Jump to content

Lo Scarabeo Catalog for 2022


Morsoth

Recommended Posts

58 minutes ago, katrinka said:

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

 

Maybe connected to the fact that the company founder started out in that field - and is still active there.

 

Quote

Pietro was a very succesful stage magician and graphic. He worked for the foremost graphic agency in Italy and was a regular guest in national TV shows. He had, anyway, two passions: Tarot and Artwork (comic book art and illustrations).
From one day to another he quit stage magic and graphics, and founded Lo Scarabeo.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm pleased they've been a part of the current tarot flourishing in popularity, however. The more the merrier when it comes to people branching out.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Some of the decks in this catalog are on sale at Llewellyn's tarot sale.  (Llewellyn is the US distributor for Lo Scarbeo.)  https://www.llewellyn.com/sale_campaign.php?campaign=30&utm_source=homepage&utm_medium=banner&utm_campaign=tarotsale021522&llewbid=1896&llewzid=342 

 

The sale is on until Tuesday.  I think the Llewellyn site only sells to US folks. 

 

I already have everything that I want that they have on sale, but maybe you'll find something you like!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

MysticMoonlight
On 2/14/2022 at 11:58 AM, Rachelcat said:

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!)

This for me too. 

 

Also, LoS did me a solid once. I'll never forget it. Years ago, (I think I told this story when Aeclectic Tarot Forum was full swing so if you've read this story before, sorry!) I ordered a LoS deck from ebay. It was new but when I opened it and began doing my go-thru of the deck, there was a duplicate of one of the cards but no Knight of Swords card in the deck at all. I wasn't sure what to do really and before buying another copy, I took the chance of contacting LoS directly explaining my situation. They never responded to my email, didn't hear a peep from them. About a week or so later though an envelope arrived in the mail from none other than Lo Scarabeo. (I had included my address and contact info in my email) Those lovely folks sent a single Knight of Swords card from that deck to me here in Little Small Town in the Middle of Nowhere, America. Yep, they got a customer for life that day. Love them!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, MysticMoonlight said:

This for me too. 

 

Also, LoS did me a solid once. I'll never forget it. Years ago, (I think I told this story when Aeclectic Tarot Forum was full swing so if you've read this story before, sorry!) I ordered a LoS deck from ebay. It was new but when I opened it and began doing my go-thru of the deck, there was a duplicate of one of the cards but no Knight of Swords card in the deck at all. I wasn't sure what to do really and before buying another copy, I took the chance of contacting LoS directly explaining my situation. They never responded to my email, didn't hear a peep from them. About a week or so later though an envelope arrived in the mail from none other than Lo Scarabeo. (I had included my address and contact info in my email) Those lovely folks sent a single Knight of Swords card from that deck to me here in Little Small Town in the Middle of Nowhere, America. Yep, they got a customer for life that day. Love them!

Nice. Good customer service is a rare and beautiful thing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

MysticMoonlight
11 hours ago, Wyrdkiss said:

Nice. Good customer service is a rare and beautiful thing.

Absolutely! I would not have thought unkindly of them had they not responded to me but the fact that they took the time for little ole me and my single card woe says a lot about them :classic_smile:

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Has anyone seen images of the Symbolic Soul Tarot, more than are in the catalogue? 

 

There is something appealing on the images, but one has to see more than just the few cards. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have mixed feelings about LoScarabeo, too. When I started buying more decks, there were not many other options around, and they're easily accessible. Nowadays, with a huge market of independently produced decks, LoScarabeo has lost its appeal to me, but I still like quite a lot of their decks: Secret Forest, Botticelli, Klimt, Visconti.... Their historical reproduction decks also got better since the days they stuck an olive green frame and multi-lingual titles on the Vacchetta! I trimmed it of course. 

 

The LoScarabeo deck of boobs-boobs-let-them-loose fame is actually an interesting idea and some cards are not bad. The illustrator is competent in water colours but why is the deck full of pin up girls? No idea. I trimmed it and use it rarely. It could have been so much better. 

 

Their decks with existing artwork: John Bauer, Dulac, Rackham, are interesting, but more as collector's items than real reading decks. 

 

And some of these decks look simply very kitschy, or they milk a trend, or they're extremely shallow. 

 

Often, I have the feeling that the artist really didn't know anything about the tarot and simply got a brief how to do it. My suspicion was validated when I read the book accompanying the Fey Tarot. Riccardo Minetti tells about his cooperation with a talented illustrator who know next to nothing about the tarot. The result is actually a clever little deck (I bought it trimmed) that reads not too bad but once you get used to decks made by people who are really into tarot, you simply feel the difference. I can't compare to Anna K., Tabula Mundi or Fountain where you feel the passion for tarot through the art. 

