Pagan Tarot --- Lo Scarabeo

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 31 Mar 2004, and now archived in the Forum Library.

shryl	31 Mar 2004
http://www.tarotpassages.com/paganpo.htm http://www.alidastore.com/indexen.html Pagan Tarot I am on a search for more pictures of these cards. Above are more pictures of the cards I have found so far besides the ones on the Lo Scarabeo website. Below is a post on the first review I have seen. Anyone else have a chance to review this deck?? Cheryl http://www.tarotpassages.com/pagan-as.htm

Lee	31 Mar 2004
I found this deck difficult, because with many of the cards, it's hard to tell what's going on on the card, or why that scene has been chosen for that card, and the LWB doesn't tell you. I like the artwork and especially the understated color palette (lots of tans, beiges and browns). -- Lee

Savoyali	01 Apr 2004
I agree with Lee that many of the cards aren't immediately readable and the LWB isn't much help in that regard. Nevertheless, I'm working with this deck right now and am trying to get into it, and I'm beginning to enjoy it very much. I like the contemporary situations and the artwork, there are some really nice impulses in this deck, but it's not without problems. (One of them being that as a solitary practitioner, I recognize what's going on in cards depicting coven situations in theory, but don't necessarily relate to it like a coven member would, so the card for me is less effective.) As little direct help as the LWB is, I found their approach rather inspiring: Instead of giving suggested meanings for each individual card of the Minors, they explain the properties of each suit and the basic energies of the number and court cards, i.e. give you a foundation and then encourage you to trust your instincts from there on out (which is where the problem Lee mentioned comes back to haunt you: it would be grand if you could always tell what exactly the situation is that the card is depicting). It's a bit of a love/hate relationship we're developing, but it is a relationship :) [in fact, i'm so eager to work with it that i'm thinking of offering a reading with it in the reading exchange here.] I could go on and on about this and go through the deck telling you what I love and what I don't card by card, but that might be a bit excessive, no? :laugh:

SongDeva	01 Apr 2004
I want the reading, Savoyali. I want to know why I'm so attracted to all things pagan lately (ok, now *all*) when I've never labeled myself that way. PM me when you post the offer! heheehhehe

seneris	02 Apr 2004
I bought this deck yesterday. I really wanted to have it for some time now, and luckily I stumbled into it when I had some free time to spare. (But I had a bit of an april fool's joke, or so it seemed: in my deck I found the LWB of a Druid Tarot...) The pictures really appeal to me, and I find it interesting to study the cards and get some kind of story from it. But I have to agree with previous posts that sometimes it isn't quite clear what the cards represent. I like the elementals very much, and the colours. I'll hope to learn more about this deck soon.

RiccardoLS	02 Apr 2004
Senseris, send an e-mail to Lo Scarabeo: info@loscarabeo.com we will send You the correct LWB. R.

seneris	03 Apr 2004
Oh no, that's allright. I went back to the store and they replaced the LWB. Thanks for the offer. I'm wondering if that Druid Tarot had my Pagan LWB?

DarkElectric	03 Apr 2004
This looks like a gorgeous deck, and I definitely will be buying it. I like Lo Scarabeo tarots, and this one seems a winner to me.

Shade	03 Apr 2004
Savoyali made me think of one of the reasons I've liked the images I've seen so far. As a traditionalist I've always thought that the solitary eclectic thing (while good stuff) is so prolific (is taht the right word) that there has never been a great balance between tarditional neo-pagan and eclectic neo-pagan. I was floored when I read a review of Covencraft that stated taht the book didn't have enough info for solitaries(?!?). From first glances this deck seems to create a balance between the two. i could be wrong, anyone who actually owns the deck care to comment before I pull out the credit card?

jlbvt	04 Apr 2004
here are a few more pics of the deck: Pagan Tarot

dolphingirl	04 Apr 2004
Wow thanks for posting the extra pictures! It looks even neater the more pics I see of the deck. If I can ask a question, are all the women in the deck brunettes? Or are there a few blond pagans? :) Thanks Samantha

