Magic Tricks

Ever since Outlaw Effects put out the Carnie Tarot many of us have been searching in vain for a complete marked tarot deck. I personally was one of the people that Outlaw Effects ripped off. Rick Roth owes me well over $100! He said that he was mentally ill and could not complete the project. This did not stop him from selling the Carnie Tarot to another company who would not honor his orders. I am obviously very upset about this still, but I digress.

I would like to say straight up from the beginning that neither the markings on the Anchor Tarot nor on the Phil Smith Bunica Tarot deck are obvious. The Phil Smith Bunica deck must be read from the side. It is not easy to read and should be saved for small intimate settings. The Anchor Tower is easier to read. Please keep in mind that both the marks on the Phil Smith Bunica Tarot and the Anchor Tarot deck show up much better on camera than they do in person. (That’s the one problem with the optical marking system.) In fact, both require decent lighting. This is not a problem just put a small light on the table you reading the cards from. The Phil Smith deck uses the Rider Waite artwork. The Anchor Deck uses artwork that is “inspired by“ Rider Waite.

The printing on the Anchor system is far too dark for my taste. It should have been reprinted. It is a shame. Because it could’ve been a great deck. Now, as it stands, it is just so-so.

Neil Tobin has a very good marking system available from this Penguin Magic. I have adapted his system for use with the Robin Wood Tarot Deck. The Robin Wood deck has a design on the back with Celtic Knots. This design lends itself to Tobin’s system. I would put out my version of the marking system, but it simply borrows too much from Tobin’s. Neil Tobin even provides you with a very easy way to remember the major arcana.

The Bunica Tarot even has a brief reading for each card hidden in the marketing system and written on the other side. It has a wonderful design and a great deal of effort was put into the deck and the instructional video. It comes with a box within a box. This way your audience does not need to see a box which reads “Bunica Tarot.” This is not the case with the Anchor System. This is another lesson that the people who produced the Anchor Tarot could have learned from Phil Smith. Do you really want your audience googling the deck and finding out you’re using a marked deck? Once again, this should not be a problem because I have never seen a professional Tarot card reader take their cards out of the box. Go to Amazon or Etsy and order a Tarot bag or a wrap for your deck.

When doing a Tarot reading, you should not try to read the back of every card. Instead, try to give a more general reading. For example, if you see the Wheel of Fortune, you might want to say luck, will play a fate in your future. Before you turn over the cards, if you see the Emperess and one or two Queens, you might wish to say, “I see a great gathering of women.“ Phil Smith has some great ideas on his instructional video. Please support Phil Smith. He is a creator, mystery performer and thoughtful writer.

To the makers of the Anchor Tarot, you should have thrown out the entire print run and started over. It’s a shame that you turned out a poorly printed deck and a slapped together a video in an attempt to make a quick buck.

Unfortunately, my search for the best full marked Tarot Deck continues.