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| Knight of Pentacles |
Scarabeo, the small book's text is in six languages: English, Italian, Spanish, French, Portuguese, and Russian. The English content is about 55 pages. The book includes the following:
- How this deck was created. A short artist statement.
- Why a Tarot De La Nuit? Short description of the deck.
- Welcome to the Kingdom of De La Nuit. Describes concept of the deck and card entries. Each card entry features card title, personal message of card, divinatory meaning, and keywords.
- Major Arcana.
- Minor Arcana.
- Bonus card: L'Ange De La Nuit. This deck has an extra card, and this paragraph provides its divinatory meaning. You can choose to leave the card in the deck or remove it prior to using the deck. I left it in the deck when I used it.
- How to use this deck. This note include includes some suggestions for an initial ritual and some tips on using the deck.
- 1-card readings. Some prompts for one card readings.
- The Night Spread. A 7-card spread specifically designed for the deck. As of this post, I have not tried it. When I do, I will post it to my cartomancy blog, Alchemical Thoughts.
The book overall is relatively easy to read. The card interpretations are written from the point of view of a card's character. They are written in first person, which adds a bit of a personal touch. Interpretations focus on the themes of night and the world of faery. While the deck falls, mostly, withing the Rider Waite Smith (RWS) structure, I still recommend reading the book to really appreciate the concepts and dark beauty of this deck. I did enjoy reading the interpretations in the book and adding what works for me to my own readings.
Yes, this is a very feminine deck; that's a lot of the energy you feel in using it. Most of the cards are female figures. There are a few males throughout such as The Emperor-IV and the Kings. The deck has a strong dream quality to it. This could be a good deck to use at night and/or for dream work. The art style, to use the author's words, is gothic, baroque, mystical, and mysterious. It has a strong romantic element.
The artist pays careful attention to detail in this deck. Deck features a lot of rich detail and a profound depth. You can lose yourself looking at these cards. Imagery can be very sensual as well, seductive, but it is not an erotic deck per se. Colors are bright and very rich. Figures are very expressive, moving at times. Art certainly works well for intuitive readers. As the author writes, "Each card represents a very specific character that conveys a message. You don't need to know anything about tarot to understand this message" (7). True as that may be, I would say it does help if you know at least a bit of Tarot. Also, I'd add reading the small book can enhance the card reading experience. However, if you are one of those intuitives who jump right in without texts, then yes, you should be able to work with the cards well.
I really like the art on this one. It is one of the most sensuous and deep decks I've used so far. This is a deck that has made me think and ponder. It puts my intuition and imagination to work with its rich and deep dark imagery. While you can use it year round, I'd recommend this deck for the dark time of the year, especially winter. I found it worked great for me in December.
The cards measure about 4 3/4 inches by 2 3/4 inches. Art is borderless. Cards are identified by a banner with card name at bottom of the card. Card back is reversible. The cards have a bit of a glossy finish.
Overall, an excellent deck that I am glad to have in my collection. It is one I would gladly recommend for folks seeking dark decks. This deck is also good for folks looking for a more feminine deck.
5 out of 5 stars.
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