Sola Busca

[EmpyreanKnight]

Does anybody here have the Limited Edition of the Sola Busca Tarot recently released by Lo Scarabeo? How was it? It seems that a fly card there stated that to recreate the original physical look of the ancient deck, they decided to ditch the card varnish so that it may not be ideal for shuffling. Given this, do you even read with it?

 

I ordered this online through my source, and since it is to be exported from half a world away, it might take weeks before it gets here. I just hope I'd have it in my hands before the month ends. I'm so excited!

[EmpyreanKnight]

Btw I also noticed that whatever books are available on the Sola Busca are either non-English or prohibitively expensive. Do any of you know any other sources where one may get instructional material on the deck? It seems that even online resources are scarce too, altho I'm sure that they're there. If I find anything, I'll also post some links here.

 

 

[EmpyreanKnight]

Sola Busca Card Images (PDF)

[EmpyreanKnight]

The following are detailed documents discussing the deck. The Hurst one in particular is interesting because it discusses the possible personages behind the cast of characters in the Major Arcana:

 

The Sola Busca Tarot Deck by Michael Hurst

 

Articles on the Sola Busca by Giordano Berti

 

The Secret of Secrets (Il Segreto dei Segreti)

[Mindful Tarot]

Btw I also noticed that whatever books are available on the Sola Busca are either non-English or prohibitively expensive. Do any of you know any other sources where one may get instructional material on the deck? It seems that even online resources are scarce too, altho I'm sure that they're there. If I find anything, I'll also post some links here.

 

I have the deck, and I like it... but the colors are pretty muted. EmpyreanKnight's resources are amazing, and you're right to feel all the same like material is pretty scarce. "Nobody Here" on YouTube has a video about Peter Mark Adams' Game of Saturn; that's the only book-length resource on the deck I've found, and it's really speculative - with lots of arguments about secret societies and esoteric meanings. I wouldn't recommend it for what you're seeking.

 

The catalog for the exhibit "Secret of Secrets" is in Italian (that exhibit is the source of the brochure EmpyreanKnight sent you). It's very well-researched and detailed. I was able to get a copy through Interlibrary Loan at my university library - and am slogging through it (my italian is not that great!). It seems helpful so far... Thanks to the same library, I've just been able to scan a copy of Sofia di Vincenzo's book on the deck (published by US Games in 1998). Vincenzo's book is probably more what you're looking for; it lists card meanings for instance. BUT - keep in mind that her work is also highly speculative like Adams'. Vincenzo is arguing for the link between this deck and Renaissance alchemy, but she admits that the meanings she has for the cards derive from personal reflection. After all, in its origin the deck was not intended for divination... I'm happy to share the PDF of Vincenzo's book with you, as long as we remain respectful of copyright etc... Just let me know if you're interested. You can best reach me via email: oregonmindfulness[at]gmail.

 

What got you interested in the deck?

 

- Lisa

[EmpyreanKnight]

Thanks, Lisa!

 

You're quite correct, when I heard that the central thesis of the Game of Saturn is that a shady cabal of rich Renaissance Italians from the very best families practiced sinister occult rituals (that sometimes included human sacrifices) to propitiate Saturn, the Roman god of wealth and plenty, so that they can maintain their riches with all its attendant power and privileges - well when I read that I was a bit skeptical. I know it would be highly interesting if a bit speculative, but at this point I would prefer a helpful set of card meanings so that I can begin working with the cards well. I also want to learn the stories behind the intriguing historical characters in the deck's majors and courts. I am not dissing the book tho, and maybe someday I will get a copy for myself but right now, to be pragmatic I just want a framework with which I can work with the cards themselves.

 

I only started really delving into the Tarot in late 2015 when I began working with the Thoth. It was only early this year that I began studying the Rider-Waite-Smith system. I learned that certain cards were adapted from the Sola Busca, so I chose to pursue that lead. When I first beheld images of the deck, I was entranced. By the artistry specifically, all those brazen reds and browns and subtle blues and purples. It seemed so active, so bold, and so positively imperial. When I delved further because I was surprised at the disconnect between its Major Arcana and the traditional figures in even the old Italian/French decks like the Visconti and the Marseille, that was when I fell in love. I loved reading stories and accounts on the ancient Romans and Greeks, tho only as a hobbyist. I hope I don't sound pretentious, but to the others reading here do give it a chance. Murders and brilliant power plays and tragic loves and fights to the death, all on a grand scale. Anyway, I never thought that such a deck could even exist, I mean would there even be a market for it? But by a very nice stroke of luck, it was only this year too that LoS decided to re-issue their Sola Busca. It seemed like this deck was really meant to be mine.

 

Lol I hope I didn't turn anyone off by excessively fawning about this deck. But yeah, now you know where I'm coming from. :D

[EmpyreanKnight]

Welp, there's some good news and bad news.

