The Kalevala was constructed by Elias Lönnrot in the nineteenth century from a tiny subset of the runo poems that had been sung for centuries in rural parts of Finland. Lönnrot's collection and publication of folklore was part of the national romanticism movement that was going on throughout Europe at the time. For instance, the Brothers Grimm published their first collection of German folktales in 1812. But Lönnrot selected, ordered and published these poems not as stories for children, but as a national epic for Finland on the order of Homer or the Nibelungenlied. Lönnrot's publication of the Kalevala in 1835 and then, expanded and reordered in 1849, was a major force in helping the Finns define themselves apart from the Swedes and Russians who had ruled over them in recent centuries (since the 12th century) from the West and East respectively.
A unique feature of the Kalevala is that the heroism it celebrates is not based on a strong sword-arm, but ability in magic. Magic is sung, just like the runos.
Then old Väinämöinen sang,
Sang his songs and cast his spells:
Sang a fir tree flower-crowned,
Flower-crowned and golden-leaved,
Stretched it high into the air,
Through the very clouds he sang it.
Till its leafy branches reaching
Spread its foliage high as heaven.
Singing songs and casting spells:
Sang a moon to shine up there
On the fir tree's golden crown;
Sang the Great Bear on the branches.
(Runo 10, Eino Friberg translation)
It struck me that like the Irish Tuatha de Danaan stories, the runo poems collected into the Kalevala may be preserving the memory of the struggle between peoples already present on a land and newer settlers who end up prevailing. The runo selected by Lönnrot describe the struggle between two peoples: the Kaleva, the "heros" from whose perspective the story is told (probably the Finns, a Finno-Ugric people), and the Pohjola, the "great enchanters" from the "foggy land of sedges", (probably the Saami, the indigenous people). Thus, I personally do not see the story as a tale of good and evil or good guys and bad guys. From strictly a story perspective, not looking for deeper meanings, the primary characters are Väinämöinen, the magic-singer, Ilmarinen, the Smith, and Lemminkäinen, the Fighter and Lover. These three represent the side of the Kaleva; Louhi, the Mistress and mighty enchantress of Northland is the main force on the side of the Pohjola. The magical artifact, the Sampo, which provides great wealth to whoever possesses it, is woven throughout the epic, in which its creation and destruction are told.
I will sing a good song for you
And I'll make it beautiful:
Do it on a rye bread diet,
Wash it down with barley beer.
(Runo 1, Eino Friberg translation)
Decks based on story cycles can be tricky things. If the designer simply chooses characters and scenes from the story and associates them with the closest card and is done with it, the correspondence will be forced. In this deck, the associated characters and story elements are simply a starting point. From there, strict adherence to the happenings in the Kalevala may be departed from to properly express the card. For instance, the Emperor is represented by Joukahainen, not at the point in his life in which he appears in the Kalevala, but as he might be as a mature and much wiser man. As much symbolism as is found in a deck like the Rider-Waite-Smith is present on each card of this deck, but all symbolism is intended to fit the Finnish theme. All of the Major Arcana are renamed, and in Finnish, but there are always plenty of reminders of traditional deck images, so this deck should be usuable out of the box by those familiar with the typical Rider-Waite scenes. Because of the "as if" use of characters in the epic, it would probably be useful to read the book even if you are familiar with both the Kalevala and Tarot. I'm not terribly familiar with the epic, so I can't comment on whether the appropriate characters or scenes have been chosen for the cards.
As with most books accompanying decks, the orientation of the text is consultative rather than historical, meditative or occult; and the discussion in the book includes sections giving meanings that are pithy and practical for doing readings for the public. There is the standard reproduction of qabalistic tree of life glyphs, and also an enneagram. In my opinion, this coverage seems more to be filler to me, than essential for understanding the deck, as the deck does not seem a typical Golden Dawn deck. It does not follow the color scales or the decan based pip meanings, for instance. As with almost all books accompanying decks, I come away disappointed because I still don't know WHY the artist/designer team made the artistic and design choices they did in arriving at each card, and that is truly the bit that only that team could impart in such a book. I already have my preferred sources for learning about qabalah and divinatory meanings. I wish the formula for writing these books would move towards greater coverage of symbolic intention rather than regurgitating information found in basic Tarot texts elsewhere.
Fundamentally, this is not a study deck, it is a theme deck, and is typical of that genre. The artwork is rustic and colorful and has really grown on me as I've worked on this review. It would appear that a majority of the cards depict scenes set out of doors and in the summer. Some of the elements, such as the reindeer element used in the card back design, come from traditional Saami art. I looked online for biographical information on Taina Pailos, but although I found several sites in Finnish that appeared to be exhibitions her work appeared in, I found nothing in English.
If you are a fan of Tolkien or high fantasy in general, you should take a look at the Kalevala. If you are a lover of the Northwoods (whether that be Canada, Minnesota, or Scandinavia), the mood of this deck should prove very appealing to you.
Now bring back the splendor here
As it was in better days:
Like the moon in fir boughs gleaming,
Like the sun in pinetops shining,
And the forest filled with odors,
Smell of mead and smell of honey
Through the wide blue haze of woodland,
Smell of sweetwort round the clearings,
Swamps the smell of melted butter.
(Runo 14, Eino Friberg translation)
The Kalevala Tarot Book and Deck Set (ISBN 0-88079-187-X, copyright 1996) is published by U.S. Games Systems and available through your local bookseller.
Another perspective: Thorough and excellent review of this deck by Mathieu Ouellet My own approach, based on a lengthy study of the Tarot and a very novice understanding of the Kalevala is contrasted by Mathieu, who is a long-term student of the Kalevala and bought the pack to learn more about Tarot.
To learn more about topics mentioned in this review
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Copyright © 1994-2001 Joan Schraith Cole.
Updated August 26, 2001
Some graphics from Ann-S-Thesia CD, Number 76 variant A
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