Necronomicon Tarot by Donald Tyson
While I am not a practitioner of tarot, I am most certainly a fan of anything related to Lovecraft and the mythos. In particular, I enjoy lovecraft inspired artwork because it is a subject that lends itself very well to visual interpretation. It is for this reason that I was very happy to be contacted about reviewing the Necronomicon Tarot.
(click on any image for a larger view)
The Necronomicon Tarot was created by prolific modern occult author Donald Tyson, and illustrated by fantasy artist Anne Stokes, whose work has been featured on products from Wizards of the Coast, creator of the popular card game Magic: The Gathering. The deck is produced by Llewellyn Worldwide, a New Age publisher founded in 1901 that produces a wide range of books on such subjects as astrology, magick, paganism, and much more.
What’s Inside?
Upon opening the box, I was pleasantly suprised to find not only the deck, but a bag, and a 200+ page book.
The book, Secrets of the Necronomicon, starts off with an introduction by the author which gives some background information, such as how the cards tie into the mythos, and specific features of the deck. Not having much experience with tarot, I found this very informative. The book itself is very well organized, and contains the following chapters: Necronomicon, Cthulhu Mythos, Correspondences, Trumps, Court Cards, Number Cards, and Divination.
The Necronomicon and Cthulhu Mythos chapters give the reader some insight into the author’s interpretation of the mythos, and set the stage for the interpretation of the cards themselves, which are individually listed with detailed information on each, including a description, as well as meanings. I cannot imagine a more complete companion to this deck.
As for the deck itself, I was very pleased. The quality of the printing and attention to detail rate very high, and the artwork itself shows that Anne truely has talent for capturing the spirit of the mythos while adding her own style to each card. The themed cards (wands, cups, swords, etc..) fit together extremely well, while still being very unique. Each card is backed with an image of a tentacled monstrosity – quite fitting indeed. Overall I am very impressed with the artwork used for this deck. A semi-translucent bag for the deck is also included, which is a nice touch.
Summary
This beautiful, well thought out set would be a perfect addition to any collection – whether you collect tarot decks, mythos inspired art, or both! I would certainly recommend this set to fans of Lovecraft and the mythos, regardless of whether or not they are into tarot, as the artwork itself makes this a wonderful item to have.
Details
- Necronomicon Tarot by Donald Tyson
- Illustration by Anne Stokes
- Includes 200+ page book, 78 card deck, and bag
- ISBN: 0-7387-1086-5
- Ordering Information
This entry was posted on Sunday, August 12th, 2007 at 5:09 pm and is filed under Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
August 12th, 2007 at 6:48 pm
As an experienced tarot reader and a certified cthulhu-crazy I can’t wait to get my hands on this… is there any where I can get a full breakdown of how they’ve translated the tarot via the mythos?… at first sight it strikes me that although “the lovers” might have very unsettling implications, it does actually relate to the Kabbalah and the card’s position on the tree of life perhaps more accurately than a lot of contemporary decks in the sense of the deep one being a symbol/motif of sephiroth binah, something a lot of Lovecrafts manifestations refer to either directly or indirectly…
August 12th, 2007 at 8:04 pm
I am impressed with this. I have absolutely no interest whatsoever in Tarot reading, but I do like the layout, and plan to own one of these just to have it. The review was informative, and the shots you posted were clear and showed the texture well.
August 12th, 2007 at 9:51 pm
Glad you liked the review 🙂
August 13th, 2007 at 1:06 pm
Awesome, I want one!
August 13th, 2007 at 2:58 pm
I want a deck!
August 20th, 2007 at 2:39 pm
I want two!
August 26th, 2007 at 7:16 pm
I just ordered a set from Borders books!
It arrives in about 10 days.
October 23rd, 2007 at 4:25 am
I have no interest for tarot decks and all this stuff. But I liked the pictures. I think, this set is a piece of art. So, I have decided to get one.
December 7th, 2007 at 7:25 pm
I bought and used the deck. It is very well tied to the mythos and tarot. The meanings of the cards translated as such are much more effective, I feel, than others I have used. Five stars.
February 11th, 2008 at 10:20 pm
Tyson, if I’m not mistaken, did one of the Necronomicons that are floating around.
March 1st, 2008 at 2:59 am
As soon as I saw this deck, I bought it. It was well worth it and I am glad that I did. I have been using tarot for well over eight years and I was impressed with the imagery and symbolism in the deck. As with any deck (especially buying a new one), there are a few differences in interpretation and it is like wearing new shoes. Since I have spent time with this deck, I have enjoyed working with the deck and its unique imagery.
August 25th, 2008 at 1:56 pm
I love this deck, and will have to make it my next purchase.
September 19th, 2008 at 10:38 am
I have a few Tarot decks but this is my absolute favourite. As described above, the artwork is of a very high standard and the attention to detail makes this one of the best collections of Lovecraft inspired artwork available today.
If you dont own one, Get One Now!
August 20th, 2009 at 3:45 am
I do tarot readings and i have never seen a Necronomicon Tarot Card at all.. i hope it looks great as I love seeing different types of tarot card decks.
December 27th, 2009 at 10:47 pm
Im from Peru, i just got one three days ago and ive started to read it already, ive got a connection with the tarot, more than others i have with… thnks..!! xD
February 2nd, 2010 at 6:42 pm
I’ve seen alot of decks in my time but I’ve never come across this deck before. The presentation of the set sounds delightful, especially as it comes with a nice pouch. Although we can’t see the illustrations clearly in the oics I did Google it and found some. I’d very much like to add these to my collection.
April 13th, 2010 at 1:45 pm
What a lovely deck! Many thanks for the write up.
May 3rd, 2010 at 9:33 pm
There has been a Lovecraft deck before, The Dark Grimoire Deck. Good deck, dark artwork. Tyson’s is fantastic as well. Great artwork and the symbolic references are nice.
September 16th, 2010 at 6:37 am
Now tarot gets interesting. The nice deck is on my to get list.
October 4th, 2010 at 5:39 am
Interesting cards and nonsense Tarot … just look at the Sun card … too dumb to take it seriously.
October 21st, 2010 at 12:03 am
This is a really good blog. I’ve been back many times within the last week and want to sign up for your rss feed using Google but cannot find out the best way to do it precisly. Would you know of any sort of instructions?
April 21st, 2011 at 2:11 pm
I have a Necronomicon Tarot deck. I love it to pieces, I don’t like having all the answers staring me in the face. Makes me think 🙂 Yes, Tyson did write a version of the Necronomicon. In the book that comes with the deck it gives information on how to order Necronomicon. It is a very good book and I love how it compliments the deck.
June 11th, 2011 at 3:14 pm
I bought this deck and it is not for the beginner. A lot of what the deck says is weaved in with the other cards making traditional readings complicated. The true reading should be a self interpretation, not so much the book. But if you have a strong scene of the spiritual realm, this is a great Tarot deck
July 18th, 2011 at 11:40 pm
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I have a Necronomicon Tarot deck. I love it to pieces, I don’t like having all the answers staring me in the face. Makes me think 🙂 Yes, Tyson did write a version of the Necronomicon. In the book that comes with the deck it gives information on how to order Necronomicon. It is a very good book and I love how it compliments the deck.