 

The bad news is that a good friend just confirmed that the recent Lo Scarabeo release of the Tarocchi Sola Busca does not have any divinatory meanings or even keywords in it. As you can see in

from the 1:55 to the 2:35 mark, the booklet only has 4 pages of info on the Sola Busca, and none of it contains anything about the meanings.

 

However, I think I've found the keywords that came with Lo Scarabeo's 1995 publication of the deck under the name Illuminating Ancient Tarots, which is now mind-bogglingly expensive. I'm still verifying its authenticity, but once it's good I shall post it here. Wish me luck. :)

[Morsoth]

I'm a huge historical Tarot deck aficionado, and I purchased the recent release of the Sola-Busca Tarot deck from Lo Scarabeo (and I pre-ordered the Tarocchi Mitelli from the same "Anima Antiqua" series). I really love it, and most like the fact that they haven't added any translation on the card themselves. The card stock are pretty decent, and they do feel like a prestige deck.

 

As for the booklet, to be fair, the deck was never designed as a divinatory tool to start with, so that's probably why they don't include a list with the card meanings. Any card meanings found for the Sola-Busca will be from a contemporary practitioner. Anyway, if you do find one, I'll be interested to see the interpretations!

[EmpyreanKnight]

My source said that my copy of the Sola Busca is arriving any time this week! I'm so excited. :D

 

You're quite right in that maybe there weren't any divinatory meanings for the Sola Busca deck in the first place, but the same can be said for the older decks like the Visconti (Cary-Yale and Sforza), the early Marseille, etc and yet they were given meanings in their releases. The previous Lo Scarabeo editions of the deck also had them, but why not this one? It just feels incomplete somehow, and I feel that even assigned meanings (buttressed by competent research, of course) would be better than nothing. :(

 

Anyway, I'm cooking something up for this week, so stay tuned. :)

[Morsoth]

Good point! I also wish it would come with an interpretation guide.

 

And good news for you!! I'll stay tuned for sure!  :)

[Page of Ghosts]

I've been interested in the Sola-Busca for a long time! I'm a fan of historical tarot but I've yet to have much in my arsenal to prove it. If this is a limited release I should probably consider getting it soon as it's been on my mental wish list for long, but given the OOP status I thought of it as unobtainable. I look forward to any further thoughts on this deck.

[EmpyreanKnight]

Hi Page of Ghosts! I'm going to recount what I know of the different Sola Busca decks available so that you can be guided accordingly, alright? But remember, it always pays to do your own research so that you can go deeper than the Cliff notes.

 

A lot of Sola Busca versions sprang up since the previous year. Off the top of my head, there's Giordano Berti whose offerings are available in 2 different packages. There's also Il Meneghello's which is majors only tho it has this book by Dorsini, which AFAIK only tackles the majors too. Scarlet Imprint is set to ship theirs this month. This one I plan to purchase along with their Game of Saturn book, and I just hope they don't run out of stock before I do so next year. Shipping and taxes would be quite a killer. :'(

 

These ones cost around $80 to $130, and of course this doesn't include customs and freight fees and what-not. And oh, there's also the Sola Busca Revisited by Tarot by Seven and it's only $60, but it is not faithful to the original images, having been reinterpreted to align it more to the RWS system. Many say it makes the images more approachable and easier to use in divination, and if that's what moves you you may want to check it up.

 

The Lo Scarabeo Sola Busca from their Anima Antiqua series is quite a different animal tho. It's definitely the cheapest among the five, as it's available for only $35. I had to pay $40 tho because I had to import it to these here far-flung islands but anyway. That's freakin cheap for an original Sola Busca, and it's under a special imprint by LoS too. I'd definitely post a mini-review here once it arrives (this week! yisss!) but from what I've read online, readers tend to rate it quite highly.

 

There's a caveat tho. In the back of a fly card, LoS stated that since they wished to present a truly physically accurate rendition of the Sola Busca as it may have originally been, they decided to hold off on putting their card varnish, so that it might not be amenable to much shuffling. At first it ruffled my feathers, since it IS a Tarot deck so why in tarnation would they do something like that? A few Tarotists have used it in their readings tho, and aside from one dissent, it mostly went smoothly for them. I guess one just has to be extra careful in handling them. And really, that price just can't be beaten. It's also only available in a limited 2999-copy run, so once they're gone, they'll only be available in Amazon for hundreds of $$$, as the previous LoS Sola Busca editions are.

 

I hope that helped!

[Page of Ghosts]

Thanks for typing all that up EmpyreanKnight! I should probably have mentioned I was talking/writing about the recent limited Lo Scarabeo edtion in your first post and saved you the trouble, haha. The missing varnish could be an issue yes since I'm quite fond of the satisfying riffle shuffling 8) If I decide to get it, it might not get the most of use and instead be used for admiring and its historical value. That's something to think about.