 

Nevertheless, there are a few decks that look interesting. 

 

ETA: How could I forget! One of the biggest no-nos to many of their deck is their complete and utter lack of inclusiveness. All females are young, blonde, white-skinned and with full breast they display proudly. In many LoScarabeo decks, you can't even find token or alibi variety of ethnic, body type or age representation. It's simply one type. That spoils many of their otherwise acceptable decks. I can't identify with a deck that reflects a tired old cliche of prettiness. 

Edited by Nemia
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have to say I am pleased that I did not see anything I was too interested in getting.  Over time I have become quite picky and LoScarabeo decks are not usually on my list.  But I do have to say one of favorite decks of all time, the Fey Tarot is a LoScarabeo deck, not one I actually expected to really like and a friend that knew me very well told me I had to get (when deck/book set was released way back when) it that I would really enjoy reading with it.  She was right, it was one of my two main reading decks for over a decade.  Tarot of the Sweet Twilight is another one I love and still use.   In the past I purchased quite a few of their decks because I liked the art or themes, but other than the Fey I think they all pretty much have stayed on my shelf and I occasionally look through them to enjoy the art.  I guess over time I have really moved away from purchasing pretty to purchasing decks I will actually read with and use.

Edited by Jewel
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not a fan of a lot of these decks - they're just so full of images that do nothing for me in terms of Tarot. That being said, I really love my Santa Meurte deck - it's so nice to look at, and the theme fits Tarot really well. Having a tough time reading with it because it's so busy, but I won't regret buying it, and I have gotten positive feedback at a reading. Is there any other LoS decks I need? Probably not.

 

And I agree with @Rachelcat and others about nudity. I don't care about nudity in general, but does it help the specific card meaning? Will all the people I read for appreciate it? Mostly I just see no need for it. Show some goddamn imagination instead. Ciro and Vinitski use almost no nudity and their decks are beautiful!

 

So, whatever. It's all a matter of taste I guess.

 

Take care, stay safe,

Pierre

Link to comment
Share on other sites

SlightlyMagic

I don't suppose there's a resident Lo Scarabeo expert around? Was reluctant to start a new thread for something that could be straight forward. After using the few databases I've seen mentioned in this forum, reverse image searches and a few days of search engining I'm none the wiser regarding a copy of 'The Crystal Tarots' I own and hoping someone might be able to drop me a line and help me out.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Why not start a new thread for it in this tarot decks area @SlightlyMagic ? It would be better as it's own thread and you can say what issues you are having

Also starting a thread for a deck might have people searching for the same thing later on 🙂

Link to comment
Share on other sites

ah, sale finished but nice to visit Llewellyn.  I might have to get the Celtic Astrology tarot, the text is by Lunea Weatherstone and I love her work in the Forest of Enchantment.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A question for any Lo Scarabeo regulars here, when the catalogue says a new deck is due for an October release, when in the month does the release usually happen? I've been stalking the website for news on a particular deck and I'm getting impatient 😅

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sometimes early, sometimes late, sometimes even the month before. Much depends on the people shipping the decks to them (there was one shipment that was help up for months for some reason I forget,). To get them the fastest way possible, buy direct from their website. Is that what you mean by stalking it ? Which are you stalking ?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you @gregory, that’s all good to know. I am indeed going directly to the Lo Scarabeo website and checking the new releases tab every few days 😅

 

I’m really interested in the Symbolic Soul Tarot, illustrated by Elisa Seitzinger. She also illustrated Le Tarot de L’etoile Cachee which I got a copy of, but even though I love the art style I’m not sure the tone of the deck is quite me. I’m interested to see if the Lo Scarabeo deck will sit a little better. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Don't just look for "new" - put in a keyword - occasionally the new ones are slow to pick up  the "new "tag, in my experience. I'll get that one when it comes out, too ! Also their new Steampunk.

Edited by gregory
Link to comment
Share on other sites

That's a good tip, thank you, I'll try that from now on.

 

The new Steampunk deck looks really fun! The illustrations are excellent and I love the colour palette.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm very tempted by the Egyptian Gods Oracle cards, though I need some way of finding out whether the hieroglyphs on them are meaningful and accurate, in case I ever decide to learn to read it and get annoyed to discover that it's just random decoration.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

AnomalyTempest
1 hour ago, euripides said:

I'm very tempted by the Egyptian Gods Oracle cards, though I need some way of finding out whether the hieroglyphs on them are meaningful and accurate, in case I ever decide to learn to read it and get annoyed to discover that it's just random decoration.

I saw those too and wondered the same thing. 🤣

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.