Kalevala Tarot , 1996 - Kalervo Aaltonen (Rare, OOP, Preloved/käytetty)

The sought-after boxed set version of this Finnish tarot classic is much less common than the deck itself. Clean case, a little wear from age. Cards in very good condition. This boxed version is really hard to find and that makes it a sought-after collector's item.

The Kalevala tarot, written by Kalervo Aaltonen and illustrated by Taina Pailos, is a significant milestone in Finnish tarot history. One of the first, or even the first, Finnish deck to be distributed internationally. Distributed by US Games Systems in the early 1990s, the deck has since become a valuable collector's item.

The Kalevala Tarot is based on Finnish Poems compiled by Elias Lonnrot in the 19th century. Kalvervo Aaltonen's Kalevala Tarot manages to incorporate many, if not most, of the central figures and stories in the Kalevala, in a way that connects to Tarot symbolism as well. After being disappointed in the card assignments of several mythology-based Tarot decks, I find the assignments in this deck rewardingly appropriate. For example, the adventurous Lemminkainen as the Fool. Ilmarinen, the smith, as the Magician (titled in some earlier Decks "the Cobbler"). Vainamoinen, the shaman, as the High Priest. Most all of the Majors align well, although there could be arguments put forth for alternates, such as Akka, the Goddess of fertility, as the Empress. But this is true of any "myth deck".

In regards to inaccuracies, the Judgment card (pg. 99), depicts Ukko, the sky god, judging Marjatta's son. Apparently, Vainamoinen orders the Killing of the boy, but then Ukko, at the boy's pleading, not only Judges favorably, but Crowns him king of Karelia. This Echoes the traditional Tarot interpretation of mercy. On his Three of Stakes (pg. 153), although Aaltonen describes it as a competition, the actual story in the Kalevala is one of cooperation on Joukahainen's part in offering his sister Aino for marriage. So a minor error actually reinforces the traditional Tarot meaning if one ignores the stated text and looks at the story itself. Pages 10-16 contain standard Tarot diagrams with the Kalevala "people" names substituted for traditional Tarot titles. The author does not use the word "clan" or "tribe", rather "Kalevala people" at the top of each diagram. It's most likely he's referring to the book of Kalevala as a whole, which includes Louhi, the matriarch of the Rival Pohjola tribe.