I got this deck as a birthday present in January, but I’ve waited to open it since I wasn’t really sure what I was going to be doing with YouTube.  It’s a little more helpful to do an unboxing as a video since you can really see the cards and get the full experience, but I decided that I don’t really want to contribute on YouTube anymore for various reasons.   You can read about that here.

So here we have it.  An unboxing blog post.  Let’s allow the deck to speak for itself, shall we?

I should mention that I have a deep love affair with the decks of Patrick Valenza.  When I first opened Deviant Moon, I realized that this wasn’t just some cutesy fluff deck.  The symbolism is rich and the world he builds has so much to tell an attentive reader.  These decks are tools that unlock something really deep and mythic.  The Trionfi is no different.

When I received these cards, I was first struck by the packaging.  The paper that the deck was wrapped in is hand stamped with gorgeous scrollwork.  I’m going to be pressing that in my tarot notebook.  I also received 3 other cards, including a duplicate of Il Diavolo (did I mention these are in Italian?), 9 of Hearts from the Royal Mischief playing cards, and Ear from the Seance Edition of Mildred Payne’s Pocket Oracle (which will also be mine some day).  I love these little samples.  They increase the card lust.

I pulled the paper apart to reveal a plastic wrapped deck, which I wasn’t expecting.  How thorough!  The box has lots of little details, pretty little vignettes that really set the tone for the deck.

But the cards…  Oh, the cards.  <3

I didn’t realize that this was a Marseilles deck, even though it’s clearly stated on the website.  So much for being attentive!  The pip cards are really stunning, though.  I feel like sometimes tarot creators make Marseilles decks out of laziness, and the pips seem like just an easy afterthought.  But these are really beautiful, each individually styled with a lot of symbolism included.

There’s also an alternate Tower card, and a 10-card oracle included.  I love all the extras!  They just add delight to a deck that I was already fully prepared to adore.

The card stock is pretty typical, not too thick or thin, and thank the gods it doesn’t have guilded edges.  Guilded edges just stress me out, because I know it’s a matter of time before I ruin them.

Honestly, after just playing with this for a short time, I’m already really attached to it.  Here’s a picture of some of my favorite cards.  The images are so unique and evocative, all the things I love about Deviant Moon.

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The Interview

1.  Tell me about yourself. What is your most important characteristic?  Fante Di Bastoni (Page of Wands) reversed-  This isn’t a deck for looking forward to the future and making plans.  This may very well be a deck for looking at the past.  Past lives, perhaps?
2. What are your strengths as a deck? 9 of Swords (reversed)-  It can help to process difficult emotions or mental health issues stemming from things that have happened in the past.
3. What are your limits as a deck?  2 of Wands- This deck isn’t about expansion or looking forward/making plans.  This is definitely about inner work, not outer work.
4. What are you here to teach me?  Il Bagatto (The Magician) reversed- The pleasure of not always trying to make things happen.  This is more a deck of pondering and feeling, not of doing.
5. How can I best learn and collaborate with you?  2 of Coins- Learn to balance my workaholic tendencies with quiet, reflection time.  Maybe meditation or working through past issues.
6. What is the potential outcome of our working relationship?  2 of Cups reversed- I can deal with past hurts and disappointments that keep me from connecting with people.  I can spend time healing so that I can be a better, stronger person when I do try to make social connections.

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So, in doing this interview spread, I did realize something that makes me absolutely insane about this deck.  The 2 of Wands and 2 of Coins are completely symmetrical.  There were cues on the other cards about how to read their orientation, but there’s no way of  knowing whether a few of these are upright or reversed.  Yeah, I’m going to have to work that out.  I did find a post where a reader marked a small dot at the bottom of each card, and I suppose I’ll have to do that for my sanity.

For the sake of this reading, I’m reading the 2 of Wands and 2 of Coins as upright.  I’ve never really read with a Marseilles deck before, so is this always a thing?