Tarot de la Felicité by P. Pinot

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 19 Feb 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.

jmd	19 Feb 2003
What a deck! If you wish to see some images - which just do not do justice to the actual deck - a Major Arcana only Marseilles type deck, go to Tarot Garden and type felicite in the 'Deck Quicksearch' box on the top left-hand side. It will take you to the database where a button for 'more samples' will open another window with five additional images. The card quality is absolutely absolutely top-notch, and the colours and finish cannot be reproduced by a simple screen image. As for the individual images, the background, and the regular wavy patterns, certainly add to the individuality and charm of the deck, without taking away from its classicism. Interestingly, the artist has chosen to use a combination of additive and subtractive Roman numerals - thus, for example, although the Emperor is numbered 'IIII', the Hermit is numbered 'IX' (in traditional Marseilles renditions, it would have the additive form 'VIIII'). Some other touches, such as the back-to-front 'S' on XVI - La Maison Dieu and XIX - Le Soleil, add to the individuality. With regards to details, Pinot appears to have incorporated most of the essential details from various Marseilles renditions, including, for example, the multiple faces on XV - the Devil and the triple nipples on one of its accolytes. When looking through it, few details appear 'omitted' - such as, as examples, the 'invisible' platform upon which the Star figure kneels, or the twisted or altered vertebrae upon the skeletal figure of XIII. On the other hand, the deck also has certain innovative details (either that, or these are details I had not noticed before and not found in Marseilles versions I have). For example, the two pillars behind the Pope are carved humanoids, and the Hermit's staff is peculiarly bent or split into two parts. Also, as well as having a city in the distance, the central resurrected figure on Judgement appears bearded! This is, I think, a deck I will be happy to have made the financial investment in - its rewards meriting its cost... Thank-you Jeannette & Lori for providing such services.

firemaiden	19 Feb 2003
Hi jmd, what an interesting post. I looked at the cards on Tarot Garden, they do look beautiful. I notice that the lobster in the moon is blue! Is that an innovation, or has that been done before. It makes it seem even more like a reflection.

zorya	19 Feb 2003
congratulations jmd, on your acquisition. what a beautiful deck! i was struck by the richness of the colors. what a scrumptious red. ...and the details and execution(look at the lines on the hermits robe and trim) beautiful!

jmd	19 Feb 2003
Thanks zorya - it is indeed a great deck. With regards to the crustacean, the Grimaud Marseilles, and others, do in fact have that same blue, giving the possible impression as you had, of illusory reflection.

Diana	20 Feb 2003
Remarkable. The moon in the Lune card has that eclipse aspect that appeals to me. L'Amoureux says it all - no need to read any books to get the idea. And the expression on the two mens' faces as they fall to the ground in the Maison Dieu is extremely interesting. Thank you jmd. :) You can see the rest of the cards with this link: http://argolance.free.fr/feliintro.htm , as well as some explanations on it.

Kaz	20 Feb 2003
have been drooling over these cards..........havent yet looked what they cost, i think i better not edited to add: so i did look, i could not resist, but its way too expensive for me :-( ~kaz

The Tarot de la Felicité by P. Pinot thread was originally posted on 19 Feb 2003 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.