Occult Collage

The Archeon Tarot, by Timothy Lantz.  Published by U. S. Games Systems, Inc., 2005.

Ratings

Historical Significance:  Nil

Artistic Appeal:  High

Symbolic Resonance:  Moderate

Evocative Potential: Moderate

What drew me to this deck was the art graphics which are quite unique as far as Tarot decks go.  The style is more along the lines of graphic illustration used in magazines than the more common iconographic line drawings we've come to expect from Tarot cards.  The images are pleasing and sometimes dramatic.  They have an unspecific and nebulous quality typical of such graphics.

Lantz started his work on this deck in 2003.  Of it he says:

Each of the 78 images in the Archeon Tarot relies heavily on the collection of symbols that inhabit my mind.  It is a curious mixture of traditional and non-traditional imagery from varied sources thrown into the blender of my subconscious. There will be things that you recognize, cultural and social conventions, but their interpretations may not always be what you would expect.

Personally, I like the artwork, but not everyone seems to.  The problem for me with this deck is that, although the photoshoped graphics are appealing, they lack depth.  The use of symbols is suggestive and thin without clearly tying symbol to image content. The evocative quality that is so important in divination does not work so well with this deck for me although one might expect it to as the images are certainly more evocative than linear. It could be that I simply haven't used it enough for evocation to develop.

The pamphlet is thin with two to three paragraphs per trump and only a few sentences per pip card.  The meanings described in the pamphlet do not correspond with the images as well as they could.

Overall, I like the artwork but have not found the deck to be very useable.  But, you might have a different experience.