Deck Review: Tarot Illuminati

Erik C. Dunne (artist/creator) and Kim Huggens (author/writer), Tarot Illuminati. Torino, Italy: Lo Scarabeo, 2013. ISBN: 978-0738737904. (Link to Llewellyn, which distributes the deck in the U.S.)

 

Genre: Tarot deck

Subgenre: RWS clone, art

Format: 78 card deck with 160 pages softcover companion book in box

Source: I own this one. 

Award note: Deck was a finalist in the "divination products" category in the Coalition of Visionary Resources Award in 2014.

 

The Hermit-IX card

I used this deck for the first time during the month of September 2021. The deck comes in a box with
magnetic clasp. Kit includes the 78 card deck and a paperback book companion. 

The book is written by Kim Huggens. You may know Huggens from her other book Tarot 101. I have that book, and I hope to read it soon. The companion book to the deck is arranged as follows: 

• Foreword.
• Introduction.
• Using the Tarot Illuminati. This section features four spreads to try out.
  
• How to learn Tarot. This includes basic advice such as doing a daily draw and keeping a Tarot journal. It also offers advice on interpreting the cards including a list of questions to consider. 
• Major Arcana.
• Minor Arcana.
• Court Cards.
• Appendix.

Seven of Pentacles card

Before I go further, let me get a key issue out of the way. The appendix for the companion book is basically a promo for another book: Tarot Illuminated Revealed: a Complete Guide to the Tarot Illuminati.  As a reader, it was annoying to read the companion book then being told "if you want the full book, you need to buy it separately." To entice you, the author (or the publisher, or both) offers the full entry for the High Priestess-II card. As the author states about the paperback companion book, this "book you are reading is now complete in many ways, but it does not contain everything that could be said about the Tarot Illuminati" (144). I found the tease annoying. Given this is a $31.95 retail price kit, which is a bit on the higher end for Tarot deck kit, I think they should have included the full book or a code for a free PDF of the full book. In addition, for $37.95 retail, six U.S. dollars more, the Tarot Apokalypsis kit, which is the follow up deck to the Tarot Illuminati, does come with a 400 pages full book in hardcover. The companion to the Tarot Illuminati with the kit is 160 pages. So honestly I am not sure what the additional cash grab in this deck is about. Do note links to publisher for prices were accurate as of this blog post (and you can also note that at times the publisher does put these and other decks on sale, which is how I actually got mine). On another side note, once I get time to work with the Tarot Apokalypsis and read that book it may be interesting to compare both. In addition, I did manage to get a copy of the "complete guide" book (as an e-book), so if I get around to reading it, I will review it here on the blog as well.

With that out of the way, the included companion book is not bad. It is very basic, but it is a good book. For beginners, the advice on using Tarot is simple, but it is enough to get you started. Each card entry features a text with an interpretation of the card and a list of themes and concepts. The interpretations are well written and very rich in imagery and symbols. Interpretations are often written from the card character's point of view. I often learned new lessons and insights on Tarot cards in general when reading this companion book. The book is keyed to the deck, but a lot of the material works for any deck within the Rider Waite Smith (RWS) system. The book also features full color illustrations for the cards, which is a nice touch.

Two of Wands card

The cards are the main reason of course to get this kit, and they are beautiful. They are done by Erik C. Dunne. I would describe the art as a baroque style; the art is lush, and it fills the space. It is also very lively and very colorful. For some folks, the art may be too "busy." For other folks include me this is art that you can get lost in. You can spend a lot of time looking into a card to get every detail. The Minor Arcana suits each depict a specific culture as follows: 

• Pentacles are "Oriental-inspired." Think Asian here. 
• Swords are Elizabethan England. 
• Wands are a "Persian-inspired culture." 
• Cups are "a fantasy culture." Think a bit more high fantasy here. 

The cards are borderless. Each card is identified with a label at the bottom of the card.  The art is expressive and deep, good for intuitive readers, as it is within RWS for the most part the deck works well for card readers who use the RWS system. 

This feels like a deck for intermediate users and up, but if you hand it to a beginner I think they can run with it. The images are clear and accessible. 

The cards have a light glossy finish, which can make them easy to shuffle but can also make them a bit slippery. Just keep a good grip on your deck. The cards measure about 4 3/4 inches by 2 3/4 inches. The art on the card backs is fully reversible. 

Overall, I like like these cards, and I highly recommend them. As for the good, the book included is good enough but if you want the full book, which by the way retails for $29.99 in print when I checked, I leave it to readers to decide if they want it. On an update note, the publisher now sells the deck by itself, so if you are one of those folks who just wants the deck and does not care about companion books (or you maybe want a back up copy of the deck without buying a full kit again), that is an option. The bottom line for the kit I am reviewing now: great cards, decent book. 

4 out of 5 stars. 

This kit qualifies for the following 2021 Reading Challenges: