Here is your Tarocks Update.We started e-mailing out a newsletter, which eventually was named the Tarocks Tribune. These newsletters were extensive from the beginning, so we decided to make them more accessibly by sharing them here. This is our fifth. To read them all, click on the Tribune category near the top of our blog page.  Greetings! We are happy to present you with the February newsletter of 2019 in which we will offer to you our latest findings and inspiring topics. First of all, we want to thank you for visiting our website and signing up for our newsletter. We truly hope that you will enjoy the images and the descriptions of the decks shown on Tarocks. If, while reading this newsletter, you think of someone in your life who loves cards as much as we do, feel free to forward them this e-mail or share this link with them so they can sign up.   Spring is a period in which slumbering energies emerge from a period of hibernation, a period where decisions are made and new ideas are launched. That goes for Tarocks as well! We reviewed the work we have done so far and reflected upon the criticism as well as the positive suggestions we received from you. We also realized that in order to create and maintain a sensible pattern in what we offer as well as the ins and outs of Tarocks, we need to streamline our collection. Among other things, it means that it must be clear which decks (and books) will remain permanent in our collection and which ones are for sale. In other words, Tarocks needs a web shop. A tough job, since we are actually somewhat reluctant offering our cherished decks for sale (saying goodbye sometimes hurts…). However, we intend to have the web shop accessible around the middle of March. More about the forthcoming web shop will be unveiled in the March newsletter.  On our insatiable quest for interesting tarot cards and tarot related material, this time we acquired a truly unique as well as a very important item. In 1889, the work Le Tarot des Bohémiens, (The Tarot of the Bohemians), written by Papus (a pseudonym for Dr. Gérard Analect Vincent Encausse, born on July 13, 1865), was published by Georges Carré, Éditeur in Paris. This French publisher also published work of another important occultist, Stanislas de Guaita. Le Tarot des Bohémiens is considered to offer the ultimate key to occult science (Clef absolue de la science occulte). In the Tarot of the Bohemians Papus combines the Tarot with numerology, the Kabbalistic Tree of life and the Sacred Tetragrammaton (four Hebrew characters, Yod, He, Waw and He, characters that correspond to YHWH, aka Yahweh, the Almighty Father). The vendor of this magnificent work, told us that the book originally belonged to his father, who died at the respectable age of 102 and now resides in Elysium. His father, so he explained, studied Tarot for many, many years. The book originally comes from an old public library, it still carries the libraries ‘lending protocol’ from 1902. That information, combined with the information on the title page of the book, leads us to believe the we obtained a first edition. The book is not in mint condition and its binding is not original, but it is complete and it shows some interesting tracks that point to extensive and careful research done by one of the owners. And that makes sense, as it truly is an important reference work.   Another recent acquisition worthwhile mentioning is the Giger Tarot.  This set of cards is a package that consists of 22 cards of the major arcana, an accompanying book of 224 pages and a large folding plate that shows a rather graphic spread. The set was published by Taschen (Köln, 2000) as the Akron H.R. Giger Tarot, The Tarot of the Underworld. The cards have been designed by the famous Swiss artist and Oscar award-winner H.R. Giger, the explanatory book has been compiled by Akron. We also have a second set in our collection, titled Baphomet, Tarot der Unterwelt, compiled by Akron and H.R. Giger. This edition was published by Urania Verlag in 1992 (a first edition), and comes also with an accompanying book. This book however, is cloth bound and has 508 pages (written in German). The cards and the ‘Graphic Spread’ are the same as the in the Taschen edition. One is not to argue about anyone’s taste or certain matters, but these cards can be seen as rather horrendous not to say as truly abject. In any case, together, these two sets form an interesting item since chances that these cards will be reprinted are small.  Another interesting book we were able to add to our collection is a 1922 publication of the book Eliphas Levi, Der Grosse Kabbalist und seine magischen Werke, written by R.H. Laars and published by Riko Verlag from Vienna (Austria). Although this is a first edition, it is not a rare book, as it has been reprinted many times. It tells about the life of Eliphas Levi and the occult and magical traditions of those days in general, but what makes the book really interesting is the mentioning of the ‘Herausgeber’, (the editor) which was Gustav Meyrink, author of the world-famous esoteric novel The Golem. No further referrals the him are made in this edition, very mystical indeed…    In the period between the January newsletter and the current one, not many thrilling new decks came to our attention. One however we need to mention: The Moon Deck, an oracle deck ‘consisting of 44 cards and guidebook, carrying potent mantras, illustrations and rituals. Housed in a handcrafted wooden box, this interactive tool is inspired by the cyclical beauty of the moon and shares insights on growth, purpose, intuition and creativity. It can be worked with as an oracle, guide, as a daily tool for reflection and meditation as well as in tarot-inspired spreads’, The Moon Sisters. A beautiful set of cards that, according to the description by the authors, can be used for almost anything…. We have one copy of the special edition this deck available for sale at Fabula Rosa in Amsterdam.  The following decks have been added to the archive since the last newsletter. Just click on the name of the deck to be taken directly to its page: 1. I Gatti by Osvaldo Menegazzi 2. I Gatti Buffi by Osvaldo Menegazzi 3. Tarot Balbi 4. Tarocchi Vergnano  In case you need a little reminder, the Blog is where we publish two decks twice a month including many detailed photos. You can take a look here. We are constantly extending the Index (the complete overview of everything in our collection) with decks that ultimately will also find their place in the Blog. Until then please feel invited to browse through the Index, you will find many rare and interesting decks, some of which are for sale. If you are interested in purchasing anything, please contact us using our contact form.  If, while reading the newsletter, you think of someone who would also enjoy it, please feel free to forward them this e-mail and let them sign up by clicking here or visiting our website. Finally, we hope again that this newsletter as well as the information provided on Tarocks will satisfy your expectations. In case you have any suggestions or discover any inconsistencies, please don’t hesitate to let us know. Blessed be,
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