The Avalon Tarot Deck

Measurements: 2.6 x 4.75 inches, or 66 x 120 mm.

Back of card: Light golden-rod/yellow line drawing of a warrior angel with sword standing over a dragon. Above his head, an orb with a cup inside sends down beams of light on his head, etc., etc. The drawing takes up the entire card, but is fairly low-contrast. You can invert these if you're not fussy. Unlike many Lo Scarabeo decks, this image does not turn up as one of the cards.

Booklet included: Yes, a sheet of paper divided into 14 panes. Each pane measures 2.55 x 4.8 inches, or 65 x 121 mm. Notes are by Lorenzo Tesio.

Publisher: Lo Scarabeo. Printed in Italy, imported by Llewellyn Worldwide.

Comments: As the name suggests, this is another deck about King Arthur & the Round Table. Notes by Lorenzo Tesio suggest that as Merlin the magician was renown for prophecy & as tarot is used for divination, that Avalon & tarot would be a natural combination. He also says that Tarots of Avalon have modern, up to date art with vivid symbols. For the most part, I didn't see that, though shown above, a Merlin who needs a book of instruction, a 1950's space creature (the Giant of Mont St Michael) on the 5 of Cups, the Fool Percival on a seamless photographic background & a Hanged Man that shows 12 people hung, at least one of which is a woman. Minus Arthur, that's an entire Round Table of people. In the notes for the card, it says:

The Hanged Man, the Black Cross: Miraculous cross in Camelot blackened by the blood of Josephus's companions martyred by Agretes, the pagan king Camelot.

But the Hanged Man card shows no blood, red or black. The individuals are hung by ropes tied to their feet, it appears they have their hands tied behind their backs. They all appear dead, perhaps strangled. Anyway.

The major arcana illustrate prominent people & situations in the Arthurian legends. The minor arcana tells Arthurian stories. If they were a continuous narrative, I'd tell you what each suit is dedicated to, but they don't. Here is the core meanings of each suit:

Chalices represent emotions & sentiments.
Pentacles represent manual work & material things & the quarrels arising from everyday matters.
Wands represent Merlin's magic wand, nevermind that what Viglioglia put on the top of each card looks a lot more like a club. But on none of them is anything that looks like a magic wand. I used to own an Arkansas Native American magic wand (aka Medicine Stick), I think I know what these things look like.
Swords represent conflict & intense intellectual activity.

Fans of the Arthur legends will find lots of meanings on these cards. Enjoy.

Packaging note: These cards are packed out-of-order, similar to several other recent Lo Scarabeo decks. At first I thought this had some mystical meaning, but now I think the people or machines that cut & stack the cards have found a new way of doing things. Note to Ricardo: Is it possible to go back to the old way? It was much easier for a user to check a new deck for missing cards.

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