Scarab and Dahlia Tarot

This is a rather special collage deck - something of a family project in a way; the creator did the collage art by hand  - cutting out old photos, magazines, postcards anything that worked - scanned her collages and then asked her niece (named in the credits as Octavia) to format them to the right size and add the borders and font wanted. Johanna did the collage art for the box and booklet, and again Octavia formatted them to fit the box template. As Johanna says, “Basically, she did the computer work for me. I made all the choices, but just don’t know how to use tech stuff.” A very successful partnership.

The cards are large - 3 inches by 5 - and silver edged, and, unusually, the silver isn’t flaking off (yet, anyway). They are on heavy stock - very durable but they won’t riffle shuffle - and wonderfully smooth.

The cards themselves are full of detail and symbols, reinforcing Waite/Smith themes, and adding several more layers; each comes across differently every time it is drawn in a reading. I have always loved collage decks, and this one is a gem; I feel that collage has a special way of adding layers to meanings - almost literally - and this one does it in spades. The colour is rich and engaging, and I find myself looking through the cards over and over, just to look, never mind reading. The three lovers cards between them cover all orientations, and the deck is also - how does one say this these days - “fully inclusive”, not that I went through looking for different races etc. It even starts with a female fool.  I’m not sure why she wanted two death cards, but I can’t argue with it as my own deck does the same and hers are great.

The booklet, too, is better than most; it is clearly written by someone who knows her tarot and who put a great deal of thought into the cards she created. This is perhaps the first deck I have seen in a while made with quite such careful thought. Definitely a keeper.