Stumbled onto an obscure TdM deck today...

[Eric13]

It's the El Verdadero Tarot De Marsella by Kris Hadar.

My deck in Spanish, made in Mexico.

Really nice cards, shorter than other TdM's, but wider. A nice feel to them, shuffle easily. A real book, all in Spanich but I don't read those anyway, but I will try the spread in there. Color on the cards is old fashioned/antique as is the box. It appears these are made by V&S. I don't see any tarot cards by them anywhere, but I could be wrong.

Research shows these first came out in the '90's and they were meant to be an exact reproduction of TdM's from 1594. None of the PIP cards have numbers which I like. Thats different. There's nothing overwhelmingly different about them, other than being in Spanish, to me.

So I then shuffled them like an addict and my first three card spread was the Queen Of Swords, Ace Of Swords and Empress.A lot of action here with these cards and to me that's also a high amount of positive energy. I see Swords as truth cards penetrating the mind with the Ace. The Queen of Swords with all her experience and wisdom tells me I made a great purchase, is looking at the Ace on one end, the Empress, the mother of all ideas, is looking at the Ace of Swords on the other end, with all her creative wisdom, open to new ideas herself, where the Queen holds her Sword, the Empress holds her divinity and scepter. Positive energy is being directed up to you.

Now, hopefully, the picture will post.

[gregory]

It's a lovely one, isn't it.

 

http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/hadar-marseilles/

 

Interesting edition - mine's from the original printing in Canada (Mortagne) - 1996 ! How nice that it's around again at a sensible price (I presume ?)

[Eric13]

I paid $25. Not bad. I'd never seen it before, I like TdM's so for now its my main deck. This one has a copyright of 2001.

[Bodhiseed]

I bought the Hadar when it came out years ago, traded it, then instantly missed it. Bought what I thought was the same edition, but it was as thick as a brick and impossible to  shuffle. I finally found another used deck like the one I had originally. It is one of my favorite of the TdMs. Glad you found one of these lovely decks, Joe. :)

[FLizarraga]

I have the exact same edition. I paid about $18 on eBay for it, a few years back, and then it went MIA. It is sadly marred by a shoddy trim and gild job (my fault), so I have been trying to find a reasonably price one since.

 

Even in its current sad state, it is still one of my favorite TdM "restorations."

[Marigold]

Oh my. How lovely to see that Kris Hadar's Véritable Tarot de Marseille is still treasured by some. I consider it a masterpiece. I had the privilege once to correspond with Kris Hadar for several months and his understanding of the Tarot and its history are remarkable. 

 

It's the only deck TdM I use for practical purposes. The others are just for study and comparison.

 

Some info he gave me about the minors, if you're interested is the following :

 

As a general rule, what is at the top is dominated by blue, and what is at the bottom is dominated by red. The blue points to the top and the red to the bottom.

There is also a rule for left and right: Blue is on the right and red is on the left.

Edited May 16, 2019 by Marigold

[Flaxen]

It is a really lovely deck. I have a copy too and like the colours. 

 

Thank you for that information @Marigold. How lucky you were to get some extra details like that. 

[Marigold]

So if you enjoy hearing directly from what Kris Hadar has to say, here is some info he sent me on the Roys, after someone on Aeclectic asked about the crown of the Roy de Coupes which they found intriguing. He gave me permission to post his response there, which I did after translating it from the French. And I'm posting it here again for your enjoyment. (By the way, I was known on Aeclectic as Diana.)

 

**********************

 

This is a simple question which reaches into the very foundations of Tarot. It is true that the Roy de Coupes’ hat looks like that of a nun… and one’s attention is drawn to it. But this is an excellent question. So, instead of just concentrating on the Roy’s hat, let’s examine the hats of all four Roys. First observe the crowns. You will notice that the Roy de Denier doesn’t have a crown, but the wings of Le Diable (devil). The Roy d’Epée has a crown that seems to grow from his hat… the Roy de Bastons shows us the first layer of his crown… and the Roy de Coupes has a crown that is entirely visible… This implies that the Roys form a common structure and that each one reveals a stage.

 

The Roy de Denier represents the riches that dwell within us. The Deniers refers to the earth.

 

The Roy d’Epées represents the combat of the spirit. It is not sufficient to have great inner riches, one needs to be conscious of these… The sword cleaves the air and air is the power of spirit.

 

The Roy de Bastons represents represents the effort and the work necessary to extract what is in our inner depths : our soul. The baton burns… because it refers to fire, the energy necessary for any noble enterprise.

 

Le Roy de Coupes represents our heart, nobility, that which makes a being great. Without a heart, without love, without love for life, one cannot reach one’s soul. It is the cup of the Holy Grail that symbolises divine essence, our soul, the waters of the deep that link us to our divine origin.

 

This is why the Roy de Deniers is sitting on a circular throne that symbolises a cup, the cup that the Roy de Coupes has opened in order to offer it to his Dame de Coupes. It indicates that it is in our deepest being, that are hidden our riches, our soul, that we need to give birth to.

 

This is why the Roy d’Epées is sitting on a tomb… to indicate that this soul will not be born, if we do not accept to die in order to be reborn…

 

That is why the Roy de Bastons is an architect who traces with his baton, the rules that preside over any noble enterprise.

 

… and that is why the Roy de Coupes has opened his cup, because it is by opening his heart that his soul can take flight… This is possible only from the moment that one is in the domain of love… for love is a gift of the soul, from the instant one can offer it to the most beautiful of Ladies, the one who has precisely allowed us to discover that we have a soul!!!

 

The Roy de Coupes is in the antechamber of his Dame, the Reyne de Coupes, who is sitting on her four-poster bed.

 

One of the principles of the troubadours in the Middle Ages was : one cannot be courteous, if one is not in the domain of love. It is love that makes us grand, noble, generous, chivalrous… It is through love that the noble cause that is the D’ÂME (note from translator – this is a play on words “D’âme” means from the soul, and “DAME” means lady), that one can attain one’s divine dimension.

 

 

Edited May 16, 2019 by Marigold

[Flaxen]

I love that description of the differences between all the Roys. It’s one of the (many) things I love about the TdM - the philosophies informing it are so rich. I read and enjoyed Meditations on the Tarot some years ago. Very thought provoking.

 

That play on words with Dame and d’Ame is gorgeous. 

[FLizarraga]

Thank you so much for sharing these insights, Marigold/Diana!

[FLizarraga]

On 5/12/2019 at 8:43 PM, FLizarraga said:

I have the exact same edition. I paid about $18 on eBay for it, a few years back, and then it went MIA. It is sadly marred by a shoddy trim and gild job (my fault), so I have been trying to find a reasonably price one since.

And did! A while ago.

 

Trying to sort out the mess that is this house since I moved to it, I just found a second copy I scored last year or so. It must have been at the forums, as I cannot find proof that I bought it anywhere else. The book is published in Mexico, by a publishing house I'm not familiar with. Not sure about the deck. It's the exact same Spanish edition I bought years ago, though, in a blue box.

 

ETA: It is the V&S edition Joe talks about.

Edited June 4, 2019 by FLizarraga