Out of Hand Tarot
Jamie Sawyer’s goal in creating the Out of Hand Tarot is to show “that you forge new and deeper relationships with the tarot by seeing how it can relate to your personal experience.” I believe she succeeded. The guide book opens, “Things in life have a tendency to get “Out of Hand”. This deck showcases moments in which we live and experience the tarot.” She goes on to add that the Out of Hand Tarot aims to show “how we live the tarot in even some of the smallest moments.” By the end of this post I am pretty sure you will agree that is exactly what this deck achieves.
The Out of Hand Tarot Deck
The Out of Hand Tarot is an RWS inspired indie deck that, just like the Tarot of Oneness, takes a modern, up-close-and-personal approach to the tarot. As such, she illustrates most of the cards from a first person point of view. Although she does present some from an observer’s vantage point. In one instance, (7 of Wands), which I will talk about later, I found that a little challenging. But I think that is more on me than the artwork. It’s that this is such a relatable tarot deck. Unfortunately, since only a thousand were printed, it is difficult to get. Occasionally they do pop up though.
Jamie Sawyer says that it is a companion deck to Pocket of Peers, another deck she created, but you do not need that deck to get the most out of this one. Besides, I have never seen the Pocket of Peers for sale anywhere.. Now normally I wouldn’t showcase a deck that wasn’t readily available but this deck deserves to be seen, if only to serve as inspiration for how to connect with the tarot overall. If you are familiar with the RWS tarot you will appreciate how clever this deck is.
General information about the Out of Hand Tarot Cards
The Out of Hand Tarot follows standard RWS nominations for the suits, Major Arcana, and the court cards. Even though this is a contemporary deck she did this to ensure it was as user-friendly as possible. Measuring 7cm x 12cm they are as comfortable to handle as they are to work with. Albeit, that the matte card stock has a waxy feel to it that makes them a little fiddly to flick through. Yet surprisingly the cards fan and shuffle really well. The yellow edging is a nice finishing touch.
The backs are not reversible which is in line with Jamie Sawyer’s personal practice. She writes in the guide book, “I did not include any reversal meanings, as it’s not something I use in my personal practice. I tend to see ALL aspects of a card, positive and negative.” Obviously, that is not to say that you can’t read the cards any way you choose. As you will notice in the picture above, if you aren’t specifically looking to check, you wouldn’t overly notice the orientation of the card back.
Personal reflections on some individual cards
18 The Moon & 7 of Wands
In the book she writes that The Moon suggests that not everything we see reflected is true. Seeing this message presented in this way is such a powerful reminder that this applies to how we see ourselves as well. This spurs me on to focus on sharing ways to uncover and change the false personal stories that are so easy to believe.
As I mentioned earlier, the 7 of Wands caused me some confusion because I approached it from a first person point of view. Therefore I saw it as me being denied access. However this changed when I read what Jamie Sawyer wrote about the card. She wrote, “Defending your position can be as easy as saying “No””. Later, under the Drawing Notes heading, she ended with, “We do not need to explain why we establish boundaries or need extra space, that NO is indeed a complete sentence.” I know why I struggle with this card. It’s because I struggle with saying No. The change to the observer perspective wasn’t all that was to blame.
15 The Devil & 7 The Chariot
The Devil stood out to me for two reasons. Firstly it suggests the idea that we create many of the situations that trap us either through our actions or our thinking. Secondly, it is a clever way to show that The Devil can refer to the shadow. This is the aspect that predominates for me in this version. Nevertheless I’m sure at some stage I will focus more on the wrist restraints and thus the idea of being trapped will come to the fore.
The Chariot is another example of how accessible the Out of Hand Tarot is. Rather than trying to imagine controlling two horses or sphinx you can see that a choice has to be made. It asks, ‘What direction are you going to head?’ This card also clearly shows the nods, or Easter eggs as she calls them, to the RWS version of the Chariot. She has included these references on every card but many are more subtle.
3 of Swords & 4 of Swords
I like the way these two cards flow into each other. The first thing that came to mind when I saw the 4 of Swords after the three was, put the pen down. Just stop. Sometimes you just have to sit with the pain before you can begin to work through it. Take the time you need before you try to move on. Whilst you can see the three swords piercing the heart on the tattoo I find overall this 3 of Swords delivers a much more relatable story. The crumpled notes, the headphones cast aside, and the torn tarot card show the hurt and frustration. As much as I don’t want to, I can imagine what sitting at that desk feels like.
19 The Sun & 9 of Cups
The Out of Hand Tarot is such a personal deck. Knowing the stories behind the cards adds to the meaning and reinforces the philosophy that drives the deck. For the 9 of Cups she said, ” This card is inspired by my Uncle who dared to follow art above business courses and ultimately has made an amazing life for himself.” I have been advised against many of my life choices. None have I regretted. This card reminds me that it’s okay to follow a non-conventional path. And, more importantly it reminds me to focus on the joy that doing so brings.
19 The Sun is based on an actual family photo that she loves because it shows, “a perfectly captured glimpse into happiness during harder times.” It’s a beautiful moment. More importantly, it’s a reminder to look for, and enjoy, those moments because they are fleeting. It amazes, and saddens, me how quickly my grandchildren are growing up. I know that I’ll never sit up watching Psych with my daughter during night feeds again. Nor snuggle a baby in the early morning quiet. The lack of sleep is long forgotten. The magic of the moment is not. How quickly it passes.
