Italian decks

Here is some more info on the development of Italian tarot after its reintroduction from Paul Huson's wonderful book "Mystical Origins of the Tarot" (scroll down):

http://books.google.com/books?id=dV...q19b8C&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=6

Alan

Some excellent replies in this thread thanks, and Alan thank you for reminding me of the Tarot Hermit site, the history timeline image you linked to is the one I've been looking for, and thought it was on Andy's Playing Cards site, which is why I couldn't find it. I now understand now why the gap in history for the Italian decks.

So for comparison studies the relevant decks seem to be the Ancient Tarot of Bologna (not the Mitelli Bolognese deck), and the Soprafino, and perhaps the Liguria-Piedmont. The Lombardy has always seemed like a different animal to me.

Le Fanu said:

But is it the same? Ive looked at very few scans of the Meneghello deck and it seems different to the LoS Ancient Tarot of Bologna...

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I think they are the same, other than card stock and possibly the colors may vary slightly.

Alan, thank you for so clearly explaining the link...I have always had confusion about the Bologna (Zoni) and the Bolognese... your post and the links really straighten that out.

Thanks for the info Alan

Moonbow* said:

So for comparison studies the relevant decks seem to be the Ancient Tarot of Bologna (not the Mitelli Bolognese deck), and the Soprafino, and perhaps the Liguria-Piedmont. The Lombardy has always seemed like a different animal to me.

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Speaking of different animals, I would be interested in hearing about anyone's experience reading with the Vacchetta. Has anyone tried reading with it using the keywords included with the LS version (Tarot of the Master)?

Solandia's review of the Tarot of the Master indicates that the semi-illustrated pip cards, rather than being merely decorative, were designed with specific interpretations in mind, so presumably the Vacchetta was designed for divination rather than for card games. Can anyone confirm this or is this speculative?

Alan

Yes, the Vacchetta is a beautiful deck, but the LS keywords do zilch for me.
I've done a couple of readings with it, but more along 'intuitional' lines. It's not my first (or second) choice for divination. I think maybe the cards need to be studied to develope personal meanings - some sort of structure...

Bee

Alan Ross said:

Solandia's review of the Tarot of the Master indicates that the semi-illustrated pip cards, rather than being merely decorative, were designed with specific interpretations in mind, so presumably the Vacchetta was designed for divination rather than for card games. Can anyone confirm this or is this speculative?

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Im convinced Vacchetta had a system in mind and the fact that we don't have any explanatory text means (to me) that we have lost so much of what this deck had to say. It lost its chance to be the first widely used (virtually)scenic pip deck! Then the RWS came along...

Ive cut off the keywords on my Vaccetta. Sapienza reads with this deck; not sure if she has also cut off the keywords...

Le Fanu: Im convinced Vacchetta had a system in mind and the fact that we don't have any explanatory text means (to me) that we have lost so much of what this deck had to say.

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I wonder if Ric would know if there's more infomation on the images....?

Bee

Le Fanu said:

Im convinced Vacchetta had a system in mind and the fact that we don't have any explanatory text means (to me) that we have lost so much of what this deck had to say. It lost its chance to be the first widely used (virtually)scenic pip deck! Then the RWS came along...

Ive cut off the keywords on my Vaccetta. Sapienza reads with this deck; not sure if she has also cut off the keywords...

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It seems to me that if Vacchetta had a divinatory system in mind, he would have published some sort of guide to his deck. Perhaps such a guide was published, but was lost to posterity. If so, that really was a tragic shame! Personally, I far prefer the style of scenic pip illustration that Vacchetta employed in his deck to the illustrative style employed in the RWS.

I'm also not very happy with the Tarot of the Master's thick green borders and keywords, but I'm not into the trimming thing. I also have the Il Meneghello Vacchetta, but I'm reluctant to handle an unlaminated luxury deck with sharp corners that fray easily. So from my perspective, neither deck is ideally suited for practical use. Currently, the only Italian deck in my collection that I would feel comfortable using regularly is the LS Ancient Italian.

Alan

I use my IM Vacchetta a lot and so far no fraying anywhere, though I do shuffle the deck gently...not that I understand what it is saying most of the time, I just sort of go on intuition and try to use fewer cards, as that seems to help diminish confusion.

Kwaw made some comments about it that were eye opening regarding the courts in the Vacchetta... he said they were Biblical characters, though I cannot recall their names specifically...maybe he will see this post and comment. So, that could help in terms of interpreting the cards, knowing who the courts may have been depicting.

I find the suit of swords to be the most confusing of the bunch, as the ribbons and other decorative doodads all through the suit cause me to see each one of them in such a positive light. Although the 3 swords seems to have a negative connotation.