Savoyali	04 Apr 2004
Hi Samantha, spontaneously, I would have said yes, pretty much. Now I've just checked, and indeed, yes, the protagonist, if you will, is always a brunette. There are a few blondes sprinkled in the background, and most of the men are blond, but the main character is always a brunette woman. I've never seen pictures of Wicce, is she maybe a brunette? Shade, it feels balanced to me, and I think a lot of it comes from the fact that most of the minors depict such really mundane, everyday situations where one would be on one's own whether a coven member or not, so it's really fine. The pictured coven situations may not be directly affecting solitaries, but I'm getting the feeling that they can nearly always be looked at in light of group dynamics, so that overall, it balances out depending on how you look at it. Hope that makes sense :) Btw, if anyone would like to see a specific card or two, I could put up scans temporarily if you let me know which ones.

Lee	04 Apr 2004
Quote: Originally posted by Savoyali Now I've just checked, and indeed, yes, the protagonist, if you will, is always a brunette. This brings up an interesting point, which is that the protagonist in every card in the deck is the same person, so it's essentially one person's story. I found this interesting, I can't think of any other deck which has done this. It gives the deck a certain energy, but on the other hand it makes it sort of self-centered; one may get tired of looking at the same character for 78 cards. -- Lee

Shade	05 Apr 2004
Quote: Originally posted by Lee This brings up an interesting point, which is that the protagonist in every card in the deck is the same person, so it's essentially one person's story. I found this interesting, I can't think of any other deck which has done this. It gives the deck a certain energy, but on the other hand it makes it sort of self-centered; one may get tired of looking at the same character for 78 cards. -- Lee This to me calls to mind the Fool's/Hero's journey and I think works in a tarot context, especially with the theme of pagan mystery tradition. I liked the extra cards posted which further confirm for me a balance between tradition and eclectisicm (not that traditions can't be eclectic, mine for example requires that members be trained both in high magickal ritual and kitchen witchery).

SongDeva	13 Apr 2004
Ci sei, Riccardo? When can we get this in the US? :)

RiccardoLS	14 Apr 2004
It should be there in less then 15 days. We have shipped it to Llewellyn almost a month ago. Sorry I can't be more precise :( Riccardo

SongDeva	14 Apr 2004
That is more than precise enough (unless you know an approximate time of day - joke!) Molte grazie.

Namaste	15 Apr 2004
Thanks to dolphingirl, I managed to identify this deck the images of which I had seen fleetingly one day and somehow embedded themselves in my mind, although I couldn't remember to what deck they belonged. LOL I'm up in Canada and seem to have difficulty getting this deck, which has become a must for me. Am I correct in assuming that our fellow member, Riccardo, is affiliated with Lo Scarabeo (sorry if my assumption is wrong) and can help me out with the acquisition of this deck? :) I've read what you've all said, and although the LWB doesn't seem to be as forthcoming as some, I rather like the idea of the modern, 'mundane' depictions, which seem to fit well in our world of today. Thanks, also, to those who have found images of the cards online. :)

dolphingirl	15 Apr 2004
I love Los Scarbeo decks and have been looking forward to both the Pagan and the Druid decks hitting the US market for some time. Has anyone used the Pagan for readings yet? I also love the more modern imagery in the Pagan, sure makes you relate to it differently.

Savoyali	16 Apr 2004
Hi dolphingirl, I use this deck for daily readings quite often, and I did one for SongDeva with it in the Reading Exchange Forum. We're getting along quite nicely :)

RiccardoLS	16 Apr 2004
Quote: Originally posted by Namaste Am I correct in assuming that our fellow member, Riccardo, is affiliated with Lo Scarabeo (sorry if my assumption is wrong) and can help me out with the acquisition of this deck? :) The assumption is correct. :) As for "how to find the deck", it should arrive in North Maerica very soon. While LL is the first order we usually evade on any new deck, the decks are sent phisically by sea, and then distributen by LL in North America. This makes for about one month delay between Europe and U.S. or Canada. You should be able to get it soon. Regarding the deck, I find it interesting... It is built around a "journey of the hero" concept... and then it has a single main charachter. On the other side the focus of the deck is the balance between the "magical/spiritual" side and the "material/everyday" side. For Wicce, this balance is the focus of the journey, even more than each side on his own. Best, Ric

