Pastoral Tarot
I have only pre-ordered three decks since I began my collection: Runic Tarot, Tarot of Oneness and Pastoral Tarot. As soon as I saw snippets of this deck I knew I wanted it. The watercolour artwork, the theme, and the way the cards told their story felt so right.
A little backstory here will explain why. When I was at uni, wherever possible, regardless of the subject but especially in English, I would choose to explore the idea of place. I was, and still am, curious about the impact place has on people, their choices, their way of viewing things, their opportunities etc, as well as how we view people based on where we come into contact with them. For example how differently do we view a middle aged man in a suit in his specialist medical rooms in comparison to how we may view the same man in a pair of speedos at the beach. But this doesn’t just apply to others. For better or worse, it also applies to ourselves.
Lynn Araujo, the deck’s creator writes, “Pastoral Tarot explores how a sense of place reveals who we are and where we belong” and I’m keen to see where this deck takes me and what I discover along the way. I know I will definitely enjoy inhabiting some of the landscapes.
The Pastoral Tarot Cards
As you can see, Lisa Hunt’s watercolour art is stunning. I know I say that tarot decks are 78 pieces of art but in this case no-one needs to be reminded of that. The landscape orientation makes it apparent that these are beautiful landscape paintings. But, they are more than just a set of pretty pictures. They are well thought out, highly symbolic artworks created with careful consideration of the ideas and meanings they wish to convey.
The Pastoral Tarot uses animal, flower and tree symbolism to layer meaning into the cards to great effect. I look forward to combining what the animals and plants already symbolise for me with the additional information I learn along the way. Don’t take everything as fact though. On The Lovers it says that mallards are thought to mate for life. Apparently that’s not the case.
Nevertheless, much research went into the creation of this deck to ensure that it offers an accurate reflection of 1930s and 1940s pastoral life. The creators studied the clothing, hair styles, tools and professions, as well as the attitudes and events of the period in order to create an accurate representation. To allow users to immerse themselves in the scenes, natural elements such as trees and and manmade elements such as tools, baskets and buckets are used to represent the suits to ensure the artwork remains in keeping with the period. Seeing a girl in a paddock surrounded by eight swords would be anachronistic and look down right weird. Yet a girl caught in barbed wire representing the 8 of Swords, pictured below, makes sense. It’s one of my favourite versions of this card.
There’s an element of accountability that is made clear in the card. She got herself into this position. She isn’t anyone’s prisoner. Further you can see that she can free herself if she tries. She’s not nearly as trapped as she initially appears. My first reaction when I look at this card is, “What are you doing? You’re choices are making things seem so much more difficult.” I mean why has she got her hands where they are. It makes no sense. And, that’s the sentiment the card is aiming for.
In this Eight of Swords both the story and the options feel more real and obvious than when you see someone blind folded with bound hands surrounded by swords. In that case there’s the possibility that the person doesn’t know their captors have left and we don’t know what happened to them in the first place. Yet here, even if intentions were initially good and she was trying to rescue the bird, you see someone who seems to have given up and is just waiting to be rescued.
Then there’s the Seven of Swords pictured above. It is so open to interpretation. I love it. There’s a sense of accountability here too. You look to the actions of the man – Why is the door open? Why is there a weird ineffectual fence? Why is he walking away when the chickens are obviously in distress? Then there’s the fox. Why is he walking away when the chickens are obviously there for the taking? Is he smart and biding his time until the man is further away? Although he does have his back turned to everything. And, I look at the chickens and think they’d be better to run towards the man yet half of them are running in the other direction. I wonder how often we make panicked choices rather than logical ones. There’s a lot in this simple picture. There’s a lot in all of these cards.
Look at the Five of Cups above. This image really points out that this card is also about perceptions. For the cats the spilt milk is a blessing. Maybe they were the cause. What do you think the girl is most upset about? The reactions of others? Her wasted time? Or is she sad for the cow? What advice would you give her? Doing something with the two remaining cannisters would have to come into it somewhere. For me this card paints a more powerful picture than seeing someone hunched over looking at three spilled cups.
Since the Pastoral Tarot shows real people doing real things and experiencing scenarios that feel possible and therefore real it is easy to “step into” these cards and recognise the messages they are sharing. Some people find it hard to interpret court cards but this deck makes that easier than many others too.
Take the King of Swords pictured above. My immediate thought when I saw that card was the saying, “Before enlightenment, chop wood. After enlightenment, chop wood.” In the case of this card I think, “Before knowledge, chop wood. After knowledge, chop wood but maybe more effectively or with greater understanding as to the how and why, but still chop wood.” He may seem a tad stern but this king sees things clearly. He uses his knowledge to get things done.
The Page of Wands shows the nature of this Page. He wants to get off the beaten track and explore. He want to see what’s out there and follow whatever it is that is calling to him. I love it. It reminds me of when I was much less fearful of the risks and I used to do the very same thing when I went off into the bush.
