N.S. Jones
The Romantic Tarot would make a great addition to any tarot collection with its very romantic and whimsical imagery. It is set during the Belle Époque, which covered the late 19th and early 20th century. Following this theme, the deck depicts an idyllic and artistic lifestyle, as well as the traditions and values of Victorian period. But even with all this positivity, there are cards that illustrate the negative aspects of love; jealousy, heartbreak, unrequited affections, and so on.
The deck follows Rider-Waite, but the some of the images are not completely in keeping with the template which is what makes it harder to interpret. This might be because it was created as a deck that deals with emotion, passion, romance and courtly love. It highlights issues that you might not even be aware of and offers sage romantic advice. But because of its’ specialised focus, reviewers do not recommend this deck for beginners, but it would be a useful tool for writers of romance if they write what they see a scene of a story rather than just focussing on the deck’s deeper meanings.
The Major Arcana cards have the titles that you would expect but the images have quite a few major differences, mostly in the setting or scenarios depicted traditional decks. For example, the World card usually shows a woman floating in the clouds encircled by a wreath, and a mythological creature in each of the four corners of the card, but the Romantic Tarot’s version depicts a family of three holding up a huge globe. Meanwhile, the Minor Arcana is set in four of the most romantic cities in Europe; the Chalice Suit is set in Venice; Wands in Vienna; Pentacles in Rome; and Swords in Paris. Depending on which suit they come from, each card has the corresponding number of Cups, Swords, Wands or Pentacles in the images, though some of them maybe be a little hard to spot in the pictures.
Rather than purchasing this deck for a beginner, it’s definitely more suite for those with a thorough working knowledge of the tarot and can be flexible enough that they can apply what they know in a romantic situation.
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