Russian Tarot of St Petersburg

The record

This deck is unusual in a few ways. First, it was started by Yury Shakov - he finished number of the cards, along with the preliminary sketches for the rest - but the remainder were finished by an unknown Russian artist at his death. There really isn't much difference in their styles, the continuity of the deck is amazing. Each card is rendered in sharp detail. This includes a border in gold on the face, mirrored on the back. Both the major and minor arcana are done in full detail, and this in one of the first decks I have personally run into printed on a black background. It puts a whole new cast on the deck, gives it a new feel, has a different effect on the spirit. Lastly, even though this deck was not geared toward beginners (or those rediscovering the art) it is truly easy to read. Because of the detail mentioned before, those that do more instinctual reading instead of using the 'given' or 'proper' meaning of the cards are given a clear advantage. For example, while doing the first reading using this deck, the sun in the four of clubs seemed to pop out at me. Normally this wouldn't have been something to notice, but it was pivotal to the reading. The little white booklet is a

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