Shakespearian
Out-of-print deck pairing tarot titles with Shakespearean scenes and play quotations.
by Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicki, Paul Hardy · 1997
Find a copy →We link out and never sell decks. Buying through links may earn us a small commission.
The record
The Shakespearian Tarot (which is currently out of print) comes as a deck and book set in a substantial cardboard box. Each card has a title giving its place in the tarot deck, eg III Empress, or Two of Swords; a picture depicting a scene from a Shakespeare play; and a quotation from that play. The book gives information about the plays, the reasoning behind the choice of image for each card and upright and reversed meanings. The meanings tend towards divination rather than personal development. The cards are thin and flexible and have an almost silky surface. They are unusually narrow and fit snugly into the hand which makes them seem to demand to be held. The backs depict a woodcarving in warm browns. They are not reversible. The pictures are in rich colours but have been greatly reduced to fit onto these small cards thus losing some detail in the process. They appear less vibrant than the pictures online. The major arcana follow the Rider Waite system. They include some truly inspired cards such as the Magician as Prospero saying "Now does all my project gather to a head" and the Tower as the Tower of London seen from the inside as the princes are hurled out of it. Temperance ha
The cards
