Tarot of the Night

 

Everything is not as it seems in the dark of
uncertainty, but if you look close,
the details will come to life and the answers will be
revealed.

~Quote from the box

 

Title: Tarot of the Night

Author: Richard ShadowFox

Illustrator: Richard ShadowFox

Publisher: Schiffer Publishing

• Walk into the night where you will find new and interesting things.

• The Tarot of the Night contains 78 shadow-like, but yet captivating illustrated cards. These cards features creatures of the night like ghosts, vampires, skeletons, and many others.

• A card which I was captivated by was the Death card. In this card, death is riding a brown horse and holding a scythe while looking to his left direction. The sand is red and there is a red sand blowing up into the air. But one minor detail which I found confusing is that in the distance of death and his horse, there is a gold cup? I don’t quit see the connection.

• Next, there’s the 10 of Swords that illustrates a skeleton that is impaled by a sword. This sword has gone through his rib cage and the skeleton has his head bowed down and his body appears to loose its posture and is supporting itself with the sword that is impaled in his rib cage (lol). The skeleton is hold down a sword that’s stuck to the ground and there are five swords laying on the ground and three that are stuck into the ground.

• The other card that caught my attention was the 10 of Pentacles which illustrates what appears to be a “ghostly” family. In this card we have a man who is sitting in a cement throne and standing on his right hand side is what appears to be his wife (or mistress) and in front of her, a child. On his left hand side, the same as his right hand side. A woman and child standing. There are four pentacles adorned in a pillar on his right and left hand sides and two pentacles adorned in his throne above his head.

• The back designs are reversible and are illustrated with what appears to be a skeleton wrapped in yellow/orange blaze. There is what appears to be a coin or medallion that has a cup, sword, and wand stuck to it. In a distance, there is a crescent moon.

• The size of the cards are approximately 3 by 5 inches. The card stock quality is fantastic and very durable. They have a slight matted touch to them. They are not ridged or flimsy.

• The cards are sturdy enough and shuffle gently. They are flexible and if you have small hands, it should not be a problem for you to shuffle the cards.

• The box in which the cards come in is sturdy and holds the cards and booklet absolutely well. The box is a magnetic box with ribbons that hold the flap and the box together.

• The companion book included with the cards is written by Richard ShadowFox and contains 256 pages that features a four page introduction that briefly talks about the tarot deck and what you will find within the cards. Then there are the pages dedicated for each card which include an image of the card, a lengthy but very informative upright and reversed interpretation of the cards. At the end of the book, there are 3 tarot spreads called Three Card Reading, Celtic Cross, and a lengthy but accurate one called Vincit Omnai Veritas (Truth Conquers All) which consist of 13 cards.

• The artwork is done by Richard ShadowFox. The medium for the art is CGI (computer generated imagery).

• This is a tarot deck that is interesting and the images provide a bit of symbolism and stays true to the Rider Waite system. The characters illustrated in the cards are lively and inviting. One minor issue that I had with this tarot deck is that the companion book does not explain what it is that the characters are doing in the cards. It does not give a background story about where this characters came from or why/how they were incorporated in the cards. This tarot deck is mysterious in a unique way. But none the less, this tarot deck is not gruesome or dark (don’t worry, it will not scare anyone off). IF you are put off by CGI art, at least acquire this tarot deck for the sake of the book. The book is very well informative without a doubt. If you wish to acquire yourself with this tarot deck, click here!

 

© 2010 – 2015 J. R. Rivera
Reproduction prohibited without written permission from the author.