There are a ton of different Tarot decks out there. The Marigold Tarot is just one of a huge number of Tarot decks which vary, either subtly or not-so-subtly, in their art direction, their suits, the names of their cards, and their size.
It can be tough choosing one deck, especially if you know that you’re going to be working with it for a long time. Ideally, it’d be best to get to know the deck before purchasing it. However, the only way you can truly get to know a deck is by working with it.
As such, the next-best thing is to learn as much about the deck as you can – and we’re here to help.
The Basics of the Marigold Tarot Deck
Here are some of the basic and fundamental components of this deck.
- The deck was designed by Amrit Brar
- The deck has a standard number of cards (22 Major Arcana and 56 Minor)
- The suits in the deck are wands, swords, rings, and cups
- The cards are based on the same system used in the Rider-Waite deck
- The primary art direction employed in the deck takes advantage of a black background with drawings made of thin, white lines, and metallic gold. This creates a sharp contrast and an eerie feeling.
Interesting Info About the Deck
The first thing that you’ll notice about this deck is the sharp art style. The cards all have black backgrounds and the images are painted using only two colors, white and gold.
This creates both a vivid contrast and a clear image. However, the contrast isn’t just between the colors. Amrit employs contrast with imagery, as well.
The dark and ominous appearance of skeletons in each of the cards seems, at first, to offer a bleak image. However, the gold outlines and frames for each card help to represent positivity, life, and love.
Each of the images is based upon the Rider-Waite deck, so users of this deck may be familiar with some of the symbolism involved.
While the images may, at first, seem simple, there is a tremendous amount of detail involved. Not necessarily in regards to symbolism, but in attention to detail. Each of these hand-crafted images is penned with individual strokes of a very thin pen.
The Marigold deck was largely funded by a Kickstarter campaign. A total of 2,463 contributors helped to fund the project with a whopping $151,847.
Amrit developed a guide book that can be used alongside the deck to help people understand the symbolism and her particular take on it. However, this guide book is presently only available in the form of a PDF document that must be downloaded online.
In Finishing
The Marigold deck is just about the exact opposite of what it sounds like – a deck that primarily features skulls, black backgrounds, and bleak imagery.
However, the images that are included are symbolic and follow a lot of the same symbolism as the Rider-Waite deck. People who are familiar with Tarot at all should easily resonate with the Marigold deck.
Consider looking into other decks like the Gemstone Tarot.
