Russian Tarot of St Petersburg

See card images of the Russian Tarot of St Petersburg

By Yuri Shakov & Cynthia Giles
Tarot Deck - 78 Cards - Published by US Games 1992

Review by Cricket

This deck is unusual in a few ways. First, it was started by Yury Shakov - he finished number of the cards, along with the preliminary sketches for the rest - but the remainder were finished by an unknown Russian artist at his death. There really isn't much difference in their styles, the continuity of the deck is amazing. Each card is rendered in sharp detail. This includes a border in gold on the face, mirrored on the back. Both the major and minor arcana are done in full detail, and this in one of the first decks I have personally run into printed on a black background. It puts a whole new cast on the deck, gives it a new feel, has a different effect on the spirit.

Lastly, even though this deck was not geared toward beginners (or those rediscovering the art) it is truly easy to read. Because of the detail mentioned before, those that do more instinctual reading instead of using the 'given' or 'proper' meaning of the cards are given a clear advantage. For example, while doing the first reading using this deck, the sun in the four of clubs seemed to pop out at me. Normally this wouldn't have been something to notice, but it was pivotal to the reading.

The little white booklet is also a nice help. The meaning and reversed meaning are easy to find, and it has the basic ten card spread included.

This is a truly spiritual deck to me, and I'm glad I bought it. It didn't 'feel' quite right in the store, but as soon as I took it home and got it out of the box, it clicked with me. Meanings of certain cards were coming to me just flipping through the deck. This is going to be the one I can't put down. (The only complaint I might have is that the back of the deck is not reversible, so you can see which cards are reversed.) I would not really recommend this deck for beginners, since the images and feelings truly rush out to meet a person and might overwhelm them, but I am impressed with it.