Lo Scarabeo Shaman Tarot

I've searched and found the other threads on this deck, including the one that got kind of heated and so was closed, so I know there's been some serious controversy about the deck. I decided to start a new thread about it because I really appreciate the deck and think it's got a lot going for it. I'm getting acquainted with it and I know I'm going to be using it a lot on a regular basis.

I'm not a shaman and know very little about shamanic practices, really. I don't aspire to be one, either. But I don't think the fact that this deck seems to fall outside more knowledgable people's vision of shamanism should mean this deck is tossed aside. I think it would be a great loss of what's potentially a very valid and useful spiritually based deck.

I didn't post this to start any discord. I posted it because I feel there's much more to this deck than meets the eye and I wanted to speak up in favor of it. I hope many others will, too.

I have this deck too and I'm not a Shaman either, I must have missed those other threads, need to search for them later when I have more time to read them through.

I have decided to keep this deck only to read for myself though and I'm already quite attached to it, and I think it can be quite easily used to answer the same questions you would ask any other tarot deck, I have actually started drawing a daily card along with my other more used deck to compare their advice with the other card, interestly enough though with yesterdays cards my Crow's deck was more right on the spiritual/mental area of the day where as The Shaman was right about the physical area of the day.

As you may know, I love the deck.

What was bad about the controversy is that - imho (and I probably was part of the problem) - it divided between PRO and VERSUS... and the more the discussion went on, the more the rift increased, instead of being seen as different perspectives. As often happens, we lose or focus on the fact that differences of opinions actually enrich us, and we are not forced to choose a side.

Basically the VS argument was that the Shamn decks it's not a deck for shamantic practice.
The PRO argument said that the deck was a "pop" representation of a shamantic imaginary.
Shaman = no ; a tale about Shamanism = yes
Without going into much detail, I don't think the two positions are necessarely one an exclusion of others. It depends - first of all - on what you expect from the deck, and on the way you relate to it.

Some points that are kind of facts for the deck:
- the deck does not portray any specific shamantic tradition. Native American, Asutralian aboriginal, Mongolian, etc... elements are all purposfully mixed together. The aim was to try to capture an "idea" of Shamanism.
- "magic", as spirits and the spirit world, are seen in a symbolic way and not a realistic way. (tbh, I don't think that what we usually call "realism" could apply to any metaphysical description). So, for instance, you have people floating while meditating.

Ric

It looks like a nice enough deck, but there are so many different definitions of shamanism that I would worry that such a deck could be viewed as cultural appropriation. There are, for example, Indian Tarot decks, but with a billion people and the highest number of belief systems in the world, I have to wonder if it does not portray simple stereotypes. Same goes for Native American decks, as there were innumerable tribes and nations, all different. The African Tarot may be cute and tongue-in-cheek, but it is perhaps too easy to create such decks, and not, perhaps, a cute Christian deck. I would hope a serious African deck would never be published, unless it was very specific as to which part of Africa it referred to.

Wikipedia alone mentions four different definitions of shamanism, all widely different. Any blanket term in this respect could be problematic.

ETA: Riccardo cross posted with me and answered some of my questions about the deck already.

I started the shamanic journey.

And these tarot cards I like.

I think (personal opinion)
maybe some people do not like them, because their graphics and too modern.

closrapexa said:

It looks like a nice enough deck, but there are so many different definitions of shamanism that I would worry that such a deck could be viewed as cultural appropriation. There are, for example, Indian Tarot decks, but with a billion people and the highest number of belief systems in the world, I have to wonder if it does not portray simple stereotypes. Same goes for Native American decks, as there were innumerable tribes and nations, all different. The African Tarot may be cute and tongue-in-cheek, but it is perhaps too easy to create such decks, and not, perhaps, a cute Christian deck. I would hope a serious African deck would never be published, unless it was very specific as to which part of Africa it referred to.

Wikipedia alone mentions four different definitions of shamanism, all widely different. Any blanket term in this respect could be problematic.

ETA: Riccardo cross posted with me and answered some of my questions about the deck already.

Click to expand...

Hello closrapexa - this seems to be "our" topic of the moment

I think that the very fact that it DOES portray so many different traditions means that it isn't appropriating any of them, just acting as a pointer for those who want to find out more.

It reads very well, I will say that, and I have learned a lot about very different shamanic traditions from looking up images I didn't understand. Also I like the way that some of those traditions are brought into the modern world (as in 6 bows, for instance) - too many people see shamanism as something primitive and it isn't at all. I also like the fact that there ARE so many traditions shown. I think in a way it would be harder for someone who was not steeped in the tradition portrayed to use a single tradition deck - this doesn't even suggest it is supposed to be used in any way FOR shamanic practice, which I think was one of the issues on the other thread.

There are cards I still don't "understand" (though they still read OK !) but that holds for every deck I own. I LOVE this deck. (I was probably also part of the problem in that thread because I love it so much and one of my best IRL friends - doesn't !)

Yes, I agree, Riccardo clarified that for me, only we posted at the same time. I could still nitpick about appropriation, but I actually know so little about shamanism that I would be a poor champion of what I would be saying, so since I trust you both, I'll take both yours and Riccardo's word for it.

I don't know how you can exactly misappropriate hundreds of traditions in one fell swoop...

gregory said:

I don't know how you can exactly misappropriate hundreds of traditions in one fell swoop...

Click to expand...

I'm in complete agreement. Just for the sake of clarification, shamanism is cross-cultural and not by any means at all limited to the Native American culture.

TECHNICALLY shamanism is Siberian/North Asian.... (the term, at least.) See under Eliade etc. The word comes originally from the Evenki, or Tungus language...

Just saying