Tarot Deck Review # 13 - Art Nouveau Tarot (Myers)

Published by US Games, copyright 1989, printed in Belgium.

Artist Matt Meyers painted these cards in oil on illustration board. He started in June of 1984, and completed the deck in April of 1988 according to the booklet. The artwork resembles stained glass.

The cards measure 4 and 13/32" by 2 and 13/32". The card stock is thin and flexible with a shiny finish. The edges are rounded. The backs are bright blue, with a design of rods intertwined with swords in an "S" shape half-encircling two circles with what looks like a drawing of the magician in gold. The blue is edged with a thin gold pinstripe. The cards have a 7/32" white border on all sides and are reversible.

The majors depict people in various situations, all appear to be framed by a stylized blue "chuppah" or Jewish traditional wedding canopy. The majors do not have a lot of symbolism aside from the human figures.

The minor suites tell a story of four different couples. Each card is a vignette in the story. Each story is followed to conclusion. The court cards display the main characters in each drama.

The minors stay true to the standard RWS, western-style calibrations, with appropriate artwork, with the exception of switching swords to fire, and wands to air.

Many people dislike this deck for being too "80's", and all the figures depicted are very pretty - but that doesn't bother me. Some even refer to it as the Ken and Barbie deck, but hey, I like Ken and Barbie.

My favorite cards are the Magician, the Chariot (so smug!) and the cavorting figure of Death.

While this deck is a nice deck, it seems more suited to relationship readings. Due to the structure of the cards, general readings don't seem to fit it very well. I would not recommended it to beginners, either, as the symbolism in the minors isn't standard and may be confusing to someone trying to learn from traditional sources.

Not a must-have, but a lovely deck.

Not recommended for beginners.

In print. (as far as I know)

I might replace it if it strayed.