Slavic Folklore/Mythology themed tarot decks

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 13 Jun 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Rusty Neon	13 Jun 2003
Something that has been on my wish list for a while is a Slavic folklore/mythology themed tarot deck. However, to date, I haven't really seen one yet that qualifies as such. Various Slavic decks (e.g., Russian Tarot of St. Petersburg, Golden Tarot of the Tsars, and the Egorov deck) are Slavic themed but not strong enough on folklore and mythology. Neither is Victor Bakhtin's _Russian Tarot_ deck. Tromifova's _Classic Tarot_ is getting closer, but the art is a bit too simplistic. Are there any other decks that there are to check out for Slavic folklore/mythology theme? In terms of artwork, an interesting Slavic folklore/mythology deck would be one with artwork like in the Finnish themed _Kalevala Tarot_ deck. In fact, the artwork in the Kalevala is reminiscent of peasant Russian/Belarusan/Ukrainian life. Thanks in advance!

Ruby7	13 Jun 2003
I'm not sure if this would be a slavic deck, but if you look on Tarot Garden's website under the upcoming releases there is a deck to be released at the end of the year 2003 that is based on European folklore, it's called Bruegel Tarot and the publisher is Lo Scarabeo. Ruby7 www.tarotgarden.com/boutique/preorders.html

Ruby7	13 Jun 2003
p.s. I realise that Europe is not Slavic but there is something about the pictures, Ruby7

Rusty Neon	13 Jun 2003
hi ruby7 ... The art in the Bruegel is Western European in look. According to my web research, both father and son Bruegel were from Flanders (now the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium). This said, I'm still interested in eventually hearing more about the Bruegel deck, to see how the proverbs and anecdotes are translated into a RWS framework.

Ruby7	14 Jun 2003
oops, of course, eastern European as opposed to western European. My brain is tired and not working properly. That said I still don't know enough about the artwork to know eastern European type art from western European type art. I don't think that this is something you could explain on a forum probably, more of a learned thing from looking at a lot of different types of artwork I would imagine. Anyway I must go rest my brain! Ruby7

Rusty Neon	14 Jun 2003
hi ruby ... I'd be looking more for something with folk art ... the kind of illustrations one might see in Russian fairy tale books. The Kalevala (Finnish) is folk art, albeit not exactly Slavic, but there are some similarities. Russian fairy tale book art, which comes in various styles: my favourite style: http://fontcraft.com/artype/russian/ but also (though not necessarily fairy tale): Lubock woodcut prints http://www.rollins.edu/Foreign_Lang/Russian/Lubok/lubok.html click on Lubock based on literature, and on Lubock based on misc. themes. Other styles of fairy tale illustration: http://clover.slavic.pitt.edu/~tales/images/bilibin_baba_yaga.html http://clover.slavic.pitt.edu/~tales/images/vodianoi1.html http://clover.slavic.pitt.edu/~tales/images/zvorykin_koshchei_maria.html http://clover.slavic.pitt.edu/~tales/images.html That said, Russian Palekh lacquer box art (ŕ la the Russian Tarot of St. Petersburg) could also work, if the images are folklore based. http://www.mythinglinks.org/BabaYaga.html

Ruby7	14 Jun 2003
Hi Rusty, thanks so much for the links. I will enjoy going through those and learning about this type of artwork. Ruby7

Baby Owl	14 Jun 2003
Quote: Originally posted by Rusty Neon hi ruby ... I'd be looking more for something with folk art ... the kind of illustrations one might see in Russian fairy tale books. The Kalevala (Finnish) is folk art, albeit not exactly Slavic, but there are some similarities.... That said, Russian Palekh lacquer box art (ŕ la the Russian Tarot of St. Petersburg) could also work, if the images are folklore based. http://www.mythinglinks.org/BabaYaga.html Hi, Rusty! These are great links, especially that last one -- not only for the images but for the essay! I also enjoy Russian culture and language. I'm working on translating a fairy tale in order to do a children's picture book or story from it. A deck such as you describe would be wonderful. I have the Russian Tarot of St. Petersburg (first tarot deck I ever bought), but the folk tales and folk art are truly captivating. Baby Owl

Cerulean	09 Apr 2004
and an unusual mix of backgrounds might work for you. It has the look, there's an eclectic mix...not slavic, but folktale in beauty.I haven't seen enough of the other Eastern European or Slavic art decks yet...is Hungarian close enough for you with Persian overtones? Oops! I added to this and saw that you suggested this under Gold Foil decks last year...did the gold inks work for you? It was coated, so I didn't see any foil or ink spilling out like the Golden's gilt edges from U.S. Games. AGMueller seems to seal their gold inks under that shiny coating. Here's a url to the Kazanlar: http://www.spiritone.com/~filipas/Masquerade/Reviews/kazanlar.html I was entranced by children's books painted by Edmund Dulac and other versions of beautiful Russian Folktales, but have not really found a tarot yet that matches my first experience of seeing such books. But the Kazanlar comes close..it's just I never had time for its beauty, so it was given away. Mari H.

Rusty Neon	09 Apr 2004
Hi Mari ... I've seen a sample deck at the store, and the Kazanlar had been on my wish list for quite a while. I think it's off now. I find the detail overwhelming and dizzying :) . The Kalevala deck (noted in my original post) is still on my wish list. It gives me the feeling of Belarusan folk art, even though the deck is Finnish-based.

Cerulean	09 Apr 2004
http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASIN/0880791861/aeclectic-20/ And while Amazon.com is silly to list it out of print, a local bookstore that orders from U.S. Games can order it for Americans. If you cannot find it, I know of a Northern California bookstore that had it last month and will find their telephone number if someone likes. Mari H.

The Slavic Folklore/Mythology themed tarot decks thread was originally posted on 13 Jun 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.