Eclectic Tarot (Josef Machynka)

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 25 Aug 2002, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Cerulean	25 Aug 2002
I was surprised to find this deck by Piatnik at a university art museum store with their Piatnik art playing cards. It was $15 and the instructions was in English. Review at www.spiritone.com/~filipas/Masquerade/Reviews/eclectic.html I sometimes find Piatnik decks at a Northern California or a Southern California branch of the Psychic Eye or a game store. This is copyright 1986 and seems a mix of paintings and illustrations with fairy tale elements. The very odd feeling that I has last night when I was explaining and watching the Lord of the Rings video (for the third time for me; first time for the youngest at eight years old), was some of the iconic quality of the scenes. I was reminded of it as I saw this 1986 tarot and amused myself with the visual character matching/morphing ideas.. Flaxen-haired Galadrial with wings and some viking motifs as the Empress...Gandalf with a haircut as the Heirophant...Aragon riding a Sphinx-driven Chariot...Arwen as Justice, covering her eyes...Sauron before he fell to the dark lord as the Hermit...when I saw Legolas mischeviously at the top of the Wheel of Fortune, I knew it was just my silliness. If you find current online sources for Piatnik decks, I'm all ears. I agree with Mark Filpas' review--Wicce.com has a review, but her copy had French instructions, not English. I hope to find out more about why this deck chose me. Mari H.

catlin	26 Aug 2002
Hi Mari, I think there is a link to the Piatnik site in the thread about the Deva Tarot by Ravenswing. I can only remember having seen the Eclectic Tarot, the Deva Tarot and the Egorov in the current Piatnik catalogue. They offer some German Divination decks, among which the German edition of LeNormand pocket sized cards. The majority of Piatniks product range are "normal" playing cards. When I am not mistaken the Ibis tarot is also by J. Machynka, so maybe you might like this one, too.

Strange2	26 Aug 2002
I've been using the Eclectic Tarot deck for about two months now as my primary reading deck, and find the images to be very iconic and powerful. I've been getting some excellent insights from this deck in my self-readings. The artwork on the Majors have a charming magical quality. I really like the simple yet effective minors, which use geometric arrangements of the suit symbols. The court cards are also simplistic yet direct, clearing showing the elemental correspondences (for example, the King of Swords has a fiery sword (king=fire), and sits on a winged throne in the clouds (wings=air)). My only challenge with this deck is in the card stock itself. The cards are a bit thick and stiff, which makes shuffling difficult for me. I usually split the deck in two stacks, then shuffle each stack independently, then merge the stacks. Other than the following reviews, I have not found any other online source materials for the Eclectic Tarot. http://www.spiritone.com/~filipas/Masquerade/Reviews/eclectic.html http://www.tarotpassages.com/eclectic.htm http://www.wicce.com/eclectic.html But overall, I really like this deck, and am glad it has reached out to another.

Ravenswing	27 Aug 2002
hi mari-- i just got the electic-- as a result of the ibis tarot. same artist, way different style. it really surprised me when i opened the electic... both decks use the wand, cup, etc. in geometric patterns, but they are different in each deck. makes you wonder a bit... both are beautifully done-- the ibis is 'slicker' than the electic. i've had no difficulty in layouts, just be careful with the electic-- it'll crease (same problem i have with the deva. are all piatnik cards on such stiff stock??) have fun with it ravenswing

Cerulean	01 Jun 2003
the pips in the Eclectic deck? Do you find that the pattern arrangements suggest something, such as the ten of pentacles are a pyramid? Is this suggestive to you of Egyptian-style thinking or design influence? I was comparing this deck with my Zufkunst and I was thinking of looking at the LS. Crystal Tarots again to see if the pip arrangement was just decorative or suggestive. In the Crystal, for instance, at least one of the Fours--the Four of Staves forms a square and there's a lion on that card. In the Zufkunst, the staves are cross-hatched as my Ancient Lombardy deck, supposedly a simpler Spanish style of arranging pips. I think the Eclectic was my first where the suited pips almost became their own exploration because they attracted my attention. I like the pips and majors on this deck, but the courts seem much simpler, more like a TdM equivalent. By the way, Eclectic, Zufkunst and Crystal have very strongly colored backgrounds and a matte-finish that is pretty to look at and feel. However I thought such a finish might fade in time, like seeing an old Morgan Greer at a store shelf.

The Eclectic Tarot (Josef Machynka) thread was originally posted on 25 Aug 2002 in the Tarot Decks board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Tarot Decks, or read more archived threads.