Hi, all!
I have the Vanderborre tarot and would love to read with it and wondered if anyone here has tried? If so, how have you worked with Capitano Ercasse and Bachus in place of the Popesse and Pope?
I’d love to read with this deck instead of just keeping it nearby because I’m Dutch American and there isn’t really a Dutch history of tarot–as far as I know. Yes, it’s not a Dutch deck, but it’s the only one produced near my homeland that I can find!
In The Pope, we see a figure ordained and crowned offering spiritual guidance and direction. In Bacchus, we see a figure drinking from a barrel and gourd crowned with a headdress of leaves. It is presumable this is a wine/mead alcoholic mixture, possibly even infused with psychoactive drugs. In tribal cultures, such concoctions are believed to allow connection with divine spirits and ancestors, which in turn offer guidance and direction. Understanding this, we can still carry the symbolic image of spiritual connection, guidance, and direction that one sees in The Pope to the image in Bacchus.
@MatthewSims that is a brilliant interpretation! Thank you 
It strikes me that this deck may be a bit more playful than most TdM given that it has a more raucous figure in place of the structured Pope. I think I can work with Il Capitano as well. I have a theater background and studied commedia del arte, from which he comes. One downside of the Popess I’ve found in my research is that she can be a bit of a Cloud Cuckoolander. Likewise, the good Captain is too involved in his opinion of himself–which could be seen as a tendency to get stuck in the landscape of one’s own mind, which I think the Popess can do too.
Thank you I’ve got a lot to think about!