Lo Scarabeo Borders-How big do they have to be?

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 20 Jul 2004, and now archived in the Forum Library.

TaranRavenfrost	20 Jul 2004
I really like some of the Lo Scarabeo decks, like the Celtic, Fey, Origins, But out of these, I LOVE the Celtic and Fey. The only thing that worries me is the ANNOYING borders with all those differnt languages on them! Do they make decks with only english? How bad are the borders, in your opinion? Feel free to recommend one of the decks, the Celtic or Fey. Make sure you are referring to the Lo Scarabeo Celtic deck.

The 78th Fool	25 Jul 2004
Now this is a thread I'm really glad someone's started! I'm very ambivalent towards this sort of presentation on Lo Scarabeo decks but ultimately I can't criticise it objectively as I think it all boils down to personal and cultural preference. I find that decks designed by Italians or produced in Italy have a generally warmer and more extrovert feel to them - maybe not quite as mysterious but somehow more flamboyant. I think the multilingual presentation is very much a part of this whole ethos. In this respect I think that Lo Scarabeo are certainly one of the more daring tarot publishers in their leanings towards art and themed tarots. In making their cards multilingual they are certainly more inclusive than anyone else. To the best of my knowledge it's only their antique facsimile decks such as the Ancient Tarot of Bologna that have titles in one language only. Most of the time I can handle this, but sometimes I feel that the layout and choice of fonts coupled with the style of artwork robs the cards of some of their essential 'mystique'. A great example for me is their Universal Waite - De Angelis Deck. I love the deck but the courts seem a little unfocused. Less text and a more striking font would have given more gravity to contrast with the slightly comic strip style of the art. On the other hand, the presentation works brilliantly on the Tarot of the New Vision, The Third Millenium, The Da Vinci and the Visconti. To sum up, It's like most things in the tarot world. It may be a winning formula but that doesn't make it everyone's cup of tea! Chris. x

hyatt	25 Jul 2004
Sorry but I got to say I love the Lo Scarabeo's borders. I speak english and some french and I'm working on Italian while my husband speaks some german and spanish along with english. We love looking at the cards and the languages together. I guess we are geeks:)

Eco74	26 Jul 2004
Now there's an interesting theme for a T-shirt. ;o)

Alta	26 Jul 2004
I find The Fey handled the Lo Scarabeo borders especially well, and sometimes yes, they are almost intrusive. The example of the poor blend, as another poster commented, is really noticeable on the Universal deck, de Angelis. Lo Scarbeo is really pushing back frontiers with truly well integrated and thoughtful (and yes, artistic) decks. The Da Vinci deck is notable for following his art but with a sly humour that I can enjoy very much. The Liber T was, at least, a bold experiment. Whether or not it works time will tell. Tarot de Verre (Crystal Tarots) framing works well. Plain white, no border line, but done in such a way that the border actually looks like a frame for a stained glass window (extra white lines top and bottom, and a decorative top pice to complete the 'window' effect. Truly well thought out. Golden Tarot of the Renaissance: Frame is a muted gold colour to go with the gilding of the card and each card is additionally framed in a decorative inside border. Very well pulled together. Writing confined to about half of the lower left side border. Looks fine. Golden Tarot of the Czar: another strikingly well done border. Decks are mostly gold with the synols in a burnt siena and the boder echo that, in a darker hue of the brick red with gold writing. Perfect, imo. Tarot of the journey to the Orient: The more common LS border, but English only at the top and four other languages neatly along the bottom. The borders are very narrow and while they have no especial artistic merit, are not intrusive. Tarot of the Imagination: The cards themselves are in dark colours, very slightly muted. The border varies from the LS norm in that it has no writing on the minors at all. Also the colour of the frames varies by suit. The majors are framed in black, with the number inset in a black circle and the title in six languages in small wite lettering. Cups are framed in an attractive green with most of the cards being in similar tones, and so on. No writing, just the sybol on the top and the number on the bottom. Swords is a muted blue, Wands a muted orange and coins a muted gold. Striking and very well done. Da Vinci: more or less the standard LS frame, but not white, a very pale extension of the dominant greens/browns/greys of the deck. And behind you can see the very edges of the geometric circle within square motif that da Vinci used. It pulls it together and makes the frame seem not so separate. Vice Versa Tarot (I think this is called tarot of the New Vision as well) It echoes the RWS layout. The writing becomes a part of the card while there is a narrow wite border framing the entire card. The writing is in bands top and bottom and is a muted brown/gold which compliments the cards. Etruscan tarot: an under-rated deck imo. The cards are all done in earth tones and the border is done in a perfectly complementary warm, fairly light brown, with just off-white letter. It is pretty close the standard LS frame but it melds with the cards well. Liber T: I am still deciding what I think of this deck, but meanwhile the question is about frames. Green, though not 'icky green'. The borders are used also to convey the esoteric correspondences discussed in the LWB. Tiny red frame on the picture surrounded by a gradated green. The six translations are pushed back to the corners of each card. The colour gradations in the greens work with this. Viking Tarot: The pictures tend to be intense, and so are framed, clearly. A narrow green line around each picture and pale borders. The writing is in an interesting font so it looks like script. So here is my opinion. Yes, the LS cards do have a sort of 'common look and feel' to some extent. But the borders and writing are clearly carefully and thoughtfully worked out and adjusted to each deck. The borders are not a template slapped on carelessly, they work with the decks and at their best become an integral part of the card.

Shade	28 Jul 2004
Personally I say forget the 14 languages on every single card. I think that the cards should just be printed with the Italian names on the bottom. How long will it take people to figure out which suits Spade and Coppe are?

Emily	29 Jul 2004
I also think that the LS borders fit well and match the style of the deck. I'm not usually bothered about borders on decks, other decks too just not only LS, its the image I focus on and if a border bothers me then its because the artwork itsn't working for me either.

Aun	29 Jul 2004
As a foreign languages aficcionado, I really dig the translations. I wish there were more space to add some other languages :cool:

The Lo Scarabeo Borders-How big do they have to be? thread was originally posted on 20 Jul 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.