The Symbolic Soul Tarot is a black, white, and gold deck that’s brimming with Expressionist mystique. It was released late last year in 2022 by Lo Scarabeo. The artwork is by Italian illustrator Elisa Seitzinger, and the companion booklet written by one of our favorite Llewellyn editors Barbara Moore.

Packaged in a unique two-piece box structure departing from Lo Scarabeo’s norm, the production value is indie-reminiscent. The luxe, matte finish cardstock with metallic gold accents will tantalize.

I don’t know what else to say about Elisa Seitzinger’s art style other than it being iconic. She pulls in strong influences from Italian and Flemish paintings, syncretized with Byzantine mosaics that fuses contemporary surrealist abstract with medieval art. It’s a little bit Romanesque Gothic and yet also a little bit postmodern.

The Symbolic Soul Tarot is a visionary deck depicting exchanges among five kingdoms– human, animal, vegetable, mineral, and alien. Characters are intentionally androgynous and non-binary to inspire your own fluidity of thought.

Architecturally this deck is part of the Rider-Waite-Smith school of tarot, particularly in the Minors, but the aesthetic of the Majors will appeal to Marseille aficionados.

By the way, I love the little touch of the artist’s initials engraved in the Ace of Cups.

You can really see the shine of that metallic gold accent in the above close-up of the Seven of Cups. That one production detail of the gold accent adds a much needed dimension to the art.

The companion booklet includes a foreword by writer Jonathan Bazzi. I love how the Introduction chapter describes the tarot, and namely as applied to the Symbolic Soul Tarot: It is “an amusement park with something to delight all parts of you: your brilliant mind, your questing soul, your yearning heart, and your seeking spirit.”

The booklet’s contents are printed in English, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, and Russian. It doesn’t showcase the artist or the artist’s point of view as much as I would like to see in a companion booklet.

Why is the wolf but not the dog chained to the crescent moon in Key XVIII? Why the key hanging from the falcon’s beak in the Nine of Pentacles? Why the cut-outs in the chests creating open compartments, and another mask-life face with a tongue sticking out peering out from the back of the horned figure in the Three of Wands?

What I like from a guidebook is to get insights into the illustrator’s design choices. Here, the booklet is just a basic starter pack of card meanings for the beginner.

In terms of line work, Seitzinger likes to opt for consistent, simple hatching, which gives the compositions a clean, austere mannerism.

For those who prefer human-like figures illustrated on their tarot but don’t want those figures to be too fleshed out and anchored in the real world, you are going to love the abstract, ethereal, and universal figure depictions in the Symbolic Soul Tarot. It’s cosmic, as if the artist has channeled stellar energy into line drawings.

There are cat people, bird people, and mannequins brought to life. From the plague doctor mask in the Six of Swords to the wooden faces absent of irises and pupils, the world of the Symbolic Soul Tarot feels like a perpetual masquerade ball.

Reading with this deck is like solving a riddle. Each card implies secret passageways and stories behind the stories.

You know I’m going to lean biased in favor of any deck that renders my significator card, the Queen of Swords, well. And look at this Queen of Swords giving off Nefertiti meets Achaemenid Persian empire vibes!

While upon first impression you might not immediately think of the deck art as creepy, the longer you study the details, letting the impact sink in, it does start to feel creepy, albeit in the most alluring, delightful way.

These are elegant yet damned characters. They occupy a fascinating if not slightly unsettling world. You can hear the haunting wind-up music box melodies as you draw the cards into a spread. These are not characters who will talk to you, and yet they speak. They point, they nod, they gesture.

You sense the bleak atmosphere from the details, like the little skulls atop the wands in the Nine of Wands, and speaking of the Nine of Wands, why is their asymmetry in the boots?

It’s the all-seeing eyes drawn into the figures’ joints at the elbows and knees. It’s the little girl in the Six of Cups having two faces and the Cheshire inspired cat in the Nine of Cups. Or the flaming heads, protruded reptilian spines, and masked, blindfolded horses. And is the flaming head guy in the Ten of Wands about to step in… poo?

Elisa Seitzinger’s Symbolic Soul Tarot is right up my alley. I love black and white decks, and the gold accent adds a tempering warmth. The touch of creepy, slightly minimalist, high concept art and the modern homage to medieval illuminated manuscript illustrations and woodcut engravings come together in perfect harmony.

FTC Disclosure: In accordance with Title 16 of the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations Part 255, “Guides Concerning Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising,” I received this deck and guidebook set from its publisher for prospective review. Everything I’ve said here is sincere and accurately reflects my opinion of the deck.