Sublime Dream Tarot
Published by Museo Dei Tarocchi - Mutus Liber, Summer 2017
22 Major Arcana + Title Card
Leaflet: Describes Esoteric (Alchemical) Symbols Associated with these Unique Cards
Card Size: 6.25" W by 6.25" L (15.9 x 15.9 cm.) Square
Printed on Textured, Matte Cardstock
Back Design: None, (Reversible)
Deck Comes Resting on Cloth Pouch, in 2-Piece Gift Box
Limited to 150, Hand-Numbered Sets, Signed by Curator, Morena Poltronieri
Cost: €. 75. (+ Italian Postage)
*Special Price for U.S. Customers Below
Sogno Sublime I Tarocchi, (Sublime Dream Tarot)
as described in the leaflet that accompanies this deck, was inspired by
Wonderful Vision,
a 16th century manuscript of great importance for cabalistic and alchemical studies. Its author, Pacifico Stivivi, was a Riminese alchemist friar. He was long admired by Francesco I de Medici and by Rodolfo II
of Habsburg, Prague, (an emperor who welcomed to his court the most famous alchemists of that era).
Wonderful Vision,
proclaimed to have been written with heavenly inspiration, is considered one of the milestones for alchemy scholars.
Even the Death and Tower Cards Look Elegant Enough to be Stitched on Lace Pillows, But They Too, Reveal Ancient Alchemical Symbology...
For the untrained eye in the ways of cryptic, alchemical symbology, (i.e. the writer of this review), these charming images hide their mystical agenda well. However, Morena Poltronieri, deftly describes specific aspects of the mysterious meanings (long hidden from the prying eyes of the church and the uninitiated). She shares brief, informative paragraphs regarding certain aspects of each card's secret 'sign language'. Here are a few examples from the leaflet which comes with the deck. The corresponding cards can be found below.
II Papessa - High Priestess
We are still at the beginning of the Work at the Nigredo stage, and thus the two female figures stand out against a dark background. They are still locked inside space, and the Elements have yet to be processed and combined. In other words, they have yet to be uncovered. The figures reveal a white center, necessary for the Opera (alchemical process). Below is a face from which circular objects extend. There are seven, like the stages of the Opera, while the face represents the union of All, a profound awareness able to dissolve in order to reunite as new life.
IX Eremita - Hermit
We are witness to a lab experiment. To the left is a big jar filled with bunches of grapes, while on the right, a large bird wraps around the upper part of the card and with its narrow beak, eats some of the grapes. In the center is St. Francis receiving from God the sacred Stigmata. The ‘Volatile’ (bird) eating grapes, represents aquavit; a water that does not cleanse, because it is Fire Water, capable of corroding material. The message is clear; for the present course must be initiated by a higher grace, from a singular encounter, and this must only happen in solitude.
XVII Stelle - Star
A figure looks like a goat on the one hand, (symbolically emphasizing the earth), while also having a serpentine tail which connects with its long horn from the top of its head. This creates a sort of circularity, which is important to keep going till the last moment of the Opera. Seven are the Stars, like the "Seven Sisters", or the Pleiades that also appear in traditional Tarot. We are moving towards the final fulfillment of chemical transmutations, which culminate in the realization of the philosopher's stone and the conversion of raw metals into gold. If Nigredo consisted of putrefaction and Albedo of distillation; then Rubedo occurs by sublimation, under the effect of fire, which is the Spirit.
Ms. Poltronieri colorized portions of the otherwise B&W images to further enhance the hidden symbolism and make certain details stand out more clearly. The matte cardstock is slightly textured and a bit porous and should be handled with care (as one would quality art prints). Cards have a white edge outlining their ornate borders. The titles are in Italian with Roman numerals. This lovely collector’s set is limited to 150 copies, each signed and numbered by Morena Poltronieri.
