Lo Scarabeo

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 02 Apr 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.

wolfen045	02 Apr 2003
I have never seen any cards/decks from this company except in scans on Aecletic. Most of the decks I own are either from (mostly) U.S. Games or Llewellyn. I was wondering how do the Lo Scarabo decks compare to these companies decks in terms of quality and price. Thanks, and Blessings, wolfen

Maan	02 Apr 2003
Well IMO(but i might be not al that objective since i own lost of them and my beloved fey is from the too) the card stock is great. Some decks are however more art decks than actually reading decks but the last couple of years they seem to change that and they bring out lots of good quality decks that are readable. The cards are on smaller and easier to hold. And the coting ( sp?) is shinny but not sticky. O and the best part is...wel here in europe anyway..the decks are cheaper than agm agmuller and us games. Not much but enough :) Hopes this helps....if i may ask wich lo scarbeo deck got your interest?

Astraea	02 Apr 2003
Wolfen, I love Lo Scarabeo decks! As Maan says, some of them are art decks more than reading decks, but that has changed noticeably in recent times. I can't say enough about the excellence of Lo Scarabeo artwork and materials. In my opinion, this company's decks are often non-traditional, but almost always beautiful -- even lyrical -- and compelling.

wolfen045	02 Apr 2003
Thanks for your replies! In answer to ypur query Maan, it hasn't been one particular deck. I just noticed in looking through the lists of decks on Aeclectic and in reading summeries and reviews, a lot of decks that are new to me, seem to be lo Scarabeo (got the spelling right this time!). So i was just curious.Blessings, wolfen

Demonesse	02 Apr 2003
The art is gorgeous, but they don't bring out the meanings of the cards very well in the two decks I've seen firsthand (Art Nouveau and Decameron), making the decks beautiful ones that are nigh unreadable. The Tarot Art Nouveau's cardstock is a little thin but the Decameron's is good, the LWBs are not much help though...

DreamDancer	02 Apr 2003
Here in the USA, Lo Scarabo is distributed by Llewellyn, so the packages usually have the Llewellyn name & crescent moon logo in addition to the the Lo Scarabo name & scarab logo. Most of the decks retail for about $20 dollars US.

wolfen045	02 Apr 2003
Thank you for the imformative post, DreamDancer. I used to be on Llewellyn's mailing list years ago. You have given me a reason to get back on it. And the price you quoted is right about even with what U.S. Games Systems charges for most of it's decks. Thanks again, and Blessings, wolfen

RiccardoLS	03 Apr 2003
I confirm... In the US we are distributed by Llewellyn, so You should find LS deck along with Llewellyn ones. The difference is that LS rarely does Kits (Exceptions are the Fey and Visconti deck). If you want to know if a deck is LoScarabeo or not, you should check for the logo in the uppur part of the box (just between the front and the upper side) or for the copyright notice on the bottom. Do not bother to visit the LS website for it is not updated often (and I mean it is not been updated in over 1 year) :)) Best, Riccardo

raeanne	03 Apr 2003
Hi all, I’m not sure how to describe my feelings about Lo Scarabeo decks. Many of them are what I call “formula” decks. It seems like they have a template and just put different art on the cards. I get the same feeling from so many of their decks. It’s the “same song, second verse” feeling. I think it is the borders that are all the same that is causing this but I find myself easily bored with Lo Scarabeo decks. They are very predictable. The artwork is wonderful but when you put each picture in the same boring frame, it really distracts from the art. I have thought about cutting the borders off of some of these decks and see what happens. I bet the cards would jump to life!

Emily	07 Apr 2003
I only have the one Lo Scarabeo deck and that's the Crystal Tarot. On the whole I'm very pleased with this deck. The card stock is good, it shuffles well and the box is big enough not to have to squash the cards back into it. It does have its flaws however (can't remember who posted on the flaws but they drew my attention to them), some of the cards have been printed reversed. I think its 4 or 5 from the Majors but it means that figures are facing the wrong way and the outlook of the card changes (you can tell these cards from the authors signature being reversed). I have read with this deck and it doesn't spoil it for me but now I can see these flaws clearly.

galadrial	08 Apr 2003
I own 3 Lo Scarabeo decks and am pleased with the quality of them all. They haven't developed a bow like some decks do and the thickness/coating allow for very easy shuffling. The tarotpassages site has a preview of some of their upcoming decks at http://www.tarotpassages.com/LSpreview1.htm I emailed them about the "Animal Lords" deck, and estimated release is the second half of this year.

