The Arthurian Tarot

Measurements: 3.15 x 4.7 inches; or 80 x 120 millimeters.

Back of card: In the center, a yellow woman seated on a yellow checkerboard chair with a sword, the Goddess of Sovereignty. Behind her, stars on a black field. Around that, a circular "rainbow" with a stone tower (Cair or Cairn) in each corner. So you'll know right away when a card is inverted, & inversion is something the authors suggest you don't bother with anyway. Back of the card does not contrast well with the fronts.

Books included: Yes, two. The first: The Arthurian Tarot, by Caitlin & John Matthews. Miranda Gray is given as the illustrator, but, aside from the cover & layout diagrams, there are no illustrations in the book. 147 pages, 4.4 x 6.12 inches; or 111 x 155 millimeters, paperback.
The second: The Arthurian Tarot Journal, a blank hardcover book with approximately 75 leaves/150 pages. Measurements: 4.4 x 6.12 inches; or 111 x 155 millimeters.

Packaging: Nicely done in a sturdy cardboard sleeve. Overall package measures 4.65 wide, 6.5 high, 2.6 deep (inches), or 117 x 164 x 65 mm.

Publisher: Element. Printed in China.

Formerly subtitled, Hallowquest.

Comments: For fans of British myth, of course, replete with dragons & sea monsters, severed heads(?) & ancient British historical sites. It's hard to mistake Stonehenge as Arthurian, though it turns up as the Round Table card. The Major Arkana is Arthurian whenever possible - Merlin, the Lady of the Lake, Guinevere, Arthur, etc. Suits are Sword, Spear, Grail & Stone. In the Minor Arkana, instead of showing us five swords or seven Grails, the cards show the third one or the eighth one, eg, for the most part, there's only one of whatever per card. And, yes, Mildred, there really is a giant figure of a man with his you-know-what exposed on a hillside in England, just like on the Stone Three card. It is the Cerne Abbas Giant, on Giant Hill, near Cerne Abbas in Dorset. It has long been a fertility symbol. It is said that barren women would spend the night on the figure & come back feeling better the next day. In the book for this card they have some fanciful story about a wonderful blacksmith, "honored above all men". Makes us wonder about the authors. On the stone in the foreground of this card, the feminine sex symbol. Both in myth & in modern reality, the English are not as stuffy as you might think.

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