Sakki

Sakki-Sakki Tarot by Monicka Clio Sakki
Review by Mary K. Greer

The Sakki-Sakki Tarot is a self-published deck from Monicka Clio Sakki, who was born & raised in Greece, but now lives in New York & Tel-Aviv.

The deck is based on the Rider-Waite-Smith (RWS) deck - but what she does with it is really unique. The art is reminiscent of '60's swirling, flower-power textile and decorative art. The colors are gorgeous - oranges, split-pea soup green, aqua, lavender, hot pink, along with deep purples, blues, greens, reds, and with spots of black-and-white pen sketches. You can see them here.

I find the deck even better in person. The Devil is ecstatic, the Tower rocks, the Sun truly radiates. They measure 2-3/8" x 4-1/2", a little smaller than the RWS. The card stock is substantial without being thicker than usual (it's a little stiff for a good bridge shuffle), and it's not plastic coated so the colors are clear and vibrant. The images go all the way to the edge with narrow borders that are part of the design - no need here for borderectomies (cutting off white borders). In addition to the regular 78 cards, there is an "Artist Card" which represents you, and the title card with astrological symbols and their references on the back.

The box is intelligently designed with a side opening, and very colorful. The tab (as you open it) says "Come On, Let's Play". A cardboard band holds the cards together and says "Good Karma". There's a substantial 48 page little white booklet, with 12 variations on the Three-card Spread and an original "Artist's Path Spread." It also contains short meanings for the numbers and the cards (being more in-depth for the Majors).

The booklet correlates the Tarot with astrology, and the Hebrew letters (Golden Dawn style). The symbols for these are placed unobtrusively on the cards. The figures are playful and cartoony. On many of the Minor Arcana they don't have heads - which could bother some people. I kind of like it as they cavort around with the appearance of dress-dummies goofing off. It leaves you to fill in imagined expressions and lines of sight.

I really, really like this deck. It makes me feel happy. The readings I've done with it have been generally upbeat and playful. When I asked what I should tell you about it, I got that it's a "Star," that it's solid and dependable (Knight of Pentacles), and that it's thumbs-up as a deck of power and energy (Ace of Wands).

I unreservedly recommend the Sakki-Sakki Tarot to those who enjoy variations on the RWS deck and to everyone who collects self-published artist's decks. The first edition is limited to 3000 decks.

Mary K. Greer is the author of the seminal tarot work, Tarot for Your Self, in addition to many other books on the tarot. Her latest book is Understanding the Tarot Court, co-written with Tom Tadfor Little.