Bonefire Tarot

Yesterday as I sat at the beach watching the waves rolling in and contemplating my future direction and goals, “Bonefire” kept popping into my head. Today it did the same. I had no idea why but I listened. So, despite the fact I had a new deck arrive today, I listened to the call and grabbed my Bonefire Tarot off the shelf. Within minutes of opening the book I understood why. More on that later. For now, if you’re not sure if tarot is for you, or if you’re looking for a tool to help you on your own unique spiritual path, then the Bonefire Tarot could well offer you the reassurance you need.

The Bonefire Tarot Deck

The Bonefire Tarot portrays each card’s message in unique ways. The cards are bold, bright and busy and yet I find them easy to connect with, despite not being a member of the imagined demographic. I connect with them because their messages are clear and accessible and because there’s no fence-sitting with the images. Take the four knights pictured above as an example. Often times people can find the court cards difficult. In this deck their personalities are depicted clearly and they invite you into their stories so we can see, consider, and understand their strengths and weaknesses and hopefully in turn our own. Each can be just what we want and need in a situation or exactly what we don’t need. Their messages are so clearly represented in this deck. This is indicative of the deck as a whole.

The cards can represent so many things and yet as I look at them they prompt powerful intuitive hits that really nail what needs to be seen at the time. Well that’s how I feel anyway. For example, when I look at the 2 of Swords pictured below, I had the thought that she’s not holding the swords. Rather, the swords are part of her. This was quickly followed by an image of Hugh Jackman as Wolverine in the X-Men franchise and what he went through when Adamantium was bonded to his bones. From there the messages flowed thick and fast like an instantaneous download.

Yet, when I first selected this card to photograph, my eye was drawn to the egg timer and the idea of needing to make the choice to follow your heart before time runs out, or at least it feels as if it does. Time keeps passing while we sit in indecision. Now as I look at the card again, I see the bull I hadn’t even noticed before, (how I don’t know, but I do – it wasn’t the message I needed at the time), and the need to push past comfort zones and make a decision comes up. I realise just how much I needed to see this card right now. Plus it reinforces that their is no such thing as just picking a card to photograph. There is always a message. Team it with the Page of Coins also pictured below and things are becoming so much clearer.

The Bonefire Tarot is a highly symbolic deck and whilst interpretations are given for the symbols present on each card, the reader’s interpretations can shine through. After all, that’s how symbolism works. We all bring ourselves to the interpretation. For example I consider myself fortunate to have lots of birds visit my yard every day. Yet, I have a friend who is so petrified of them that she is reluctant to sit out on my back deck. Needless to say that a bird on a tarot card is likely to mean very different things to each of us. This also applies to how we view a card as a whole too.

I tend to view the Death card as a sign of transformation. So whilst I recognise the sense of loss associated with the card, I focus on the transformative impacts it can have when considered alongside the other cards in the spread. However, I am well aware that many people fear this card. The creator here has attempted to circumnavigate this by removing the title and presenting it as a number instead. Other decks seek to change the perception and label it transformation. I’m not sure why this idea wasn’t adopted here but to me, as the only card labelled with numerals rather than a title, it stands out. Maybe that’s not such a bad thing though. Maybe that was the intention.

The cards themselves are printed on strange card stock. I have over 100 decks, (so if you ever want to book a reading with me I’m bound to have one you feel drawn to), but none feel like this. They feel like a thick plastic. Maybe this is a throwback to the artists past creative work using her tattoo-inspired artwork to create costume jewellery. I have no idea. It’s definitely different though. It feels a bit clumpy to overhand shuffle but as is the case with most decks it gets better with use. It riffles fine even though it’s a bit sticky when bridging. I’ve heard people use talc to “unsticky” decks but I’m happy to work with what I have and learn to work with it on its own terms. Might sound a tad strange but as someone who spent so much time adjusting myself to fit with other’s expectations, I’m loathe to do that to anything. It’s part of my little anarchic stand. Accept or move on. I’m guessing you’re probably guessing that I like that it’s different. It seems fitting to the deck. At approximately 9 x 12cm they’re also an unusual size.

