         Name:           The Witches' Tarot
         Artist:         Martin Cannon
         Publisher:      Llewellyn Publications
                         P.O. Box 64383-660
                         St. Paul, MN  55164

         Art Quality:    **** (* = poor, ***** = excellent)

         This is a very nicely designed  deck of 78 cards (22 Major Arcana,
         56  Minor  Arcana)  in  which  the  theme  Qabala  and  Paganistic
         symbolism. A book titled "The  Witches Tarot" by Ellen Cannon Reed
         is also available from Llewellyn Publications, but is not actually
         included with the deck itself (you  must order it extra). The deck
         was originally released in a box that was too big for the deck and
         had a piece of styrofoam stuffed to fill out the box. Now the deck
         is  sold  in  a  front-opening  box.  At  one  point  there was an
         incorrect  card,   when  the  deck  was   first  released  in  the
         front-opening box. If you purchased one of the incorrect decks you
         can contact Llewellyn to get the correct card.

         The back of  the cards is a solid black  with a silver pentacle in
         the  center of  the card,  and the  Llewellyn symbol  in the lower
         right hand side. The pictures on the cards take up the entire face
         of the card with no border. The  number of each card is printed in
         unobtrusive black  print at the  top or bottom  of the card.  This
         sometimes makes it hard to find the number or title.

         The artwork on this deck is  suffused with a luminous quality. The
         cups glow, the swords appear to  reflect a bright light, and often
         the human figures appear to radiate an aura. The human figures are
         mainly   realistic  without   being  distracting,   and  in   good
         proportion. An added plus is that (apart from the Court cards) all
         the  human figures  appear to  be different,  unlike many decks in
         which the  artwork may be superb  but you get the  feeling you are
         seeing  the  same  person  over  and  over  dressed  in  different
         costumes. The Court cards are the same four individuals (Princess,
         Prince,  Queen, and  King)  with  minor differences  in background
         season or clothing. The Prince  of each suit, for example, carries
         the symbol  of his suit, but  other than the stream  that flows by
         only the feet  of the Prince of Cups, and  the different colors of
         their clothing, it appears to be  the same painting done over four
         times. An  explanation of this will  be given in the  Minor Arcana
         description.


         THE MAJOR ARCANA

         The  Major  Arcana  figures  follow  the  traditional  Rider-Waite
         symbolism with minor differences relating to the Qabalistic/ Pagan
         theme.  Odd colored  circles are  shown on  each card.  Even after
         studying  the book,  I'm not  certain what  these colored  circles
         actually mean. Possibly something to do with spheres of existence.


         THE MINOR ARCANA

         The  Minor  Arcana  moves  away  from  the traditional Rider-Waite
         symbolism with few exceptions. An interesting deviation is the use
         of the Court cards as "modifiers" of the cards following them. For
         example, if the  Queen of Pentacles is dealt, it  is laid down and
         the next card is laid directly on  top of it. The card laid on top
         of the Queen  of Pentacles is then "modified"  by the influence of
         the Queen of Pentacles (if reversed, things have not yet proceeded
         to  become a  concept, not  yet manifested  past the  stage of the
         creative urge).

         The   scenes   on   the   cards   lend   themselves  to  different
         interpretations for the individual reader. For example, the Two of
         Cups shows  a male figure  climbing the side  of a cliff  toward a
         female figure who holds two cups. But is she sitting there in wait
         for him, or is she walking away briskly? It could be either.

         Even in  the suit of  Swords, where usually  depressing scenes are
         found,  an  emphasis  is  made  on  scenes  of  action rather than
         aggression.


         SPECIAL NOTES

         While the book  is interesting, it is mostly  useful to the reader
         who is  heavily into Qabala.  The notes about  spheres and symbols
         will mostly  confuse anyone else. For  those persons, the pamphlet
         enclosed with the deck will be sufficient.

         This deck is beautifully conceived  and illustrated. It has a warm
         feeling  to  it  which  will   commend  it  to  most  readers  and
         collectors.