Namaste	16 Apr 2004
Quote: Originally posted by RiccardoLS The assumption is correct. :) As for "how to find the deck", it should arrive in North Maerica very soon. ... This makes for about one month delay between Europe and U.S. or Canada. You should be able to get it soon. Regarding the deck, I find it interesting... It is built around a "journey of the hero" concept... and then it has a single main charachter. On the other side the focus of the deck is the balance between the "magical/spiritual" side and the "material/everyday" side. For Wicce, this balance is the focus of the journey, even more than each side on his own. Mille grazie, Ric. :) I love the cards you publish and have quite a few of your decks! I do find this one a very interesting and unusual deck, and appreciate you telling me a little more about it, since I have read, here, that the LWB is not as comprehensive as it could be... (on purpose, perhaps?) As a teacher of literature, it is good to see attention given to the hero quest in the Pagan deck. I like the idea of a main character, and the combination of the 'magical/spiritual' with the contemporarily mundane. I am not that familiar with Wicca (although I have just bought A Magical Course in Tarot), but look forward to the exploration of a new 'dimension.'

SongDeva	16 Apr 2004
Savoyali did a fabulous reading with it for me; it's worth checking out.

Asher	19 Apr 2004
My copy of the Pagan Tarot came in today's mail! I have only given it a cursory look through, but I _like_ what I see! Other supposed "pagan", "witch", etc. decks pale beside this one (I won't name names here). Gina is a respected high priestess, knows her stuff, and it shows. Some of the images struck me as unusual, so will have to go back and work with them, when I have some time to myself. I like how the LWB does not list divinatory meanings, but asks the reader to come up with meanings based on the action depicted, the elements, numbers, etc. (OMG, we have to _think_!) I will definitely enjoy working with this deck (being a card-carrying Pagan myself...smile) BTW, this deck is _so_ much better than the Tarot of the Druids that also came today. It's too cutesy for my taste (at first glance anyway), but that may change when I have time to study it. As always, your mileage may vary. Asher

Astraea	19 Apr 2004
Mine came today, too, and I like it a lot. The imagery is always interesting, even when its association with the RWS meanings is not immediately clear, and the heroine of the journey is very real and likeable. I get a sense of authenticity from this deck, and I like the way that it depicts the day-to-day aspects of life as imbued with meaning and significance (as the saying goes, "every act a ritual"). Very nicely done.

Jypsie	21 Apr 2004
*green with envy* Amazon.com says this deck is not yet available. Do we have a US release date?? =(

ncefafn	21 Apr 2004
You know, Jypsie, you can order it from AlidaStore. BTW, are you named after the character on MST3K? Kim

Asher	21 Apr 2004
The Pagan Tarot has arrived and is in stock at the Tarot Garden. Email them and you'll have it in a couple of days -- their service is outstanding! Asher

shryl	21 Apr 2004
Amazon.com says this deck is not yet available. Do we have a US release date?? =( They should be in stock at Amazon.. I just got a confirmation on my shippment for my deck yesterday. :-D Cheryl

Maan	21 Apr 2004
i got this deck a while back ( thanks Riccardo :) ) But only this week i finally had the time to go through the cards and work a little with it. At first it felt some what empty but when i used it for spread it seemed to have more depths than i thought. I like the fact that it is set in today's world. Recognizable images and things..it makes the tarot more down to earth. But i still have trouble with some cards...i don;t get what they are suppose to show. The LWB isn't a big help in this. The overal conclusion i like this deck and i will probebly use it often but i don;t like the LWB..and wish there was an other one to help me out a bit Love Maan

