Worth every penny!!
I just got these today and I really like them. The cards have upright and reversed meanings--very short divinatory sentences, but the interesting thing is that the LWB lists combinations cards. So, if you look up card 40 for example in the numerical listing for combinations, it gives you selected combinations of card 40 when next to card X or Y in upright or reversed combination. Not all card combinations are listed, just a few deemed more dynamic perhaps?
Cards 31, 38, 39, and 40 have the same picture, and I immediately noticed that it is a cruder imitation of a very famous William Blake painting called "Albion Rose" from his book "Milton" showing the giant Albion, the Ancient Man, standing on a rock with his legs apart and his arms raised perpendicular to his legs against a spectacularly coloured orange/red/blue sun and sky.
If you have the William Blake Tarot, this painting is on card XXI Union. In the Alma Bose deck, the figure is the same with a greater mop of curly hair, only it is half hidden by clouds against a purple/blue sky. Very interesting. I have no idea what relation that might have to this deck as there are no notes about the imagery in the LWB, but it says to me that I am never letting this deck go!
The other thing I thought amusing was that it includes significator cards much like sibilla decks, except that in addition to the Man and Woman cards there is a third to denote a male or female homosexual. Reminds me of The Lovers cards in Stevie Postman's deck.
The glyphs on the significators are stylized genitals--a mons looking like a blue coffee bean, perhaps that new coffee Mons Bose, and a penis and testicles looking like a puffy satin pillow of that big needle the doctor uses to freeze your gums before he wrenches teeth out.
Ha, well, moving past my somewhat subjective observations of imagery, I was flipping through the booklet and came across this racy description of card #15. "Dionysiac aspect : licentious living, debauchery, promiscuity encounter with a promiscuous person or consultant frequenting promiscuous society." The reversed meaning is "Erotic fantasies." Turning to the card itself, I found a whole jumble of blue coffee beans and blue satin pillows with stuffed appendages heaped at the top of the card. The 3 significator cards and card #15 all have the same architectural graphic too.
Sly boots, you could read these at your Gran's and she'd never know the connotation. She'd be asking you to pick up some freshly ground Mons Bose for her at Starbuck's.
Seriously though, I like that someone put a bit of thought into these. It is quite obvious there is more to them than pretty pictures, including a touch of wry humour.
I mentioned earlier that one or two of the pictures reminded me of paintings M.C. Escher did on a trip to Italy in 1922 after he left school, and again used in some of his woodcuts. So I'm starting to wonder if maybe I was right and the deck artist (who is uncredited) has done an imitation of one of Escher's early works showing the red roofs and white walls of quaint Italian towns? There is a precedent with a Blake painting, so you never know.
Anyway, European decks are often without art references, you have to find out and explore yourself which is the kick for me. Another winner of a deck for me.
Good quality cards in a fairly large size too. VERY neat-oh. A little depth, a little shimmer of blue/green scales dashing about under the water. . .
