Review by Bonnie Cehovet
Suits: Staves, Cups, Swords, Coins. Court cards: King, Queen, Male Knight, Female Knight, Male Page, Female Page. Major Arcana: Charity (Popess/High Priestess), Faith (Pope/Hierophant), Hope (Sun). Order: Justice VIII, Strength XI.
This is the first time that I have held in my hands a reproduction of one of the earliest Tarot decks, and I was fascinated by it. The colors tend to be dark, and the details not easily discerned, but I found it exciting to work with - trying in my mind to place myself back in the times that the original of this deck was in use.
In his notation on the provenance of the "Cary Yale Visconti Tarocchi", Stuart Kaplan indicates that the original deck may have totaled 86 cards - 22 Major Arcana and 64 Minor Arcana. Sixty-seven original tarocchi cards were reproduced from the Cary Collection of Playing Cards, with an additional nineteen cards recreated in 1983 (by artist Luigi Scapini) to replace the cards presumed missing from the original deck.
In introduction to the LWB (Little White Book) that accompanies the deck, Kaplan presents a brief history of the Tarot, and defines the major divisions of Major Arcana and Minor Arcana. An added bonus is a section on the history of the "Visconti" and "Visconti-Sforza" decks, breaking these fifteenth century Milanese decks down into fifteen distinct groups, with a brief definition for each group. Kaplan also addresses the artist attributions, and dating of the decks, as these are areas where, generally speaking, there are no definitive answers.
The "Cary-Yale Visconti Tarocchi" does carry some rather distinctive features of its own, one of which would be the addition of the three theological virtues: Charity (Popess/High Priestess), Faith (Pope/Hierophant), and Hope (Star). The four cardinal virtues (Fortitude, Justice, Prudence, and Temperance) are believed to be associated with Strength, Justice, the Hanged Man (or the Hermit), and Temperance. Thus all seven virtues are contained in the "Cary-Yale Visconti Tarocchi" major arcana.
Another distinctive feature resides in the Court Cards: in addition to the King and Queen, each suit contains a male and female Knight, and a male and female Page. The symbol used for Staves in this deck is that of an arrow.
The gold background decoration for the Major Arcana and the Court Cards consists of repeating suns with sixteen rays each: eight wavy, alternated with eight straight. The decorative border is that of a flower design consisting of ten dots in a circle, with a dot at the center, connected by a continuing stem.
Kaplan notes that the appearance of Visconti and Sforza heraldic devices on hand painted fifteenth century tarocchi cards does confirm the involvement of these two families in certain decks. He goes on to say that the lack of Sforza heraldic devices in the "Cary-Yale Visconti" deck would indicate that the deck was not commissioned by a member of the Sforza family, and thus probably predates Fillipo Visconti's death in 1447.
Kaplan presents graphic showing the heraldic devices, along with a text description of them. These include a coiled, crowned viper; a radiant dove; the motto "A bon droyt"; a crown pierced by branches or tree fronds; a sunburst; the imperial eagle of the Holy Roman Empire; a pomegranate; a wreath draped with a scarf.
The cards are presented with a black and white scan, a description of the card, divinitory meaning, and reversed meanings. Separate meanings are given for the male and female Knights and Pages. From the LWB:
"Male Page of Swords: The male Page of Swords stands in full armor. He wears the same type of hat, with a spreading peacock feather brim, worn by the Knight. A helmet is in his left hand, and a sword is in his right hand.
Divinatory Meanings: A person adept at perceiving, discerning and uncovering the unknown or that which is less than obvious. The quality of insight. Vigilance. Agility. Spying. A discrete person. An active youth. A lithe figure alert and awake to unknown dangers. A versatile and adept person capable of adjusting to changing conditions.
Reverse Meanings: An impostor revealed. Unforeseen events which may come to pass in the near future. Illness is also possible. Powerlessness in the face of stronger forces. Lack of preparation."
"Female Page of Swords: The female Page of Swords wears a long robe, also decorated with pomegranates. Her cape is lined in red and she holds the sign of her suit, a sword.
Divinatory Meanings: Empathic person. Insight. Ability to extract confidences. A nervous, alert personality. Assistant to scholar.
Reversed Meanings: Emotional and intellectual dullness. Inability to concentrate. Sluggishness."
The cards themselves are large - 3 7/8" by 7 1/2", of good quality, glossy card stock. The backs are a solid, pale yellow. The face of the cards shows a 1/4" pale green border, followed by a 1/2" decorated gold border. There are no titles or text of any kind on the cards, and the Minor Arcana pips are not illustrated. The nineteen cards added to the deck by Luigi Scapini follow the same structure, but show figures in much more intense color. This does act as a slight distraction with this deck.
At the end of the LWB, the traditional ten card Celtic Cross spread is presented.
I like this deck for its historic content, but the size does make it awkward to use in a reading. A student of the Tarot would find this deck well worth working with, especially for meditative, ritual or ceremonial purposes. It would also be a good pick for someone looking for a representative deck from this period for their collection.
© December 2005
Bonnie Cehovet is a professional Tarot reader with over ten years experience, holds a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology and is certified as a Tarot Educator with the American Board For Tarot Certification. Bonnie has served in various capacities with the American Tarot Association, is co-founder of the World Tarot Network, and Vice President (as well as Director of Certification) for the American Board For Tarot Certification. She has had articles appear in the 2004 and 2005 Llewellyn Tarot Reader.
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