Mystery deck

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 03 Oct 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Layla	03 Oct 2003
Could anyone help me identify a deck? It was my friend's deck and I don't recall him ever mentioning who created it. It consists of simple black-and-white pencil drawings and is strangely fascinating. While some cards are a bit off or weird, some have been a revelation. I copied the titles of the cards because they were interesting. They are in Latin, which is not really my field of experties ;) but I tried to translate them nonetheless. Also if anyone can correct the latin translations, I would be much obliged. Here it goes: Stultitia (foolishness) - just a regular fool at the edge of a cliff, with a dog I Magus (magician) - he is standing in a circle and appears to be initiating himself II Alma mater (nourishing mother) - a woman dressed in plain robes, holding a book in her left hand, while her right hand is outstretched with the palm towards the sky, in an act of giving III Lusus naturae (freak of nature) - a woman sitting in a throne and admiring a strange object that might be a huge crystal IV Quadratura circuli (squaring the circle) - a half-naked bearded man in a throne with a child behind him chasing soap-bubbles V Exercitia spiritualia (spiritual exercises) - a robed man in a thorne, lecturing animatedly to two disciples, with his arms reaching toward the sky VI Gratia gratiam parit (kindness begets kindess) - a naked couple standing quite a bit apart in front of a statue of cupid; the man is praying while the woman is running her hand through her hair. VII Triumphus (triumphal procession) - a one-horse chariot on a road beneath a heptagram VIII Iustitita (justice) - a naked lady leaning on a sword with a balance in her right hand IX Nosce te ipsum (know thyself) - an old bearded man in a robe with a walking staff in his right hand, standing on top of a hill X Fortunae rota (wheel of fortune) - a cart wheel with a crowned monkey sitting on top of it XI Vis vitalis (vital force, life force) - a woman holding a lion gently by the tail XII Sacrificium (sacrifice) - regular hanged man with coins dropping out of his pockets XIII Mortificatio - a hooded shape with darkness instead of a face and a scythe, facing what appears to be a hooded child XIV Temperantia (temperance) - a woman pouring water into a fountain from two jugs (one in each hand) XV Anima intellectualis (intellectual soul?) - a naked woman holding a rose in her right hand is touching the head of the statue of pan (seated in the lotus position) with her left hand; there's another rose on the floor XVI Ubi lex, ibi poena (where there is law, there is punishment) - a crumbling defence tower with people jumping out of it XVII Stella (star) a mermaid-like woman sitting on a shore and reaching for a shell underneath a huge pentagonal star XVIII Luna (moon) - a man walking down the road with his dog; there is a huge lobster lying across the road, and the moon is waning XIX Sol omnibus lucet (the sun shines on everything) - a naked woman standing on the beach underneath a huge sun and gazing across the sea to an island XX Dies salutaris (unsure?) - people rising from their graves with walking sticks in their hands; there is an angel above them, watching XXI Mundus (the world) - a naked woman dancing on a hilltop, surrounded by a bull, a lion, an eagle and an angel WANDS: 1 Fiat lux (let there be light) - a hand holding a wand, with the sun blazing at the horizon 2 Ius divinum (divine law) - a forked road and two wands planted upright beside it 3 Virtus (virtue, courage) - three wands lying on the ground form a triangular enclosure within which a rose bush is blossoming, one flower in particular reaching towards the sky 4 Vitam impendere vero (consecrate your life to the truth) - a goat between 4 upright wands 5 Per aspera ad astra (through difficulties to the stars) - a road overgrown with thorns leads to a shinx 6 Victoria (victory) - a phoenix rising from the flames; the fire is fed by six wands arranged in a hexagram 7 Spes (hope) - a winding road leading to a castle in the distance; at the beginning of the road, there are 3 upright wands and 4 lying across the road 8 Inconstantia (inconstancy) - a man is falling of the top of the wheel in motion 9 Fortitudo (bravery) - a toddler is climbing down the stairs from what appears to be a sacrificial site (or maybe I'm reading too much into this) 10 Taedium vitae (the weariness of life, world weariness) - a woman is sitting in the middle of the road on 10 wands arranged to resemble railway tracks; she is looking toward a fire burning just off the road Puella - a half-naked girl resting against pillows with an upright wand in her left hand, there's a fire burning nearby Puer - a boy sitting on a rock with a walking stick in his left hand, staring at the sun and an eagle flying above him Regina - she is sitting in her throne with one arms resting against the armrest; there's a triangle behind her and her wand is placed on the ground in front of the throne Rex - he is sitting in his throne holding his wand in his left hand, directing it forward, as if performing magic, he appears to be about to stand up CUPS 1 Aqua vitae (the water of life) - a large chalice brimming with water, gliding on a lake on a lotus 2 Diliges proximum tuum (love thy neighbour?) - a lovely image of a fish jumping from one full cup to the other; this takes place on the beach with the sea in the background 3 Usus fructus (?) - a butterfly flying above 3 cups 4 Lucida intervalla (bright interval) - an angel praying amidst 4 empty cups 5 Declivia (?) - a woman praying on a steep, rocky slope, facing the sun 6 Lux in tenebris lucet (the light shines in the darkness) - a swan is stretching its wings in a pond, basking in the sun's rays; four cups are floating in the pond, while two are on the shore - all upright 7 Vanitas (vanity) - a skull on an upside-down cup in front of 5 upright (empty) cups and a much larger cup in the distance 8 Chaos - a woman and 8 cups are beind swept by a swirl or possibly a large wave 9 Fortuna (fortune) - a man sitting on the shore, hugging his knees and pointing towards 9 cups that form a rainbow in the sky 10 Omnia munda mundis (everything is pure to those who are pure) - 10 cups on a table and a cow is grazing nearby Puella - a girl resting on teh shore, holding a cup in her right hand; an eagle or hawk is decending towards the cup Puer - a melancholy boy resting against the wall holding a cup close to his lips Regina - she is seated on her throne pouring a drink into her cup Rex - he is standing outside (no throne), holding up his up; his castle is in the background Continued...

