Secrets of Paradise Tarot

The Secrets of Paradise Tarot “takes a Caribbean and Latin American approach to the traditional symbolism of the tarot.” It features and highlights both “regions bountiful cultures, histories and spiritualities.” Leticia Ferrer-Rivera states that her aim was to create a divination tool designed to celebrate culture. I believe she does it well. Opportunities to learn about both cultures are incorporated in such as way as to enhance, rather than suffocate, the card meanings.

If I had a tagline it would be ‘The Tarot Nerd’. So me and the learning opportunities intentionally built into this deck are a great mix. Throw in my Caribbean heritage on my father’s side and my husband’s Latin American heritage and this deck feels like it was made for me.

Secrets of Paradise Tarot Cards

Well, that’s how I felt when I discovered that this deck existed. However, my enthusiasm waivered when I first saw the cards laid out in a spread. That was until I started interpreting the reading. Then the messages flowed. These cards demanded that I interpreted what appeared in front of me before layering additional meanings inspired by my tarot knowledge. Normally that process happens fairly simultaneously. But this time I felt compelled to read differently. I read these cards like a child that cannot read “reading” a book from the pictures alone.

The Four of Cups with the boy turning his back on the piragua cart followed by the Princess of Cups drinking from the coconut shell as she walked along the beach told me the story I needed to see. Without hesitation I knew exactly what it meant. Consequently, these cards reminded me to trust myself, my heritage, (all of it), and my visions. That was such an affirming message and one that will ensure I remain bonded with this deck for a long, long time.

That is not to suggest that these cards are one dimensional though. The first example I read more literally whereas in considering the cards, (Two of Cups and XV Temptations), above I embraced both. My tarot knowledge tells me what they represent and I can rely on that at any time. Nevertheless, when I looked at those two cards together straight away I saw the need to simplify my relationship. Care for each other, be there for each, and look after each other by just remembering to do the little things. For me I saw the need to stay grounded in what is important to the two of us and to remember the little magical moments that make a long term relationship wonderful. In reality, it is the little things that are the big things.

The bare feet reminded me of my husband’s willingness to embrace new things. He has gone from someone who could not comprehend my love of bare feet to someone who will go outside to earth himself and will take his shoes off on a bush walk to enjoy the sense of connection. I could fill an exercise book with examples from over the years. Yet it is so easy to forget about them as we go about our day. Fortunately, seeing the couple with bare feet on the Two of Cups reminded me.

The Temptations card, combined with the Two of Cups, spoke to me of establishing boundaries. I know that is not the general meaning of the card but it made sense to me. I often find myself giving all my time to others rather than my relationship. Sometimes that’s just a part of life. Other times I need to be more aware. A running joke between my husband and I shouldn’t be that he needs to either have a drama, schedule an appointment, or ring me when we are sitting in the same house. I know the other meaning of The Devil card is present in all of that too. The whole “need to be needed” thing is an issue.

Even cards that I don’t feel are speaking to me are doing just that. Take the Three of Swords pictured above. Initially I could not work out what the main image was. My mind jumped all over the place. Was it a wind turbine? No, I didn’t think so because, despite the obvious movement in the palm trees, it was not moving. Then I wondered if it was some sort of plane. I have been exploring steampunk decks lately so anything seems possible. Outside of knowing that the Three of Swords represents loss I just could not work out what I was being shown.

Then I twigged. That is the exact message I was meant to see. I realise others will know that this is a vejigante mask, but I was not one of those people. The book enlightened me. Then I read the card meaning. It states that, ‘The Three of Swords shows up at a time of extreme hardship and emotional pain. The mask represents a deceptive false face you are hiding behind – you are not being truthful to the world or even yourself.’ Suddenly it made perfect sense.

If you follow my Instagram you will know that recently someone in my family, who I had been very close to when I was younger, passed away. I had so many mixed emotions around everything and I really wanted to unravel them. Then life got busy again and I stopped trying to understand what I was feeling.

