Illustrated by Esther Casla, the Egyptian Tarot is seemingly another Egyptian themed tarot. 22 of the 78 cards are certainly similar to Major Arcana of other decks. However, the departures on the Minor Arcana earn this deck the distinction to be called an oracle deck on its own. For sure, this intriguing deck deserves a second look.
These Tarot cards are slightly smaller (4.375″ x 2.375″) than standard decks from LoScarabeo or U.S. Games. The back of these cards show two blue scarabs facing opposite direction, with two ankhs at their sides, on a pale green background. As such, these cards are reversible. The face of these cards is bordered white, showing the image enclosed by a black line. The background is usually a pale yellow, as the Egyptian styled images seems to be painted on a papyrus or a temple wall.
These cards are labeled at the bottom, inside a cartouche. The labels are written in Spanish and English with mystic and astrological symbols on the left and a number to the right.
The Major Arcana are numbered from 1 to 22. On this deck, The Fool is 22, Justice is 8 and Strength is 11. A Hebrew letter is added beside each number. This association is similar to the one presented for the Thoth Tarot but starting with the Magician instead off the Fool and a few other changes. However, these cards loosely follow the Marseilles Tarot tradition, with a few cards renamed:
II. The High Priestess – 2. The Popess
VI. The Lovers – 7. Indecision
XI. Strength – 11. Fortitude
XII. The Hanged Man – 12. Apostolate
XIV. Temperance – 14. Mildness
XV. The Devil – 15. Evil
XVI. The Tower – 16. Fragility
XVII. The Star – 17. Hope
XX. Judgment – 20. Final Judgment
XXI. The World – 21. Transmutation
The major departure from any Tarot tradition occurs with the Minor Arcana. These are not organized in four suits but numbered from 23 to 78, each one of them labeled with a unique word. These also lack court cards.
This deck includes a little white book (LWB) written in English, Spanish, Portuguese and German. This book is divided in five sections:
What is Tarot?
. A questionable history of Tarot tracing to Egypt.
Numerological significance for Major Arcana and Minor Arcana
. Definitions from 1 to 9
Major Arcana
. For each card: Representation, normal position key words,
… inverted position key words, astrological meaning, Hebrew letter and number
Minor Arcana
. For each card: Representation, normal position key words,
… inverted position key words, astrological meaning, and number
Divination and Instructions
. Includes three layouts: 7 cards, and two 21 cards layouts
This is not a deck that I would recommend for beginners to Tarot, but is a very enigmatic deck that may entice some collectors.
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