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The Bagat
Six of Coins
The Moon
The Queen of Swords
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I was very intrigued by this deck when I first saw it.
It was created in 1893 by Giovanni Vacchetta along decorative
lines, not unlike the Classical Tarots deck also published
by Lo
Scarabeo. It’s an attractive deck, with expressive
faces and interesting touches, such as the leopard on the
Fool card, or the orthodontic Devil. But what’s really
interesting about this deck are the tantalizing suggestions
of esoteric content, such as the bat, lizard, star and
snake decorating the Magician’s table.
Since this deck was created some 17 years before the Rider-Waite-Smith [RWS]
deck, and in an environment presumably unconnected with
Golden Dawn influences, one is left to wonder to what extent
Vacchetta had anything more in mind than simply creating
a decorative deck. This is especially apparent in the Minors,
which are the most illustrated pip cards I’ve ever
seen. In fact, they are so fully illustrated that I would
categorize them as scenes. Some look as if they almost
could have been included in the Crowley-Harris
Thoth deck, such as the Nine of Cups. And many, although
not all, seem to suggest fortune-telling meanings, such
as the Nine of Swords, which, amazingly, shows a heart
impaled by swords. And can it be entirely a coincidence
that the Four of Wands shows a tree laden with fruit, which
is certainly suggestive of the common R-W-S meanings of
a happy home, celebration after labors, or harvest?
Lo Scarabeo has done an excellent job producing this deck.
The coloring by Michela Gaudenzi is vivid yet sensitive.
The cards are bordered by dark green, which richly complements
the colors. And each card contains a keyword, discreetly
placed running up the left border. Unlike past Lo Scarabeo
decks, these keywords have been thoughtfully done and could
be quite helpful in deciding what the Minor cards might
signify.
Dealing with any creative work from a different culture
can be very educational regarding the attitudes held by
those who lived in that time and place. Unfortunately,
this can have a negative side to it, when those attitudes
are unacceptable from today’s standards. The King
of Coins for this deck is pictured as, to quote the Little
White Booklet, “a Jew intent on coining money”.
I decided long ago that while one must understand that
anti-Semitic novels, such as those of Dostoyevski or Edith
Wharton, were products of their social milieu; that doesn’t
mean I have to read them. Likewise, I’m certainly
not going to put up with such things in a Tarot deck. Of
course, many people will think I’m overreacting,
so rather than make a recommendation, I’ll just invite
my readers to look at the picture and decide for themselves.
I don’t fault Lo Scarabeo for this, of course. In
fact, they’re to be commended for making such an
attractive and interesting deck available to the modern
reader.
Lee A. Bursten is the creator of The
Gay Tarot, and has been studying Tarot off and
on for about 20 years. He enjoys reading about Tarot
and searching for the “Perfect Deck,” which
is always just around the corner but out of reach.
He is very grateful to Michele and Diane for posting
his reviews [at Tarot Passages], and especially to
his significant other, Larry Katz, for his superhuman
patience.
If anyone has requests for specific deck, book or general
information, please e.mail jmd@association.tarotstudies.org
This review, reproduced with reviewer’s
permission, first appeared on Tarot
Passage’s website
Images are from the uncoloured 1893 Giovanni Vachetta
edition, also recently reprinted
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