by Robert M. Place
Publisher: Hermes Publications
Recommended retail price: $40 plus shipping (shipping prices are indicated in the following link: https://robertmplacetarot.com/the-alchemical-tarot-of-marseilles/)
ISBN: 978-1-7360688-0-9
I have had The Alchemical Tarot of Marseille for a long time but until I became a member of TABI it never crossed my mind to write a deck review. I would like to thank TABI for giving me this opportunity, and also support readers who would like to write deck reviews for the TABI blog.
The deck’s name gives us a clue that this is a deck based on Tarot de Marseille, reinterpreted by Place in his own style. Place has an impressive artistic touch and is an important Tarot scholar; we can easily see this depth of art and information in The Alchemical Tarot of Marseille. Place’s decks require a lot of study and accumulation of knowledge as Hermetic philosophy, alchemy, and references to old texts, like the Hermetic quotes on Trumps and Aces, are embedded in the art and symbolism of the cards. However, I believe that any level of Tarot reader could read with his decks. At the end of the day, it takes time to learn about the depictions, symbolism, and meanings in any deck we might be called to read with; I have been reading with this deck for a while and I feel like it might still take me more time to completely understand the essence of each card. If you would like to learn more about the underlying Hermetic philosophy in the Alchemical Tarot of Marseille, “The Tarot, Magic, Alchemy, Hermeticism, and Neoplatonism” by Place might be a good accompanying source, although the deck’s booklet contains a great deal of information about the deck along with the meanings of the quotes.
Regarding the physical interaction with the deck, for someone like me with small hands sometimes it might be challenging to shuffle the 5” by 3.25″ cards. However, every day is getting better, and I am much more comfortable shuffling them compared to six months ago. The box is so beautiful that I don’t need a pouch or another box to keep the deck in. And when I lay the cards down, they slide very well; they are quite soft and easy to handle.
While writing the review, I was thinking how might I interview the deck? As a result, I felt like asking the following question to the deck for the readers and Tarot enthusiasts who might be interested in this deck:
‘For what kind of readings might we get the best results with you?’
And the answer turned out to be La Papesse – The High Priestess.
It is true that intuition plays an important role in Tarot reading and The High Priestess confirms that The Alchemical Tarot of Marseille might be a good choice for highly intuitive and in-depth readings in which we might end up solving mysteries. The Pythagorean Table Chart tells us that T=2, A=1, R=9, O=6 and T=2, adding up to 20; the root number is 2+0=2 corresponding to the High Priestess. Intriguing but maybe expected, right?
I really like this deck and I use it especially in social media for daily reading posts. I have to admit that until I got used to it, it took me some time; however, I am now really devoted to this deck and I hope that this review might be inspiring for you.
Reviewed by: Teri
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