SOLA-BUSCA TAROT or ILLUMINATING ANCIENT TAROTS by Sola Busca, illustrated by Sofia Di Vencenzo A tarot deck review by Errol McLendon, CTM, CTI

As I opened this deck, I was at first very, very afraid. There was no Little White Book. Just a group of nine two-sided cards and only three of the sides were in my language. As a thumbed through the somewhat narrower than average cards the first time, the gut reaction was that most of the cards bore little resemblance to my trusted Rider-Waite. Even my Rohrig stayed in the same ballpark. The Sola-Busca is about five mile out of left field.

All I knew about the deck before purchasing was from the short review at www.aeclectic.net.

"Also known as the Illuminating Ancient Tarots. The artwork shows images from biblical and Roman history andismore than 500 years old. This deck is notable because it was the first deck to show full scenes on the major arcana card." But as I began reading with the cards and studying the meanings, I developed a real affection for this deck. I don't believe anyone opening the deck at first glance is going to think they have found "the deck". I just ask you to give it some time and meditation. You will be amazed at the subliminal (and not so subliminal) messages the cards convey. This is a great deck for anyone wanting to wean themselves off of a deck with pictorial Minor Arcana cards. The Sola-Busca deck shifts back and forth among it's Minor cards. Some have fully developed scenes, others (3 of Cups, 8 of Wands) revert to the pips only school of Tarot. This feature helped me get away from the literal meaning of the cards, even the ones with fully developed scenes.

I did find the Court cards somewhat flat emotionally. I know this is not an element of the artwork, due to the fact the most of the people depicted on the other cards are very readable emotionally. The sidelong glance of the woman on the 9 of Wands speaks volumes.

The Major Arcana basically require the learning of an entire new system. I found the meanings on the Little White Card to align somewhat with some of the cards, but I didn't always buy the illustrations. I felt like someone wrote the card for the Rider-Waite and put it in with this deck. For example, card II of the Major Arcana is called Postumio and pictures a person turned away from us with a shield and very phallic sword facing a pedestal with a skull on it. My feelings of this image are along the lines of inheritance or past works of ancestors. The accompanying card gives the meaning as study, comprehension, charity and intuition. Major Arcana Card XX, Nenbroto, is very reminiscent of The Tower; however, it is a renewal and birth card. My suggestion is to use the Little White Cards for bookmarks and let the cards tell you what they mean (which is what we should be doing anyway, IMHO).

If you or people you may be reading for are offended by violence or nudity, this is a deck to leave at home. Most of the men's swords are very phallic (gotta love those Romans), everyone is anatomically correct to an extreme, and violence is not watered down. I personally found these elements more helpful in pulling the meanings from the cards. I use mostly "pretty " decks (Celtic Dragon, Hudes, Rohrig, Hallowquest, and good old Rider-Waite. Though the messages in these cards come to me in a gentle way, I FEEL the messages from the Sola-Busca in a visceral way. If you feel that you are in a rut and are in danger of repetitive readings, this deck will slap you out of those feelings of apathy, repeatedly.

Finally, I would suggest getting an Italian-English dictionary, if you don't speak Italian. The words on the cards often don't have anything to do with the Little White Card's definitions, but everything to do with what is pictured on the card. This is a deck that begs to be interpreted differently by each individual reader.

The artwork is lovely; the cardstock is a bit thin; the narrower size is refreshing (you can squeeze that spread you never have quite enough room for into your table now); and the messages these cards give are electrifying. This is definitely a case of not judging the deck in one or two sittings. Give this 500 year old deck a few months to ingratiate itself into your deck collection.

The Sola Busca deck and book (ISBN 0-88079-952-8), published by U.S Games, will definitely be a deck you will immediately love or hate. It makes no apologies for it's imagery, but I find it emotionally and spiritually stimulating. Try it for a month.