Tarot Roots Of Asia

Tarot Roots of Asia
Amnart Klanprachar & Thaworn Boonyawan (AGM AGMuller, 2001)

Review
Every now and then, you come across a genuinely unique tarot deck.

The Wands are lotus stems, the Cups are often coconut halves or shells, the Pentacles are marula fruits (is this an excuse for gratuitous baby elephants? I'm fine if it is, mind!) and only the Swords are as their name suggests. From that alone you can probably tell that this isn't a Rider-Waite clone, in fact this would probably be a very confusing deck to the beginning reader.

It's also indicative that this deck is full of organic, swirling shapes. There are plenty of human figures around, mostly wearing serene expressions, but the birds, elephants, tigers and fish are full of colour and movement.

It is, quite frankly, remarkable. Meditating on an individual card allows you to gradually uncover more details in the dense patterns, peeling them away in a kind of free association of meaning. This is a particularly worthwhile deck that could give you many years of delight and understanding.