I have two recently published tarot decks on my desk. One of them is "The Gill Tarot Deck" published by US Games Systems Inc., the other is "The Servants of the Light Tarot" published by Aquarian Press in England. The artist of "The Gill Tarot Deck" is an English artist, Elizabeth Josephine Gill; the name of the artist of the major arcana of the English "Servants of the Light" (S.O.L.) is given as Jo Gill! The minor arcana of the latter deck was drawn by Anthony Clark, known for his artwork of the "Magical Tarot".

I found the similarity of the names of the artists remarkable. The two decks were published almost simultaneously, even if the S.O.L. deck has been known for years as a series of slides. None of the accompanying texts mention anything about the other deck, which would have been natural, if they actually were made by the same artist. The two decks could artistically easily have been made by the same person, so I wrote to the one address I had, Elizabeth Josephine Gill's. She has now confirmed that she made both but, strange enough, she didn't know anything about the publication of the S.O.L- deck. She told me, that her contract with US Games Systems Inc., came off by sheer coincidence (or should we call it synchronicity?), when Stuart R. Kaplan, on a visit to England, was looking for recollections of Pamela Colman Smith in the remote area, where Elizabeth Gill lives. On the very day, Mrs. Gill finished her deck, she read Mr. Kaplan's advertisement in a local paper. She didn't know, who he was, but contacted him because she thought that a person looking for Pamela Colman Smith memories, might also have an interest in seeing a new tarot deck. Mr. Kaplan not only saw it, but immediately offered its publication. Such strange things happen in this world, and even more happened, since Elizabeth Gill's first major arcana, made in the mid-to late 1970's, synchronistically came to publication at the same time!

"The Servants of The Light Deck" has been on my list of "wants" for many years. I got one slide - from Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicky years ago. A single Temperance-slide, left over from the otherwise sold out series. I found the slide amazing, and it has been part of my Tarot slide show ever since. Only recently, I got hold of the whole series of slides, now I have the printed deck. I still like that S.O.L. major arcana. It has remarkably luminous colors. One thing I didn't like, and which I still do not appreciate, are the broad white borders with the dominating texts. They actually disturb the picture, so I cropped them on the slides. Now, they are here again on the deck. Exactly the same texts. They do not do as much harm as on the slides, but why are they so large? In that aspect, the "Gill Tarot" Deck is a better example to follow!

The minor arcana was illustrated by Anthony Clark. The accompanying book explains, that Jo Gill moved away from Jersey and married, so she didn't feel able to finish the deck. Mr. Clark's minors appear to me to be awkward, not to say clumsy, and not at all fitting in with Gill's majors. But then I did not like his "Magical Tarot" either. The cards are dark and somber. The number cards are a mixture between decorated and illustrated, apparently without any system. The overloaded court cards are "Maker", "Giver", "User" and "Keeper". In the foreword a soothing explanation of the discrepancy between the majors and the minors is attempted.

The accompanying book with text by Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicky describes each of the 78 cards in a sober way. Kabbalistic, astrological and numerological references are given. Three not commonly known spreads end the book.

"The Gill Tarot" is, as a whole, artistically more convincing, and it is easy to see that this is the latest made of the decks. The colors are softer, adding a romantic tone to the scenery. Some of the majors are, however, different in a conspicuous way; while most cards are light, these are dark and are felt deviating from the rest. That the Devil is sinister, is understandable, but a dark Priestess, Justice, Star and Tower? Somehow, the grey background makes these cards appear even more deviating.

Some effort is made to color the courts: King, Queen, Prince and Princess, in accordance with the suit, even if not in a traditional way. The swords are predominantly blue, yet the Queen is situated against a yellow background. The Wands are yellow or orange, the Cups are bluish-green and the Disks are grass-green with some dominating red spots.

The number cards are untraditional. They are decorated and a few of them even have figures in the imagery. The numbers are given in large digits, more or less integrated into the decoration. Some digits are so integrated, that they are hardly discernible, like the Two of Cups. None of the suit marks are easy to recognize, at least not at a quick glance. To recognize nine burning candles for the Nine of Staves takes a moment, but to realize, that two whirling wheels are the Eight of Staves demands a rather close look.

All minor arcana cards have a keyword, like "enterprise" for the Three of Staves or "creativity" for the Prince of Cups. These keywords are integrated into the picture itself in an exemplary way, as are the Major arcana titles. No exceeding white border used for anything in this deck!

There is additionally a title card plus a card depicting the "Tree of Life" pattern. A different drawing of the same pattern constitutes the back. A 24 page booklet is enclosed. The packaging is a simple and practical cardboard box in which the deck fits well. No superfluous empty space here.

Both tarots by Mrs. Gill, are recommendable. They have each their qualities and each their shortcomings, but the qualities are dominating. They are worth trying out. I hope, that either Aquarian Press or Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicky will send a copy of the S.O.L. package to Mrs. Gill, so she can see how her deck looks in print. I wonder why they have not already done so?