That’s not to say they’re different just for the sake of it. That’s pointless. The Bonefire Tarot follows the typical nominations for the Major Arcana – yes in the book 13 is listed as 13: Death – and the Minor Arcana court is the standard RWS King, Queen, Knight and Page. The only slight difference is that Pentacles are now Coins. Strength is VIII and Justice is XI.

The card backs at first glance appear reversible but they aren’t. That’s fine by me because I don’t read reversals unless they appear totally at random. That is, I don’t shuffle to create reversals. But anyway, in regard to those that do, if you’re reading for yourself you may notice yet I don’t know how obvious it would be to others. Besides, they are similar enough that if you’re paying that much attention to the backs to see if they may be reversed it’s probably best to put the cards down until you’re open to what they have to say.

The Bonefire Tarot Book

This version of the Bonefire Tarot comes with a fantastic full-size, full-colour book that really adds another dimension to the deck. It was actually the book and its celebration of difference that was calling to me when I couldn’t get the word Bonefire out of my head. Through its rawness and honesty, the preface woke a sleepy part of me. When read alongside the creator’s about me blurb, a lot of missing pieces fell into place. I also saw the cards in a different light. I have had these cards for a while and never really read with them. Today, they took up a place on my desk.

I know some people disregard the books for various reasons but I think that’s a mistake. Understanding where the creator is coming from and why they included the elements they did can add to both our experience with the cards and our intuitive abilities. I don’t believe it reduces either in any way. I admit there are card descriptions given for some cards that counter all that I see and believe for the card. Some downright shocked me – Queen of Pentacles I’m looking at you. Nonetheless, I see that as beneficial. Anything that challenges our viewpoint has value.

Just because I may not react to an element in the same way the creator initially intended doesn’t make either of our interpretations less meaningful. Rather it provides another idea for us to deposit into our intuitive bank that can, and I believe will, surface when required. It can also encourage us to re-evaluate the part of our life that the confronting card meaning has brought to the fore. It also helps to overcome the tendency to fall into the “oh that’s my card for” thinking. After all, a four-leaf clover would mean very little if someone, somewhere, at some long forgotten moment hadn’t attributed it with luck. This is an important idea to consider. Every taken for granted assumption began somewhere. As someone who spent way too many years studying sociology at university I’ve been forced to acknowledge that. Even still, it’s hard to reconcile.

But, just for a moment imagine that we let our desk, the grass, blue sky, water or anything else in our environment act as a symbol for good luck. Then consider the Law of Attraction and our belief that four-leafed clovers are hard to find. Hmm energy goes where our attention flows. Maybe I really should see my desk as a source of good luck since I’m here every day. Sorry for this aside but I really needed to hear this message right now. Maybe you did too.

Now though, I’ll get back to the book. Having begun with her inspirations and the creative process that ultimately led to the creation of the deck, the book is split into three parts. Part 1 covers the Major Arcana and Part 2 The Minor Arcana. The Minors are grouped by suit and I’m pleased to say they are given the same attention as the Majors.

Beside a larger-than-half-size full-colour representation of the card there is a basic, generalised interpretation of the card. The true magic in the book though is to be found under the “Bonefire says” heading. Here you’ll find the story the image is portraying. You meet the person on the card and discover what they’re trying to do including how and why they are trying to do it. You’ll also read about the likely impact their decisions are going to have on them and those around them. This section wraps up with what all this might mean when the card appears in a spread. The final section titled “Symbols” lists the main symbols to be found on the card. There’s a glossary at the end of the book that explains what these symbols generally represent.

Part 3 is divided into a chapter on Reading Tarot and one called Cherry-flavoured Truth Bombs, both of which continue in the same conversational, self-reflective vein as the rest of the book.

Spreads

There are three spreads included:

• Wooden Eye’s One Card Wonder
• Beltane Three Card Spread
• Bonefire Eight Card Enlightener

The single card spread is intended to be used to connect you with a message from an ancestor or from a past-life. As someone who does ancestral work I liked this inclusion. Overall, I would say this is a deck that helps people free themselves from restrictive thinking. It doesn’t hold back. When I did my deck interview the response to what are your strengths was, “I fight for my right to exist as who I am and so should you. Point made and point taken. If you’re after something different that still for the most part aligns with the traditional tarot then this is a great deck.

Publishing Details

Deck Creator:

Gabi Angus-West

Pictured Version:

Published by Schiffer Publishing Ltd in 2016