2 of Pentacles & 8 of Cups
The first time I saw the 2 of Pentacles, I thought of the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding. “We’re all fruit.” Which doesn’t directly have much to do with this card but for me it does. Whether it comes up like this in a reading I don’t know but for me this says to me that everything doesn’t always have to be either/or. Is there a potential compromise? If so what is it?
For the 8 of Cups Jamie Sawyer explains the card as representing cleaning up after a party. She suggests the “hangover” can be from too much “peopling”. I totally connect with that. I love my family and friends but I also relish solitude. Her interpretation gave me Hermit vibes but not for inner reflection – purely for peace. I see this card and it feels like The Hermit meets Temperance. Sometimes to find the balance you need to move away for a while.
The Out of Hand Tarot Guide Book
The Out of Hand Tarot comes with a 96 page guide book. It doesn’t have a contents page but that’s not an issue because the page numbers are so small that even with my glasses on I struggled to read them. The text is small as well but the font she chose ensures it is still legible.
The Preamble
The very first page you see when you open the front cover reads, “As life has a tendency to get Out of Hand, you are invited to: Enter the Tarot.” Then on the following page she gets straight into it. She begins with a brief introduction that shares the deck’s philosophy and her motivation for creating it. In the final paragraph of this section she writes, “My point is I want to invite you to experience Out of Hand Tarot – read my words and then grab a journal to write your own guide based off the images and scenarios I have created for you.” I absolutely love this advice because I truly believe it is a wonderful way to learn the deck and tarot in general.
Next, under the heading, Tarot, What is it? she gives a brief overview of the tarot deck and suggests two great books for beginners – Tarot for Yourself by Mary K Greer and Rachel Pollack’s Tarot Wisdom. I have both in my collection. I have read Tarot for Yourself and found much to like about it. Tarot Wisdom was a recent birthday gift so I haven’t had a chance to read it yet. I’ll write a review for both hopefully sooner rather than later.
She wraps up with a section on Tarot Spreads. Only a Three-card Spread is included; however, she does include four possible variations. Then in her, easy-to-read conversational style she implores you to “just jump in and start.” So, understandably the card meanings come next.
The card meanings
Each card meaning begins with the title, followed by Keywords and the card meaning. For The Fool the card meaning given is, “Everyday is a fresh start. A new beginning, a time to enjoy when “nowhere” becomes “now here”. No two journeys will be the same. What are you waiting for? A whole world awaits, however you have to be the one to open the door.”
Next comes the Astrological Correspondence. I like she incorporates this information into the artwork. If you look at The Fool card you will see that the Uranus symbol is on the car key and for the 9 of Wands the symbols for the Moon and Sagittarius are tattooed on the left arm.
The next heading is Drawing notes and for me this is where the book comes to life. For The Fool it opens, “I thought about how each time we leave the house we embrace the energy of the Fool. We never know what twists or turns [might occur] that’ll lead to a proverbial cliff. “Plan plans not results” is a common mantra in our house.” I think it will become a mantra in mine as well.
The 9 of Wands Drawing notes reads, “This card took me a while to come up with an idea for, since I know it’s commonly referred to as the “wounded warrior.” How do I draw something that shows our ability to work through the issues we face on a daily basis. Most of us have experienced a soft or hard body injury, yet we get past it [and] as our bodies heal we see how resilient we truly are.”
The book doesn’t include any card images, but she does include information about the Easter Eggs – named as a nod to gamer culture. To give you an idea of the sort of thing you’ll find in this section, for The Fool she writes, “The dress pattern is on the wallet, the mountains and rocks outside, the tattoos on the arms of a feather and flower. There’s a pomegranate charm on the key-ring. The large stick or wand has been replaced by a smoky quartz crystal point.” For some cards it feels like I’m on an Easter egg hunt. It’s a great way to get you looking closely at each card.
The after words
The book concludes with an Acknowledgements and Gratitudes section that was fun to read and added further insights into the deck and its creator. Then there’s an About the Author page followed by a Recommended Authors page. Many I’m familiar with. Others I look forward to meeting through their words on the page.
Wrapping it all up
Normally I wouldn’t write a post about a deck that is difficult to find but it is so well done that I felt compelled to share. Besides, even if you don’t manage to get your hands on a copy you can still take the message of this deck, that the tarot connects with the minutiae of our day to day lives, and apply it to any other deck. I’m not sure if Jamie Sawyer intends to create any more decks but I will definitely be following her socials to find out.
Additional note: I have been following Jamie Sawyer’s socials and she is considering releasing a borderless edition. I’ll keep you posted.
Summaries
The Out of Hand Tarot Cards
| Artist | Jamie Sawyer |
| Card Size | 7 x 12cm |
| Card Stock | Matte finish |
| Shuffle | Easy using any method |
| Fan & Flip Through | Clumpy flip through |
| Suits | Pentacles, Wands, Air, Swords |
| Court | Page, Knight, Queen, King |
| Strength / Justice | Strength 8; Justice 11 |
| Miscellaneous | Solid two part box Limited edition indie deck |
The Out of Hand Tarot Guidebook
| Written by | Jamie Sawyer |
| Pages | 96 pages |
| Appearance | B & W, LWB |
| Contents | No contents page |
| Spreads | Three Card Spread (3 cards) – 4 versions |
Publishing Details
Created by:
Jamie Sawyer
Pictured Version:
Published by Jamie Sawyer in 2022
Websites:
