Deck Review: Tarot V

Alejandro Colucci (artist and creator) and Charles Harrington (book author), Tarot V. Torino, Italy: Lo Scarabeo, 2021 ISBN: 9780738770833.

Genre: Tarot decks

Subgenre: Vampires, darkness

Format: Small hard box with 78-card deck and small companion book

Source: I own this one.

Five of Swords

Published by Lo Scarabeo, this box kit includes the 78-card deck and a small book with text in English, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese. Alejandro Colucci does the art and concept; he also did the art and concept for the Tarot Z (link to my review). Charles Harrington wrote the book. It turns out he also did the new as of this post Tarot of the Vampires from Llewellyn (link to publisher). I recently acquired Tarot of the Vampires, and I will review it sometime after I get some time to work with it. I first worked with the Tarot V during the month of July 2023. 

I liked the small book for this deck. The text is written an elder vampire writing instructions and advice to a new young vampire. The text is informative and stays within the vampire theme. The book includes: 

• Short introduction. 
• Tarot in the Shadow of the Vampire.
• Shadow Work: Dancing in the Dark.
• Understanding Tarot. This is a brief overview and history of Tarot.
• The Structure of a Deck. 
• Bloodlines and Suits. In this deck, the "Minor Arcana are divided into four suits, here represented by the great bloodlines of vampire society in the world of Tarot V" (10). We still have the traditional suits and elemental associations, but they are also connected to the vampire bloodlines. For example, cups (water) are the bloodline of passion. 
• The Tarot Court. These are the court cards. 
• Performing a Tarot Reading. Some basic advice on how to do a reading. 
• Tarot Spread: the Nocturnal Hunt. A five-card spread specific to the deck. 
• Interpretations and Meanings. The card meanings. The Minor Arcana entries include lore, divination, reversed, and shadow dance. The Major Arcana entries also add some keywords. The shadow dance is a feature of the Tarot V to help with your shadow work. 
• Shadow Work with the Tarot V.

The book and deck offer various ways to do shadow work. The book has three small sections on shadows and shadow work plus the shadow dance in the card entries. I liked and found the shadow dance texts to be useful. They gave me new insights on the cards plus they gave me questions and opportunities for further self reflection. Folks interested in shadow work may find it useful, but you don't have to formally do shadow work to find the shadow dance beneficial. 

The Hermit-IX

The concept of a vampire sire writing to their new child of the night (you) works well, and it nicely sets the tone and mood for the deck. I find dark decks like this, and especially vampire decks, work very well for me. The student concept on this deck is appealing and drew me in right away. The instructions are well written, accessible, and informative. Though you get enough to get you going, I wish this small book had been developed and expanded into a full book. In this small book, Harrington hints at a very expansive vampire society, one I wish I could explore much further.I knew I wanted more, but as is you get enough to do the work and get moving. Like a new vampire, the sire does not reveal all, and you'll have to figure out the rest.

The cards are great. The art right away immerses you in the world of vampires and the night. Though the deck features one or two nods to pop culture, this is not really a pop culture deck, i.e. don't come expecting anything like Buffy or heaven help you sparkling vampires. The art and concept here are within horror and a classic dark gothic style. You see vampires in various forms and ages. You also see some vampire hunters, the vampires' nemesis, especially as the pages in the court cards. The art is very expressive with great attention to detail; the characters show much emotion. For intuitive readers, the art offers plenty to stimulate intuition. The cards tend to Rider Waite Smith (RWS) system, but this is not a clone. The art often does deviate from RWS or has its own ideas. Still, if you use RWS, there is enough to make the deck work for you. 

The art is colorful with a predominance of grey tones and night colors. The art is clear and detailed as I mentioned. These are cards you can spend time look over, so they work well for reflection and shadow work. 

The cards measure about 4 3/4 inches by 2 3/4 inches. The card stock is on the thick side but flexible. This makes for a hefty deck, which may feel a bit heavier in your hands. The art is borderless. A small band at the bottom of the card has the card identifiers. Major Arcana have Roman numerals. Minor Arcana have Arabic numerals and suit symbol. Court cards have court symbol and suit symbol. The card back is nice, but it is not reversible. 

Knight of Swords

For me, this is now a favorite vampire deck and favorite deck overall. This is definitely a deck I do not wish to be without. Colucci is emerging as a new favorite artist for me, and I can't wait to see what they do next. Combined with Harrington's text, this is a great set overall. Though you could use it year round, this deck is best suited for the dark part of the year. It can also be useful for some folks interested in shadow work. I found that it reads very well. I found myself very responsive to the images and symbols. I can definitely work with this deck, and I was reluctant to put it back on the shelf when it came time to rotate decks for a new month. This is a solid deck for us children of the night. I am glad to have it and highly recommend it. Though I have not tried it yet, I feel this deck can work very well with some dark oracle decks. I hope to try that down the road. 

5 out of 5 stars. 

On a side note, as of this post, I think the deck has either gone out of print or is about to go out of print. When I checked Llewellyn, their U.S. distributor, the deck is no longer listed (as in you can't find it on the website at all). So if you want it, I'd suggest seeing if you can get it via a retailer like the Big A or some other bookstore or esoteric shop before they run out of stock. As of this post, Lo Scarabeo, the publisher, still had it on their site, which I linked above. 

This deck kit qualifies for the following 2023 Reading Challenge: 

Note: photos are mine from my deck.