Black Violet Tarot
Heidi Phelps began creating the Black Violet Tarot while dealing with the sadness of her mother’s worsening illness and the joy of her pregnancy. Working on a card at a time helped her to navigate her emotions, one day at a time. At times I relate to tarot as a tool for deep healing and grounding as well. As anyone who’s read the Why Tarot? post will know, I came to tarot after the passing of my own mother. Since then it has helped me love, weep over, and reconcile the complexities of mother/daughter relationships and what I learned and what I subsequently lost in her passing.
You might think as a result I would feel that this female-led deck exudes a mother/daughter energy. But, that is not how I see it at all. Not directly at least. For me, the starkness of the black and white imagery forces me to consider how I’m showing up in the world. After all, there is no grey here. As we go along, you will see what I mean.
About the Black Violet Tarot Deck
For starters, this minimalist black and white, RWS inspired deck has 80 cards. I will get on to the additional cards, but before I do I want to share the intention behind the deck. Heidi Phelps wanted the Black Violet Tarot to be a source of creative inspiration. Therefore she has included two spreads with that focus. One is called Project Kick-off; the other is Daily Inspiration.
The deck is “designed to spark inspiration for art and self expression,” so it is for everyone.
All our decisions, all our actions, are creative expressions of self, whether we choose to see them that way or not. For example, whether we slap a meal on a plate or we arrange it beautifully says something about us and how we feel about what we are doing. Hence my earlier comment about how this deck encourages me to consider how I show up in the world.
We all have our own way of doing so. Therefore even though Heidi Phelps was inspired by the RWS tarot, she feels that in some instances she diverges from their meanings. For XIX The Sun the image is focused on pure love and warmth more so than abundance and joy. Although both can still be drawn from the image. In this card, her personal experiences shine through.
She also believes her approach to Judgment is different but I generally see this card as a card of self-reflection and self-judgment rather than associating it with judgment by others. So, in this instance, I appreciate the artistic choice rather than seeing it as a different suggestion.
Bonus cards
If you have read many of my reviews, you’d know that often I question the addition of extra Major Arcana cards because I feel they are superfluous. But I really connected with the message of the Ghost card and the way she composed the image. For this she writes,
“Ghost represents a confrontation between past and present, a healing form past trauma, regrets for things you did or didn’t do, or fear that your past will be uncovered or will inevitably determine your future.”
Then in the Author’s notes for the card she draws attention to the fact that the clothing is blowing in different directions. She did this to show that ultimately the woman and the ghost will go their separate ways, once they understand each other and what they each represent. This highlights that every detail in these cards is relevant. If you notice something, ask yourself what it could mean. Or, more importantly, ask yourself what it means to you.
General information
This deck was originally released on Kickstarter with both a black and white and later a cherry blossom edition available. The cherry blossom edition is black and blush pink. Both indie versions have black borders whereas the mass-market is borderless.
The cards measure 7 x 12cm and are printed on matte cardstock with stunning royal purple gilded edges that add a pop of colour and finish the cards beautifully. Even with the gilding, they are easy to handle and work with.
The suits and Major Arcana in the Black Violet Tarot have standard nominations – Wands, Cups, Swords and Pentacles with Strength VIII and Justice XI. As you can see above, the Kings and Queens are both female with the Kings being dressed in white and the Queens in black. I like how they speak to each other in some way across all the suits.
Discussions on some individual cards
XV The Devil & Four of Pentacles
XV The Devil reminds me of Maleficent and thus how holding on to the wrong things, even if you believe it to be for the right reasons, is so damaging to all concerned. Yet, like Maleficent in the movie, we have the power to transform situations. This is a different viewpoint to how I’d normally view this card as it is the devil that stands out to me rather than the “captives”.
This ties in with the Four of Pentacles. You can clearly see she is being hampered by the things she has chosen to hold onto. If something is weighing you down you need to let it go.
Nine of Wands & Four of Cups
The woman on the Nine of Wands looks battered and bruised. When I look at the card it appears as if she is keeping a tally of everything that has happened to her. In this instance it doesn’t appear to be serving her though. It harkens back to The Devil energy for me. Keeping score can make it harder to move forward. Although, sometimes it is the impetus that helps us to change our situation.
Nevertheless, we can choose to be happy with what we have rather than always being in pursuit of something more. Take a look at the Four of Cups. The way it is presented here doesn’t suggest apathy to me. Rather I see it in one of two ways. One is that if we are too passive we can miss out on opportunities. We can’t all spend our time meditating on mountain tops. We need to live. On the other hand though I see that not every opportunity is a blessing and sometimes peace is much more valuable.
XIII Death & XVIII The Moon
On both of these cards it is the potential to blossom that I notice. The Death card makes me think of The Fool which I feel is something more decks could explore. Afterall, death as a transition, a movement away from something inherently leads to something new. True there is likely to be some Nine of Wands energy that comes along for the ride, but the potential also exists.
The Moon has the same ground covering. However, when I look at this card I don’t see the image as I’m guessing it is intended. Rather than being a shoreline with a crayfish in the water, I see a cliff with an overhang. The crayfish, in my mind is something caught in a now compromised web. I imagine standing where the dog and wolf sit and trying to find the courage to edge my way across the chasm not knowing if I will be supported. This is one card where I truly feel the idea of fear.
