Before Tarot by Pietro Alligo and Floreana Nativo, Art by Eon & Simona Rossi,

After the great success of the Tarot of the New Vision and the After Tarot, the trilogy closes with the Before Tarot. The traditional images are here seen a few moments "before". Each Arcana reveals a new aspect that leads us to a greater understanding of the cards, adding the temporal dimension to what we already know.

You can see a full flickthrough on Tiktok. I posted an interview spread on the blog.

---

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!



Before Tarot is part of a series of decks that look at the traditional RWS from different angles. Before takes place just moments before the images we're familiar with; After is a few seconds after; New Vision rotates the scene 180 degrees, and In Between mixes each card with the next or previous to show how they can be read in a series. Together they make a really interesting way to look at tarot and how it can change simply by looking at it in a new way.

I. First Impressions

Artwork Style: As they're based on the original RWS, the artwork is designed to match the style and colours of that deck. The colours and symbols will be very familiar if you know that deck.

II. The Cards

Major Arcana: This deck matches the standard RWS deck, with Strength at 8 and Justice at 11. Majors have their numbers in Roman at the top and their names across the bottom. 
Minor Arcana: This is a fully illustrated deck. Aces and Courts have their names across the bottom, and all other cards have their Roman numbers at the top.
Card Stock and Size: This is a TT deck, so your millage may vary on card stock if you buy the usual deck, but the TT ones are standard size and smooth, making them easy to shuffle and deal out. They're nice to feel and handle.

III. In Use

Intuition and Connection: As an RWS deck it's easily readable for anyone familiar with that deck. Since the images are a few seconds ahead, it's not as immediately intuitive for a complete beginner, but it makes a wonderful study deck when paired with any of the others I mentioned above.
Clarity of Readings: I found they worked well for readings, flowing nicely and providing a clear picture.
Suitability for Different Skill Levels: I think because this is not quite the RWS, it wouldn't suit complete beginners, but as soon as a reader has any experience with that deck, this one would go really well. I can't wait to work with some of the other decks as well and see how they work together.