[EmpyreanKnight]

I knew that, Page of Ghosts. I just want to make sure that you and other people who might come across this sub would know all the available options before putting their money on the recent Lo Scarabeo release. I'd like you to be aware of what you shall be getting, so that you won't suffer from any buyer's remorse later. :)

[Page of Ghosts]

Ah, that makes sense! It's good to do such a writeup when you get the chance. Then there are a few to choose from these days, not all are within my budget but I'm sure some of the others are great if you can afford them  :D

[EmpyreanKnight]

After weeks and weeks, I finally got my Tarocchi Sola Busca. And oh it looks like it's set to exceed my expectations. I just have some things to attend to (three parties this weekend!), but I'll definitely check it out soon. :)

[EmpyreanKnight]

I still haven't opened my deck tho I will, soon. In the meantime, I found the list of meanings included in Lo Scarabeo's 1995 release of the Sola Busca named Illuminating Ancient Tarots. These were not printed in a separate LWB but in some cards included in the deck itself.

 

Full disclosure tho: I think that these are standard LoS meanings, and that they were not specifically created for the Sola Busca. In any case, I hope it still proves helpful. I transcribed it and created a pdf file here:

 

Illuminating Ancient Tarots LWB

[Morsoth]

Thank you a lot for doing this! It is definitely a traditional meaning guide, but, again, it was a playing card game, so I’m not suprised. Anyway, I’ll save your document, and reduce the size and add it to the new Sola Busca deck!

[EmpyreanKnight]

You're welcome, Morsoth! :D Before Halloween, I am going to add another set of card meanings which do adhere to the Sola Busca, so watch out for it.

[EmpyreanKnight]

As promised, here is a set of meanings for the Sola Busca that I sourced from the Queen of Tarot website. The writer only discussed one card per web page, so to save bandwidth I collated it in just one source. If she stumbles upon this and requests me to take it down, I shall do so.

 

Anyway, HERE IT IS

[EmpyreanKnight]

Btw, I'm quite sure that these meanings are indeed intended for the Sola Busca, tho I don't know where the author got it from. You'll find some of them mighty strange, tho they're always interesting. You'll see. :)

 

It's going to be Samhain later. I plan to open my Sola Busca and perform rituals to dedicate it then. I hope it'd be all good.

[Saturn Celeste]

Thanks, Lisa!

 

You're quite correct, when I heard that the central thesis of the Game of Saturn is that a shady cabal of rich Renaissance Italians from the very best families practiced sinister occult rituals (that sometimes included human sacrifices) to propitiate Saturn, the Roman god of wealth and plenty, so that they can maintain their riches with all its attendant power and privileges - well when I read that I was a bit skeptical. I know it would be highly interesting if a bit speculative, but at this point I would prefer a helpful set of card meanings so that I can begin working with the cards well. I also want to learn the stories behind the intriguing historical characters in the deck's majors and courts. I am not dissing the book tho, and maybe someday I will get a copy for myself but right now, to be pragmatic I just want a framework with which I can work with the cards themselves.

 

Lol I hope I didn't turn anyone off by excessively fawning about this deck. But yeah, now you know where I'm coming from. :D

Fawn away!  I love the Sola Busca.  I have the Game of Saturn and it's really fascinating.  It's something you pick up in the morning with a cup of coffee and just start reading.  I have the very limited deck from Berti from his FB page and actually corresponded with him a few times, he's such a nice man!!  I also got the new Sola Busca to use for reading, because the other deck is huge and worth a ton of money.  But it's nice that even the Antigua series deck is numbered.

[EmpyreanKnight]

I am going to get the Game of Saturn and the gorgeous Scarlet Imprint edition of the Sola Busca deck. It's just how it is. :)

 

I just hope I don't run out of copies when I do decide to pursue them lol.

 

I also noticed that the book title jives with your username, SaturnCeleste. Lovely coincidence, eh? :D

[Saturn Celeste]

I am going to get the Game of Saturn and the gorgeous Scarlet Imprint edition of the Sola Busca deck. It's just how it is. :)

 

I just hope I don't run out of copies when I do decide to pursue them lol.

 

I also noticed that the book title jives with your username, SaturnCeleste. Lovely coincidence, eh? :D

Well, when I first read about the book I did realize I wanted to own it.  I want to thank you for all of the PDFs you posted.  I would like to discuss the Sola busca further with you but I’m currently on my IPad. 

[Chiska]

I have the Mayer Sola Busca.  Not terribly usable, though.  I'd like to get a copy that I can use.  I really am intrigued by the deck.  This version is so beautiful,  I love to just look at it.

 

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