mystery Shadowscape Tarot ^{by Stephanie Pui Mun Law & Barbara Moore}

Celtic, fantasy and Asian styles are mixed into Stephanie's inquisitively meticulous illustrations. Symbols from fairy-tale and myth play major roles in the cards. The Green man symbol of rebirth is hidden inside a medallion on the Ace of Pentacles amongst chameleons with sprial tails all in 'verde'. Ace of Pentacles, handfuls of money. Therein, are the tiniest human figures hidden amongst carved bark and branches that could easily go missed. Plan to thoroughly scan these cards if you wish to unlock the treasures concealed within the Maiden of Mystery deck. Her trees bear life suffused with tree spirits, faeries, Celtic cross necklaces and inventive mystical creatures. In the Two of Cups Stephanie painted two dainty figures intertwining as two human-like trees, a brown male trunk and a white female. Goldfish rise out from a golden chalice cup two is shown as an offering from him to her. Above them a heart hangs as mistletoe.

9 The Joie de Vivre ^{by Paulina Cassidy}

The little child in me comes right out when viewing these cards. Filled with whimsical uplifting creatures and tiny colourful detailed bugs they touch a magical place inside you. The title Joy of Living describes these cards as giving a spark of happiness for your heart. Each creature is so unique and each scene is so rich with little creatures and odd bugs with legs and beings with stems sprouting from their heads with flower fountains gushing their water forth that you can admire this deck endlessly. These beings unknown in our reality may just be real in another. Prezto The Magician has four arms, a lengthy tail with a snake ring around it, and is surrounded by hearts, butterflies, flowers, a genie lamp, and a puny rabbit that resembles a seahorse. On his pelvis, you'd find a small dragonfly, and the four buttons on his piped golden hat contrast well with his wiry green hair that sprouts from his head sideways. Lovely is the Joie to Live.

10 Mary El Tarot ^{by Marie White}

This deck is the result of 15 years of sketching, following traditional tarot with mixed Kabbalistic aspects. This is one of the most breath-taking and amazing set of tarot cards for its artistic facets, elementals and drawing-in ability. The Fool card wraps his body in a twisted infinity sign as beginnings, back to the beginnings over and over as the Fool represents innocence, beginnings, and adventure. The Magician number one, looks like a robed shadow with no face or inner features, an infinite deep mysterious portal into the ethers. He holds a white sacred geometry symbol at his solar plexus known to be directed by the principle of power and intelligence. The fourth major arcana The Emperor has an astounding presence so overwhelmingly powerful energy-wise. He rules bosses, promotions and the father figure. The dragonfly detailed on his face shows the power and poise that comes with age and maturity. He is a white-haired man with a penetrating green eye.The Hierophant number five of the Major Arcana, represents authority, inheritance, and contracts. The image is of a sullen woman breastfeeding two children at the same time with a key hanging from her neck. The two children seem to metaphorically represent agreement even inheritance. Keys have opening and closing powers, its symbolism depicts control, authoritative in quality. This is a peek into an astounding 78 cards that bring you into the timeless.