baba-prague	08 Apr 2003
I must say I like Lo Scarabeo too. I've now got three of their decks (only just got the Tarot of the Imagination, which I like very much but couldn't ever read with). The quality is nice, and I do think they are trying to do something interesting. I agree with the people on past threads who have said that you can't necessarily read with all Lo Scarabeo decks, so I wouldn't recommend most of them for a first deck. However, they are lovely things, and I just enjoy going back to them from time to time and looking at the images. Karen

Rusty Neon	08 Apr 2003
Yes, the card stock of the LS large-run decks is wonderful. My major quibble with LS decks is that in a number of the LS decks (e.g., Olympus, Imagination, III Millennium) the divinatory meanings for the small cards of the minor arcana don't follow the RWS paradigm and instead follow a system of the deck artist's own creation that doesn't really add anything anyway, or follow a system of DMs from an obsure tarot author (in the case of the Giotto deck). In these cases, the artist could still have met the theme and yet kept the RWS paradigm. This seems like change for the sake of change and can frustrate users who'd like to use the deck rather than just collect. It could be different if the DMs used by the artist greatly assisted in elaboration the theme or focus of the deck but this is often not the case anyway. This quibble may become moot in future decks as LS will apparently be moving to harmonize with RWS.

wolfen045	08 Apr 2003
I am on a very limited fixed income and lately have not had a chance to get any new decks. If I wanted a good representative LS deck which would you reccomend me to start with. 'Cause now that summers coming i am planning a trip to barnes and noble and/or borders to get a new deck or two. Thanks, wolfen

Rusty Neon	08 Apr 2003
Quote: Originally posted by wolfen045 I am on a very limited fixed income and lately have not had a chance to get any new decks. If I wanted a good representative LS deck which would you reccomend me to start with. 'Cause now that summers coming i am planning a trip to barnes and noble and/or borders to get a new deck or two. Thanks, wolfen Hi Wolfen ... With respect, there is no such thing as a 'representative' LS deck just as there is no such thing as a 'representative' US Games deck. Each deck has its own character, although as noted, there are some printing similarities as between the various LS deck. Find a deck that you are drawn to, then if it's an LS deck, or a US Games deck, then so be it. If you do, however, wish to check out what LS has, then try out the www.llewellyn.com site. (They distribute the LS decks for the U.S. and Canada.) You can then check out scans and reviews of those decks on www.tarotpassages.com and other tarot deck review sites. Also, if you can tell us what style of deck you would like, maybe some of us can give you a recommendation. For instance, LS has many experimental type decks and many Celtic theme decks.

Rusty Neon	08 Apr 2003
Quote: Originally posted by raeanne Hi all, I’m not sure how to describe my feelings about Lo Scarabeo decks. Many of them are what I call “formula” decks. It seems like they have a template and just put different art on the cards. I get the same feeling from so many of their decks. It’s the “same song, second verse” feeling. I think it is the borders that are all the same that is causing this but I find myself easily bored with Lo Scarabeo decks. They are very predictable. The artwork is wonderful but when you put each picture in the same boring frame, it really distracts from the art. I have thought about cutting the borders off of some of these decks and see what happens. I bet the cards would jump to life! One possible upside to the similarity of borders and titles on LS decks is that, if you ignore the card backs and put together selected cards from your various LS decks, you can make yourself an interesting mix-and-match deck. :)

galadrial	09 Apr 2003
Of the LS decks I own, I think that Nizzoli's "Secret" tarot comes the closest to a RWS clone. And when he does something different, I usually like it. His 3 of Swords shows a young, armed man, up to his horse's ankles in snow with more swirling down. He carries a banner of 3 swords and skulls litter the ground. I wonder if he is surveying the aftermath of a battle and counting the cost. The 5 of pentacles shows a woman wearing "starlet" type clothes, having her photograph taken. How often is vanity at the root of want? The 3 of Chalices is something I've always wanted to see- 3 men toasting each other in a tavern. The only card I really don't understand is the 10 of wands, which shows a sort of "barefoot Contessa" looking woman standing in front of a castle window, holding a skull in her left hand and a long cigarette holder in her right. The LWB doesn't give much insight, but it does say the wands suit represents human work and that "...man draws happiness from labor and not from having." Perhaps her burden is in having too much that she did not work for (is her wealth inherited? Does the skull represent the ancestor who worked for what she has?). Overall, I really like the deck and find it soothing to work with.

