Starman Tarot - MJS Tarot

If you like street art and David Bowie then welcome to the Starman Tarot. Or if you’re looking for creative inspiration then you may well have found a perfect match. However, if you’re looking for a RWS clone I’d suggest you keep scrolling through my reviews because this probably isn’t it. Although, if you want a tarot deck that adheres to the RWS system but shakes things up a bit, then this deck is a great option.

There is nothing vanilla about this deck. Think strawberry flavoured ice cream with a rum and raison twist and a bit of lemon sorbet … then place it on a pizza. As eclectic as it is, this isn’t just a randomly themed deck though. Davide De Angelis worked creatively with David Bowie on album covers and other artistic endeavours. Bowie’s death was the impetus for him to create the Starman Tarot.

The Starman Tarot Deck

When I first flicked through the Starman Tarot I was overwhelmed and therefore underwhelmed. I couldn’t make sense of it. Now as I skim through it, I’m reminded of our first meeting. There’s so much going on in each card. Davide De Angelis likens his creative process to Kintsugi. Kintsugi is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery using precious metals such as gold. Rather than trying to hide the damage, the cracks are emphasized to create something more valuable and more beautiful. De Angelis often repurposes his existing art with the same idea in mind. For example, an old faded photo may be revitalised as a fascinating backdrop. Plus he blends many art styles.

In his own words, ‘the artworks for the Starman Tarot traverse experimental typography, street art, eroticised sci-fi imagery, influences of Caravaggio and the Renaissance, chaos theory, philosophy, destroyed imagery of punk rock, sacred geometrics and the art of some of the earliest tarot decks such as the Sola Busca. That’s a lot of influences.

A lot of influences made it a lot to wade through and to be honest I didn’t know where to start. Maybe I could have referred to the book, but I prefer to uncover my own ideas and impressions first. Since browsing through the deck didn’t help, I did what seemed to be the most logical thing. I asked the cards a question. And, just like that, they came to life. With intention came understanding and clarity.

My inner self, Higher self, intuition, whatever you’d like to call it, drew my eyes around each card and the spread as a whole and I was suddenly able to extract a wealth of information. I developed a personal understanding and way of communicating with the cards from that first spread. It was an incredible transformation. I realised that this deck talks to me when I talk to it. Just flicking through is not an option. When I do so it becomes one big, busy blur.

Whilst much aligns with the RWS system, there are some obvious changes. The Fool is The Sacred Clown, I is The Starman rather than The Magician, IX The Hermit has become The Alien and X The Wheel of Fortune is The Wheel of Life. These are not just thematically-inspired title changes. They form part of the story of the card. For example, IX The Alien combined with the message, ‘I bring back knowledge from distant places,’ suggests how it differs from The Hermit. The books says, ‘The Alien … arrives from the void with ideas, wisdoms and technologies.’ This card is designed to encourage you to go within in order to remember and then bring to light what you discover.

I don’t believe this moves beyond the traditional meaning much at all. The Alien still invokes a sense of our hidden potential and the need to tap into it. It urges us to take the time to come home to ourselves. It is the association with the concept of “the alien” rather than “the hermit” that changes the deeper meaning. The Alien concept strives to encourage us to reconnect with the aspects of ourselves that have become alien to us. I have just begun to seriously undertake this process. I’m calling it my own personal intervention. It’s changing my life in ways I never imagined. So, it’s probably no surprise that I love this card.

Even though at first glance it isn’t always readily apparent, at a surface level, the Starman Tarot does adhere quite closely to the RWS approach. For starters, the suits are Wands, Cups, Swords and Pentacles and Strength is VIII and Justice is XI. Although rather than Pages and Knights, Princesses, Princes, Queens and Kings make up the court. With card meanings, a same, same, yet different approach exists throughout. In the 6 and 7 of Wands, both pictured above and the 2 and 4 of Swords, both pictured below, this association is fairly obvious. But as is the case with any well-constructed deck, the more you look, the more you see, feel, and understand. Better still, the more you look, the more you question. “What does this mean to me, for me, and why?” “What is going on in this card? And, why?”

Take a look at the 7 of Wands. “Why is he holding his position on a crumbling and unstable pillar?” “What is his real focus?” “Why the hexagrams?” “Why does he look relatively unscathed even though there’s so much chaos around him?” “Why do I see the bird, that the book describes as a vulture, as an eagle and what does that mean?” I could go on but I won’t. I’ll start to answer one of my questions. Maybe approaching the situation I’m asking about as an eagle can help overcome the “vultures”. Or maybe something has run its course and it’s on its last legs and the eagle perspective will make that clear. Or maybe getting caught up in the bird in the first place is a distraction and I need to maintain focus.

I trust that moving through the card further will provide more clarity especially when considered alongside my question. What is “right” for today won’t be the case during another reading. A great deck allows all these ideas to co-exist.

