nocturnal tendencies

It is absolutely rare that I ever buy anything extravagant, especially for myself. But I made an exception recently and bought myself a very special deck of tarot cards; The Illuminated Tarot.

This deck is of the original Rider-Waite images, however, they have been recolored– painted by Carol Herzer in her unique, mystical style; and now she offers them highlighted with iridescent paints, which makes them absolutely glow. This photo doesn’t even come anywhere close to showing how rich and lovely they look.

The color palette she used is striking– warm, brilliant and inviting as well as cool, meditative and calming, depending on the card. She creates glowing auras around people and objects, emphasizing their importance in the card’s symbolism. For some reason, this has made a huge difference for me in my understanding of certain cards. For instance, I finally GET that the 8 of Wands is about speed and direction and energy. And the Court Cards– finally these are people that I feel I can get to know; Carol’s painting gives them warmth and personality, they have become intriguing individuals to me.

This isn’t just a tarot deck, it is truly a work of art. And as much as I still feel guilty about the extravagance, I am so fascinated and enamoured with my deck that I am able to justify this lavish personal gift, and feel honored that I received it.