This deck is one of the very nicest available!! Conceived by Stella Karoruko, with artwork by Takako Hoei. The art is breathtaking; colors bright and vibrant but not gaudy, the interpretations depicted are refreshing and bold.
The card backs are in muted blue and bisque tones, and the cards are fully reversible. The deck is a nice medium-size, not too large and not too small. The cards are easy to shuffle, and sturdy enough to hold up to frequent use. They were printed in Belgium in 2008 for the AG Muller company based in Switzerland
One of my complaints with most tarot decks in general is the excessive space taken up by a border, which reduces down the size of the art work considerably. The Stella’s deck is no exception. Cards measure 2-3/4” x 4-5/16” overall, but the central art image size is just 2-1/8” x 3-1/4”. Large enough to allow the reader to readily absorb the overall image at a glance, but so small that it is difficult to readily discern the details. This is a particular concern for those of my age who have joined the presbyopic crowd…and let’s face it, we will all get there soon enough if we are lucky enough.
I’ve seen that some Youtube reviewers routinely cut the borders off their cards, but why can’t the manufacturers just eliminate borders and opt for a larger card image? It gets tiresome to have to get out the magnifying glass to view card details in so many decks. <SIGH>
But let’s get back to this deck’s outstanding artwork. Even the minor arcana cards get special treatment, with unique, detailed touches added by the artist to each one. As a Californian, I love the inclusion of oranges in the Princess of Swords card and the orange tree in the Three of Cups!
For some odd reason the human figures in this deck are depicted with heads exceedingly small in proportion to their bodies. This is especially noticeable in the Fool, Justice, Temperance and Magician cards, which sort of spoils the otherwise nice artwork.
A card that is one of my favorites in general, the Star, is not appealing to me in this deck. The stars are golden rather than white or silver, and the central star appears to have a moon or sun face inside which detracts from the theme of Star in my humble opinion. The woman has an odd golden bouffant headdress on. Most "Star" cards depict a lady pouring liquid out from two vessels; one renewing the earth or the physical, conscious realm, and the other pours into a body of water, which represents renewal of the spirit or the subconscious. But the Stella "Star" goddess is receiving a bolt of energy from the heavens, and seemingly transferring that energy to the ocean. It's loosely similar to the traditional interpretation, and nothing too terrible, just not my favorite “Star” card. Other major arcana cards from Stella’s Tarot are particularly lovely, including the Tower, the Hierophant, Judgement, the Hermit, the High Priestess and the Lovers.
The corresponding elements are all incorporated into the court cards; the figures in the suit of Cups all rest in a body of water, those of the Wands all display the element of fire, the Sword court cards depict flight and emphasize the notion of “air”, and the Disk court figures are all pictured firmly planted on the ground, each one balancing a coin from his or her finger or hand.
The deck is definitely NOT a regurgitation of Rider-Waite-Smith. Structure is based in the Thoth tradition, which has some major differences from RWS decks. “Strength” is trump 11 instead of eight, and has been renamed “Miracle” (although the card description in the ‘Little White Book’ does portray strength as the meaning of the card). Trump 8 is “Justice.
If you normally read with RWS decks, you will need to adjust your interpretation a bit with the court card in this deck. The court cards are Princess, Prince, Queen and Knight. Note: there is NO “King”; in his place is “Knight”. Additionally, “Knights” are pictured atop horses, as one might expect of the Prince/Knight card in the RWS tradition. In one suit in the Stella deck, the suit of Cups, the Knight does sit on a throne, and the Prince is riding a swan.
“Princes” generally signify action or motion, and are described thus in the ‘LWB’, but in this deck the Princes (except the Prince of Cups) are depicted standing, immobile. It might be easier for those who learned RWS to interchange the Prince cards with the Knight cards and regard the Princes with the features of the Kings. BUT because of the suit of cups showing the more traditional depictions for prince/knight, you wouldn’t need to interchange them in that suit. Confused? For those well-versed in Thoth deck structure and imagery, this should not present any problem.
“Princes” generally signify action or motion, and are described thus in the ‘LWB’, but in this deck the Princes (except the Prince of Cups) are depicted standing, immobile. It might be easier for those who learned RWS to interchange the Prince cards with the Knight cards and regard the Princes with the features of the Kings. BUT because of the suit of cups showing the more traditional depictions for prince/knight, you wouldn’t need to interchange them in that suit. Confused? For those well-versed in Thoth deck structure and imagery, this should not present any problem.
The exquisite artwork in this deck, extending into the minor arcana, make the Thoth quirks of the court cards less problematic. The only cards in this deck that I really found puzzling were the seven and eight of disks. Seven of disks is described as ‘Ingenuity, hard work, progress, wealth, successful dealings’ yet the card depicts a woman with a light-socket hairdo ensnared in a spider web. Not real clear on why this imagery.
Eight of disks is described as ‘Fast apprenticeship, craftsmanship, candour, frankness, modesty, effort’. This card depicts a man watering and nurturing a garden which is more often traditionally associated with seven of disks rather than eight, so an attitude adjustment might be necessary here as well.
The LWB is excellent, with succinct descriptive phrases for the majors, followed by keywords that help to add to the interpretation of the card. Examples from the LWB:
‘”The Magician” Represents Willpower. Skill, diplomacy, self-confidence, flexibility, domination, strategy.’
‘”The Hermit” Represents the Guiding Spirit. Counsel, solicitude, prudence, caution, resignation, withdrawal, misguided, failure to face facts, possessor of secrets.'
Overall, I give this deck a hearty thumbs-up, and regard it as a “must have” for all serious tarot enthusiasts.
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