This is a great deck on so many levels. If you’ve read many of my other reviews, you’ll know I really appreciate it when time and effort is put into every aspect of a deck’s presentation. That is definitely the case with this set. The book is great as is the packaging. I like it enough to have pictured it below. (I’ve written a lot of review but I have only felt compelled to do this twice before – The Housewives Tarot and Golden Tarot). Just like the cards and book it houses, the packaging of this set is creative and unique. Creativity has not been compromised in favour of production convenience. This aligns perfectly with the attitude of the man who inspired the Starman Tarot.

The cards themselves are an unusual shape. They look long and skinny even though at 7.5 x 14cm they are slightly wider than many tarot decks. With the attention to detail given to the Starman Tarot, I would say this illusion is intentional. I can’t be sure, but it does align with the philosophy of the deck. Dig deeper. Don’t fall for surface impressions. And, don’t blindly believe that just because something appears a certain way means it is that way or that it’s the only way it can be.

Nevertheless, the added length does make them tricky to handle. A different approach to shuffling may be required. I can stretch my hands to shuffle them as I would other decks but it isn’t comfortable. Which begs the question, why do something the way you always do if it isn’t an effective approach? (Once it starts talking, this deck doesn’t seem to stop). Long side shuffling is definitely easier and less taxing on my hands. A normal riffle and bridge is probably not viable if you have smaller hands. I know my daughter would not be able to hold these cards lengthwise. The card stock itself is nice to shuffle though. ‘

One thing I would say is that even though I enjoyed learning the lettering style, it doesn’t show the card titles clearly. It’s legible but look back at II The High Priestess and maybe you’ll agree. The title looks unnecessarily busy. “Of,” as in the 2 of Swords, is obviously “of” on the Minor Arcana titles but that’s partially because I know what it says. Maybe that’s the point.

Experimental typography was one of his influences and I was about to write that even so titles should be clear. Then something dawned on me. In my deck interview, in answer to the request to describe yourself, I got this message, “If you learn one thing from me, let it be this.”

As soon as you try to describe yourself, you limit yourself.

To label is to limit.

It reduces your ability to see yourself as anything else.

That had a powerful effect on me at the time. In fact, the whole deck interview felt like it was directed at me. I know I keep saying it, but it’s true. Once the Starman Tarot starts talking to you, it really doesn’t stop.

The Starman Tarot Book

The 192-paged, full-colour book that accompanies the deck is worth reading. Written collaboratively with his wife Esther, this book explores, suggests, shares, encourages, and challenges. The way it’s written offers comprehensive explanation without falling into formulaic or stereotypical meanings. Yes they are there, but they are delivered in a way that gives them context and that makes the concepts relatable. Furthermore, true to its intention to inspire creativity, this book is in no way prescriptive or dogmatic.

It opens with a “Journey” section that shares the story behind the creation of the the deck. This is followed by a basic “Introduction to Tarot” and a “History of Tarot” section. For both the Major and Minor Arcana card explanation sections, the approach is the same. The card title is followed by an affirmative subtitle. For example, the two cards pictured below read: ‘King of Swords I believe in a fair world for all’ and ‘X The Wheel of Life I understand there is a time and season for everything.’ (As a side note, I realise the font doesn’t allow for it. but I would love to have seen the entire title printed on X Wheel card.)

A thorough interpretation of the card follows. The relevance of the imagery is incorporated within a detailed unpacking of the card’s messages. Where appropriate, the creator’s personal experiences are incorporated within the explanation. This clarifies the motivations and/or the intentions that drove the artwork. Whilst interesting, these anecdotes are also beneficial because they add further clarity to the card meanings. Finally, above a partial, full-colour card reproduction are keywords for both upright and reversed presentations.

This book emits the same vibrant energy as the cards. Some books can make it hard to connect your question to the stated meaning of the card. That’s not the case here. If you asked a question and you drew a card and found yourself unsure on how to proceed, this book will help you. That’s not always the case with other books; with this book you have an ally.

Spreads

Two spreads are included in the book:

The Starman Spread – to illuminate your radiant potential (6 cards)
The Lightning Bolt Spread – to catalyse a creative project (5 cards)

As always, I used both spreads for personal readings. But if I was starting out I think I would find them a bit challenging. Normally I wouldn’t recommend this as a beginner’s deck because there is so much going on. But, the book makes it viable. However, I personally wouldn’t begin with the Starman Tarot. Once you have the basics down though I would say that, especially if you’ve read this far, adding this wonderfully dynamic and evocative tarot deck to your collection would be a good choice. It inspires creative solutions and creative expression, and it urges you to connect with the parts of you that you may have forgotten, abandoned, or just plain tried to ignore. That’s a great deck in my opinion.