The Universal Tarot Deck

Measurements: 2.63 x 4.75 inches, or 66 x 120 mm.

Back of card: Blue with white border. Two rows of eight circles with 8 pointed stars inscribed inside them. Looks fairly much like an ordinary playing card back. These may be inverted.

Booklet included: Yes, a folded sheet of 14 panes. Each pane measures 2.65 x 4.73 inches, or 67 x 120 mm. Of the 14 available panes, 2 have a brief history of the tarot, one is a note on De Angelis, the designer of this deck. AE Waite gets half a pane. A 9 card spread gets 2 panes. The 22 major arcana cards get 3.5 panes, the 56 minor arcana cards get 4 panes & the title gets the last (or first) one. In other words, not a lot of instructions here, but this is a fairly standard deck after all.

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

Comments: This is another Rider-Waite copy. Sometimes I wonder if the world needs another. In the booklet, the differences are described as:

The softer & more dramatic style of De Angelis captures some of the symbolic synthesis and sobriety of the pre-Raffaelesque (sic) illustrations. In exchange, the more modern and realistic aspect is more consistent with our time and more in tune with the thinking of contemporary man." (authorship uncredited)

The major arcana cards are essentially copies of the Rider deck, with enhanced facial features. Note how the Devil glares out at us.

The minors are a mixed bag. In many cases they're merely Rider copies, but in others significant changes have been made to otherwise small details. Notice the 2 of Swords is not sitting "over there" someplace, isolated from us. She's right in front of us & looks like she's swaying. The figures on the 2 of Cups stand in Roman ruins, which strips the card of the subtler meanings found on the Rider card. The 3 of Wands looks out at an empty sea. On the Rider card, he watches ships sail by. The 3 of Swords adds a love-stricken man at the bottom. You will find other such amusing details on other cards.

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