Touchstone_Tarot

“The name of the deck Touchstone Tarot was chosen for its metaphorical meanings. Something small, that can be held in the hand... a tool used to assess if something is true…sounds just like the Tarot!” – Kat Black

Tarot enthusiasts who love Kat Black’s Golden Tarot will be pleased to know that this lovely redheaded Aussie has a brand new deck, funded by a private benefactor who is a Patron of the Arts (which means Kat was able to design the deck as she pleased, without commercial pressure to make it a Rider-Waite knock off).

Now in a Limited Edition version sold by Tarot Connections, the Touchstone Tarot was primarily a deck designed for digital delivery (mobile phones, gaming consoles, and so on) using digitally collaged composites from the artwork of the European Old Masters from the Renaissance and Baroque eras.

But of course, the Tarot community wanted a “real” deck in hand!

The Limited Edition of the Touchstone Tarot includes:

• 80 cards including a signed and numbered title card

• A Tarot bag designed by the artist and her sown by her Mum

• Touch Stone Tarot engraved pen

• Divination Blend Incense Cones

• Secret Gift from the Artist

With borders akin to walnut wood, the Touchstone Tarot cards measure about 3 x 4 inches with a fully reversible leaf filigree backing in rich browns that looks almost 3-D in appearance. From flirty to mysterious, adamant to amused, the characters in this lustrous collage theater are more accessible than in the Golden Tarot, with many looking straight at the viewer.

What questions are they asking? What are they trying to tell us? What happened just before the image—and what will happen next? Although clad in medieval garb, these Touchstone denizens appear rather modern, speaking to any situation that we in this digital age might encounter and prodding us to answer these questions with an open heart and a clear mind.

When I received my Limited Edition Touchstone Tarot, I was amazed at all the goodies! The black velvet bag with gold stitching was gorgeous enough—but the inside is (get this)—shimmering gold fabric worthy of being on the outside! As I peeked within, I was delighted to see a stitched tag that reads “Touchstone Tarot by Kat Black”!

I found out from Kat that she bought all the materials and insisted on certain braid/outer/inner combinations, while her Mum painstakingly sewed each back, finishing them off with her antique treadle-singer as it could cope with the combination of thick and thin materials better than her electric machine.

The “secret gift” was an extra special surprise, one that I will cherish. I also loved the classy “business card” (it’s much to elegant to be called that, though!), as well as the signed author card and the Happy Squirrel card.

What is a Happy Squirrel you ask? Well, I certainly didn’t know so I asked Kat! She told me this is based on an episode of The Simpsons, if you can believe it. (I’ve never watched a full episode of the Simpsons, so I was clueless!)

The Minor Arcana in the Touchstone Tarot brim with astonishing tints, including venetian red for the Wands, ultramarine blue (my favorite color!) for the Cups, black and gold for the Swords and forest green for the Coins.

A very readable deck, the Limited Edition of the Touchstone Tarot is selling quickly (print run of only 500), so fans of Kat’s collage artistry will no doubt want to get this collectible deck yesterday.

In addition to this Limited Edition version, Kunati publishing will be releasing a mass market version of the Touchstone Tarot with luxury gilt-edging, a companion book and a sturdy hinged box. Yum!