Seriously, I just got one today and handling it burns my hands.

I actually am home from work sick today and a bit feverish. What I think may be happening is that sweat from my hands is rubbing off on the cards and causing ink or something else it's made with to slightly rub off and I'm having a slight allergic reaction to it. Or possibly the decks just pure evil.

The deck itself has some interesting ideas, but most of it is crap. I only got the thing because it is such a popular deck and so I wanted it for reference. The energy is decidedly Wiccan and, imo, just plain nasty. The thing even smells Wiccan (it may be my fever talking, but I'm dead serious about this). Plus I nearly busted open my box because the damn thing opens funny.

I also got three other decks today. I need more time to look at it, but so far the Arcus Arcanum tarot is disappointing based on the few cards I saw before buying it, and my hopes weren't all that high to begin with.

The Lo Scarebo Tarot is mostly what I expected. It's largely copied symbolism and the designer doesn't seem to understand most of what was copied, and the selection of what's been taken leaves a lot to be desired. There are still a couple of interesting choices in the deck though making it a worthwhile purchase.

Finally I got the Flornoy redrawing the Jean Noblet tarot, 78 card edition. I would suggest that anyone who is interested in the tarot de marseilles design or historical tarots in general pick this up while it's still available. Noblet, Dodal, and Conver are often looked at tas the most influential tarot de marseilles designs, and Noblet reproductions are by far the most difficult to come across (in fact, I think this may be the only Noblet tarot in recent times).

Although I tend to prefer accurate untouched reproductions of historical tarots, Flornoy spent a great deal of time researching the Noblet tarot in order to accurately redraw it as it probably first appeared almost half a millenia ago, and his research into the Noblet design seems to be a labor of love, instead of another commissioned job to release a substandard historical recreation.

My only real gripe with the deck is the small size of the cards. I would've preferred something closer to the size of standard tarot cards, even if it meant a significantly higher price.

These cards are an indie production, and although the box and LWB are in English, they're a French import deck, and although some collectors are promoting Flornoy's work right now, most people still don't know who he is. I'd suggest that anyone interested in this deck pick up a copy ASAP, since if you wait too long it may be sought after and very difficult to come by. Additionally there's a 22 card trump only hand colored edition that's a bit more expensive (I may also end up getting this in the future).

Currently Flornoy's working on a similar trump only edition of the Dodal tarot, and hopefully this will eventually get the same 78 card full deck treatment that his Noblet tarot got.

 

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