Golden Botticelli

[irisa]

All in all I like it although the gold foil is a little over done for me, distractingly so sometimes. Everything in the top portion of the cards is covered with gold, but it doesn't come off and I have/do use it (I'm not a riffler tho). There is a LWB. The pips read like pips but then I'm not RWS bound and Karen is right a lot of the cards do appear to have the same face.

Nice deck but for me not in the great deck pile.

irisa

 

[Le Fanu]

Woops, thought of one last question. Does the background appear as that black-and-white/cream pattern, or is the black-and-white covered with gold?

What you see as black in scans is GOLD, it's just impossible to scan. It is different from the Golden Tarot of the Tsars (another favourite) because in this one (the Tsars) it has these slabs of gold which cover the cards and the image is often a central icon/vignette of a scene. The Klimt has these oblong blocks and spirals worked into the clothes of the figures depicted/ the backgrounds. In the Botticelli it is more ornamental, intricate and decorative and generally is the background (not always) so feels like a theatrical backdrop.

 

[missy]

What you see as black in scans is GOLD, it's just impossible to scan. It is different from the Golden Tarot of the Tsars (another favourite) because in this one (the Tsars) it has these slabs of gold which cover the cards and the image is often a central icon/vignette of a scene. The Klimt has these oblong blocks and spirals worked into the clothes of the figures depicted/ the backgrounds. In the Botticelli it is more ornamental, intricate and decorative and generally is the background (not always) so feels like a theatrical backdrop.

Argh! Sounds gorgeous! Must. Have!

This conversation prompted me to get out my Golden Tarot of the Tsar, and I am pouring over the images with new admiration. It really is a gorgeous deck. I probably won't ever read with it, unless I can take it upon myself to learn all about the saints and various Bible stories that I do not know. I know a few, like the Resurrection of Lazarus. But many of these I don't; saints and whatnot are Catholic, (I think?) but not Methodist, which is how I was raised.

But the cards! They are stunning. Blinged out in gold, and I love the lovely cut-out appeal of the other elements of art. The cups and angels and other cut-outs are so quaint, and the cards are so intricately done, they almost look handmade.

If I love this one, I surely will love the Golden Botticelli.

 

[Le Fanu]

r.e the Golden Tsars, I studied History of Art and so generally know what's what with imagery/ symbolism in this deck but I would say that there are maybe twenty cards - at most - where knowing the biblical story is intrinsic to the interpretation. There are some beautiful ones which don't require religious knowledge (I love the archer for the 8 of wands). And St George is in there who was always been my favourite saint and very big in Byzantine art. What the Tsars has but which Botticelli doesn't is this wonderful embossed feel. Not only is it gold but also gold relief! Have you noticed how the gold is slightly raised in parts?

But what others have said about a certain sameiness in the Botticelli, I can see. Of all LoS' art decks, I have to say my favourite isn't gold at all, but the Bruegel. Such life, such character, such browness! Jam-packed with stuff to read!

 

[nisaba]

Missy, if you think the scans are beautiful, wait till you have it in your hand. The gold foil is beautiful and so lavish and doesn't come off as far as I can see.

I have the Klimt which is exactly the same application of gold and- no - it doesn't wear off. One thing I did notice is that the Klimt gold is geometric and intrinsically, more discreetly worked into the composition of the images. In the Botticelli it is shamelessly, brazenly decorative and florid. It serves no effect whatsoever except to look gorgeous.

A few weeks ago when I was "fishing" for impromptu paid readings by using a deck in public, this deck had the greatest amount of success as a crowd-puller, for pretty much that reason. The LoS Visconti-Sforza has more gold, but this one has soft, curly gold as opposed to completely covered backs like the V-S or the harsh, angular gold of the Klimt.

One pet niggle is the Piéta with Mary & Jesus as the Death card. Overtly christian and not really my style for a Death card, but It doen't make me not want to use the deck.

As a certified, card-carrying non-Christian, this actually works for me. Why? Because the deck is based on Botticelli's work, and he was a very Christian man living in a very Christian society at a very devout period of time.

My beef with this deck is slightly different: It gives sad readings. Why does it give sad readings? Because the facial expression that Botticelli and his contemporaries used as a visual shorthand for holiness (pick up almost every card, you'll see it) is actually the way the physical face arranges itself in unselfconscious sadness. I get tired of saying: "I feel there is a sense of sadness at the moment ..."

 

[Parzival]

This is an outstanding deck, with a mysterious, sometimes macabre mood, and, as Rasa said, it goes deeper than beautiful surface appearances. Incidentally, Botticelli was strongly influenced by Neoplatonic symbolism. as with his famous, magnificent Venus painting. He might be considered Christo-Pagan, but, most importantly, he was an artist whose content speaks to the human soul.

 

[Rasa]

Ok, I am officially enabled now.

*rearranges Botticelli to the top of wishlist*

*runs off to look for the best price to purchase online*

 

[WalesWoman]

This is one of my favorite decks! The images are different from regular RWS interpretations, and yes, many of the faces are the same, but that isn't a big deal. What matters most is how it reads and it has shown itself to give really insightful and straight to the point answers. It makes me think, really hard sometimes, but always it's been just what I needed to think outside the regular box.

As to sad readings, this is not always so, it helped me through some very rough times and led me into some very joyful ones, predicting the exact date of my wedding...

 

[Glenda]

Golden Botticelli Deck

I bought this deck about a year ago. Its my go to deck and I always read with it for myself and everyone else , unless they request another. Its stunning, even my clients say so and this is a good one for those who are scared by overly dark images.

The gold doesn't come off. NO, it doesn't cover the art work, sometimes its placed to accent things in the art such as knights armor, pentacles, cups etc. Anything that would be shiny in real life.

The cards are a good size, I can see all the details. The stock its a bit flimsy, but I sort of like that. The cards are of a medium size and I have very small hands so the give of the stock helps me to shuffle.

They have taken a beating over the last year since I use them constantly. The only thing that is showing the wear is actually the black boarder...the black color is coming off, the edges aren't messed up or bending just the black boarder color seams to be flaking...small price to pay for this wonderful deck.

I do hoever, wish that it came with a book to tell why A.A picked the pieces that he did. I've resorted to finding each painting and reading about them. That has helped a lot to give clues for some of the non-traditional images/ideas. There is a thread around her some place that has a list of the paintings some of the cards can be found in. Its helpful to get started.

Anyone up for starting a Study Group for this deck that already or will soon have it? Might be nice to bounce ideas for the meanings of some of the cards that don't speak so loudly in this deck.

 

[Le Fanu]

LOL. In the last year and a half since posting, I still haven't taken it off the shelf, dusted it down and used it

One day I will!