Worse still, I probably tried to stop feeling. It was too much to make sense of. What this card made me realise is that I did not want to deal with the truths that were surfacing, so I kept lying to myself instead. I feel my ancestors are all banding together and trying to help me to see. If you read The Bohemian Animal Tarot review that last comment will probably not surprise you. The idea of connecting with my ancestors is popping up everywhere. Since you are reading this, maybe there is a message in that for you too. Anyhow, I will move on and focus more directly on the cards.

I love the flow between the Two of Wands and the Three of Wands. On their own they are easy to interpret. Put them together though and the individual messages of the cards become clearer still. I get so much from these two cards but, as promised, I will let these cards speak for themselves.

When I first looked at this deck I did not anticipate that I would want to talk about so many cards. Trying to limit myself has been hard but I do not want this post to end up that long that it needs chapters rather than subheadings. So, I’ll wrap up my discussion of individual Minor Arcana cards with the Ten of Wands pictured below.

It is nice to see such a positive spin put on the Ten of Wands. Here the book tells us he is wrapping up after an honest day’s work. For me the ‘organico’ on his t-shirt stands out. When I see this card it is a reminder that putting in the effort can result in a superior product. It might take longer, (it most probably will), but the effort is worth it. Nothing about the man on the card looks exhausted, beaten down, or defeated. Nor is his vision obscured.

Before I move on to the Major Arcana there is one more thing to point out. Whilst the Secrets of Paradise Tarot adheres to the standard Swords, Wands, Cups and Pentacles suits, the Court cards are not as expected. True, there are Pages, Knights, Queens and Kings, but there are also Dames and Princesses. Though no, there are not six court cards for each suit. Confused? When I first looked through the cards and did a few spreads without reading the book, I was too.

Leticia Ferrer-Rivera, the deck’s creator, explains it this way. ‘La Familia is a new way to look at the court cards. They are usually depicted as three men and one woman. But during modern times we want to be more inclusive – give importance to the role of women in each family with princesses and dames sometimes replacing pages and knights,’ and that is exactly what happens. Thus, the Pentacles family is Princess, Dame, Queen and King. Wands are Page, Knight, Queen and King. Swords are Princess, Dame, Queen and King. I thought maybe Cups would have had the three female family members but that is not the case. The Cups family is Princess, Knight, Queen and King.

I have not decided how I feel about this approach as yet. Partially because in my experience Pages are not always male. Nor do I limit the court by assigning gender according to title. Doing so would feel like an outdated approach to me.

Also, I have not yet mentioned that this is an 81 card deck. Three additional Major Arcana cards are included. Albeit only one, XXII The Universe, is numbered. The other cards are titled ‘Coexist’ and ‘Healing,’ and are pictured above. Leticia Ferrer-Rivera suggests these two cards fall between XIX Guey (The Sun) and XX Judgement. However, she is quick to point out they can be used in which ever way suits or they can be removed altogether. I like how the images on these two cards subtly escape their borders. This is not the case for many of the cards. It feels so appropriate.

As you will see below, many of the Major Arcana have been renamed.

XII Discipline is an unusual rendering but it works so well. In such a simple illustration it captures everything so clearly. When looking at a dancing couple performing a lift at a Salsa Congress it is easy to imagine the hours and hours of work that went into increasing their skills and perfecting their performance. None of that would have been possible without sacrifice. But there is so much more. The trust, the momentum needed for the lift, the active stillness once she is in position, and the willingness to try new steps in order to create interesting and original choreography all align with the meanings associated with this card.

However, while I recognise the intention behind IX Wisdom, I am not totally sold on how this card is portrayed. The suggestion is that it is about epiphany and yet that is not what comes to mind for me when I see the “Three Wise Men.” For me, if at all, I would have had this for The Star so I will be curious to see how I read this card when it appears in a spread. I do like the cultural information provided in the book about it though.

