Tarot of the Animal Lords

See card images of the Tarot of the Animal Lords

By Angelo Giannini
Tarot Deck - 78 Cards - Published by Lo Scarabeo

Review by Solandia

The Lords in this, the Tarot of the Animal Lords from Lo Scarabeo, are anthropomorphic figures with an animal head on a human body. Featuring insects, birds, and wild animals of the world - tigers, lynxes, elephants, koalas, birds, walruses, and a few domesticated animal (cat, rooster, ram and goat) all are ably drawn by Italian artist Angelo Giannini.

The minor arcana suit emblems have been altered, and rather than Swords, Wands, Chalices and Pentacles, these are now Butterflies, Salamanders, Crabs and Beetles. The major arcana are linked with animals as follows:

Fool – Badger
Magician – Fox
High Priestess – Cow Elephant
Empress – She-wolf
Emperor – Lion
Heirophant – Reindeer
Lovers – Mandarin Duck
Chariot – Swan and Crowned Crane
Justice – Barn Owl
Hermit – Black Bear
Wheel of Fortune – Butterfly
Strength – Mongoose and Snake
Hanged Man – Bat
Death – Crow
Temperance – Flamingo
Devil – He-goat
Tower – Beaver
Star – Seahorse
Moon – Owl and Cat
Sun – Hare
Judgement – Crocodile
World - Dolphin

The merging between human and animal well executed on the majority of cards, keeping the character and look of the animal, but translating it to a human stance and situation with charm and realism (as much realism as is possible for a deck set in a fairy-tale universe filled with half-animal, half-human creatures!).

There are so many beautiful and highly appropriate cards worth mentioning – the kindly and compassionate sage that is the Tortoise in the King of Cups; the beaver on the Tower card, suddenly flung into the water when his log-dam collapses; Flamingo and Temperance, long-necked and elegant. The two snakes on the Seven of Swords, conferring in whispers. Judgement is a crocodile, linking with Egyptian mythology. And the Six of Wands, with three roosters strutting and blowing trumpets. There is, however, one exception: the Koala on the Queen of Wands. It’s not the best artistic rendition of a koala, and its dress is somewhat disconcerting. (Koalas are stocky, grumpy, and ungodly noisy creatures, and this one is a slim figure dressed in a low-cut blouse and harem pants.)

The meaning of the cards, as given in the little white booklet, do not really stray from the norm, but there is one significant difference. All cards have positive meanings when upright, and negative meanings only apply if reversed. Reversals would need to be used for a full-spectrum of meaning, as cards that are traditionally darker – Three of Swords, Five of Pentacles, Ten of Swords – all have a positive spin and only have negative connotations when upside down.

The link between the animals and the Tarot archetypes is intuitive and easy to understand. This deck would be an easy introduction to Tarot, allowing the newcomer to easily draw connections between the known qualities associated with the animal, and the more unfamiliar Tarot archetypes.

The Tarot of the Animal Lords combines the animal’s strength and qualities with the Tarot archetype for a simple – yet detailed and very pretty – set of cards with a whimsical, positive energy.

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