RedWood	09 Apr 2003
I only have 2 LS decks...The Durer Whhich i really like and the Fey which i love!

Hedera	09 Apr 2003
I have 3 LS decks, of which the Fey and the Secret Tarots are my favourites. The Fey is really beautiful and had a lot of excellent original retakes of the RWS-meanings. I am finding it quite an honest and sometimes even harsh deck in reading, not fluffy at all, as you might expect of a deck with that name. The Secret is very beautiful, rather traditional RWS, has a sort of cynical sense of humour. If you want to know more about this one, there is a thread from about 2 months ago with a lot of information. If you like, I can try to find it.

Maan	09 Apr 2003
My top three of lo scarabeo decks owuld be 1 Fey 2 sectrets 3 Durer All three are very good decks but the fey..well thats a whole world on its own. I say try it yourself ;)

RedWood	09 Apr 2003
Secrets...that is a deck i originally wanted 1 year ago..then all these other decks popped up..but now i want it again lol..I blame it on all of you!!

Sobeknofret	09 Apr 2003
I have a couple of Lo Scarabo decks, and I have some of the same problems with them that most people seem to be having. I have Tarot of the Imagination, which is a great art deck and is occasionally helpful in meditation exercises, but I really treat it more as an art deck for my collection than a working deck. On the other hand, I use the Tarots of Casanova frequently and it is in my repetoire of working decks. The art is gorgeous and meaningful (each of the aces portrays a specific bridge over a Venetian canal for example), but it's the idea of the Venetian Carnival masks used on many cards that intrigues me when I read with these cards. Everybody has a mask that they wear. What are we hiding behind our masks? What do we reveal? Who do we drop our masks for, and who do we put them up for? Why? What are we concealing or revealing when we assume our masks? When reading about relationships, these are really important issues to address and I find that this deck does it very well. The one reason to forego the deck is that it is an erotic deck, with plenty of female nudity and sexually explicit scenes. I personally could care less, but some folks do have an issue with it, so if that's a problem, do avoid this deck. But it really can quickly cut to the heart of the matter in relationship issues, and not solely sexual ones either.

Silencio	12 Apr 2003
I also want to have few of the LS decks, I haven't intensively investigate if the LS decks are readable but I believe in the first sight feeling of the decks. It is not easy to buy tarot decks here, recently I have found the only one shop (opened few months ago) that help me to order tarot... sigh...

Cerulean	18 Apr 2003
I have two of the book-deck kits, which the only two that they have in English. I talk about them a lot and use them: Visconti Gold Fey They do many experimental decks that are hard to get at first take, as some of the past artists will do takes on Thoth or other styles that seem to rely on the buyer's willingness to do much of their own research. Some of the more newer interesting but not formula ones that I found this past year: Comparative Golden Tsar Olympus Etruscan Avalon If I were to compare their various historical reprints to U.S. Games, I would say their ability to reproduce the Italian and French decks are very impressive to me. U.S. Games, Piatnik, AGM Mueller and Grimaud also have their specialty. I liked the historical LS Visconti Gold and Mantegna and have a soft spot for the Ancient Tarots of Lombardy, a historical reprint of an 1806 deck. I bought the Romantici and Fiabe from their original 22 major Arte series, and got two mini 22 arcana sets in a trade. If you go to Tarotgarden.com and look in their prereleases, you will find many interesting new ones, Lo Scarabeo included.

Lucifer	18 Apr 2003
Hi Wolfen I have a deck (Lo Scarabeo's Renaissance.) and Lo Scarabeo's deck was very interesting and Artfull i think. but the meaning of the card was Some DIFFICULT i think. example the Minor Arcana and Suite Cards. but you can find more deep mean of the cards. More deep, and closer to companion... In Korea i buy a Renaissance deck with 24.92$(us) and Added Deck Protect box, Mini Crystal Ball, Spread Cloth Have a nice day.

