Authentic Egyptian decks???

Eno said:

Maybe there is one egypt for scientists, and for this there won't be any connection to tarot
but another esoteric egypt that exists in a very different way.

I like "The Egypt Tarot" deck by Mertz and Szij.

http://egypt-tarot.com/

Click to expand...

Love the link and I agree with you Eno as you hit the nail right on the head.


Thanks,

Freddie

gregory said:

To be fair to Freddie, I believe he is well aware of his tarot history - but Egyptian decks are still nice to use, and if one HAS one, it is nice if it LOOKS genuinely EGYPTIAN. Which is not at all the same as genuine EGYPTIAN TAROT from the Mists of Time. One that portrays ancieng Egypt correctly, whether or not (not, I know !) that's where it all started.

Freddie - if you can find a decent Papus deck - Goulinat - that might work for you. I am very fond of the Egipcios Kier, which I think may be back in print.

Margarita Moscardo's Tarot Egipcio Adivinatorio is lovely but HTF. And Laura Tuan's Tarocchi Egiziani is a nice piece of work. There's a Bulgarian one too, but I don't know how easy it is to get now - delightfully stilted - Golden Tarot of the Pyramids. As also a Chinese one - Senet - that baby_dream may be able to get for you. I quite like Silvana Alasia's decks, but you don't, so...

Click to expand...

I do like silvana's deck, but I wondered if I was being to picky about her changing some some of the classic images. I am sure I will end up with one of them. You have given some good decks to consider.

Thanks Gregory,

Freddie

Authentic in the context of Egyptian tarot - does this mean that the art looks similar to the ancient Egyptian style - and not any more sophisticated or modern? Or are modern drawing techniques applied to the representation of the deities still authentic? Or is representation of Ancient Egyptian symbolism, regardless of drawing style, regarded as more authentic? Clearly the symbolism and art will have to be bent somewhat to fit into the Tarot archtypes and meanings to some degree.

Freddie... 1st question for you... have you been to Egypt? walked in the museums, the tombs, the temples? Are you trying to recreate what you saw on your travels in tarot?

That being asked... (and I have been to Egypt)... in my collection are two Los Silvana Alasia decks... Egyptian Tarot and the bling of all blings... Nefertari's Tarot (don't look at it in direct sunlight, it'll put your eyes out! ). The decks emulate pharonic art in all its glory. For that reason I love both decks. When I look at them, I'm back in the Valley of the Kings, deep in a tomb, awestruck by what I'm seeing on the walls and ceilings.

Trying to put Egyptian gods/goddesses into the RWS tarot framework is square peg/round hole. If you're looking for a one on one, ie: Seth = stormy days/tower; Ma'at = weighing of the heart/justice etc perhaps an Egyptian oracle might work better for you.

Nefertari's Tarot

Speaking of Nefertari's Tarot, just yesterday I trimmed the borders and gilded the edges of mine. I took these photos out in the sun today... and yes I was blinded.

I like this deck without the borders - it's as though the cards are pieces of Egyptian art, rather than art framed within a tarot card. My only concern is that the gilding might come off. I'll have to keep a watchful eye on that.

I can't say if the artwork is true to Egyptian design, but I certainly love the look.

Rhinemaiden said:

Freddie... 1st question for you... have you been to Egypt? walked in the museums, the tombs, the temples? Are you trying to recreate what you saw on your travels in tarot?

That being asked... (and I have been to Egypt)... in my collection are two Los Silvana Alasia decks... Egyptian Tarot and the bling of all blings... Nefertari's Tarot (don't look at it in direct sunlight, it'll put your eyes out! ). The decks emulate pharonic art in all its glory. For that reason I love both decks. When I look at them, I'm back in the Valley of the Kings, deep in a tomb, awestruck by what I'm seeing on the walls and ceilings.

Trying to put Egyptian gods/goddesses into the RWS tarot framework is square peg/round hole. If you're looking for a one on one, ie: Seth = stormy days/tower; Ma'at = weighing of the heart/justice etc perhaps an Egyptian oracle might work better for you.

Click to expand...

Hi Rhinemaiden,

No, but I would love to. Egypt and Israel are both at the top of my list of places to visit before I croak someday LMAO. I would like to see both for spiritual and historical reasons. The wife, kid and I just just visited 'Highclere Castle' (AKA Downton Abbey on TV) and saw the Carnavon Egptian museum. I also went to the 'Tuankhamun Exhibition' in Chicago at the Field Museum with the wife a few years ago.

From what I can see the Alasia decks do look the most like the real thing. I like all of her Lo scarabeo 'Egyptian' decks and maybe I will let go of the Paul Christian/Geramain Major Arcana OCD thing a bit.

Thanks for sharing!


Freddie

Freddie,

I would love to go to Highclere castlle... that must have been a wonderful trip! I have a 5 foot long Treasures of Tutankhamun poster (which included the Field museum showing)... saw the treasures in situ.

Egyptian decks... buy what appeals to you visually. And enjoy!

As others here have pointed out, and you obviously know, authentic egyptian symbolic art can't be shoved into a european tarot mold. That being said, the Nefertari's Tarots probably comes the closest to pharaonic art while still maintaining some symbolic imagery that corresponds to traditional tarot meanings. Contrasted with modern aethetics much of the ancient egyptian artwork would be considered quite "tacky". It would seem ancient egyptians loved bright colors and a lot of bling! Many of the statues/mural fragments, ect. in our museums have actually lost most, if not all, of their original finishes. Most of us would be aghast to see these "works of art" defaced with a covering of bright, gaudy paints! However, the ancient egyptians would consider most art incomplete without such paint treatments.
Well, getting back to the Nefertai's Tarots deck - an ancient egyptian teleported to 2013 would probably find this deck very attractive! So if you want something halfway authentic looking, yet maintaining traditional tarot symbolism, it would be hard to find something much better (also as a side note, the minors are illustrated and not just pips).

agviz said:

Speaking of Nefertari's Tarot, just yesterday I trimmed the borders and gilded the edges of mine. I took these photos out in the sun today... and yes I was blinded.

I like this deck without the borders - it's as though the cards are pieces of Egyptian art, rather than art framed within a tarot card. My only concern is that the gilding might come off. I'll have to keep a watchful eye on that.

I can't say if the artwork is true to Egyptian design, but I certainly love the look.

Click to expand...

Absolutely stunning job, agviz! I love it without the borders.

agviz said:

Speaking of Nefertari's Tarot, just yesterday I trimmed the borders and gilded the edges of mine. I took these photos out in the sun today... and yes I was blinded.

I like this deck without the borders - it's as though the cards are pieces of Egyptian art, rather than art framed within a tarot card. My only concern is that the gilding might come off. I'll have to keep a watchful eye on that.

I can't say if the artwork is true to Egyptian design, but I certainly love the look.

Click to expand...

Gorgeous! I'm practically enabled. Too bad you're not around to trim and bling one for me!