One of my favorite tarot bloggers, Ethony, did a great review on this deck. Like Ethony, I thought I might find this deck kitschy, but I didn’t. Even after the initial awe for the pretty shape wore off, I still liked this deck and found it a substantive one to work with.

The Infinity Tarot is named for its lemniscate cutout shape and I confess that the unique shape of the deck is what drew me to it at first. The card backs are reversible and I found the deck quite easy to work with both upright and in reverse.

I thought the accompanying guidebook might instruct on an infinity-shaped tarot spread, but we get a cool, different spread instruction instead. Later I’ll be using the Lemniscate Spread from my book to work with this deck. I thought it was apt.

I don’t know why I had such a negative visceral reaction to The Fool card here, but I really dislike it. Ethony, too, noted the symbolic significance of the lemniscate cut-out hole being one of the fool’s eyes and is that Jerry the cat from Tom and Jerry? Oh no, wait, I believe Jerry is a gray tabby. Anyway. Also, I thought the fool’s travel bag was supposed to be filled with the wand, the chalice, the sword, and the pentacle? [Traditional interpretation of The Fool, or at least the RWS Fool…] Gosh, I really, really dislike that Fool card.

However, from here, my review of the deck only goes up and up.

The illustrations on the Infinity Tarot remind me of those Christian children’s books or pamphlets where Bible stories come to life with full color illustrations. There’s a 1950s vintage cartoon feel to the art here, rendered in Technicolor hues, and even though I said cartoon, the art strikes a deft balance between whimsical and mature.

Pierluca Zizzi, the deck author, has done some very innovative stuff with tarot in the past. He’s the mastermind of the Universal Transparent Tarot, for starters. The deck illustrator, Severino Baraldi, is a renowned Italian artist and illustrator and, as it turns out, has illustrated the Bible before. He was also a children’s books illustrator for a while. Totally makes sense now. The aesthetic of this deck is soo children’s-illustrated-Bible-ish.

Here you’ll see that the deck follows the traditional order of tarot, not the RWS, with Key 8 as Justice (instead of Strength as it is in RWS) and Key 11 as Strength. There are some serious esoteric stuff going on in these innocent looking illustrations, too, such as the serpent crossing the hermit’s path in Key 9. Other than the fact her outfit kind of clashes, that is one of my favorite depictions of the Temperance card.

Sometimes the two cut-out holes for forming the lemniscate shape gets in the way of the art, like in the above-pictured Key XVII The Star or XXI The World, or how in the earlier Key VIII Justice and Key XIV Temperance the hole becomes the figures’ armpits. Doh, it’s the Hermit’s armpit, too.

Other times, the holes are clever. Check out that Devil card (Key XV). Best. Devil. Card. Ever. I also like how the cut-out is like a “third eye” for both the Moon and Sun in Keys XVIII and XIX respectively.

The illustrations have enough elements of iconic tarot decks to keep this deck easy to read and it also brings a lot of new interpretation to the table and to tarot consciousness, which I appreciate. I love the change in perspective for the Two of Wands, where the figure is facing us instead of facing away. Same in the Three of Wands. From the Five of Wands on up, we’ve got really creative interpretations for the cards that evoke the fundamental meanings most of us are used to but add so much new symbolism.

While the courts, or for that matter any of the cards, show card names, it’s easy to identify what each card is. Pip number values in the Minors (and Key numbers in the Majors) are provided for ease of reference and here in the courts, there are symbols that will help you identify the Page (or Knave), Knight, Queen, and King. I love how fierce the Wands court is here.

An interesting detail in the art is the angle. Many of the illustrations are presented at a dynamic angle, conveying that infinite sense of no limitations, no boundaries. Many are suspended in the sky. Others show a higher anger pointing downward at the illustration, such as the Queen of Cups pictured below.

The deck is easy to read with and with each card, tells its own story. For storyteller tarot readers, you’re going to love working with this deck. I also see it as a great deck to read with for children. While everyone has a different opinion on which tarot decks are appropriate for children, I don’t think a deck has to be sugarcoated down to nothing for it to work. There are cards in here that do address the negative or shadow sides, but nothing too intense.

The Ace of Swords here is very cute. I am loving the Three of Swords here, the perspective in the Seven of Swords, and all the creativity that went into reinterpreting the stories to describe the essence for this suit.

The pages or knaves in this deck tend toward the masculine, though here in the Page of Swords, the gender is vague. That Knight of Swords is, again, so creative and dynamic. Love how the King of Swords is sitting on a sword throne.

I would recommend the Infinity Tarot as the deck of choice when reading for children. It’s vibrant and easy to follow for both practitioner and seeker. There is so much story here. I could choose any one card and just go on and on. It brings out your imaginative side.

You’ll see recurring lemniscates in the illustrations. Above, you see it in the Page of Pentacles. It also appeared in the Seven of Pentacles, among others. That is the most creative Queen of Pentacles and I wonder what was going through the artist’s mind when he conceived of that. King of Pentacles is just adorable and so deftly depicts the many King of Pentacles I know in my life.

My signifier, the Queen of Swords, is so powerful in this deck. Just look at it. She’s fearsome, intimidating, and you just know that this is a woman who can inflict pain.

I’m using my Lemniscate Spread here (instructed in Holistic Tarot) for the Infinity Tarot. I felt it was apt. And of course, that Fool card is taunting me. After I said I disliked that rendering of the Fool, it appears in the very first reading I do with the deck.

When reading with the Infinity Tarot, a full multi-card spread can look daunting because of all the detailing, but I promise you it is one of the easiest most fluid decks to read with. Take it one baby step at a time, with the first card. See that card as telling a story and then, well, tell it. What is the story of the figures in that card? What specific details in the card catch your eye and what do they symbolize? An incredible narrative will be woven for the seeker.

I wasn’t a huge fan of the packaging, but it might just be that I received a slightly defective box. The box top and box bottom didn’t fit into one another that well so there’s a lot of jiggling, shaking, and yanking that needs to be done to remove the cards from the box. Once out of the box, though, the Infinity Tarot deck is an absolute joy to work with. I thought I would find the shape gimmicky, but I don’t. I thought the art might be a bit too cartoonish, but it isn’t; it works. There’s great appeal in the illustrations here and if I had to do readings for kids, this is the deck I’d use. Yet there’s mature themes going on here so it isn’t limited to children. It’s a great deck for narrating the stories of adult lives, too.

If your method of reading tarot is very much in line with storytelling and you like vibrant imagery to help trigger the imaginative and creative side of your brain, then you are going to love the Infinity Tarot.