Marshmallow Marseille

This deck is an 18^th-century Tarot de Marseille redrawn with a contemporary folk art flavor. The lacy vegetation on the pips and the bright pastel colors like aqua, violet and peach give the deck a fresh, airy feel without being cloying or cute.

If you’re familiar with the standard Marseille deck, you’ll notice a few minor differences in the pips. The straight swords on the Seven and Nine of Swords enter at a slant. The Nine and Ten of Coins lose their static symmetry and tumble energetically among the cascading vines. French card names are hand-lettered alongside the image, with words broken at odd places, adding a touch of quirkiness.

The deck is a bit smaller than usual, about 2.5 x 3.5 inches. I’ve been wanting a small, compact TdM to carry in my purse or backpack; this may be the one. The second edition has just come out (July 2018) with an improved box and iridescent backs that retain the same kaleidoscope image with a little marshmallow in the center. The cards, printed on 320 gsm card stock, are smooth, pleasant and very easy to shuffle.

This deck is not a fanciful invention. It’s faithful to a deck by Angelo Valla of Trieste published about 1790. See the original deck here:

http://www.albideuter.de/html/lombardisch-trieste.html

I shuffled the deck while asking how it will read. The Seven and Two of Swords came up, with their sum, the Hermit, as a clarifying card. The deck says, “I may be pretty but I know how to cut to the core. I will uncover the source of your pain and shed light on what has been denied or buried.” A powerful message from a pint-sized deck.

See more cards and get the deck for $40 at www.WanderingOracle.com