Tarot Lovers’ Calendar 2015
Creator: Major Tom Schick
Artists: varied
Independently Published
2014
Where to begin … there is nothing that I don’t like about this calendar! I appreciate the size (8.5″ by 11″), the fact that it is spiral bound (ease of use), the fact that it is Tarot themed, and the fact that it highlights different artists every year. Yes, I have followed this deck for years! (It has been available in limited edition for 14 years running!) The quality and intent of the creator, Major Tom Schick, is matched toe to toe by the distributor, Devera Publishing.
This is a highly usable calendar, as well as being a collectible. Every year that I have purchased this deck, I have kept it – this is art presented in a quality format.
This year’s artists include Blue Gene (Astral Scion Tarot),Taylor Ellis (The Ellis Deck), Aquarius Wellbeing (Irish Lenormand), M. M. Meleen (Tabula Mundi Tarot), Heather Mendel (The Syzygy Oracle), Lisa de St, Croix (Tarot de St. Croix), Katrina Wynne (Katrina’s Personal Petite Lenormand), Beth Seilonen (The Compound Tarot),Rachel Paul (The Dark Carnival Tarot), Fionan Benjamin & Nghia Hoang (Lux Ferous Tarot), Eleanor Boyce (The Singing Serpent Tarot), and Gaby Merman (The FaYth Tarot).
Information printed on the calendar includes Full Moon, Last Quarter Moon, New Moon, and First Quarter Moon, as well as dates for meteor showers. The days of the week are listed straight across – Sunday through Saturday, with enough room to make notes for the day. (If you keep your calendars, you then have a collectible history of Tarot artists, and a personal living history through your notes). Also included are the artists name, the name of the deck, when it will become available, and where to find it.
Each deck represented includes full color images, along with a short write-up from the artist. I really liked this, because it allows us to take a short journey into the mindset of the artist, and the creation process for their deck. For example, Blue Gene talks about putting his thoughts about a deck into action when he decided to join the Tarot Deck Creators Facebook group. We find that Taylor Ellis was influenced by David Palladini’s “Aquarian Tarot”, and that Heather Mendel brings together Tarot, Kabbalah, and the Hebrew alphabet to honor the Sacred Feminine.
Among my favorite images is the IV of Pentacles (Blue Gene, Astral Scion Tarot), which features a male figure, in a business suit and bright red tie, pointing out from the card. I also loved the simplicity of Key (Lynn Boyle, The Irish Lenormand), and Reflecting (Heather Mendel, The Syzygy Oracle), which features a beautiful spiders web. Both of the very colorful images from the Dark Carnival Tarot (Rachel Paul) brought a smile to my face!
Some of these decks I have seen on the Internet, some I have in hand, and some are now on my wish list! An incredible journey into art and divination, for a very small price of admission!
© 2000 – 2015 Bonnie Cehovet
Perspectives On Tarot 