PRE-RAPHAELITE TAROT

In the Pre-Raphaelite Tarot, the artist combines the intriguing beauty of the Tarot with the stylistics of Pre-Raphaelitism, a movement in English literature and painting of the second half of the 19th century. Pre-Raphaelite artists were in favour of pure and direct beauty, focusing in the embodiment of their ideals on the masters of the Early Renaissance, i.e. the period before Raphael, that is why the movement received such a name. When looking at the beautiful paintings of the Pre-Raphaelites, such as ‘Ophelia’ by John Everett Milles, ‘Proserpina’ by Dante Gabriel Rossetti and many others, we are immersed in a world of tenderness and mental purity of the heroes and heroines of paintings, gently woven with personal drama familiar to each of us. Giuliano Costa masterfully embodied the atmosphere of the Pre-Raphaelite world in his deck, imbuing it with harmony and light.

Beautiful maidens, noble knights on the background of Gothic and Renaissance architecture, framed by lush greenery, delicate flowers and blue sky - all this forms a special poetic space, which does not want to leave. The imagery of the cards does not have serious differences from the system of Arthur Waite and in general corresponds to it. But some details, however, are different, obeying the ideals of the Pre-Raphaelites. For example, the 8th Arcana Force tells us that you can defeat the enemy softness and love. Likewise, Costa depicts the 13th Arcane Death as Milles' Ophelia, and the 3 of Swords as Rossetti's Annunciation. And there are plenty of such references in the deck. Even the deck's shirt is in the style of the stunning works of William Morris, the mastermind behind the Arts and Crafts movement.

This deck will suit those who are close to light, romantic cards, made in the vein of one of the traditional schools of Tarot, in this case, Arthur Waite. They are particularly responsive to questions about love and personal relationships.