It doesn’t matter that I know what I’m seeing isn’t what the artist was portraying. It is what I see and therein lies a powerful message. Sometimes, even when we know our perceptions are false it is very difficult to see what we see, or think what we think, it in a different way. The idea is ingrained. We need to have the courage to come back to the Death card and find a way to let the thoughts that don’t serve us go.
Nine of Cups & Ace of Pentacles
Maybe the Nine of Cups shows the way. These cups aren’t arranged behind her. Instead they are right there in front of her, within easy reach. Yet she is focused on a single cup. She doesn’t need a lot because she realises she already has so much. The wall she sits on supports this. I see each of the rocks as individual things she is grateful for. Big and small they all contribute.
Plus, they serve as a reminder that there is always so much more to be grateful for than we realise. It’s not until something we take for granted is taken away that we acknowledge how important it was. Much better not to have to learn that lesson.
The Ace of Pentacles sitting alongside reminds that we also need to acknowledge both our own potential and the potential contained within the gifts and resources that we have available to us. What we focus on matters.
The Black Violet Tarot Guidebook
The 174 paged, A6 sized guidebook is well-written and easy to work with. It opens with an introduction that shares the reason behind the title choice. It demonstrates the level of thought that went into the deck. She writes, “Violets have represented life and fertility, death, and remembrance: a striking contrast of joy versus grief, beginning versus end, and future versus memory” which aligns perfectly with the drive behind the deck and some of her experiences in creating it.
Following is a “How to use the cards” chapter which gives the information you’d expect: a brief overview and approach to the cards, and a section titled “Pip and court cards” which gives a brief explanation of how they fit into a tarot deck. My favourite line in this section, written in reference to card meanings, is, “These descriptions are not prescriptions.” Love it.
Then, after a few spreads, two of which I have already mentioned, it is straight into the card meanings, starting with the Major Arcana. The information provided for both the Major and Minor Arcana cards is the same.
I like that in the Black Violet Tarot guidebook, Heidi Phelps writes what she feels she needs to share rather than sticking to a formulaic approach. Some entries are much shorter than others. Some have Author’s Notes, others don’t. Each has enough to get you started and to point out elements on the cards you might have missed though.
Example: Six of Pentacles
Beneath the card image you’ll find three keywords. In this case they are generosity, philanthropy, solidarity. Then the first paragraph reads:
The Six of Pentacles represents financial security and generosity. The woman on the right has accumulated enough wealth to be financially secure and is giving money to the woman on the left, who could use some help. This card serves as a reminder that life is a series of peaks and valleys: sometimes in life you need help, while at other times you’re in a position to offer help.
The next paragraph points out the scales and the need to avoid one-sided relationships. It also reminds that what is offered can also be emotional support. I would add time here as well.
The Author’s Note section, which as I mentioned is only included for some cards, explains that she wanted both women standing with the wealthy women placing the coin in the other’s hand to show a true and more compassionate interaction.
This is followed in kind for the reversed meanings. The Six of Pentacles reversed keywords are: self care, inequality, debt. The explanation opens, “Every time we get on a plane we’re reminded in the event of an emergency to adjust our oxygen masks before doing so for others. That’s the idea behind the Six of Pentacles reversed: you can’t give so much of yourself to others that you end up putting yourself in physical, mental, or financial jeopardy.” It goes on from there but you get the idea.
Wrapping it all up
Unfortunately some of the finer details were difficult to capture in photographs, but hopefully you get the overall gist. I’m on the fence as to whether I think the Black Violet Tarot is a good beginner’s deck though. The guidebook makes it accessible but I feel I utilise my existing knowledge quite extensively to help me draw deeper meanings from these cards. However, being able to compare the cards to those in other decks increases my appreciation overall. There is no denying this is a well thought out and well put together deck and I can well and truly recognise the role it will play in my collection.
It is in line with Heidi Phelps experience:
Sharing my work and story helped me see what a powerful tool tarot can be for processing and healing whatever emotions you’re working through, and for sparking new ideas and creativity.
This deck is doing that for me.
Black Violet Tarot Cards
| Artist | Heidi Phelps |
| Card Size | 7cm x 12cm |
| Card Stock | Matte, purple gilding |
| Shuffle | Fine to shuffle in any manner |
| Fan & Flip Through | Okay to fan and flip through |
| Suits | Cups, Wands, Pentacles, Swords |
| Court | King, Queen, Knight, Page |
| Strength / Justice | Strength VIII; Justice XI |
| Miscellaneous | Solid two part box |
Black Violet Tarot Guidebook
| Written by | Heidi Phelps |
| Pages | 174 pages |
| Appearance | Monochrome, gloss, perfect bound A6 sized book |
| Contents | Introduction How to use the cards Card spreads Major Arcana: life lessons Minor Arcana: everyday life events Swords Pentacles Wands Cups About the Author |
| Spreads | Daily Inspiration (3 cards) Weekly Navigation (7 cards) Project Kick-off (8 cards) |
Publishing Details
Created by:
Heidi Phelps
Pictured Version:
Published June 2024 by Rockpool Publishing
Websites:
