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Lo Scarabeo Catalog for 2022


Morsoth

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Finally found it. Usually they publish the new catalog around December/January on https://issuu.com/, but it wasn't posted this year.

 

I randomly found the 2022 catalog here: https://fonixmusik.com/media/download/scarabeo.pdf

 

The great thing is that you can easily download it this time, and I attached the .pdf file to this post in case the link goes dead. Enjoy!

 

Untitled-2.thumb.jpg.652bc6d9be4f529835bb96a9c5e77ef4.jpg

CatLoScarabeo22.pdf

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Thanks. Some of the reproductions look interesting.

Hmmm, they have a Templar deck. I could be tempted by a well researched one, if I liked the art. But:

Capture.JPG.cd93adeabb0402170b341d7267e1af1f.JPG

The costuming is all wrong. And women in those days didn't wear their hair down and beach-waved. It was put up in coiled braids and the like, and they wore a variety of caps, hair cauls, and wimples. The head was covered.

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Thank you for posting the catalog!  from what I'm seeing, I might be interested in:

 

The "new" historical decks, Tarochino al Soldato and Tarocchi Piacentini.  My motto is buy historical repro decks when you can before they go out of print.

 

The "new" cartomancy decks, Traditional Italian Fortune Cards and Oracular Cards of Change.  I actually enjoyed trying to use the Folk Cards of Destiny, so maybe these would be fun too.

 

Egyptian Gods Oracle Cards.  I like the authentic-looking artwork, but the tarot by the same artist was just not working for me because it's definitely not authentic!  Divorced from tarot, these might make more sense!

 

Mayyyyybe Iassen Ghuiselev Tarot majors only.  I had Tarot of the III Millennium back in the day, but the minor were just too weird.  And maybe the majors too?  We'll see . . .

 

Symbolic Tarot of Wirth.  I'm wondering if I need this deck based on Wirth's numerological system for the minors.  None of the other Wirth decks out there reference that.

 

Thanks again!  I know I'll be browsing the catalog again!

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25 minutes ago, Rachelcat said:

Symbolic Tarot of Wirth.  I'm wondering if I need this deck based on Wirth's numerological system for the minors.  None of the other Wirth decks out there reference that.

 

 

The Llewellyn site claims  it was created "with the addition of a carefully researched and compiled lower arcana that completes Wirth's occult system of Tetrads."
https://www.llewellyn.com/product.php?ean=9780738769585

 

There's a (somewhat pretentious, lol) explanation of Tetrads in this video series:
 


Wirth himself never wrote about or drew Minors, and it's doubtful he used them.
And I don't really trust LS with research (as evidenced by my post a few hours ago). I've yet to see a functional LWB from them. But the Minors may be readable using another pip system. I'd have to see more cards.


 

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Ah, I see Cardolytes and the Witches oracle both were licensed. I have one of the original printings of each of those, kind of curious what the differences will be.

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33 minutes ago, katrinka said:

 

The Llewellyn site claims  it was created "with the addition of a carefully researched and compiled lower arcana that completes Wirth's occult system of Tetrads."
https://www.llewellyn.com/product.php?ean=9780738769585

 

There's a (somewhat pretentious, lol) explanation of Tetrads in this video series:
 


Wirth himself never wrote about or drew Minors, and it's doubtful he used them.
And I don't really trust LS with research (as evidenced by my post a few hours ago). I've yet to see a functional LWB from them. But the Minors may be readable using another pip system. I'd have to see more cards.


 

Ooo, thanks!  I've been looking around for the Wirth info.  Thought I had it in a book somewhere, but now I can watch the video!  Diving in now!

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8 hours ago, katrinka said:

Thanks. Some of the reproductions look interesting.

Hmmm, they have a Templar deck. I could be tempted by a well researched one, if I liked the art. But:

Capture.JPG.cd93adeabb0402170b341d7267e1af1f.JPG

The costuming is all wrong. And women in those days didn't wear their hair down and beach-waved. It was put up in coiled braids and the like, and they wore a variety of caps, hair cauls, and wimples. The head was covered.

 

The costuming is indeed wrong ("generic medieval," basically, kinda like Excalibur), but --didn't maidens wear their hair uncovered? Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think caps, cauls and wimples were the province of married women.

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Nothing of interest to me thankfully, but I need to save for Taroteca's Russian folklore deck anyway. I think it is out sometime this year.

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47 minutes ago, FLizarraga said:

The costuming is indeed wrong ("generic medieval," basically, kinda like Excalibur), but --didn't maidens wear their hair uncovered? Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think caps, cauls and wimples were the province of married women.


The Knights Templar were active ca. 1119-1312.
I did find a reference to women wearing their hair uncovered during the reign of Henry I (1100-1135), but it was worn in two plaits, not loose. By 1135, it was back to wimples.
https://fashion-era.com/hats-hair/hair1-1066-1327-womens-hair-calthrop.htm
 

I've seen references to medieval maidens wearing their hair down to signal they were ready for marriage, but I can't find any evidence of it for this particular time and place. Generally, even childrens' clothes looked like little adult clothes then. I'm not saying nobody ever wore their hair down and uncovered. But the puella ideal seems to have developed in the late medieval period, often considered to begin in 1300, though some scholars look at the mid- to late-fifteenth century.

https://www.medievalists.net/2014/08/medieval-maiden-young-womanhood-late-medieval-england/

 

I don't have the final word on this, obviously. But I think I've already done more research than the guys at LS. 😁 Still, I'm a hack at this. I do have a fashion historian friend I could ask, but if I showed her that card, she'd lose all respect for me. 🤣

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1 hour ago, katrinka said:


The Knights Templar were active ca. 1119-1312.
I did find a reference to women wearing their hair uncovered during the reign of Henry I (1100-1135), but it was worn in two plaits, not loose. By 1135, it was back to wimples.
https://fashion-era.com/hats-hair/hair1-1066-1327-womens-hair-calthrop.htm
 

I've seen references to medieval maidens wearing their hair down to signal they were ready for marriage, but I can't find any evidence of it for this particular time and place. Generally, even childrens' clothes looked like little adult clothes then. I'm not saying nobody ever wore their hair down and uncovered. But the puella ideal seems to have developed in the late medieval period, often considered to begin in 1300, though some scholars look at the mid- to late-fifteenth century.

https://www.medievalists.net/2014/08/medieval-maiden-young-womanhood-late-medieval-england/

 

I don't have the final word on this, obviously. But I think I've already done more research than the guys at LS. 😁 Still, I'm a hack at this. I do have a fashion historian friend I could ask, but if I showed her that card, she'd lose all respect for me. 🤣

 

I guess? 🤣

 

It probably varied from one European region to another, though. And, of course, our perception of Medieval fashion is now colored by the Romantic painters and their maidens fair with the flowing locks and the gauzy dresses.

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17 minutes ago, FLizarraga said:

It probably varied from one European region to another, though.

 

Of course. Simply crossing the Channel would get you something slightly different.
When I was reading all that stuff, I saw a bit about some Italian women wearing their hair uncovered in those times. But they weren't maidens, they were "in the business." 😉
 

17 minutes ago, FLizarraga said:

And, of course, our perception of Medieval fashion is now colored by the Romantic painters and their maidens fair with the flowing locks and the gauzy dresses.

 

Yes. The mind is in constant need of housecleaning.
And then there's the siren song of Hollywood...you know it's not correct, but it can stick in your head. 😁

 

The_Adventures_of_Robin_Hood-698356122-large.thumb.jpg.27bd9be5587d87bba7d639e09fa11ca0.jpg

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8 hours ago, katrinka said:

 

Of course. Simply crossing the Channel would get you something slightly different.
When I was reading all that stuff, I saw a bit about some Italian women wearing their hair uncovered in those times. But they weren't maidens, they were "in the business." 😉
 

 

Yes. The mind is in constant need of housecleaning.
And then there's the siren song of Hollywood...you know it's not correct, but it can stick in your head. 😁

 

The_Adventures_of_Robin_Hood-698356122-large.thumb.jpg.27bd9be5587d87bba7d639e09fa11ca0.jpg

 

Very true! At least John Boorman was consciously going for a totally ahistorical, mythical Middle Ages look in Excalibur. Shiny armors and all that.

 

Fun fact: The Adventures of Robin Hood was the first movie I ever watched in color, in a movie theater, as a child.

 

 

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Three-strip technicolor, no less. Stunning. 🥰 And it doesn't drag anywhere, it's got a fun pace. It's my favorite Robin Hood.

 

Historical inaccuracy has traditionally been the norm in movies, it's just dismaying to see the same thing happening with decks.
 

 

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am i the only one who never really liked the lo scarabeo decks? ive never been drawn to it , had one art noveau deck and couldn’t connect well with the cards. 

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5 minutes ago, wokeara said:

am i the only one who never really liked the lo scarabeo decks? ive never been drawn to it , had one art noveau deck and couldn’t connect well with the cards. 

Someone I know referred to the range as "The Denny's of Tarot."

I own very few of their releases and tend to agree. With that said, many people enjoy them well enough.

Like Moons over my Hierophant.

 

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Thanks so much for sharing this. I'm interesting in the Siddhartha Tarot. Lots of traditional Vajrayana/Tibetan Buddhism symbolism and images in it, and that's my wheelhouse, so I'm really curious to see what they do with it. 

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As a theme decks girl, and sometimes an art decks girl, I appreciate Lo Scarabeo for continuing to try out different decks.  And as a historical repro girl, I very much appreciate their work making them affordable.  AND as an inveterate shopper, I like their additions to the variety available to choose from!

 

I understand your point that it seems like they have a lot of misses and a just few hits, but then if everybody liked the same thing, what a boring world this would be!  (Just playing devil's advocate here!)

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I don't have many Lo Scarabeo decks either, aside from three historical reproductions, and I agree with Rachelcat that it's nice and much appreciated to have affordable options. I generally like the card stock they use, too. The art decks seem lovely--I only own the Klimt Tarot, but if my experience with that deck applies to the others, I get the most mileage with it by not strictly adhering to a Tarot system (and the little booklets are useless as a general rule). It's more of a contemplative tool, taken out on occasion, and it's pretty and shiny. 🙃

 

The one pet peeve I do have, on the rare occasion I've been tempted by their theme decks not based on existing artwork, is the sort of blow-up doll aesthetic of the women depicted and the disproportionate nudity between men and women. For all their creativity in themes, that constant gets tired real fast...

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That, and the pulp comic/graphic novel art style most of their decks have.

And there's no reason for it. Why put a naked girl on the 6 of Cups? It doesn't express the card meaning, it's just random. I don't know which of their decks this is, I got it off of google. But it doesn't seem to be a pinup deck or an erotic deck, just a wonky Tarot with random naked blow-up dolls.
Possibly NSFW:

https://azum.ua/storage/images/product/3474/7108_s.jpg

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OMG. 😳🤣 Yes, exactly. Completely unnecessary and laughable. It makes you wonder who they think their target audience is. I just looked at their website and based on the card frames, it looks like the Lo Scarabeo Tarot. Talk about being on brand!

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