Russian Tarot of St Petersburg

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 07 Feb 2004, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Emily	07 Feb 2004
My Russian Tarot of St Petersburg came this morning, around an hour ago now. I've been sitting here looking through them so thought I would post while my first impressions are still fresh. First impressions - wow After seeing the online scans I expected a dark coloured deck that you would have to pick out the card details from, I liked them online but the scans must make the cards appear much darker than they are - the gold borders of leaves, this design must have a name but I don't know it, layed upon the black then the design in the middle which are as colourful as jewels and then the gold borders. The cards are very vibrant and they seem to shine out at you - nothing like the online scans at all. The artwork is perfect, nice facial expressions, nicely drawn figures, very colourful clothes. It follows Rider Waite but with a Russian flavour, it looks like it is going to be very easy to read with. I was worried that the cards might be to big for my hands because one of the reviews I read said they were large but they only measure 12cm x 7cm which is pretty standard. They shuffle nicely. The card stock is not as thick as some of my other decks but they look sturdy. I've shuffled them a few times with no problems. The LWB is pretty good too for a LWB, it actually goes into a little detail of who is on some of the Majors - I wasn't going to get the companion book to this deck with it being such a close Rider Waite clone but after having read some of the LWB descriptions I might treat myself to it. All in all I'm very took with this deck, I can see it turning into a firm favourite. :)

Moonbow*	07 Feb 2004
Emily I got this deck and book set recently in a trade - thanks Punchinella - and the book is well worth getting - it covers alot about Russian history, dress etc and by reading it I found it really got me 'into' the cards. I love the deck, it really does make you appreciate the hours and hours of work that went into it because even though the details are small - they are all there. I would love to know who the mysterious second artist is though, just so that he/she could get some of the credit Moonbow*

Emily	07 Feb 2004
Hi Moonbow, I was wondering about the book, just posted in the books thread about it, I wasn't going to get it but the LWB has really started an interest - I love the very detailed description of Stalin as the Devil card. So I think I will order the book. thanks :)

lunakasha	07 Feb 2004
Hi Emily! Thanks for sharing your initial reactions with us...this is one of those decks that has been on my wish list forever...I came so close to getting it a couple of times! Now I am thinking about it again.....maybe for my NEXT deck! :D LOL (famous last words). Right now I am waiting for Hanson-Roberts, Navigators of the Mystic SEA and the unexpected Astro-Tarot....those should keep me busy for awhile! :) Luna

Aure	07 Feb 2004
I have been thinking about ordering the Russian Tarot of St. Petersburg for a while... Since I ordered the Radiant instead, I guess I'll have to wait (unless I hide it from my husband... :rolleyes: ). St. Petersburg is not so faraway from where I live and since I probably have had some Karelian ancestors (and since St. Petersburg was built on Finnish land) that were orthodox, I have kind of historical reasons for getting it. I also like greek orthodox icon art (bysantine? I have several icons although I'm lutheran.) so this is one of the decks definately on my wishlist!!

Emily	08 Feb 2004
Hi all, It does say in the LWB that the artwork on the cards is very like the Faberge egg art and to be honest you could imagine them painted up into little miniatures. I had this deck on order before Christmas but the book and deck set then I cancelled because I had the Sacred Circle come and when I went to Amazon uk the next time they had doubled the price of the deck/book set to almost £30 - they haven't got the set in stock at all now. But this deck didn't stop calling me so I ordered just the deck (I have also ordered the book now though lol)

Shade	09 Feb 2004
This is a deck taht is very close to my heart, not because I use it frequently but because it's the deck that introduced me to tarot. I first encountered the deck in the computer game Quest For Glory IV: Shadows of Darkness by Sierra Online. It's a fantasy role playing game that takes place in the pseudo-carpathian realm of Mordavia (other games in the series featured pseudo Alpine, Arabian, African, and Greek settings). In the game the hero encounters a band of gypsies near the town taht aid him on his quest after he frees one of them from suspicious townspeople. The gypsies' leader Magda gives the hero readings in the game using a the Russian Tarot of St. Petersburg and some of the meanings she associates with the cards still turn up in readings I do to this day. A wonderful, epic, wacky game that everyone should play.

TemperanceAngel	09 Feb 2004
I got this deck from Tallarico, who is no longer with us.... I love it from an artistic perspective, but have found I do not resonate with the deck at all.... XTAX

Emily	11 Feb 2004
Hi TemperanceAngel, I'm finding it very challenging but very rewarding - I've used the Morgan Greer for reading for months now and the Russian Tarot of St Petersburg is a good deck to use alongside it. I love the illustrations but then again I've always been fascinated with Russia and its folktales. :)

Mimers	11 Feb 2004
Emily, I bought this deck pretty much just for the artwork. I don't care so much to read with it except for this one gentleman I read for about once a month or so. The deck just fits him to a tee. When I use this deck for him(2x so far), the readings just flow. It's really weird. Mimi

Emily	12 Feb 2004
Hi Mimers, The artwork is amazing, still not decided whether it has a feminine or masculine feel to it. I know the one artist was male but not sure of the other one. I love the way the females of the deck are sturdy, not like stick thin Barbie dolls. There is one card that usually I have a lot of trouble relating to - The Hierophant but in this deck he's got the right feel - can't put my finger on it but he looks right. Now even in the Morgan Greer, my favourite reading deck, I have alot of trouble with the Hierophant.

lark	12 Feb 2004
I like the Hierophant in this deck too. But the Devil always makes me laugh. Have you ever seen a more studly devil? And his head doesn't quite seem to match the body. It's not that I don't like him, I just have a hard time taking him seriously. :D

Shade	13 Feb 2004
Quote: Originally posted by lark Have you ever seen a more studly devil? :D Stalin....studly? Never really thought of that.

Mimers	13 Feb 2004
I like the Moon card. It has a telescope on top of one of the Towers. It came up in a reading I did and it told me that the querent had to look at things more closely. It was preceded by the 7 of cups which further implied that he was not seeing things clearly. As for the Devil, he's a little too hairy for my tastes! LOL Mimi

Emily	14 Feb 2004
I like the Sun - still not sure whether its a very muscular child or a small person lol. I know its a child on the Rider Waite but the one on this Sun card gives the impression of being older.

The Russian Tarot of St Petersburg thread was originally posted on 07 Feb 2004 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.