The Gothic Tarot Deck Review

Deck: The Gothic Tarot
Illustrator: Joseph Vargo
Design & Text: Christine Filipak
The Gothic Tarot Compendium by: Joseph Vargo & Joseph Iorillo
Publisher: Monolith Graphics 
Where to Buy: Amazon

We've gone full on vampire with this deck which, I think is out of print but you can still get it through Amazon. The Compendium guide book can be purchased separately. Lately, I've found myself preferring decks that have a whole experience around them. So things like an extra guide book, buying a bag to keep them in and edging with a suitable colour. I'll post a separate blog showing where I get all my stuff from soon but in the meantime I got this beautiful bag from SulisCreations on Etsy. The pen I used to edge is Winsor & Newton Poppy R545.

This deck is created from some existing artwork by Joseph Vargo with some being altered to work with the deck and some new pieces created specifically for the Gothic Tarot. Vargo is an artist, author and musician who specialises in dark fantasy art and the title describes the deck perfectly. One thing you will notice from these photos is that the majority of the cards are in this misty blue colour. There is some red and a couple of green-hued cards but the majority of this deck is black and blue with titles and numbers in red. It's fine but it would have benefited from a greater variety of colour. It can look a bit stoney especially in larger spreads. 

Having said that, you might want to keep the spreads quite small as these cards are a little bit bigger than your average RWS. They are also based more or less on that tradition but there is some variation. That's where the Compendium guide book will help. The deck does come with a LWB but in the larger guide book, it talks you through what you see in each card which is always a benefit. 

The quality of this deck is not the highest. The card stock is flexible but without a central core so can be easily riffle shuffled but will retain a bend unless corrected. It will overhand easily due to the smooth finish and although it doesn't have a high gloss I did find it quite difficult to photograph without glare in natural light. It comes in a standard tuck box. This deck was created over twenty years ago and things have come a long way in the tarot world since then. This deck doesn't compare favourably with the level of quality that is generally expected now. 

So, if you're willing to put quality to one side, what do you get with this deck? Well, the answer is in the Compendium guidebook. The artwork is interesting and I say that as a non-Goth. The detail is worth investigating further and it is clear that Mr Vargo and the team that put this project together do know a thing or two about tarot and this isn't just art work that's shoe-horned into a tarot deck. 

The Gothic Tarot has all the werewolves and gargoyles that you'll need for the spooky season so if you're looking for something weird, this is definitely worth a second glance.