When I first learned I would have an opportunity to review the Dark Fairy Tales deck by Raffaele De Angelis, I was excited. I love anything Fae, and the prospect of being able to hold another tarot based on the Fae in my hands excited me. I was a little disappointed in this deck, however. Others may find that they love the artwork, but I didn’t like the digital approach the creator took with this deck. It is also possible that I am a bit of a snob when it comes to Tarot!
I’ve spoken before about the LWB – the Little White Book – that accompanies most Tarot decks. I actually did not care for the LWB that came with this deck. One thing in its favor if you are international is that the deck is published by Lo Scarabeo, so at least there are multiple translations in different languages. However, I found the LWB to be fairly generic. I did see reviews of this deck online where it seemed as though there is something more detailed available, however I did not see that with the deck I received.
The suited cards all have a symbol on the cards that tells you which suit you are looking at: i.e., there is a cup on the Cups cards, etc. The Major Arcana cards have Roman numerals for their numbering. The Court cards were harder to discern for me. There is no wording telling us if they are King or Queen, just a symbol at the top of the card, which made them difficult to tell apart from one another. The back of the cards has a beautiful and ornate design which reads the same regardless of whether the card is upright or not, which lends itself well to reading reversals.
The colors in the cards are subtle and muted, tending towards darker tones. Having said this, the art feels VERY digital to me. There is nothing wrong with using digital means to draw, but in this case, the art looks a lot like things some of my beginning art students would produce. Ciro Marchetti is a good example of an artist who uses digital means to create decks, and his works always look complete, polished, and elegant.
Looking at a few of the cards individually, I was especially struck by the Devil card. It features a figure that looks very much like Tim Curry’s character in the film Legend, with enormous horns and red body. At the bottom of the card, an angel crouches, in despair I suppose. The imagery in some cases calls back to Pamela Colman Smith as in the Three of Cups card where three witches dance – but I was very put off by the Devil card.
Other cards reminded me greatly of Peter Jackson’s film vision of The Lord of the Rings. The Hierophant resembles Saruman, and the Emperor resembles Theoden. There are no real fairy tales to be found here, dark or otherwise. Groping hands appear out of nowhere on several cards, there are skulls and skeletons galore. It does feel more Gothic than fairytale to me.
In all, I found this deck to be disappointing and I certainly would not read with it.
To purchase this deck, please go here: https://www.loscarabeo.com/en/products/tarocchi-delle-favole-oscure
Helena Domenic,
2024 Artist in Residence for the Society for Ritual Arts
Helena Domenic is an Associate Professor of Studio Art at Kutztown University of Pennsylvania. Prior to Kutztown, she was an Associate Professor of Art History and Studio Art at Cheyney University of Pennsylvania for eighteen years. She is an accomplished painter who has shown her work in Philadelphia, New York, across the United States and in Germany, Egypt, and South Africa. Helena was born in Vicenza, Italy where she was exposed to great works of art from a very early age. After viewing the Sistine Chapel ceiling at the age of eighteen months, her mother predicted she would become an artist. She holds a BFA from Kutztown University, an MA in Art Education from The University of the Arts, and an MFA from Goddard College in Plainfield, Vermont. She has also taken courses in Art Therapy from Cheyney University and will be entering Cherry Hill Seminary’s Spiritual Direction program in Fall of 2023. Helena lectures regularly at conferences about art and the sacred, painting, and installation at both academic and healing arts venues. Her interests include antiquities from all cultures, African and Nubian studies in particular. Her art is influenced by artists such as Leonor Fini, Leonora Carrington, Jimoh Biramoe, El Anatsui, Bettye and Alison Saar, and Agnes Pelton. Helena also offers classes in various kinds of art and spiritual studies from her studio in Phoenixville, PA, where she works to create an environment of community and creativity. Helena’s book, An Illuminated Guide to Wicca was released by Schiffer in April of 2022, and is enjoying great sales.
Linktree: https://linktr.ee/HelenaDomenicArt