Tarot of the New Vision

Tarot of the New Vision - classic Rider-Waite from a reversed perspective

The idea is straightforward: rotate the perspective of every illustration 180 degrees and show what was hiding behind or in front of the figures. Tarot of the New Vision is a reworking of classic Rider-Waite tarot, with illustrators Raul and Gianluca Cestaro doing exactly that. Every card shows not the familiar front of a scene, but what was always just out of frame.

The deck was conceived by Pietro Alligo and published by Lo Scarabeo. The cards measure 66 x 120 mm and follow the standard structure of 78 cards.

What you see on the cards

The imagery will be instantly recognisable to anyone who knows the Rider-Waite deck: the same compositions, the same figures, the same symbolism. But the viewpoint has shifted. Figures now stand with their backs to you, or you look over their shoulders. Details that once sat quietly in the background now move to the foreground.

This does not produce a different deck. It produces an additional view. Symbols you always read as decoration suddenly carry weight. For readers who know the Rider-Waite system well, this deck surfaces layers the original perspective tended to obscure.

How this deck works

You can place a card from this deck alongside the matching card from a classic Rider-Waite deck and compare the two perspectives during a reading. That is not a requirement, but it sharpens the thinking behind the concept. The cards are compact enough to travel with and work as a standalone deck.

The included instructions are brief. There is no extensive card-by-card guidebook. The imagery carries the meaning, provided you already have some familiarity with the Rider-Waite tradition.

Place a card from this deck next to the same card from a classic Rider-Waite deck. What does the shifted viewpoint show you that you had never noticed before?

About Pietro Alligo and the Cestaro brothers

Pietro Alligo conceived the concept for this deck. Raul and Gianluca Cestaro created the illustrations. No further biographical information about the creators is available in the source material.

Specifications

• Number of cards: 78
• Language: English
• ISBN: 9780738704135
• Publisher: Lo Scarabeo
• Weight: 1050 g
• Dimensions: 70 x 30 x 122 mm
• Card size: 66 x 120 mm
• Concept: Pietro Alligo
• Illustrators: Raul Cestaro and Gianluca Cestaro
• Included: Instructions

Questions we often get

Do I need to know the classic Rider-Waite deck to use this one?
Not strictly. You can use this deck on its own. The imagery is built on the Rider-Waite system, so knowing that tradition helps you see what has changed. Without that reference point, some of the depth in the shifted perspective will not register.

Does a full guidebook come with the deck?
No. The included instructions are brief. There is no extensive written description for each card.