The Labyrinth: Tarot

I'm not a big fan of Luis Royo. I don't believe in tarot or paganism. But I do really like symbolic imagery, so detailed interpretations of the tarot intrigue me. I found this book at a game store and looked through it at random and was really amazed by its content. Rather than the usual vague explanation of what each card portends when it is turned up, Luis Royo's explanations of each card offer historical origins, interpretations, and clarifications as to the meaning behind the symbolism of each card. That alone makes this worth reading to me. But besides that, Luis Royo's art for both the major AND minor arcana (some artists just do the major), is exceptionally pretty and far more Impressionistic than his typical stuff. Sure, it's got his usual beautiful scantily-clad women, but his proverbial brush is much softer and more reminiscent of charcoal here than most of what I've seen by him. He also puts a slightly different but logical spin on some of the tarot symbolism, and each of his interpretations and pretty to look at and interesting to read about. This is a must-have for any tarot enthusiast -- or, if you're like me, anyone who is entertained by symbolism in art and the history of such.

I have the deck that completes this book. The book is better. The cards, sadly, do not contain as much artwork as the book. If you're not really interested in doing tarot cards, this book is still very cool. Great artwork as usual, and a whole lot of information on each card in the deck.

Vastly under-rated as a really useful, easy-to-read, modern interpretation of the classic Tarot. The book sold here is everything Antonio says it is below. The paintings are done in Royo's trademark sepia style with color-washed backrounds, and are stunningly evocative even without the explanations he provides for each; no trouble establishing a mood with this guy. The scale is satisfyingly large, which makes it extremely useful as a companion piece to the rather small Labyrinth Tarot Deck sold elsewhere (which is difficult to get hold of, but not impossible). Dark and sexy, troubling and illuminating, frisky and solemn -- Royo does it all. Like Antonio says, you don't have to have any interest in or knowledge of Tarot to get more than your money's worth here; but you just might find yourself getting interested anyway -- and since you can't really do tarot readings with a book, you might take a stab at tracking down one of those decks. A previous Tarot deck by Royo -- "The Black Tarot" -- is even harder to find, and is much more concerned with exploring the dark side of things. The paintings there are full-color and often shockingly explicit sexually and/or emotionally; it's not as useful as a readable tarot deck as the "Labyrinth"is, but, man those images hit home! Too bad Royo didn't put THAT out in book form ...

I have absolutely no care for tarot, I have absolutely no belief in the rubbish that is often "told in the cards," and I care even less for the history of tarot. That is not why I bought this book. I bought this book because it is Luis Royo, the best fantasy artist out there at this time, whose haunting imagery, beautiful ladies, and horrid beasts have covered so many of todays top fantasy and sci-fi writers' dust jackets. And this book must be added among the list of his best works because of the change of style he has taken to do this book. Each new painting is a card in the tarot, and he brings it to life, even for skeptics, though without his paintings it would be lost entirely to me. I recommend this book to those of you who love Royo, Heavy Metal, or are a fan of fantasy art in some way. Note that this book contains nudity and sex.