Before I move on to the book I want to mention that this is quite a thick deck. I am not an expert on cardstock but it feels laminated to me. Fortunately the cards are on the smaller size, (7 x 12cm), which makes it a bit easier to handle. I can overhand and riffle shuffle but it is stiff to bridge straight out of the box. Personally with this I will stick to shuffling overhand with a long side riffle.

Secrets of Paradise Tarot Book

The Secrets of Paradise Tarot comes with a great card-sized, 163-paged book. What I really like about it is that it shares brief snippets of information about Latin American and Caribbean culture, locations, and deities. In the opening section, ‘How to Use Secrets of Paradise Tarot’ Leticia Ferrer-Rivera mentions that she hopes the information provided encourages users to discover more through their own research. I intend to do just that.

Within this same section are instructions on cleansing your space and deck and how to open and close your practice. If these resonate with you, great. If not, that is fine also. I have my own rituals but I always enjoy reading about how other people work with their cards. The suggestions seem a little dogmatic initially but the section closes with ‘Feel free to adapt these steps to your beliefs’ which I appreciate. A ritual carried out purely for the sake of doing it, or in a way that I do not connect with, and without any actual intent does not make sense. It misses the whole point. Gosh, now I am sounding a bit firm but as always you can dismiss anything I say that does not resonate too. Just like on the Seven of Cups pictured below, you get to choose.

Following the brief introductory sections are the card meanings starting with the Major Arcana. Each card’s title is followed by information about what is being portrayed in the image. For XVII The Star, pictured above, it reads, ‘This card depicts Yemaya, the Orisha of the ocean, in Santeria. The water she pours from the conch shells in her hands represents renewal, nourishment, and purification.’ To understand this better I Googled Yemaya, Orisha and Santeria.

From New York Latin Culture I discovered, ‘Yemayá is the Yoruba orisha of motherhood and the sea’ and from Encyclopedia Britanica that ‘An orisha is that part of a natural force that is disciplined and controllable and that can be cultivated by people using ritual means.’ Next I learned from the BBC website that Santeria (Way of the Saints) is an Afro-Caribbean religion based on Yoruba beliefs and traditions, with some Roman Catholic elements added. The religion is also known as La Regla Lucumi and the Rule of Osha. Santeria is a syncretic religion that grew out of the slave trade in Cuba.’ All that new knowledge from one card and still only at a very superficial level so far. This will definitely be a learning deck for me.

Next, under the heading, ‘Meaning of the Card,’ the cultural context is smoothly interwoven with the card meaning. This creates a greater understanding and gives more depth to both. The way the information is presented ensures the image choices make sense.

One other aspect of the book that I really appreciate is that it showcases artists not directly linked to the deck. For example, for the Three of Swords, pictured much earlier in this post, the book mentions that ‘Raul Ayala is one of several artisans who create vegigante masks from Loiza.’ You can see some of his work on Instagram. The Secrets of Paradise Tarot really does do as it intends. It showcases the positive aspects of the Caribbean and Latin America.

Spreads

Only one spread is included:

• 1,2,3 5,6,7 Salsa Spread

This is an original spread that compliments the theme of this deck. Whilst I do not see myself incorporating into my general practice, I did enjoy working with it. Each spread position asks a question with its own little twist. For example, ‘What first step do you need to take and at what speed?’ and ‘At this point are you leading or following? Why?’ That second question was especially interesting to consider.

I bought the Secrets of Paradise Tarot because I was curious. And I still am. I am curious to see what it teaches me both knowledge wise and about myself. As you can no doubt tell by the more personal nature of this review, it has opened me up a lot.

If you are looking for a deck that aligns with the RWS meanings without being a clone and you have read this far then the Secrets of Paradise Tarot may be just what you are looking for. I would not say it is a beginner’s deck but, as always, I hasten to add that any deck that calls to you is the right deck. I am definitely glad that my curiosity led to me adding this deck to my collection.

Publishing Details

Deck Creators:

Created by Leticia Ferrer-Rivera with artwork by Laura Bello

Pictured Version:

Published by Hay House in 2023

Socials:

Leticia Ferrer-Rivera