Creating stories from these cards feels so natural. Look at the two cards pictured above. The story becomes clear. The Page may seem more appealing, more adventurous and indeed more fun to spend time with. However, later if it’s cold and the fire needs to be lit, the foresight of the King will be welcomed. He focused on what needed to be done. You can imagine his exasperation at the recklessness of the Page. Does the Page get lost because he didn’t take any precautions? Or, was he supposed to follow the path because it would lead him to the King who he was supposed to be helping? And on and on it goes.
I find the Pastoral Tarot rekindles many memories because they are such identifiable scenes. The Fool evokes similar memories as the Page of Wands and the Eight of Wands is a scene that is fairly common near me in Spring. I also love that this deck is a combination of landscapes, animals and people. It makes the scenes feel complete. Apart from when I am journaling, rarely will I read with a single card. However, with these cards a full story comes to mind when I look at individual cards. The before, the after, the possibilities, the potential pitfalls, the thoughts and feelings of the people, all come to the fore and become richer and richer the more I look at the card.
I really hope some of this deck becomes available as jigsaws. I can imagine sitting at my dining table with my husband and daughter piecing them together. The finished puzzle would be stunning and knowing they are actual tarot cards would open up so many wonderful conversations. I would love to do The Sun and the Wheel of Fortune pictured below. But I wouldn’t stop there.
But I’m reviewing tarot cards, not jigsaws, so back to them. The cards themselves are larger than many measuring just over 8 x 12.5cm. Even as someone with large hands, this makes them a bit more difficult to handle. Some people may need to get creative with their shuffling styles. Also, as someone who parts decks during shuffling to gain additional insights, I do find the orientation messes with me a little. But, I adjust accordingly. It definitely it isn’t enough to detract from my appreciation of how these cards are presented.
The Book
The Pastoral Tarot comes with a 180 paged book that has cream coloured pages and a landscape orientation. It opens with a brief introduction that includes an explanation of the deck’s philosophy. Put simply, Lynn Araujo sums it up in two sentences. “We are all wayfarers searching for illumination on our place in the world.” And, the “Pastoral Tarot takes us to glorious places where we can appreciate the beauty and bounty of nature.” Together these set the tone for this deck and the artwork brings the vision to life.
Following the Introduction the book moves straight into the cards beginning with the Major Arcana. Each card is represented the same. An almost full sized greyscale image on the left hand page with the card meaning information on the right. Each card has the title followed by a description of the image. This is followed by another paragraph that explains what the card means when it appears in a reading.
I believe the most beneficial element in the book is the card description. For example The Hermit features the hermit thrush. I would not have been able to identify this little bird without the book. Now, having discovered that the hermit thrush exists, I was able to find out more about it. As I write this it’s bird song is playing in the background. And if you’re wondering, yes the hermit thrush is aptly named and yes I’m a bit of a research nerd. But hey, it works for me. Besides I feel understanding more about the included elements increases both my understanding and my sense of connection to the card. It also expands how I interpret it. Therefore, I’m sure it comes as no surprise that I consider this book well worth reading.
The Fool pictured earlier includes wild daisies and coreopsis to reflect joyful innocence, a grasshopper who I haven’t been able to find yet, chipmunks and chickadees. It’s like playing ‘Where’s Wally’ with a tarot card. It encourages me to notice other features and makes me wonder what not being able to see something might mean as well.
Spreads
The book includes two spreads:
- Home is Where the Heart Is (6 cards)
- credited to Jill Scott
- Stepping Stones Spread (5 cards)
I liked experimenting with these spreads. Both had some original position meanings which made them interesting to work with.
Lisa Hunt spent five years researching and creating the artwork for the Pastoral Tarot and the results are stunning. As Lynn Araugo, the deck creator shares in the opening acknowledgements, Lisa Hunt has “managed to manifest [her] concepts into magnificent works of art.” The colours and the detail in each card make this deck a pleasure to work. As I alluded to earlier, this deck makes unravelling the story of a spread a straight forward process.
The artwork is realistic and the information gleaned feels practical and applicable. Further, the artwork presents even the harshest of truths in a gentle manner without whitewashing them or depicting them in an overly positive manner. After all, this deck is set in a period where, for part of the time, many struggled through the Great Depression. That is not unintentional.
In the end, I waited nearly four months for the Pastoral Tarot and I’m happy to say it was worth the wait. Even though the artwork is in no way a clone of the RWS that it aligns with, I would still say this deck is great for beginners because of the clever way each card tells the story of the card meaning. It comes beautifully packaged in a pretty, two part, pull out box and it includes a calico tarot bag for those that like to remove decks from their boxes. All in all the Pastoral Tarot is a great addition to any collection and I know I will get a lot of use from this deck.
Publishing Details
Created by:
Lynn Araujo and Lisa Hunt (illustrator)
Pictured version:
Published by US Games Inc in 2022
Creator’s Websites:
