Anne Stokes Gothic Tarot (Anne Stokes Collection)

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Many changes from the earlier editions - these vary from slight alterations of colour to extensive reimagining of imagery. The Six of Swords shows a small girl reaching out and grasping a woman's hand. The girl is about to lead the woman down a walkway of coals…her posture tells the woman (and us), "Come on, you can do it…" The little white book (LWB) is written by John Woodward, in five languages – English, German, French, Spanish, and Portuguese. There are no descriptions of the cards, and the definitions are extremely brief. The interpretations given for the Major Arcana are somewhat portentous and unclear for such important cards, but those given for the Minor Arcana speak directly and clearly to the seeker. Considering the brevity of the information given, an experienced reader will easily be able to impose their own interpretations on these cards. The Court Cards use vampires for the Cups royalty, skeletons or Grim Reapers for Pentacles, Angels with feathered wings for Swords, and dragons and wyverns for Wands royalty.

Draw any card and be treated to the wisdom of the shadow. These images from horror stories and dark fantasy are executed beautifully and combined together into an effectively complete tarot set. For vampire lovers and horror fans, The Gothic Tarot is a must-have! All cards are cold-stamped. We've done this in a slightly new way, so that it works well with these dark-toned images. It gives an almost three-dimensional and rather magical quality. You can see a video of how cold-stamped cards look below (these are not final cards, but the video gives an idea). But popular culture has lost the essence of the vampire. In the 1978 homage/remake of Murnau's classic by Werner Herzog - Klaus Kinski as the title character Nosferatu utters the line (paraphrased and translated poorly), "Can you imagine what it's like to live for a thousand years, and never feel…love."What is hidden from you? What are you hiding from yourself? - the aspects of yourself that you're not aware of; usually internal but can be external from the querent. Anyway, may the auspicious mighty gods bless you richly for the wealth of artwork you have been yielding to the world. A selection of hand-made drawstring bags and foldover pouches. Many of these feature very special fabrics and some are embroidered. The embroidery is designed by us and sewn in our studio in Killarney. The bags are also sewn by our own seamstresses. The book has changed the way I think about everything. I knew it would change the way I see the cards but now I see 'images' everywhere I go and I interpret those images according to things you have said in your book. Her hair is splayed out. Blood appears around her lips. Her eyes are lifeless…or are they. Blood is around his mouth - and there is a stream of blood/life-force moving from him to her. I get the impression that her days as a human have come to an end…she is about to become, a Vampire…death, rebirth, and transformation. A simple drawing that evokes an eerie passion.

On of my favourite images is the 9 of Wands, which shows a young man kissing an older woman. Her face tells us she has passed on. The picture next to the bed tells us this is a couple. She aged, he did not. She has left him. The LWB tells us, "Losing what is loved, giving importance to things." Wow - This ain't no RWS - this is heady stuff!

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I often upset folks when I discuss the High Priestess and sex in the same breath - here it is obvious yet subtle - few will notice there are two glasses and both have been drunk from. Where is the second person? Is it us? In "Bruce Almighty," God and Bruce are discussing some of the 'work' that Bruce had done. There is a wonderful line that goes, "Triumph is born out of struggle. Faith is the alchemist. If you want to paint pictures like this, you have to use some dark colours." The Two of Swords shows a view of a man and woman leaping from a high window. The LWB states, "Test of trust, unity during adversity, taking a chance." Well now that's what a 2 of Swords is supposed to be about! You are a magnificent talent Joseph Vargo. Once again I thank you for sharing it so generously with me. The Vampire mythos is not cute. I doubt if there will ever be a Vampire Barbie. I feel that the mythos is very misunderstood.