First Look: New Tarot Deck

The Visconti - Sforza or The Golden Tarot

A Sample: The Pope = Il Papa  (Hierophant)

The Enclosed Guide Description:
In real life, the Pope possesses the right to crown the Emperor, and his position in the Trump story appropriately places him above the other rulers.
The Pope’s right hand is raised in a sign of benediction, and in his left hand, he holds the papal cross. He wears the three-tiered crown that symbolizes papal authority and represents the unity of mind, body, and spirit. His white beard is an archetype for wisdom, while his white tunic represents purity of the soul.
Together, the robe, crown, and cross stand for ceremony and ritual, imparting historical significance and gravitas dot his bearing. In spite of the Pope’s lofty title, all power is temporal, symbolized by the Pope’s position within the Trumps.

A Sample:  Death = La Morte

Guide Description:
This eerily animated skeleton is the starring figure in an allegorical work of art called the Dance of Death, created in response to a plague that decimated the population in the fourteenth century.
Death holds a bow in its left hand and an arrow in its right. Its piercing eyes stare menacingly out of deep, shadowed eye sockets.
We have seen that Strength, having triumphed over unrestrained ambition, has been trumped by the pain and suffering of the Hanged Man, and now, by Death.
It is no coincidence that Death's rank in the Tarot deck is the unlucky thirteen. But it's obvious from Death's position in this allegory that all is not lost: there are many more trump cards left in the deck.

This deck is a marvelous treasure and worth the wait of so many years. There is much pleasure to be had and much to learn about this new (old) deck. I look forward to spending lots of time in its company.  And, oh my, the cards are very large. Yes, even for my notoriously large hands.

More later.
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