Deck: Egyptian Tarot
Publisher: Lo Scarabeo
Writer & Artist: Silvana Alasia
Overall Rating: 5/10
Cardstock: The cardstock is Lo Scarabeo standard, which holds up pretty well and isn’t too flimsy. The sides have a tendency to scuff over time, but I’ve used this one for years and it’s holding up well.
Artwork: The artwork is all Egyptian themed, with figures (some of which are recognizable) for the court cards and majors, and pips for the number cards. There are also quite a few hieroglyphic inscriptions, but alas I cannot (yet?) read those. I like the art style and faux papyrus texture a lot more than I like the ragged black borders.
LWB: It’s in five languages, so each card has barely more than four keywords, and none of the art is explained. I’ve heard there is a longer guidebook but so far I haven’t been able to get my hands on it. For general meanings, the LWB is pretty useless, and it doesn’t clarify much of anything about this particular deck, either.
Likes: It’s very Egyptian. I needed something Egyptian, and this is some of the best Egyptian tarot art on the market.
Dislikes: It took me a long time to learn to read with this deck, because it’s not RWS-based and it has so little information. I think it might be Thoth-based but I’m not familiar with that system and I’m not sure. Also, those borders are really high contrast, which draws the eye too much,
Overall Recommendation
If you’re familiar with multiple systems of tarot, or if you can get your hands on the elusive guidebook, this could be a really great deck for anyone who works with Egyptian deities. If you can’t find the guidebook but you’re willing to put in a lot of work, OR you are better than I am at recognizing deities in art and reading hieroglyphs, it could work okay for you. I cannot recommend it to tarot beginners, though.