Tarot Deck Review: Taro as Colour
By Annar Veröld
Welcome to the brilliant mind of British surrealist Ithell Colquhoun through Taro as Colour, the culmination of a lifetime of passion for the occult.
One of the first Tarot decks to utilize abstract art, the 78 cards in Taro as Colour were originally produced and shown in 1977 at the Newlyn Gallery in Cornwall. Colquhoun created each image specifically in correspondence with each of the Tarot archetypes.
This latest edition of the deck is produced from high-quality digital photographic files of the individual designs, which the esoteric Fulgur Press commissioned in 2017 and printed using six-color offset lithography, giving the cards a multidimensional and beguiling quality — a sense of motion, breath, and enchantment.
Taro as Colour
The Look, Feel — and Smell! — of Taro as Colour
There’s so much to unpack with this deck, so let’s ground ourselves first with a few essential and tangible details. My first impression of this deck was luxe. Fulgur Press has done a beautiful job packaging the deck in a sturdy white, pearlescent box with gold foil emboss that reads in a clean sans serif font: "Ithell Colquhoun" and “Taro as Colour."
Now let’s get sensory! Upon opening the box, you’ll notice an earthy, floral perfume — a signature scent named “La Rose Secrète,” designed exclusively for this deck by Maison Shehu.
Inside the box, you’ll find the deck of 78 cards, along with a 22-page booklet featuring an introduction by Richard Shillitoe and Colquhoun’s brief essay “Taro as Colour.” Embossed on the cover of the booklet, a quote from the essay:
“After I had completed the pack, I saw some slides of nebulas in outer space and the birth of stars. These recalled my designs and confirmed my conviction of their cosmographic function.”
The cards themselves are quite large, almost palm-sized, measuring 15.4 by 10.6 centimeters. This makes them challenging to shuffle gracefully, and though several aspects of this deck make it less-than-ideal for a “formal” Tarot reading, the size of the cards is probably the most formidable deterrent.
But once you take a look at the first card, you’ll understand and forgive the size — the images contain a depth and profundity you’ll want to pour yourself into. So many of the images do indeed look like nebulas, or portals to another dimension. How you’ll wish these were life-sized doorways, because the urge to step inside is all-consuming!
The first time I opened my deck, I was excited but extremely overwhelmed, so let me reassure you: this deck reminds me of some of my favorite types of poems — wild and untamable, but grounded with structure and pattern.
In the deck, you’ll see that the Swords (air) are primarily pale yellow, the Cups (water) are deep blue, the Wands (fire) are scarlet, and the Disks / Pentacles (earth) are indigo.
Taro as Colour
Ithell Colquhuon: Artist, Witch, Conjurer
In learning more about the artist and creator Colquhuon, I discovered she became passionate about the occult at a very young age, and in this deck you’ll find multiple connections between the esoteric teachings of the Golden Dawn, The Kabbalah, and surrealist automatic technique.
We see the influence of Kabbalah in the color scheme of the deck (based on the Kabbalah color scale), while we find the teachings of the Golden Dawn reflected in the titles and mantras associated with each card. For example, the King of Wands reads, “The Lord of Flame and Lightning. The King of the Spirits of Fire.”
Going back to why perhaps this isn’t the best deck for readings, Colquhuon expressed that her intention in creating the deck was not divination, but meditation and contemplation. This deck feels private, intimate, invoking your own personal experience through evocative color and shape. Approaching the deck with this in mind may strip you of any initial expectations, but welcomes you to step into the atmosphere that Colquhoun has designed for us to transcend.
Taro as Colour as Art Object
But let’s rewind a bit as to why I bought this deck and whether it fulfills what I hoped it would. As a graphic designer and a person who’s passionate about color, Taro as Colour immediately felt like a deck I wanted to commune with for those times when I find myself in a rut while working on design projects.
Color resonates with me in a way that feels like a sixth sense, and I was seeking a tool I could use to evoke meaning and inspiration. Over the last couple of seasons, this deck has become the design tool I hoped it would be, but it has also become my primary personal deck as my Tarot practice has evolved into an essential tool for healing and introspection.
Once you sit down to meditate with this deck a few times, you’ll understand better what its purpose is for you. My experience with these cards is often asking myself: Where are these colors within me? Do I recognize the motion in this presentation of color? and using the mantras to guide me in my moment of reflection.
There is so much to say about Ithell Colquhoun and this deck, and so much I have yet been able to grasp or explore (but I'm eager to continue my journey). And I'm grateful to the writings of Amy Hale, and her book Ithell Colquhoun: Genius of the Fern Loved Gully for so much insight as I begin to scratch the surface on Colquhoun’s work, and of course Fulgur Press for a luxurious experience with this decadent deck, which, in case it's unclear, I absolutely love!
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about Annar Veröld
Annar Veröld is a Honduran-American writer and filmmaker living in Austin. She serves as managing editor for Host Publications, and co-hosts the literary podcast “The Host Dispatch.”