Le Tarot de Sète

While on a visit to Sète (near Montpellier) in the summer of 2020, I was delighted to stumble upon an exhibition in the back of a bookshop (called L’Échappée Belle) of the 22 major arcana reinterpreted ‘à la Sétoise’. I was struck not only by the humour of the designs by local artist Julien Labat but also by how cleverly he had adapted the traditional Tarot de Marseille designs and retained a recognisable colour scheme. I remember saying to the bookstore owner that I hoped a full set of Tarot cards would be published one day.

Fast forward to 2023. Imagine my delight when my partner, following a visit to Sète, presented me with the finished article! In the intervening period, Julien Labat had created another 56 cards to complete the pack. Local characters, fishermen and even tourists have clearly inspired him. Traditional titles on the major arcana have been retained, but three of the suits have been renamed to fit with local traditions: coins have become ‘tielles’ (Sète’s famous seafood pies), swords have become quill pens, and batons have become lances (used in the canal jousting tournaments in Sète). Various glasses, goblets and jugs on the suit of cups complete the line-up.

Above: Le Tarot de Sète made by Cartamundi France for Julien Labat, Sète, France, 2021. 78 cards + 2 extra cards in drop-lid box. Size: 60 x 113 mm.

The smart navy and gold drop-lid box carries more information including the fact that this is a limited edition. The artist expresses the hope that this set can be used to play the game of Tarot as well as for cartomancy. Cleverly, the title of the pack, Tarot de Sète, can be read upright or reversed on the lid of the box

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