Zillich Tarot

This tarot deck in a tin is a wonderful collectors item. It is thoth inspired and the soft water colors appear to be centered around the chakra colors. I do consider it to be a 'light' deck, some cards may be too soft or washed out to get a deep in depth message, however, despite that minor aspect, I find the cards highly accurate with my questions. So I am very impressed that as a 'light' gentle deck offers a great deal of potential an accuracy. I think its a great item to carry around anywhere, in your purse or bag pack. Most importantly, the art work it simply breath taking, it is a beautiful piece of art to own and I am happy to have it a part of my collection.

— Norie, Amazon customer

Lovely, playing card quality deck with etheteal Asian-inspired watercolour art, by Christine Zillich. Pentacles are disks. Follows the Thoth. LWB comes with a clear, concise, generalised, yet informative introduction of tarot, by Johan Von Kirschner. No deck-specific spreads provided, but that takes nothing away from the deck itself. Overall, the deck has a calming, introspective quality about it. Easy to carry, and travels well in tin container.

— student63, Amazon customer

This is the first Thoth-style* deck I have owned. In the past I have had strongly negative reactions to every single Thoth deck I’d ever picked up. Even before I knew anything about the background of Thoth decks or their designer, Crowley. The Zillich Tarot, however, I instantly loved. It is beautiful. Zillich’s watercolors are ethereal and timeless, the human figures are vague and culturally indeterminate, and none of the illustrations seem violent or overtly alarming which makes this deck a great choice for giving public readings. It comes as a pocket-sized (2.5” x 3.75”) deck which is my FAVORITE size for a Tarot deck; small enough to carry and handle easily but large enough to clearly see the images. It is printed on glossy, firm card stock in a full-color tin box.

As with most Thoth-style decks, it is not necessarily beginner-friendly and the booklet doesn’t help with that at all. However, this is a beautiful and gentle deck. If you love the art and are intrigued by this deck, don’t let me deter you. Love always wins and you will find a way to work with this deck if you are motivated to do so! Just don’t be discouraged if it doesn’t come easily… this isn’t an easy deck. Zillich’s art is mesmerizing and creates a unique world. If you’ve been looking for a Thoth deck to try, I highly recommend this one.

—Moth & Candle blog

Those of you who attended Readers Studio 2018 in New York will recognize this deck as having come in the event gift bags, courtesy of U.S. Games Systems. The artwork is done in watercolors by German artist Christine Zillich. The deck art blends mythological, astrological, and Kabbalistic symbolism, featuring Crowley’s keywords on the pips. You get the deck in a keepsake metal tin. I love the blue-purple tones of the reversible card backs. The abstract cubist style pays a clear homage to Lady Frieda Harris’s style. That Death card is just absolutely beautiful and to me, almost has a dark goddess vibe to it. As we get in to the Minors, some of these works feel like abstract expressionist paintings. In terms of watercolor technique, I love the mix of both soft edges and hard edges here, for example the juxtaposition between the soft blended edges in the rainbow you find in the Eight of Wands versus the hard edges of the swirls in the Nine of Wands. Scan across all the cards and you’ll see the ongoing switch between soft edge and hard edge in terms of artist technique. Although I forgot to showcase photos of the little white booklet that comes with the deck, it shouldn’t be overlooked. It’s written by Johan von Kirschner and does a fantastic job offering card meanings, symbolic associations, and astrological correspondences for the cards. I love the Nine of Swords here. The LWB describes the scene: “Droplets of blood stain this sorrowful woman’s white sacrificial shroud. . . . She clutches the rose wreath adorning her neck: it is the last vestige of hope she has to hold onto.”

It’s always fascinating to me to see whether a deck creator depicts the Nine of Swords as implying more of an externalized force majeure happening to a seeker, causing the pain and suffering, or whether that pain and suffering is internalized. Here in Zillich, it appears the creators have cone in the direction of externalized force majeure. Overall, I love the vibrancy of Zillich’s artwork. There’s a charm to this deck that attracts you to it. Look at the Queen of Discs and Knight of Discs, for instance– Zillich’s art blends Old World European magic with modernist expressive abstract art together in an innovative, very original approach. Overall stunning work by Christine Zillich and I hope to see more tarot and oracle deck work from this brilliant artist.

—Benebell Wen, author of Holistic Tarot