The Mythic Tarot deck is my favorite one, and that is the reason why I decided to write this post 🙂 I have the new version of this deck painted by the artist named Giovanni Caselli, who is fond of mythology and classic European culture. I also received the book about the Mythic Tarot together with the deck, and the information I’ve written below is very much based on this book.
The original Mythic Tarot deck was designed by Juliet Sharman Burke (psychoanalyst, astrologist and tarotist) and Liz Greene (astrologist and tarotist). The aim of the authors was to use the classic myths in order to convey archetypal plots well-known to the Western World. This would make the messages of cards more straightforward and easier to understand than the complex occult symbols of the traditional Tarot decks.
If we look closer to the Major Arcana, we see that most of the cards portray the known mythic figures like Zeus, Persephona, Chiro, Ares, Athena and more, and more. Every figure is adorned by the symbols connected to their myth, so that these signs could also refer to the classical Tarot meanings, thus the original sense could be preserved. From my perspective this helps to understand the meanings of the Major Arcana deeper. There always were certain black spots for me, there is a general tendency that people after some time tend to conserve their experience and understanding of something. Chiro as a Priest is more natural, wise and spiritual, then the traditional Hierophant: pretentious and aware of his importance. The Strength from this deck shows more aggressive and male power. The Star represented by Pandora accentuates rather the senses of illusion and last hope left after devastation, than luck, inspiration and spirituality. Additionally in this Arcana we guess the sense of temptation, which does not traditionally belong to this card.
The Minor Arcana are divided as usual into four suits (you can see the Cups on the picture above): the Wands (Fire), the Swords (Air), the Cups (Water) and the Coins (Earth). When it comes to the Numeric Cards every suit reveals a certain mythic plot. In the case of the Cups it is the story of Psyche and Eros, the Wands suit represent the myth of Jason and Argonauts, the Swords tell us about Orestes and the curse of his family, and finally the Coins suit depicts the myth of Daedalus. Leaving the myths aside, we can deduct a lot of additional information from the pictures. For instance, I certainly see the wedding on the Nine of Cups, or begging for forgiveness on the Three of Wands. Every court card is represented by the mythic figure that suits it the most. What I especially like about the court cards in this instance is that they are connected to the zodiac signs in the way I feel them 🙂
As I said before I have a new edition of this deck, but I also studied the older version. It is obvious the new one was glamorized for a contemporary tarotist, so that the pictures on deck were beautiful for the present standards. I like the new style, but when it comes to the female faces I prefer the old illustrations. They are more feminine, softer, rounder and so serene 🙂
Why do I like this deck so much?
- Firstly, because it is very imaginative and open to interpretations. In my readings I can use traditional meanings, mythic parallels, and even all possible details on the pictures. Therefore I have an opportunity to interpret the spreads in a very creative manner, just to be open to the voice of my intuition and inspiration.
- Then, I simply adore mythologies, and when it comes to the classic one, I feel strongly connected to Persephone, so this establishes strong bond between me and my deck. More than that, the European classic mythic archetypes and plots are the ones I can really relate to, and as was said before they help me a lot with my readings.
- I enjoy the pictures. They are so nicely conveyed, delicately painted and the colours are so compatible with my taste that my eyes rest when I work with them, and that makes me use this deck again and again.
- I have a perfect intuitive connection with them, and I know that these cards will always tell me the truth 🙂
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