- Deck name: Allcento Tarot
- Author: Michael J Auger
- Publisher: US Games Systems, Inc.
- ISBN: 978-1-64671-267-0
- RRP: £35 UK / $29.95 US
- Reviewed by: Clair Telford
100 cards and 100% Wow! For anyone who knows how I like to mix different systems of tarot, this deck is an absolute treat!
A very sturdy 2 part box arrived and inside there was a 144 page guide book with two sets of 50 cards in plastic wrapping. The box is very colourful with Justice on the front. Michael J Auger (pronounced OH-Zhay) describes this as being a mixture of Marseille, Minchiate and esoteric symbolism. The guide book has 10 chapters including spreads and Tree Of Life knowledge.
In the introduction to the deck, Michael says “I offer The Allcento Tarot as a collection of ten-fold ten cards (i.e. 100 cards). It includes the forgotten 10 cards from earlier incarnations of the tarot as a way to fulfil my vision of a complete, 100 card tarot deck.” He explains how he has covered all angles of studies from 15th Century Italy, Sufi sage Byzantine literati, Marseille and Visconti-Sforza. He has also included the 7 Virtues and the astrological zodiac. The backs of the cards, which are reversible, depict sacred geometry encircled by the ouroboros. Michael hopes that “each card will resonate with an emotional response in a way all true art does.” He has a website to showcase his work at www.arty4ever.com.
Okay, so back to the cards. Altogether, 100 cards is quite a lot, yet I managed to shuffle them all together quite easily. They are a standard tarot card size, (think RWS) and a nice card stock and as a bonus they are edged in matt black.
The suits are split into colour, elemental association, and have a playing card suit also assigned:
Swords are yellow, air and spades
Cups are blue, water and hearts
Wands are red, fire and clubs
Disks are green, earth and diamonds
The guide book offers an in depth key to understanding these symbols and the numerology. Something that is also mentioned are the court cards and their Myers-Briggs personality types. I am not familiar with this system so it has given me even more food for thought as to how far you can play with one deck. Also, we get to learn about the major arcana as being the 5th element as the energy that surrounds our mind, body, heart and spirit. This is what we can find deep within if we group the cards into 3 sections of 10. For example 1, 11, 21 or 7, 17 and 27. Michael says the objective of the Allcento Tarot is to provide the most effective divination tool possible. I have to agree this definitely covers everything I could ever wish for and more.
As I wanted to delve right in and look through all the cards, I noticed they are very playful yet relatable to what you might see in a Rider Waite Smith deck. However, as an example, the 5 of Wands has a depiction of too many cooks in the kitchen showing how things can be disrupted if you don’t all work together. The 8 of Disks does have a man hard at work, yet there is a plant that grows, and for anyone familiar with the Thoth, you will recognise it as Prudence. The Majors are based on a chess board and mostly have black and purple tones to them, as do the zodiac cards. The Moon has the Triple Goddess standing at a crossroads between subconscious and celestial realms whilst being the gatekeeper of the middle world. Card number 22, titled Vision, depicts Morpheus the King of Dreams. Here we have a message that talks about “The borders of our minds and memories are ever shifting and can flow into greater collective energy evoked by symbols.” Therefore we need to pay attention to the visions we have upon dreaming. I love how both those cards are similar yet look so different.
I really enjoyed the chapter about the Tree of Life. Michael has given a brief yet wonderful starter explanation to the Divine thunderbolt and how through meditation we can perhaps journey upwards through the Tree of Life. With each station, or sephiroth, the Allcento tarot has 3 sets of Major Arcana that act as guides, each building their way up from the Kingdom at 10 to the crown at 1.
As you might have guessed, I wanted to put this deck into practice. I can usually find someone who has a question, and this time the querent asked “I am currently facing a decision whether to stay or leave my current job role due to conflict in the office…” The cards were straight to the point: The Centaur – channel energy towards solving philosophical problems, a need for freedom and expansion, a love for exploring and wandering the world, ready to show their fiery side if anyone crosses them. The World Soul, (Card 21 of the Major Arcana) signifying a unified connection of universal empathy, celebrate the fulfilment of an objective and successful progress towards new goals. And last of all, the 6 of swords, signifying harmony of thought once a logical decision has been made, and beautiful solace in escaping a negative situation. This would appear to point to a new direction that is on the horizon, although, of course, the querent is free to decide for themselves!
Overall, I think that this deck would suit anyone ready to embrace a unique deck. As a beginner you might think “where do I start with so many cards?” but don’t let this deter you from enjoying Allcento Tarot. I look forward to exploring the Virtues and the Zodiac cards and finding out how Michael interprets these. Most of all, it has given my practice the most complete deck I could wish for all in one go!
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