Tyldwick Tarot

The Tyldwick tarot deck is unique. Each card represents a part of an old English manor house. As you go through the deck, you discover the rooms, outbuildings and gardens of this manor house. The cards contain many clues as to their meaning. The major arcana are full of decorative elements that are symbols to be deciphered. While the structure of the deck is that of the Rider-Waite-Smith tarot, the language used is completely original. 

The box is sturdy and the cards are of excellent quality. The gilding on the side of the deck is discreet and fits in well with the design. This tarot deck is beautiful. However, good lighting is necessary to appreciate it. The matte finish of the cards helps to see the details, but the manor house imagined by Neil Lovell is dark and dusty. The very pronounced textures sometimes make the scenes abstract, and one can see images that are not there (as when looking at clouds). Readability is therefore not this tarot deck's strong point. It requires effort to understand and interpret. You have to like puzzles. 

The booklet that accompanies the 10th anniversary edition of the Tyldwick tarot deck is unreadable. I didn't know it was possible to print such small characters. I managed to read it using a magnifying glass, but it wasn't pleasant. I finally found an old version of the booklet online, in PDF format. 

The beauty of the Tyldwick tarot is fascinating. As we browse through these cards, the absence of characters prompts us to wonder who lived there, who still lives there. The shadows and mystery sharpen our sense of observation. From then on, we believe we can sense a presence. The places appear haunted. And the Tyldwick tarot becomes completely magical.