Layla	03 Oct 2003
SWORDS 1 Aer (air) - a sword pointed upwards with mountains in the background 2 Pax tecum (peace be with you) - a dove with outstretched wings above two crossed swords (pointed downwards) 3 Vallis lacrimarum (valley of tears) - a large eye is crying above three swords, pointed downward (two are grouped together, one is standing apart) 4 Patet omnibus veritas (truth lies open to all) - a sword is lying in front of a large block of stone with a carved Egyptian deity, there's a pyramid in the background 5 Taedium praesentium (weariness of the present circumstances) - five swords form a pentagram in the sky above a flower in the desert 6 Fides (faith) - a celtic high cross on top of a mound with 3 swords thrust into the ground, 2 lying on the ground, and one flying towards the mound 7 Quaerite et invenietis (seek and you shall find) - a statue of St. George slaying the dragon with 7 upright swords surrounding it 8 Refugium peccatorum (refuge of sinners) - a man is crouching in a small glass box, surrounded by 4 swords; there's another glass box in the distance, both located in the middle of the desert, under a huge sun 9 Desperatio (hopelessness, desperation) - a man is sitting on the ground, hanging his head; there are 9 very large swords thrust in the ground behind him, resembling hanging crosses 10 Sine ira et studio (without anger and bias) - a dark hooded person is holding a painting of a deer and a unicorn in front of him Puella - a girl kneeling and holding the sword by the blade Puer - a boy holding a sword (pointed downward) amids baren rocks, his head is tilted downwards Regina - she is sitting on a rock, watching her sword which seems to be floating above ground, pointed downward Rex - he just got up from his throne and is leaning on his sword, there are sharp geometrical shapes behind him COINS 1 Terra incognita (unknown land) - a horse is standing at the edge of a landscape with a huge disk-like sun dominating the image 2 Varietas delectat (variety is delightful) - a cobra between two coins 3 Mens agitat molem (mind moves matter, mind over matter) - 3 pyramids beneath 3 coins in the sky 4 Simplex sigillum veri (simplicity is the seal of truth) - 3 coins arranged in a trefoil, with a larger bland circle above them 5 Terror panicus (terror, panic attack?) - a candle is burning on the middle of 5 coins, illuminating the darkness 6 In omnibus veritas (truth is in everything?) - a pelican is feeding her offspring amidst 6 large coins 7 Inter spem et metum (between hope and fear) - a man is lying on a large coin with his face towards the ground; there are 6 other coins floating above him, he could either be sleeping or weeping 8 Prudentia (prudence, skill) - a woman is sitting on a stone block (as in a gallery) contemplating 1 large and 7 small coins arranged in a pattern 9 Ego tu sum (I am you) - a woman is holding her hand to her heart (well, close enough) 10 Lux veritatis (the light of truth) - a toddler is pointing up with his finger, the 10 circles are arranged in the form of the tree of life Puella - a girl is sitting as if on the globe, observing a coin which could be the moon Puer - a boy is kneeling in front of a coin as if he is being knighted; there is an open door in the cracked wall in front of him Regina - she is holding a coin close to her, as if it were giving her solace Rex - he is sitted on a throne watching a huge coin on the floor in the foreground This is it, I would appreciate any sort of help.

Gerbear	04 Oct 2003
Did it come in a box? Could you possibly scan some cards? I have a list of black and white decks, but through the process of elimination, it's not on my list. Also, do you know the country of origin? This IS a mystery!

lunalafey	04 Oct 2003
I hope someone does have the name of this mystery deck for it sounds quite amusing & insperational. I sure would like to see some of it's cards.....

Layla	04 Oct 2003
Unfortunately, I don't have the cards. I studied them for a while and made notes, but I've since lost contact with that friend. I don't know whether they came in a box or not. They were cheap cards, printed on plain cardboard (is that the right word?) and not even laminated. Come to think of it, the colour of the paper was pastel green. I have no idea about the country of origin or anything else pertaining to them, which is why this is such a mystery. They might have been bought in Croatia. I'd like to get a hold of them though, because I miss them. I mean the drawings are not spectacular by any means, the artwork is nothing special, but some of the images and concepts are quite haunting. It was one of the first decks of tarot I've seen, because this was the friend who introduced me to tarot in the first place.

The Mystery deck thread was originally posted on 03 Oct 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.