Astraea	21 Apr 2004
Quote: Originally posted by Maan i still have trouble with some cards...i don;t get what they are suppose to show. The LWB isn't a big help in this. I agree, and this is typical of Lo Scarabeo's LWBs -- it's a shame, because the decks are often quite beautiful but difficult to read with, unless one has a clear idea of the artist's viewpoint and intention. One of the reasons I like this deck is that I enjoy Gina Pace's website (www.wicce.com) so much -- I have friendly feelings toward her, based on years of visiting the site and gratitude for Ms. Pace's insightful reviews. This makes it easier for me to enter her world as she, herself, has depicted it in these cards.

Namaste	22 Apr 2004
Quote: Originally posted by Astraea One of the reasons I like this deck is that I enjoy Gina Pace's website ( www.wicce.com ) so much -- I have friendly feelings toward her, based on years of visiting the site and gratitude for Ms. Pace's insightful reviews. This makes it easier for me to enter her world as she, herself, has depicted it in these cards. Thank you, Astraea, for the link. I am sure it will help me a lot when I get my deck, which should be very soon. :)

diane drizzy	24 Apr 2004
Well, I too just ordered this deck. I like the idea of a dark haired ,dark eyed figure (especially growing up with blonde, blue eyed dolls in my era!). I also like the day to day activities of an individual. Somehow I have problems relating to children dancing under rainbows, and in flower gardens, living in a high rise.

Darla	25 Apr 2004
This deck is high on my wishlist ever since I heard about it. Like Diane I like that it is contemporary and shows scenes from daily life. How I love LS decks! :) I just saw the samples from this deck at Tarotgarden and was quite impressed with the Judgement card. What an unusual take on this card but it totally fits with Tarot and the Wiccan theme. http://www.tarotgarden.com/database/images/p-decks/pagancards.gif

RiccardoLS	25 Apr 2004
For all I can... I will try to give as much assistance as possible regarding what there is and why on the cards. While I'm not Pagan I had read and traslated most of Wicce's notes on the deck, so I may be of assistance. Best, Riccardo

Astraea	25 Apr 2004
Thank you, Riccardo, that is most generous!

ncefafn	01 May 2004
I got mine the other day and have been through it a couple of times. Was anyone else shocked at how erotic the Tower was?

Darla	01 May 2004
Now you've made me curious (even more)! What does the scene show?

shryl	01 May 2004
I got mine the other day and have been through it a couple of times. Was anyone else shocked at how erotic the Tower was? That is one card I 'get'. I am having some trouble with a few of the other ones. Ie... 7 of wands. Cheryl :-)

ncefafn	01 May 2004
Quote: Originally posted by Darla Now you've made me curious (even more)! What does the scene show? Well, let's just say some of the coven members are gettin' funky. The heroine of the deck stands off, looking confused and worried. Quote: That is one card I 'get'. I am having some trouble with a few of the other ones. Ie... 7 of wands. Hi, Cheryl. Could you share with me your interpretation of the Tower in the Pagan deck? Now the 7 of Wands, hmmm . . . looks like she's balancing her checkbook and someone (her partner?) is questioning her addition or her ledger, so she's having to defend what she's done. At least, that's how I can interpret the scene through a RWS lens. What do you all think? Oh, and the way she's holding her wand looks like she's getting ready to zap him! :D Kim

Savoyali	01 May 2004
The 7/Wands situation looks to me like she'd rather be doing something else and he's holding her back, saying 'you need to finish this up first.' For some reason I'm also under the impression that she's in her robes whereas he's wearing regular clothes, i.e. everyday life getting in the way of spiritual work (which would work with the Wands theme, too). It's yet to come up in a reading, so I haven't seen this one in action, as it were; that tends to open my eyes to something I've been missing by simply putting it in context. With this deck, I've tried very hard not to attach any sort of preconceived RWS meanings, as I'm reading this completely intuitively as far as possible. As for the Tower--no reading experience with that one either, and definitely one of the ones where I can't really see any RWS relation apart from the 'back to basic' theme. I'm curious about your interpretation of that, too, shryl!

