The Rohrig Tarot
is a phenomenal deck with fabulous art work by Carl Rohrig that embraces college and painterly skill in every image.I have to admit that of all the decks I own (and that is no small number) the Rohrig are my favourite. One of my first decks, they are full of exciting and powerful imagery. I love the modern images and the move away from the traditional medieval influence. They are initially shocking to many people and I have heard some pretty virulent tirades against them. The nudity seems to offend implying a sexuality that people seem to find off putting. Personally, I think that Carl Rohrig adores women and is showing the power and influence the female energy has over the tarot and indeed our lives. But I feel that it is important with all Tarot decks to look beyond the initial images, they are made to mediate and discover deeper meanings and the Rohrig is a prime example of this.The Major Arcana are all full of the imagery we associate with more traditional decks, for example: The Fool is depicted with an old and young face split in two, and also a tiger and crocodile in place of the traditional dog. These cards demand that you look deeper and study them for the meanings. They all have runes and the Hebrew letters depicted and many have the astrological symbols for the planets and star signs. It is refreshing to not have the predictable red, horned Devil and having Death as a woman.
is a phenomenal deck with fabulous art work by Carl Rohrig that embraces college and painterly skill in every image.I have to admit that of all the decks I own (and that is no small number) the Rohrig are my favourite. One of my first decks, they are full of exciting and powerful imagery. I love the modern images and the move away from the traditional medieval influence. They are initially shocking to many people and I have heard some pretty virulent tirades against them. The nudity seems to offend implying a sexuality that people seem to find off putting. Personally, I think that Carl Rohrig adores women and is showing the power and influence the female energy has over the tarot and indeed our lives. But I feel that it is important with all Tarot decks to look beyond the initial images, they are made to mediate and discover deeper meanings and the Rohrig is a prime example of this.The Major Arcana are all full of the imagery we associate with more traditional decks, for example: The Fool is depicted with an old and young face split in two, and also a tiger and crocodile in place of the traditional dog. These cards demand that you look deeper and study them for the meanings. They all have runes and the Hebrew letters depicted and many have the astrological symbols for the planets and star signs. It is refreshing to not have the predictable red, horned Devil and having Death as a woman.The Minor Arcana do not disappoint either. Everyone is as complex and exciting as the Majors. Again things are not immediately obvious but by looking closely you will find all you need and more to extract a great reading. King are not featured in this deck but Princesses, Princes, Knights and Queens, again highlighting the artist's appreciation of women.
The deck is larger than your normal which allows the colours and details to be displayed clearly. The white edging around the cards does not detract, unlike with other decks. The font is clear and there are often clues to the cards meanings in German and English writing on the images. The college style is used to convey some sketches of the Rider Waite, for example in Judgement. This is common throughout the deck and will appeal to traditionalists.
There are some disturbing images and many themes to make you uncomfortable but then no-body ever said that the purpose of the Tarot was to highlight only the lighter things in life. Swords show plenty of the expected with the 10 being titled Ruin, however Disks are shown with their darker sides as are the Cups.
There are some disturbing images and many themes to make you uncomfortable but then no-body ever said that the purpose of the Tarot was to highlight only the lighter things in life. Swords show plenty of the expected with the 10 being titled Ruin, however Disks are shown with their darker sides as are the Cups.
Overall, with this deck you either love it or hate it! It is a brave and exciting move away from pictorially predictable images used in Tarot but also a great example of using the full range of symbols and meanings to gain better insight into readings.
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