Deck and Book Reviews
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The Adventure Tarot
While scrolling in search of a new journal, I saw The Adventure Tarot was selling at a heavily discounted price, so I decided to give it a try. It had been on my radar for a while but I hadn’t got around to buying it, and to be honest I didn’t think I would. Even though I’m an avid road tripper, I knew this road trip inspired tarot, which celebrates the Asian-American experience, wasn’t targeting me. It’s aimed at young adults and I am way past that. But, I quickly discovered I needn’t have worried. My reservations were totally unfounded. This deck is for anyone who is open to the…
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Heavenly Bodies Astrology
If you’ve ever tried to learn astrology but quickly suffered from information overload, then Heavenly Bodies Astrology could be the solution. It was for me. I have a tendency to go into things way too deeply, way too quickly, and before I know it I’m drowning in a ton of information. I bought Lily Ashwell’s deck to try and counteract that. My intention was simply to further develop my understanding of the astrological archetypes so that I could incorporate them into my tarot practice more organically. But it didn’t take me too long to realise this deck has more to offer than that. About the Heavenly Bodies Astrology cards For…
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Quiet Rebel Tarot
Sometimes you see a deck and you just know it’s for you. That’s how I felt the very first time I saw the Quiet Rebel Oracle even though I’m not nearly as drawn to oracle decks as I am to tarot. You can imagine how happy I was to discover there was a Quiet Rebel Tarot. Fortunately for me, or maybe for Lyn, she offers them as a package. So rather than having to decide which deck, I just bought them both. But this post is focused on the tarot deck. I’ll warn you now that I love everything about these decks — the approach, the artwork, the humour —…
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Fantasy Garden Tarot
As someone who has been drawn to the power, importance, and influence of place for as long as I can remember, the Fantasy Garden Tarot was a natural fit for me. I didn’t know that at the time though. When I went looking for “birthday decks” on Etsy I was simply looking for decks that offered something different to those I already had in my collection. Dmytro Ryzhak’s ballpoint pen drawings fit that criteria. But, this deck just kept on giving. When I flipped open the very brief bilingual guidebook I read that the basis for the deck was to highlight the importance of the landscape. In other words, they…
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Tarot of the Cosmic Seed
I have tried to write about Tarot of the Cosmic Seed several times but each time I started I felt I wasn’t getting to the heart of the deck. In fact it felt like I was barely skimming the surface. Then the other day I used the deck as part of my morning writing practice and things started to fall into place. This deck for me is the poster child for Joseph Campbell’s oft quoted, If you can see your path laid out in front of you step by step, you know it’s not your path. It speaks to the freedom loving part of my nature that I often try…
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Way of the Panda Tarot
I felt like it was time for a total change of pace and the Way of the Panda Tarot felt like the perfect choice. It is so easy to get caught up in things, believe me I know. I started writing about The Hoodoo Tarot and next thing I know I’m researching my family tree and preparing to spit into test tubes to discover my ancestral DNA. But, sometimes you just have sit back and relax. So now I’m spending time with the inhabitants of Panda Kingdom as I slowly work my way through the add-on book. Reading about Pandalf the Magician and Panda Hercules brought a smile to my…
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The Hoodoo Tarot
The Hoodoo Tarot sits on my desk alongside my other “ancestral work” decks, The Relative Tarot, The Beloved Dead Oracle, and The Witch’s Shadow Work Oracle. The Rosebud Tarot sits on the bookshelf beside me. Having decided to spend some time studying this deck though, notions of cultural appropriation started surfacing and I started to wonder whether it was okay to do so. I knew I was drawn to the deck itself and that I loved the stories and the artwork. But, in reading Tayannah Lee McQuillar’s Introduction I questioned whether this was wrong since, as far as I am aware, I don’t have “a distinct lineage in North America”…
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The Relative Tarot
I bought The Relative Tarot on my Mum’s birthday. It’s twenty-eight years since she passed and this year I will have lived longer without her than with her. So, while I have been drawn to ancestral work for a while now, in all honesty, this was a comfort buy. Though, having worked with it I now feel it was a guided purchase. When I flip through the deck it feels like home. That probably sounds a tad odd, but it is honestly the best way I can describe it. These aren’t cards, they’re people, and they want to be heard. So they talk. They talk a lot, and I love…
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Tarot Tableau Revolution
I became aware of Tarot Tableau Revolution through Dina Rosenberg (creator of Crystal Keys Tarot). Dina runs a podcast called Apothecary After Dark with her business partner and one of the episodes she pointed me to was an interview with Maria Alviz Hernando, author of Tarot Tableau Revolution. While still listening to Maria speak, I grabbed my phone and ordered her book. While much of her teachings aren’t applicable to how I approach tarot, I found the book fascinating and I picked up some new ideas that I’ve since incorporated into my practice. I’ll be writing individual posts on those, but I will touch on a couple of them later.…
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Cottage Magic Tarot
I bought the Cottage Magic Tarot because I felt that it matched what I wanted my life to look and feel like – calm and cozy. The uncomplicated art style offers a snap shot of how things could be. You don’t have to try and find meaning. It’s not “hidden” in a plethora of symbols. It’s just there in solid blocks of colour. Nothing feels busy or overwhelming. Put simply, in a chaotic world, it feels manageable. About the Cottage Magic Tarot Deck When I opened the Cottage Magic Tarot and saw the chicken at The Fool’s feet I knew this deck was going to surprise me. I’m a very…
