Lo Scarabeo Catalogue 2024

[Guest]

Lo Scarabeo finally posted their 2024 releases. Which decks caught your attention? 

 

https://www.loscarabeo.com/en/pages/catalogo

 

It seems that every year, LoS changes the links on that page so I'm including the link to the English pdf HERE.

[Nemia]

None of the new releases catches my attention at all. They all look garish, cartoonish and quite shallow to me. Sorry. I have all the Lo Scarabeo decks that I'll ever need. It seems to me that Lo Scarabeo designs tarot for newbies* or collectors but not for actual readers. We have seen so many new releases by independent creators who try a different angle, not simply by using a motif or very clever graphics, but by diving deep into the tarot and filling it with new meaning. I have the feeling that Lo Scarabeo misses something very important by commissioning artwork from artists who don't feel and know the tarot but simply re-illustrate it. Maybe I'm totally wrong but that's how it looks to me. 

 

For a long, long time I haven't been excited about a new Lo Scarabeo release and I'm sorry to say - they're affordable, yes, but I prefer to pay more for a deck that really tells me something about tarot I didn't know before. I know it's difficult to judge from a pdf catalogue but I really felt meh about most of them... 

 

 

 

* No disrespect to newbies intended - we were all newbies some time ago. When I was a newbie, I didn't know what to look for. I'm sure there are many newbies more discerning than I was. 

Edited January 12, 2024 by Nemia

[Guest]

I understand your stance, @Nemia.

 

For me, the only sure-buys are the Minchiate Fiorentine, the Marseilles, and the Divine Light Oracle. The first because I don't wish to miss out on affordable, limited-edition Minchiates (Minchiati?); the second because I believe I don't have a Besançon Marseille yet and I find the color scheme attractive unlike in most TdM's. Doesn't hurt that they're part of the Anima Antiqua line too. 

 

I never in my wildest dreams thought I'd ever encounter an honest-to-goodness Anichini deck. Ezio Anichini! If you're a devotee of religious art, you may be familiar with his oeuvre. I also like how the monochromatic scheme of the Divine Light Oracle dovetails with the Heaven and Earth Tarot, which I've been reading extensively with for the past year.

 

The two decks I'm still considering are the Incubus Tarot and the Astral Tarot. Charles Harrington impressed me with the depth of his knowledge of the Tarot in his companion book to the Tarot of the Vampires so I'm curious as to how he'll tackle the first deck. I find the theme fascinating, and the art looks striking too. I love the Astral Tarot's aesthetics, but the real test as to whether I'll get it or not is the veracity of the knowledge its booklet offers since it purports to be an astological/esoteric deck. 

 

 

[DanielJUK]

I think that's a good point @Nemia. Taking it from their view only as a business (or this might be their view!). I posted some years ago that 2019 and 2020 had the biggest sales of RWS ever in its lifetime. Since then, every year has had huge sales of that deck and many other mass-market decks and books, tarot is hugely in fashion again (and astrology)!. It started before the pandemic but I think carried on because people are searching for something and maybe tarot helps.

 

It makes business sense they are making decks that will be as popular with this new market as possible, but unfortunately annoys the long-term collectors and readers. I don't think the new trend is sustainable, people's interests will drop off, but for now, these decks are hugely selling! So they are pivoting for these new tarot fans and as popular as possible decks. I also suspect they are rushing out decks as soon as designed to sell during these times.

[Eugenie]

I didn't like any of the new ones. Speaking of the existing ones, I like their Anima Antiqua series but hardly "need" any. Due to the forum, and all the beautiful decks that you show here, I am interested in different decks... 

[Guest]

That makes sense @DanielJUK. Strike while the iron's hot and all that. Regarding the RWS, with the US Games fully loosing their stranglehold in 2021, Lo Scarabeo must have been stoked being able to dip into that gravy train. 

 

As with anything, what comes up must come down. I hope the Tarot is not just a passing fad for the general public, but if it is I hope its descent will be more of a drydown than anything drastic.

[Rodney]

I'm mostly underwhelmed too. And I currently own 278 Lo Scarabeo decks.

 

I find the Chariot in the Supernova Tarot to be intriguing (a charioteer in a wheelchair), and Justice looks like a bad Babe In Total Control of Herself. The Moon and the World do nothing for me though. And why is it called Supernova? I would expect that to be a tarot deck about outer space... 😖

 

The Incubus Tarot is an interesting idea, and the art is appealing.

 

The New Orleans Voodoo Tarot was one of my first five decks in 1991. Every time I go to pull it out and use it, it goes back on the shelf because I don't feel the art. The Voodoo Tarot Spirit Box at least has appealing art.

 

I'm not in any rush to buy any of them though. Llewellyn has a 20% off tarot sale in the Fall, and has a number of 35% off sales and up to 50% off sales throughout the year. I'll get the three decks above and the Minchiate Fiorentine and Tarot de Marseille during one of those sales even if I have to wait until 2025...

[Guest]

Seems like there was a bit of an uproar over the cardstock of the recently-released Tarot of Traditions. I checked Lo Scarabeo's 2023 releases and it didn't seem like it was a widely-noted problem. I'm hoping that this is just a fluke or a bad batch, but to be prudent I think I'll read reviews first before I purchase a deck. 

[gregory]

Mine's OK. If that helps one iota !

[Sar]

Before they had a lot of interesting concepts with different artists. Where are these artists now?