The 1JJ Swiss Tarot: A fine variant of the Marseille Tarot

The 1JJ Swiss Tarot is a creation of Stuart Kaplan

The 1JJ Swiss Tarot is a deck with an older style of Tarot, a variant of the Marseille deck. The cards are reprints of early woodblock designs, printed in black and color using red, blue, green, and yellow blocks. The names on each card are in French. Stuart Kaplan’s creation, a Tarot considered fine and delicate, has a few variations from the Marseille deck. The most obvious difference between the Marseille deck and the 1JJ Swiss Tarot is that Juno with her peacock, and Jupiter with his eagle, replace the High Priestess and the Pope. This continues a tradition that began with the Tarot of Besançon. The “JJ” in the name refers to Jupiter and Juno. The deck was intended to be distributed in regions with both Catholic and Protestant enthusiasts, who didn’t want pagan gods for various reasons and, of course, wanted to avoid confrontations with the Catholic Church. Lady Fortune is restored to her role as the one who turns the Wheel of Fortune, and the Death card is one of the finest, featuring the typical image of death harvesting, but with a really fine and precise drawing, unlike the rough skeleton in the original Marseille Tarot.

There are other innovations here, though some are less successful: Two of the sacred animals have disappeared from The World card. The Fool is a particular disappointment in this case, as they have been turned into a court jester, having lost their dog, their bag, and their original setting. The numbered cards in the Minor Arcana do not feature scenes, only the corresponding symbols, similar to the Spanish style: Coins, Wands, Swords, and Cups, without any human figures to illustrate the description. The numbering is in Roman numerals, but quite different from the traditional numbering. For example, Temperance (14) is written as XIIII, instead of XIV. The Sun (19) is written as XVIIII, instead of XIX. The Hermit (9) and the Nine of Cups are written as VIIII, while the other number 9 cards are correctly written as IX. Additionally, The Emperor, the Four of Cups, and the Four of Coins are written as IIII, while the Four of Wands and the Four of Swords are written as IV. These are just some of the personal quirks of the elegant and finely crafted 1JJ Tarot. The 1JJ Swiss Tarot is in French, which is the original version, though there is also an English version where changes were made, making it different from Stuart Kaplan’s original 1JJ Swiss Tarot.

Data Sheet: Name: 1JJ Swiss Tarot Creators: Stuart Kaplan Publisher: US Games, 1970 Cards: 78 Major Arcana: 22 Minor Arcana: 56 Deck Tradition: Marseille Minor Arcana Style: Marseille-Style Pips Suits: Coins, Cups, Wands, and Swords Court Cards: King, Queen, Knight, and Page The Fool is 0, Strength is 11, Justice is 8 Card Size: 6.03 cm x 11.11 cm. Language: French

The accompanying book, written independently by Stuart R. Kaplan, has been published a few times. It first appeared in 1970 as “Tarot Cards for Fun and Fortune-Telling” by US Games. It was later published in the UK by Aquarian Press as “Tarot Cards for Fun and Fortune-Telling” in 1978. The next edition was published in 1995 by Diamond Books, titled “Fortune-Telling with Tarot Cards.