Featured Book Review
'The Ancient Egyptian Tarot' (Boxed Set) by Clive Barrett © 2003 Thorsons/Element ISBN 0007165498 141 page book & 78 card deck paperback $26.95(U.S.) $39.95(Canada)
One of the things I like about the Tarot boxed sets from Element is that they provide well-made cards, a handbook which is concise, and a blank journal to record your insights. My one object to this particular set is the quality of illustrations in the handbook - they are very small and very dark. Of course, with the cards right in front of you, this is not a major problem.
The imagery of the cards is fairly conventional. The Major Arcana incorporate the Egyptian pantheon, naturally. They are patterned after the Rider-Waite deck and convey much of the same symbolism.
The author and designed freely acknowledges the (most likely) medieval origin of the Tarot deck. He has simply incorporated dynastic Egyptian motifs in place of the more common medieval-influenced images.
Each of the cards is described in detail in the handbook. The symbolism is described and some suggested meanings are provided.
The last 26 pages of the handbook are devoted to helping you learn the spreads, and (in the appendices) detailing some of the relationships to other systems (astrology, cabala, etc.)
As far as the deck goes, while I personally have no problem with the illustrations used, if you are in any way puritanical or uptight about displays of the human body, you might want to give this deck a pass as some of the illustrations display a generous quantity of unclothed human flesh. This is, however, in keeping with styles of clothing appropriate for Egypt in the time-frame used.
One interesting variation in this deck is the use of more than one type of image in the suits of Wands (scepters, arrows, spears, standards, etc.) and Disks (drums, amulets, dishes, etc.) This allows for a wider field of expression (i.e., not everything must be domestic or commercial in the scenes with disks).
The deck is beautiful, the books have attractive covers, and the box is sturdy. This set is well worth the price.
Reviewer: Mike Gleason
If you would like to join in on a discussion about this book, please go to the forum here: Ancient Egyptian Tarot