My deck review process
Recently I was talking to someone about why I write tarot deck reviews. I told them that initially it was because I truly believe there is a tarot deck out there for everyone. So I write reviews about a variety of decks to showcase what is available. This is still what drives me. However, I soon uncovered a secondary motivation, that has in turn led to the creation of this post. It is this.
As a direct result of writing reviews I have learned so much about myself, my tarot decks, and tarot in general. Every deck has its own story to tell and along the way each one takes me deeper into my own story. The personal benefits were not a motivating factor when I began but they have proven to be a value-added bonus. Since it has been so personally beneficial, I thought I’d share my deck review process.
Now, you may just be curious about what goes on behind the scenes and that’s fine. Welcome to my mini tour. But you could take that curiosity a little further and pull out your journal and see what you discover for yourself. Either way, below you’ll find my step by step process. Of course, you don’t need to write an actual review. But you may choose to.
Just so you know, you will find links to all the decks I mention at the bottom of the post.
Step by step guide to my deck review process
Step 1: Go through the deck and jot down brief first thoughts
I do this as soon as I get the deck. There is often a lag, quite often a long one, between when I get a deck and when I actually write a review about it. Because of the elapsed time, sometimes the notes I have jotted down surprise me when I re-read them. For one it has shown me how much the frame of mind I’m in when I flick through a deck impacts on how I see the cards. I can be both shocked and/or inspired by my initial impression. It constantly reminds me of two things: that first impressions aren’t always correct, and that writing things down can remind us of thoughts and ideas we may otherwise forget.
Other times, a card that I couldn’t initially relate to becomes more clear as I look through the rest of the deck or after I have read the book. In the space between the quick notes and the review I have worked with the deck which brings it to life for me. Some decks, more than I would ever have expected, go from so-so in my mind to, “Wow I love this deck” as I get to know them better. I don’t believe that only applies to tarot.
Many of these initial notes don’t make it into my review because by the time I write the review, reading the guidebook and experiencing the deck first hand often brings new ideas and thoughts to mind and these become the focus. But until then I fold up my notes and tuck them into the box with the cards. Occasionally I will add to them as I play with the deck a bit; however usually not.
Below are my initial notes for the Out of Hand Tarot.
Step 1+: Read the guide book
I’ve called this Step 1+ because it always comes after Step 1 in my deck review process but when it happens is largely dependent on the guide book itself. For a long guidebook like Phantasmagoria from The Tarot of Vampyres I had to begin that early on in the process. It is over 300 pages long and well worth reading. For the more LWB, (little white book), type guide books I generally read them around Step 4.
The thing to note here is that I do read the guide books. If you’ve read any of my deck posts you will know I believe they are a valuable addition. Through the guide book, I usually find something that deepens my connection with the cards. It might be the creator’s intention, or their philosophy, or an interesting take on certain cards.
For me reading the guidebook is like having a conversation with the creators. Fyodor Pavlov brought so much to his deck through his guide book. I really connected with a lot of what he wrote. To be honest I hadn’t expected that and nor has it been a one off experience. I have been working with tarot for 26 years now and yet I still uncover something more in nearly every guide book.
Nevertheless, I know some people don’t believe in reading the guidebook because they feel that it tarnishes their approach to the cards. I’m obviously not one of those people. Personally, I believe it adds to my knowledge base and thus benefits my approach. Yes it’s true that I don’t agree with everything people write in their books, but that’s okay. As so many online tarot readers advise, “I take what resonates and leave the rest.” Besides, differing opinions and approaches gives me something more to consider.
Step 2: Lettering and publishing details
The next step may seem a little strange but it is one I do every time. In a separate spiral notebook, as best as I can, I quickly copy the title font that appears on the box, straight in ink, as the heading. This may seem like a strange habit but I began doing it to remind me not to focus on perfection. When I was at university I was so critical of every word I wrote, the placement of every comma and so on that I would continue editing everything until the final deadline.
