The Tarot Channel

Upcoming Releases in Tarot (Summer-Winter 2008)

Here's a preview of upcoming Tarot books, decks and bags for the latter part of 2008. Rachel Pollack will be coming out with two new releases (Tarot Wisdom and a re-issue of the Vertigo Tarot), and David Skibbins will be out with the fourth installment of his Tarot Card Mysteries series called The Hanged Man.

The much-anticipated second book in the Song of Montsegur series The Last Quest by Derek Armstrong comes out in October 2008, as does my Back in Time Tarot Book. Several Tarot decks will be coming out, too, including the Tarot for Hip Witches Kit, Frank Fradella's Undersea Tarot, Mystic Dreamer Tarot (with text by The Tarot Channel's own Barbara Moore) and the Initiatic Tarot of the Golden Dawn.

Below is the complete list for upcoming releases for Summer-Winter 2008. If you know of any other upcoming Tarot releases, please let us know!

Phantasmagoric Theater Tarot - Graham Cameron

“Think of yourself as an actor, placed in a theater at the time of your birth. You have been invited to join the millions of other actors around you, to take your place on the stage known as the Phantasmagoric Theater. Every scene has been assembled for your performance. The script has been written and your cures are in order. If nothing goes wrong, you will sail through your performance until the final curtain…” – From the Little White Book

There’s something unsettling about the Phantasmagoric Theater Tarot, which could very well shake up your reading practice as well as any preconceived (memorized?) notions about what a particular card means.

Zombie-like dolls, gas-masked creatures, question marks, punk/goth kids, random puzzle pieces and numbered dice inhabit a landscape both playful and off-kilter. If you enjoy The Nightmare Before Christmas or Corpse Bride (or any of Tim Burton’s unusual notions of fun), you’ll likely feel quite at home with this deck.

Legacy of the Divine Tarot

Ciro Marchetti, the creative mind and digital artist behind the Gilded Tarot and Tarot of Dreams, is working on a new deck titled Legacy of the Divine Tarot.

Check out this mini-movie on YouTube about Ciro's upcoming deck. Does that give you the chills or what? It reminds me of the music and graphics from the Journey to Wild Divine "inner-active" computer adventure.

You can get a sneak peek at some of the completed cards from the Legacy of the Divine Tarot from Ciro's site. (And if you'd like to see Ciro on a local NBC station talking about his gorgeous kimonos lavished with his colorful digital art, check out this link showcasing his work--and his yummy British accent.)

-- Janet Boyer

Get Your Tarot Glam On at Omni Hotels

Omni Hotels -- swanky! -- offers a "Get Your Glam On" weekend getaway package designed especially for gangs of girlfriends in need of some pampering and bonding time.

In your room, in addition to wine, chocolate-covered strawberries, and a "chick flick" DVD to watch, you'll find a copy of the Girlfriend's Tarot.

Who knew getting your glam on included consulting the cards? Of course, if your strained entertainment budget won't bear the price of a weekend at your local Omni Hotel, there's nothing to say you can't pick up some Two Buck Chuck, some dipping chocolate, a chick flick, and a Tarot deck of your own!

The Secret Language of Tarot

Instead of simply giving the meanings of each card, this new book by Ruth Ann and Wald Amberstone identifies the symbols that recur throughout a Tarot deck. This novel approach enables readers to translate the pictorial symbolism from one deck to another.

Tarot Toss-Up: A Presidential Selection

The country of Althusalah is holding presidential elections this fall. It's an historic race for many reasons. In a tight race for the Aprolactic party nomination, one candidate is female and the other male.

You decide to get insight into this presidential election by drawing three cards for each candidate.

After shuffling, you draw the following cards:

Candidate One (Female)

Ace of Cups - 5 of Cups - Queen of Wands

Candidate Two (Male)

Wheel of Fortune - Hierophant - 4 of Cups

Based on these cards, what would you conclude about each of these candidates?

As always, any notes on your interpretive techniques--why you say whatever you say--will be welcomed!

-- Janet Boyer

Cards from the Aquatic Tarot

Mahalo.com's "How to Read Tarot Cards"

Mahalo.com (an editor-assisted search engine featuring articles by paid contributors) recently published this not-bad beginner-level how-to article. Not much new here for those in the know, but links-a-plenty for those who care to explore 'em.

Le Grand Tarot Universel

During my last trip to Paris, I picked up Le Grand Tarot Universel (from Editions Bruno de Nys). Its rainbow-hued, TdM-inspired images range from cotton-candy happy to mildly hallucinatory. It's almost as though the deck's cast members have all taken hits of ecstasy before showing up for work.

German Lo Scarabeo Tarot Comparison Feature

This German web site offers an extended critique of the Lo Scarabeo Tarot, featuring great full-color comparisons of the Lo Scarabeo Tarot cards with their Marseilles, Rider-Waite-Smith, and Thoth cousins.

Tarot Fraud...this isn't good...

A couple in Naperville, Illinois has been charged with eight counts of felony charges for using their Psychic Tarot Card Reading business to defraud customers by telling them they were cursed and need to undergo $1000's worth of counseling to lift it.  Click here to read the story.

SHAME ON THEM!!!