Fairy Lights Tarot

Fairy Lights Tarot - continuous illustrations with light and shadow

Some tarot cards stand alone. These flow into one another. Lucia Mattioli designed the Fairy Lights Tarot as a series of images that merge, so you see connections during a reading that go beyond individual card meanings.

The deck follows the Rider-Waite system and contains 78 cards. The major arcana and court cards are recognisably structured. What is different is how the illustrations continue: backgrounds, colours and compositions form larger wholes together.

What you see on the cards

The imagery is ethereal. Mattioli works with soft colour transitions, abundant light and transparent layers. Her style is almost watercolour-like, with plenty of white, pastels and gold.

Figures appear to float or move slowly. Environments are dreamlike, never sharply defined. Symbolism is present but subtly woven into the atmosphere rather than conspicuously centred.

What stands out is how cards are visually linked to one another. Lay two random cards side by side and you often see colours or forms flowing seamlessly together. That makes laying spreads different: you look not only at meanings but also at how images physically communicate with each other.

How you work with it

This deck asks for space and an open gaze. The multilingual guidebook contains brief meanings in five languages, but not Dutch. The text is practical and concise. No extended stories, but enough to get you started.

The system is classic Rider-Waite, so if you know that the structure is immediately clear. The images are more abstract than in a traditional RWS deck, so you read more on feeling than on recognisable scenes.

Lay a spread and look first only at the colours and light. Where does the light flow? Which cards feel connected through their composition? That often gives a first layer of meaning before you look at individual symbols.

About Lucia Mattioli

Lucia Mattioli is an Italian artist known for her ethereal, light-transmitting painting style. She works mainly with soft transitions and colour layers that feel almost transparent.

For Lo Scarabeo she designed several decks in which light and fantasy take centre stage. Her work is recognisable by its dreamlike atmosphere and the almost floating character of the figures.

Specifications

• Number of cards: 78
• Size: 66 x 120 mm
• Material: sturdy cardstock with matte finish
• System: Rider-Waite
• Guidebook: multilingual instruction booklet (English, French, German, Spanish, Italian)
• Publisher: Lo Scarabeo
• Illustrator: Lucia Mattioli

Questions we often get

Is the guidebook available in Dutch?
No. The instruction booklet contains text in English, French, German, Spanish and Italian. The card meanings are brief and practical in approach.

How exactly do those continuous illustrations work?
The backgrounds, colours and compositions of the cards are designed to flow visually into one another. When you lay cards side by side, they often form larger images. That helps you see connections between different cards in a spread.