diane drizzy	08 May 2004
Well- I finally got my deck and must say I'm very pleased. I have NEVER done a full reading on myself (always just a one card draw),but the LWB had a simple five card layout. I was really impressed! It was right on target. I really liked the heroine in the deck, and did not find her cloying. Considering The Faeries Oracle is my main reading deck, I never thought I would find something that I could just jump right into like the FO. The only thing I wish this deck had was an book that discussed the deck in depth. It's sort of like a "story" deck to me and I want these people to have names and the situations to have a background.

ncefafn	08 May 2004
Diane, thanks for the heads-up on the spread. I never look at LWBs anymore, but when you mentioned this spread I dug it out. I ended up using this spread for a reading I did this morning for a client. Both the spread and the Pagan Tarot gave me a crystal clear and accurate reading. I'm impressed! I think the modern situations have given this deck a bad rap. If more people gave it a chance, I think they'd love it. Kim

shryl	08 May 2004
Hi, Cheryl. Could you share with me your interpretation of the Tower in the Pagan deck? In this card I see our lady feeling bewildered and disillusioned by what is going on. The moon is full and she is robed which for me means she was ready to be in her usual circle and either the partipants had another agdenda or it was planned and she was left out. I think it is the later. In otherwords this was not was she was expecting and this took her by suprise and I feel it gave her a reality slap, realizing that others don't see her 'faith' or appreciate it as she does. This to me doesn't look like the great rite, it looks like an orgy, which may imply this is 'disrespectful' in her eyes. (I am only giving my interp of the pic) I also noticed if you look between the 2 couples there looks like there is the hair of another women facing the moon which means that that women ( the one facing the moon) looked toward her spirituality for the answers as our lady in the robe walked away from her spirituality feeling hurt and casted out. Hope that helps. :-) Cheryl

SongDeva	18 May 2004
Yea! It came in the mail yesterday. I get what some people say about not knowing what's going on in some of the scenes. I actually think this is great. I go into this phenomenon more in this post: http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=26543

druid	20 May 2004
more pics at http://www.pmtarot.com/pic/tarot/ex77_2.gif I'm going to receive this soon. Someone commented that the tower card looks erotic. I think the queen of swords does too, but it's fairylike at the same time. And the judgement card looks like a past-life regression session to me. Reminds me of karma. Wonder what the justice card is like.

Melissa`	20 May 2004
I just found this deck lingering in my mailbox :D I've only looked through them once so far and I have to say I like the way the deck seems to go in a story telling like fashion with the main character. I do agree however that some cards will be difficult, but I think I am going to enjoy using it. :) ~ Melissa

druid	23 May 2004
Anybody who has this deck feels that the page of wands and page of pentacles are like from another deck altogether? They are like the oddballs of the deck that can't quite fit in. I have done a few readings for friends with this today and they were pretty good. I'm still happy with my Druids deck, which is quite telling, but I need variety. And at first look, I think the Druids deck is more suitable for optimistic love readings. To me, the woman in this deck travels on quite a lonely journey of self discovery. It's not about how many characters appear in each card. Comparing it with Druids, I see the Druids figures as more carefree and Pagan's purposeful. And I think this deck warrants a study group discussion. I've already posted a message on the general study group board to gauge interest. ------------------- The study group's already open here: http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=26754

Namaste	26 May 2004
I must share my experience with the Pagan deck with you, although I was, and still am, disconcerted by it. I bought the Pagan deck on Saturday. When I opened it, breaking the sealed outer wrapping and the sealed inner wrapping, I noticed that the back of some of the cards had been defaced. An awful feeling came over me. I felt the cards had been desecrated in some way. (Can you explain how this might have happened Riccardo? :) ) I continued looking through the cards, and I don't know if it was because I had been so shocked by what I found, that I recoiled from the rest of the cards also. The store I bought them from was very kind. They offered to replace the deck with another Pagan, but after my experience, I confess I opted for a different deck altogether, feeling this one wasn't probably right for me. I feel sad, because the premise of the deck is a very interesting one, but I am still affected by my experience... :(

Shade	28 May 2004
I just got the deck this weekend and I have to say I love it. I have several pagan flavored decks that are beautiful but I really appreciate haveing a deck that reflects traditional wiccan ideas. More later when I've combed through it a bit more.

