Deck review: Total Tarot's Arcanum Tarot by Renata Lechner

Mystical insights await within the stunning imagery of the Arcanum Tarot. From the creator of the Thelema Tarot, this deck features realistic figures set among lush and magical landscapes. Designed to connect the deepest parts of your soul to the highest realms of the divine, the Arcanum Tarot will show what you need to see in order to move forward toward your destiny.

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As a Total Tarot deck, there's no unboxing, but we do have two videos; the flickthrough and a comparison between this deck and the Thelema by the same artist.

Introduction

Total Tarot is a bimonthly magazine designed to help teach anyone how to read tarot. With every two issues, readers get a complete tarot deck from Lo Scarabeo, one of the major Tarot companies on the market. The art of these decks is true to the originals, but they have frames where the originals don't and the LWB is not included, instead there is some information in the magazine about the history of the deck and the specific meanings attached to cards. This is a great collection if you want to try a lot of styles of deck at very reasonable prices - I'm learning a lot about my preferences!

As a TT deck, I can't talk about the LWB or the box; this is all just about the cards. TT cards have a thin frame around them which is not present on the originals.

Card Details

Here is an image of the back of the cards:

It looks reversible, but that lighter patch is off center. However, I think you'd have to be looking very closely, so if you like to deal your cards without knowing what's reversed, you should be safe enough with this one.

All cards have their titles across the base. Majors have their number in Roman numerals, Minors in Arabic. The Minor suits tend towards specific colours; there are exceptions, but in general the Pentacles are green, Wands are red, Cups are blue and Swords are grey. It adds a little extra hook to the cards to help identify them at a glance.

Personal Experience

I love the characters on these cards - I feel that I connected to several of them quite deeply, maybe more than other decks. The compassionate King of Cups, the fun loving Two of Pentacles, Prince Caspian's doppelgänger on the Five of Swords - I've enjoyed this deck very much; the cards feel like windows into a real world.

On the other side of the coin, though, my Querants thought the images were a little holy - though very pretty - and that the readings we did were on the vague side. Which just goes to show that different people need different decks, and choosing the right deck for your querant is very important!

Here are a few more sample images:

Conclusion:

This is a great deck for beginners, as the cards hew close to the RWS but are a bit friendlier and more colourful. It's also great for experienced readers looking for a new perspective on the cards they're familiar with. A really good deck all around!