The Fountain Tarot by designer Andi Todaro, is a collaborative effort with several other talented artists. Each artist being in charge of his/her suit or group of cards. Together, the group has created one amazing and spiritually alluring tarot deck! The Fountain Tarot was first debuted as a Kickstarter project and since then has been taken over and mass market produced and sold. You can now purchase this deck on Amazonfor around $30 USD. (At the time of purchase, I may have spent $25-27 as Amazon prices fluctuate often) Visit TheFountainTarot to learn more about each artist and their command over the Major Arcana, Minor Arcana, Wands, Cups, Swords, and Pentacle suits.
The Packaging
One of the most eye-catching features of this deck is it’s subtle, but stunning, holographic accents throughout the packaging and the guidebook. These little flashes of multifaceted color paired with the overall black and grey color scheme of the packaging is really nice and unique. The box for this deck and guidebook is fold out box with magnetic closure. I also really like the added grey satin ribbon on the inside of the box to help you easily pull, to take the cards out.
Cardstock Quality
The Fountain Tarot cards have what I consider “medium-thick” cardstock. The edges are beautifully guided with a platinum silver color that glitters. For the first few uses of the deck, this metallic sheen will rub off the tiniest bit on the hand, due to newness, but otherwise does not make the card edges look worn. The card backs are designed with a beautiful mosaic style prism of colors that match the overall color scheme of the deck. This deck’s artwork is in a soft painterly effect. The depictions are very reminiscent of the original meanings from the Rider-Waite-Smith, but with a fresh and modern approach. I had zero confusion in interpreting these cards or having trouble remembering their traditional meanings based on the artwork, which is important if you’re a beginner/intermediate tarot reader. This was my favorite quality about the deck!
Here is a comprehensive review and comparison between the indie published version of The Fountain Tarot and the mass produced version sold by Amazon. This review is brought to you by Mindful Tarot on YouTube. As you can see, there is very little difference!
The Guidebook
Although the cards are easy to interpret with basic knowledge of the classic Rider-Waite-Smith, the guidebook was equally easy to digest and a nice companion to gain perspective on the artists’ interpretation of the cards. Keywords were easy to follow. Descriptions were in depth, but short and to the point. The book was well designed, very sturdy linen textured cover with the same holographic accents on the cover logo. Nice!
Overall, wether you purchase this deck for $20 or $30, it is well worth it. I was quite surprised at how easily I felt connected with this deck. Ultimately, I have parted ways with it as I grow and become in-tune to my other decks that I use more often. I plan to keep my collection down to a maximum of 5 tarot decks and 3 oracle decks; as it’s really all I need. For anyone just starting with tarot or looking to expand your collection a bit more for an affordable price (under $50) I highly recommend The Fountain Tarot.