BlueLotus	28 May 2004
I had also received this deck last week, and I love it too. It speaks to me in many ways, and I relate to it easily. I believe it is not only for the pagan but for the modern pagan-at-heart woman/man and my readings with it have also been insightful and easy. This is another deck I am not sorry I bought, and the accompanying LWB is also a good read. It devotes about 4 pages for the interpretation of the Major Arcana, and the suits are divided into elements, i.e. Earth, Air, Fire, and Water and numbers, i.e. Ace, Two, Three,...etc, giving enough insights into these, making it easy for the reader to see instantly into the readings. Court cards are Elemental, Novice, Initiate and Elder, which stand for page, knight, queen and kings in regular decks. There are also a couple of original spreads.

Darla	05 Jun 2004
Now finally I got my Pagan and I must say that I love it. It is as great as I thought it would be. I'm so glad to have finally found a good contempory deck to work with. For me it is often hard to connect to a medieval or fantasy theme when you want an answer to a everyday-life question. While others may not like that it is different from the familiar Rider-Waite structure and sometimes it is hard to tell what's going on, I think it is great to be forced to think over the cards again. It's a new fresh impulse and opens the doors to the intuition. Here is another thing I like about this deck: The balance between the protagonist's everyday life and her spirituality. Sometimes I feel like I shouldn't devote time to my spirituality now and do some things in "normal" life instead. But to have some spirituality in life is important and the protagonist in this deck shows us to have both and how to balance it.

Cerulean	03 Jul 2004
Not on Lo Scarabeo decks, but sometimes I get a deck or book with some scoring or bad ink run, because the printing was done near the end or beginning...so mechanical errors can make for a sad experience to the individual user... One time when I was still in a publication related field, I was given a 'preliminary' annual report and the middle sheets were stapled upside down....we reported this to the printer, because it was in the set I was going to give to one of the company heads...I detest misprints of images even if I can live with typos or some translation problems. I guess for me, the picture in front and having some related text counts a lot... I am happy to have time with this deck this weekend... Regards, Cerulean

diane drizzy	03 Jul 2004
I'm doing alot of work with this deck and I am really happy with it! Those who I have read for have also been very pleased with their results. I only wish a companion book would be written for these cards.

Fulgour	03 Jul 2004
"The Hermit" is truly original.

dolphingirl	04 Jul 2004
I haven't had much chance to work with my Pagan deck. When I fitst opened it it has a really strong chemical smell and had to let it air for almost a week. Did anyone notice this or have this problem? I do love the artwork and some of the changes in the cards. It is really a lovely deck and I am looking forward to spending more time with it. Samantha

Cerulean	04 Jul 2004
I notice this from all Lo Scarabeo decks, and that is also from early printing ink runs...I don't find the smell bad, I find it the promise of fresh reading...just my two cents. BTW I was able to separate out my courts: Initiate, Novice, Elemental and Elder. I checked the Wands and Pentacles and all the courts seemed to fit together. In terms of the Tower card, it reminded me Raimondo did the Olympus and Casanova deck and sometimes the wistfulness or personal expression on the faces of his characters can be less apparant because the attention sometimes seems to be on the various sensual poses or body types in some illustrations...however this card is mild for Raimondo. I'm more interested in the fact that the character in the foreground is turning away, her eyes on the ground might be an attitude of leaving or turning away from those who 'abandon' their upward goals to live for the moment. Cerulean Mari

The Pagan Tarot --- Lo Scarabeo thread was originally posted on 31 Mar 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.