Tarot decks
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The Cook’s Tarot
This easily relatable deck is perfect for those wanting to tune into themselves and what’s going on in their day to day lives. The Cook’s Tarot is a bright contemporary deck that depicts everyday household scenes, many of which as the name implies revolve around food and the kitchen. The idea is that since the imagery is largely familiar, it’s easy to bring your own life experiences into the interpretations. The Cook’s Tarot Deck The 78 gouache paintings that make-up this deck took 6 years to create. This isn’t just a quick throw together to target a particular market. It’s a well thought out deck. I have used these cards…
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The Llewellyn Tarot
Imagine a traditional deck inspired by medieval Wales and you have the Llewellyn Tarot. The stunning watercolour artwork depicts Welsh settings, characters and mythology and is worth owning purely for its beauty. I’m surprised it has taken me this long to acquire it, especially since my Mum was Welsh. But, better late than never. Maybe it’s just time now. Another deck, The Universal Celtic Tarot, encouraged me to start studying world mythologies. This deck with its Welsh-mythology-driven Major Arcana fits in well with this. So if you’re into beautiful artwork, great guide books, and/or mythology, and you don’t already have it, this deck could definitely be for you. The Llewellyn…
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The Housewives Tarot
When I first saw this deck there was something about it I loved straight up. But, I thought it would be more a deck for my collection rather than one I would seriously use. That’s not the case. It has some powerful messages to share in a way that is incredibly relatable. This isn’t just a kitschy deck with no substance. It’s true The Housewives Tarot is full of humour but underneath the laughs is a serious message. To me, this deck is the stand-up comedian of the Tarot world. The Housewives Tarot Deck Before I get onto the cards themselves, I have to comment on the packaging. I love…
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Connolly Tarot
As the box says, this bright, yet subdued, tarot deck created by the mother and son team, Peter Paul Connolly and Eileen Connolly, is “reminiscent of medieval stained glass.” The artwork is full of rich, royal purples, emerald greens, pinks ranging from soft dusty tones to bright magentas, deep blues, aquas and teals, and golden yellows. The Connolly Tarot is a really pretty Rider Waite inspired deck. The Connolly Tarot Deck Like every deck this one will not appeal to everyone. Some people are critical of what they perceive to be the overly gentle nature of these cards. I don’t find this an issue. It isn’t as if the deck…
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Gaian Tarot
The Gaian Tarot is a contemporary Earth-based tarot deck that focuses on “the healing of the Earth and of the self.” Some cards feature people, some creatures, and many combine both. The people on the cards are for the most part really easy to relate to. Even if you haven’t directly shared the same experience, you can imagine what they may be thinking and or feeling – love, joy, sadness, enthusiasm, wonder, peace, strength, knowing, connection, overwhelm, calm – they’re all to be found within the cards. This deck doesn’t deal in abstracts. The paintings are almost all people, scenes and elements the deck creator, Joanna Powell Colbert, has encountered…
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Universal Celtic Tarot
The Universal Celtic Tarot encourages you to tap into the ancient Celtic wisdom that celebrates Nature. It wants you to recognise and rekindle the connections that may have been forgotten, ignored, or dismissed as life became busier and busier. Rather than letting that happen the creators wants people to immerse themselves “in an atmosphere that makes all kinds of magic possible and quite natural.” And they succeed. The Universal Celtic Tarot is stunning. Some of the cards in this deck rank with some of the most beautiful I’ve seen. The Universal Celtic Tarot Cards As you can see the artwork on this deck is magical. I bought this deck after…
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Anna K Tarot
The Anna K Tarot sheds much of the esoteric symbolism of the Rider Waite system it is largely based on. Instead it encourages users to consider what is happening on the card in conjunction with the emotions the people are expressing. If you’re after a deck that provides clear, straight-up answers, the Anna K Tarot is perfect. This deck took ten years to create and it seems that in that time Anna K spent a lot of time thinking about what each card meant to her and then depicting that particular meaning. It’s a great deck to be able to reach for if you’re feeling particularly scrambled. For example the…
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Tarot of the Hidden Realm
The only thing that saddens me with the Tarot of the Hidden Realm is that I cannot capture the beauty of these cards in photographs. The images are so much more earthy than the camera shows, more alive, more real, just more. When I first saw this deck I thought it was stunning but I wondered how I would work with it because I read by creating stories out of what I see. I needn’t have worried. Julia Jeffrey’s close up and personal paintings make this an incredibly intimate deck. It doesn’t offer the scenes that most decks do and yet as the inhabitants of the Hidden Realm share their…
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Golden Tarot
The Golden Tarot uses digital collages of artwork from the late Middle Ages and early Renaissance period. Looking through this deck is like walking through an art gallery – a pleasure for some, me included, not so much for others. Kat Black, the deck’s creator, wanted “to widen the audience for artwork of an under-rated and little known art period,” 1200 – 1500 AD. She chose not to use any commonly recognisable works in order to showcase pieces people may well not be familiar with. In other words, there’s no Botticelli, da Vinci or Michelangelo. Although, for me, as I flick through the cards there is something familiar about them.…
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Viceversa Tarot
I bought the Viceversa Tarot because I was interested in the idea of the back view of the card. However, I was pleasantly surprised to discover I really like the front view too. Unfortunately I only have the tuckbox version. Having already purchased mine, I discovered that a kit with a full book written by Lunaea Weatherstone, author of the guide book for The Forest of Enchantment also exists. I enjoy her writing style so I would have liked to have the complete kit but oh well. If I find someone who loves this deck as much as I do I might gift it on and replace it with the…
