Review by Solandia
Each year for the past nine years, Major Tom Schick has put together the Tarot Lovers Calendar, which offers unique spreads contributed by the tarot community, and showcases cards from 12 independent tarot decks.
The 12 gorgeous and quirky decks featured this year are:
Crazy Little Cows Tarot by Skimo, a deck of cutely drawn cows that are filled with all the colours and joy the artist could show.
Tarot Americana by Melissa Hill. She is the creator of the 36-card Melissa Lenormand deck, and this her first tarot. The work-in-progress is composed of vintage American ephemera – postcards, advertisements, photos and illustrations from the early 20th century.
The Desi Tarot by Pragathi Priyadev, which is a tarot of India’s cultural heritage and tradition depicted in oil on canvas.
Tarot Noir by Robyn Tisch Hollister. Robyn has made many wonderful decks, including the Minute Tarot and the Midnight Masquerade, but this is her first in the Marseilles tradition.
The Sarah Magdalene Tarot by Sarah Wheatley. Her cards are
wonderfully intricate, created in gouache, watercolour and ink.
The Lazy Afternoon Tarot by Karen West, a deck made with sharpies and crayolas – and in only fifteen minutes per image.
Tarot of the Curious East by Lynyrd Narciso. Lynyrd has made so many wonderful decks and in so many varying styles. This one celebrates the diversity of cultures in Asia through a pastiche approach.
Tarot of Life by Yvonne Keogh, which was inspired by the spiritual teacher and leader Sri Vasudeva.
A King’s Journey Tarot by Chanel Bayless and James Battersby. In this deck, we follow the Fool thought the physical and spiritual journey of his life. Unusually, this deck has an extra suit (Spirit) and two extra major arcana cards.
Monochromatic Fantasy Tarot by Angela Xu. This deck has been drawn in ballpoint ben on paper, and features non-human creatures, both real and imaginary.
Tarot of the Golden Serpent by Sebastian Haines. It’s a complex deck both symbolically and artistically, and draws on ceremonial magic, alchemy, Qabala, Hermeticism, and more.
The Vulpine Tarot by FoxWing Mabon-Tail. The deck mixes Pagan symbolism and vulpine mythology, illustrated with humanoid cartoon foxes.
The 13 spreads (one for each month and one on the back cover) are wonderfully unique. The contributions are:
Bewitched Spread by Wales Woman
Internet Love Spread by starshine81
Who / What is Knocking on Your Door Spread by Ronia
Pulling the Covers Over My Head Spread by Glass Owl
The Poor Man’s Therapist by Cicero
Deception, Perception, Clarification & Reflection Spread by aadisguise
Magic 8 Spread by Gillian
What is the lesson? Spread by Gisela Bencomo aka Zelmira
The Unborn Bond Spread by Jennifer Russey aka Jenlah R
Triangle Attack Spread by Niki Fakhoori aka WingspreadPhoenix
Seasons / Directions of the Heart by Douglas Rhys
Christmas Spread by Allison Ohlroggen aka Pasara
Thirteen Goddesses Spread by Ramona Savoy
The calendar itself each month is filled with lunar phases and holidays from all religions, Christian, Jewish, Hindu, and Baha’i to name a few. In a thoughtful touch, Pagan festivals are listed for both northern and southern hemispheres.
The cover of the calendar is selected from entries submitted by members of the Aeclectic Tarot Forum. This year, the content was won by Gail Kettlesen (DraagonStorm), and her art features a dreamy fantasy image of a red-haired couple moving away from us towards a moon in a blue and purple sky – which is beautiful, and better seen than described!
The Tarot Lovers Calendar 2011 is an attractive and interesting calendar to have on the wall throughout the year – and it’s made by the tarot community, for the tarot community.
The Tarot Lovers’ Calendar 2011 calendar retails for US$23.22, AUD$24.91, GBP15.00 or 18.11 Euro. A percentage of the proceeds goes to Aeclectic Tarot.
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Buy your Tarot Lovers' Calendar 2011 now from
· Major Tom
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