ncefafn	14 Jan 2004
I have three LS decks, and can read with none of them. I don't demand a Waite clone. In fact, my favorite deck, the Cosmic, is so far from a Waite that you'd have trouble recognizing some of the cards. However, I get a great deal of resonance from Cosmic (and from the German artists' cards in general) that I don't from any of the LS that I have, which are Sola Busca, Medieval Scapini, and the Children's Tarot. The art on the Sola Busca is absolutely breathtaking, and I just love looking at the cards, but they're silly. And what's absolutely aggravating is to see a Waite card clone (same images) given the wrong suit and/or number. For instance, in the Sola Busca, the 9 of Wands shows a woman struggling to cross a stream, her back bent by the weight of the wands she's carrying. This is clearly the symbolism of the Waite 10 of Wands, transferred for no discernible reason to the 9. I noticed a similar transference, can't remember the particulars, with the Scapini. As such, I don't believe I'll be buying anymore Scarabeo decks. Kim

snuffy	14 Jan 2004
i have lo's tarot of the animal lords, and i love it to death-- although, i'm beginning to think that it's impossible to truly destroy this deck. my old hanson-roberts' had the worst card stock in comparison to this one... i've been shuffling it nonstop and still no signs of wear and tear. i'm certainly a victim of the addiction that is lo scarabeo :D

Cerulean	14 Jan 2004
Hello Kim: I think I agree with you there are many different theme decks from Italian publishers, Lo Scarabeo included. I like the variety, but sometimes am also dazed at all the variations. I also agree the Medieval Scapini, which Stuart Kaplan of U.S. Games commissioned from the author and artist Luigi Scapini is hard to get to know. I don't know why U.S. Games didn't go the route that Scapini's other art decks have, with his many thick beautiful English/Italian booklets and art decks from Dal Negro. It also may have helped if U.S. Games let people know that Scapini designs in the Italian Milanese style, which is traditional for that type of deck. I do want to make a small note to you if I read you correctly about the Sola Busca being different from the Rider Waite designs by Pamela Colman Smith. You wrote: ******************************** in the Sola Busca, the 9 of Wands shows a woman struggling to cross a stream, her back bent by the weight of the wands she's carrying. This is clearly the symbolism of the Waite 10 of Wands, transferred for no discernible reason to the 9. I noticed a similar transference, can't remember the particulars, with the Scapini. As such, I don't believe I'll be buying anymore Scarabeo decks. ******************************** I may be mistaken by what you wrote, but the Sola Busca is a pattern that predates the Rider Waite. While some historians believe the Ferrarra pattern of the Sola Busca is of the 1400-1500s, the actual Sola Busca deck reproduction is based on a 19th century design said to come from the "Sola Busca" family. http://claremc.co.uk/taintedtarot/VAULT/SBdeck.html I'll include a link that Tom Tadforlittle wrote his review, after reading the introduction to the Sola Busca book by Giordano Berti. http://www.whichcrafte.com/mystery/tarot/sola/solarepro.asp Some historians suggest Pamela Colman Smith based some of her pictorial designs on access to the Sola Busca deck and also following Arthur E. Waite's directions... Just a note if you are interested, Mari H.

RiccardoLS	15 Jan 2004
Quote: Originally posted by ncefafn For instance, in the Sola Busca, the 9 of Wands shows a woman struggling to cross a stream, her back bent by the weight of the wands she's carrying. This is clearly the symbolism of the Waite 10 of Wands, transferred for no discernible reason to the 9 Please note that the Sola Busca is a reproduction of a deck of the XVIth century. It was the other way round... the symbolism of the 9 of Wands, used by Waite and Smith for their own reasons in the 10. Best, R.

ncefafn	15 Jan 2004
I stand corrected. Sorry. Best, Kim

Emily	15 Jan 2004
Since my earlier posting I have added to my Lo Scarabeo decks. As well as the Crystal tarot I also have the Ancient Italian and the Classical tarot. I like both of these Soprafino decks for the artwork and the colours used, the card stock is always good - I don't think I've had a LS deck that I've had to do anything to. Other decks I've had to cut to straighten edges or accepted them with noticable flaws - the only thing I've ever done to a LS deck is to mark the Ancient Italian so I could use them reversed if I wanted to, this wasn't a mistake by LS - the original deck that the AE deck was copied from was the same. Also I like the way LS have so many decks with all different themes and also the mini decks they seem to be releasing at the moment - All seem to be adding themselves to my wishlist. :)

The Lo Scarabeo thread was originally posted on 02 Apr 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.