Three art decks
Of the seven cartomancy decks I’ve created to date under the signature of Read like the Devil, following my own ‘one cut, one blood’ method, three decks come with quirky writing. These are Arcades Tarot, Red Tarot, and Baka Tarot.
While Arcades Tarot is accompanied by a book of haiku poems and Red Tarot by a sheet of maxims, Baka Tarot comes with a white book that’s not even little – though please note that the decks and the books can only be purchased separately, each from their respective manufacturer and distribution channel: MPC for the decks and EyeCorner Press for the books.
As I had great fun performing the writing that goes with and for these cards, these tarots deserve a wider distribution than originally intended. Initially, each of these tarots has been offered as a strictly limited edition talisman. On the day of the launch, each sold out in a manner of minutes. ‘That’s it?’ people asked, and I said, ‘that’s it.’
Now, while I never make the same talisman twice, by popular demand, I’ve re-issued a standard edition of Arcades Tarot, Red Tarot, and Baka Tarot. They are now all available from the Read like the Devil shop with the Make Playing Cards company.
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Why did I decide to offer a standard edition of my art tarots? Because secretly I want people to read the texts that accompany these decks. Between us, it’s not even a secret that when people asked in disappointment, ‘that’s it?’ what they were referring to was the cards not my scribbling about them. Still, however, since I don’t consider myself a visual artist, but rather, a writer, I know where my own priorities lie. So you get the cards again because of the writing about them.
When that is said, I have to mention that for all the special and unique approach to the crafting of the talisman editions, the new standard editions look great. Each deck in this form varies slightly from the original offering. While there’s no hand touch here in the form of sigils, signatures, and rituals, the professional printers did a great job. The first two, Arcades Tarot and Red Tarot, are printed on thick high gloss cardboards, while the Baka Tarot is printed on medium weight card stock that resembles handmade Japanese calligraphy paper.
THE BOOKS
As for the books that accompany these tarots, note again that they are published by EyeCorner Press and globally distributed via online bookstores, such as Amazon, Barnes and Noble and others. Only the Red Tarot deck comes with the maxims that describe the cards, as these snappy lines are fitted on a card and its verso.
The books that accompany the Arcades Tarot and the Baka Tarot are also more amply described in the EyeCorner Press catalogue. As for Red Tarot, as mentioned already, you get the maxims with the deck.
THE BOX
The size of the decks are standard tarot sizes for the Red Tarot and the Baka Tarot, while the Arcades Tarot is printed on poker size cards. Each deck comes in a plain white tuck box. If you want your box embellished with the glyphs and image you see in my pictures here, you can download this file that contains all three. Print the images, cut them out, and glue them to your box.
THE ART
You can read more about the art and what went into the creation of each of these tarots as a talismanic, magical object in the Art section of this website, each tarot having a dedicated entry.
Arcades Tarot was made in 2019.
Red Tarot was made in 2020.
Baka Tarot was made in 2023.
