Stairs of Gold Tarot Deck Review

The Stairs of Gold Tarot
This deck, by Tavaglione is a very ornate affair, which would send anyone interested in Tarot correspondences into a state of ecstasy. On the Major Arcana, Tavaglione has incorporated the following correspondences into the border of the card:
1. Symbolic Esoteric representation of the card (cards 1 - 10)
1a. Numerical Correspondence to the Hebrew letter (cards 11 - 0)
2. Letter of the Sanskrit alphabet
3. Letter of the Hebrew alphabet
4. Letter of the Celestial alphabet
5. Letter of the Vulgar Latin alphabet
6. Zodiacal correspondence with the constellations or planets
7. Path on the Tree of Life
The name and number of the card are shown as well, and a short interpretation, which is in Italian. The art is excellent. Each card has a central figure surrounded by an ornate border, which has the aforementioned information in it. The drawings are detailed and nicely colored. The scenes are traditional for the most part with only minor artistic changes. The Minors are not illustrated with scenes, but are also nicely done with detailed symbols and the ornate border. The Court Cards are King, Queen, Knight and Page.
The booklet that comes with the deck is also quite lovely and detailed. The style reminds one of an illuminated manuscript. There is a key which describes where to find the correspondences in the border and the card descriptions are fairly detailed for a booklet of this size. Tavaglione uses fairly standard interpretations for the Majors, incorporating Greek and Roman mythology. His interpretations of the Minors, however are peculiar to this deck. Since the Minors are not illustrated beyond the suit and number, you can apply more traditional interpretations without being distracted. There are no spreads or advice on how to read in this booklet. I can not comment on the accuracy of Tavaglione’s correspondences, especially in light of his interpretations of the Minors, but for those who are interested, a great deal of time could be spent verifying their accuracy.
As a reading deck, this deck is probably more suited to the experienced reader than the newcomer. Tavaglione’s myriad of correspondences and lack of illustrations on the Minors, coupled with his unique set of interpretations would probably confuse, more than enlighten a beginner. The deck is beautiful artistically, as are most modern Italian decks, and is probably more of interest to the collector.
Stairs of Gold Tarot Deck
ISBN: 0-913866-90-3
Distributed by US Games Systems, 179 Ludlow St., Stamford CT 06902, (800)523-2637, Fax (203)353-8431