Here I don’t have deadline pressure so I needed something that would ensure I would post content. Otherwise my perfectionistic tendencies may never have allowed me to push “Publish”. This quick lettering habit reminds me to focus on the process and the enjoyment it brings me. It also encourages me to take notice of the details.
Next I jot down the basic publishing information. Simply, who created the deck, who published it, and when it was published. Writing things down helps me to remember and connect who’s doing what.
Step 3: Deck interview
Next comes the deck interview. For this I use my Deck Interview Spread. I created this by taking ideas from various different versions and putting them together in a way that made sense to me. Unless I’m struggling to connect with a deck I don’t do the interview until I am preparing to write the review. I often find the deck is interviewing me as much as I am interviewing it. It is definitely a conversation.
The final card in the spread, the one placed at the top of the diamond, is a message card which I use as the theme to draw out the messages the deck has for me. This ensures the conversational aspect and shows me how the deck speaks to me.
If I have used the interview spread before hand, I write it up in my tarot reading journal rather than in my reviews notebook. Generally, I will then re-interview the deck when it comes time for me to write about it. I feel this is more fair to the deck because sometimes I’ve come to it at the wrong time, or in the wrong headspace. If I don’t connect with a deck at all, I don’t write about it.
Step 4: The spreads in the book
Next in my deck review process I do all the spreads in the book. It’s a great way to get to know the deck further and it introduces me to new spreads. I’ve come across some great spreads this way. For example the “Compass Rose Spread” from The Witches’ Wisdom Tarot. I write these spreads up in my deck review book because they form part of my review. For those I really like, I draw up the spread layout in my tarot journal. Yes I have several journals.
Step 5: Make notes
The penultimate step in my deck review process is to make notes on the deck. This is the stage where I ultimately select the cards that I will write about. I jot down notes about my thoughts and ideas around the individual cards and any quotes from the book. These form the basis for the post. Some of the initial notes are included here but now they are linked to more formed ideas. Often I find that in sorting the cards and placing them together they bring up thoughts and make connections that I hadn’t considered before. Albeit I think my mind has been primed throughout the whole deck interview process.
Some aspects I don’t notice until I go to write about the cards. The number of times this happens continues to surprise me. It might be a detail in the font, the way the titles are presented, how the cards talk to each other, or to me, the colourings, a common motif. It all depends. What I do know is that I discover a lot about my decks through the focus that writing about them demands. It is why I believe this is a beneficial process regardless of what you intend to do with it afterwards. I find it adds discipline to my approach, it encourages me to continue learning, and it ensures I see each deck as an individual contribution to the tarot world.
Step 6: Write the post
Now I’m ready to write the post. Before I do, I usually take all the photographs and upload them to Canva so I can resize them and save them to my computer so they can be inserted into the post as I go. Then I write the first draft. Where necessary I will go back and find any additional details that come to the fore during the writing.
It is often during the actual writing that I discover even more about the deck because, in bringing all the information together, I see something new. Writing forces me to clarify my thinking and it shows me where the gaps are. That’s why I love writing. I often don’t know what I think, know, and don’t know, until I write about it. Besides, I find that overall I think better on the page. From watching and reading various other people from a wide range of disciplines, I know I’m not the only one. It’s why I advocate for journaling and writing in general.
Step 7: Edit
Once it’s all done, I save my post and leave it alone for a few days. When I come back to it, I check it for clarity, and do the necessary editing. Sometimes this takes a couple of days but generally, just as I saw Alex Hermozi recently promote, I put the background effort in to minimise what has to be done afterwards. Otherwise I’d struggle to push publish.
Wrapping it all up
So that is my deck review process from start to finish. I do it without fail for every deck post you read. Obviously if you are not looking to publish your review, several of these steps are unnecessary. However I do believe that having taken this approach for a couple of years now, if I was to stop publishing posts about tarot decks, I would still follow this process. I’d just write it up in my journal instead. I truly believe I gain too much to stop now.
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