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Deviant Moon Tarot
This is a deck I put off buying for a long time. To be honest, I found it creepy and disturbing. But, I kept noticing that other people fell in love with it once they owned it. I couldn’t help wondering if that would be the case for me as well. I knew it was possible. When I first saw The Wild Unknown Tarot I couldn’t understand what all the fuss was about. Now I own all three of Kim Krans’ decks, (The Wild Unknown Animal Spirit, The Wild Unknown Tarot and The Wild Unknown Archetypes), and her book Blossom and Bones. First, second, third and subsequent impressions can indeed…
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Sun and Moon Tarot
The Sun and Moon Tarot is a Thoth inspired deck that seamlessly incorporates aspects of Judaic mysticism, Jungian archetypes, astrology and mythology. By intertwining ancient cultural symbolism from several systems with contemporary artwork, this deck is bound to appeal to those seeking cards with a modern feel that don’t stray too far from traditional tarot. The Sun and Moon Tarot Deck I wasn’t sure how I’d find the faceless people on these cards. But, as crazy as it might seem, I find them full of expression. Maybe it’s because, rather than seeing somebody else’s interpretation, I can see the facial expressions that I feel fit with the setting and what…
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African Tarot
The African Tarot is a colourful, unintimidating deck. It encourages you to embrace the present so as to empower you to overcome any obstacles you may face on your path to self-fulfilment. This vibrant childlike, and thus totally non-threatening, artwork provides a safe space to journey within to find our innocence and sweetness. In our current world climate this feels more important than ever. The African Tarot Deck It is easy to overlook and dismiss decks like the African Tarot but that would be a pity. Yes it employs relatively simple artwork and a simple colour palette. Blue and green predominate. The grass is green and the sky is blue.…
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Morgan Greer Tarot
You may wonder why it took me so long to get around to reviewing a deck originally published in 1979 but here’s the thing, I didn’t own it until recently. The Morgan Greer Tarot is one of the latest additions to my collection. I figured any deck that has been popular enough to be constantly in print for more than 40 years was worthy of attention and I believe I’m right. I looked at the first three cards, The Fool, The Magician and The High Priestess and I was sold. Besides, since not everyone is drawn to the Rider Waite, an alternative deck suitable for people new to tarot is…
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Crow Tarot
The Crow Tarot infuses art designed to pay homage to crows and ravens with familiar Rider Waite meanings. The aim was to create a tool that aids and encourages self discovery and I believe this deck succeeds in this. Since people don’t feature directly on the cards you can really focus on the scene and what’s happening rather than getting caught up in who you’re looking at. The Crow Tarot Deck These digitally collaged cards use crows to tell their story so I wasn’t surprised to learn that they’ve developed a significant following among crow-lovers. The images association with the Rider Waite deck is readily apparent. Yet the presence of…
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The Sacred Rose Tarot
The Sacred Rose Tarot is “inspired by the artistry of medieval stained glass windows” and Byzantine artwork with the symbolism in the cards being nature oriented. The book says that the masculine attributes are physical and linked to the Sun and the feminine are spiritual and linked to the Moon but when I look at the cards that doesn’t stand out to me personally. Maybe because that’s not what I’m focusing on. As the name suggests, this deck revolves around the attributes given to the various rose colours. This is an interesting approach that opens up new ways of viewing certain cards and as you may know, I love it…
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Tarot of the Abyss
I’d been interested in adding a black and white deck to my collection without actually actively looking for one and then I saw this while watching Scorched Earth Tarot on YouTube. I became more and more drawn into Ana Tourian’s renderings of the cards. The Tarot of the Abyss is a Rider Waite Smith based deck so the meanings depicted are familiar. But many of the images are highly original conceptualisations. When I went through the deck I initially picked out way too many cards to photograph (says a lot about this deck straight up). So, to cull them down, I generally selected cards that differ from the usual renditions.…
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Haindl Tarot
This evocative deck combines many different elements into a cohesive whole. Abounding in symbolism and drawing on different esoteric and religious traditions, the Haindl Tarot offers so much. I thought I’d like it; I didn’t expect to love it. It’s completely different to anything else I’ve worked with. It’s not a Rider Waite Smith or a Thoth clone, but from what I see I would say it’s definitely Thoth inspired. I’d add that it’s mythologically inspired too since that’s what drew me to it in the first place. The Haindl Tarot Deck Hmmm, where to begin? In a deck that incorporates so many aspects what do you give priority too?…
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Spiritsong Tarot
The Spiritsong Tarot is an entirely animal-based Tarot deck. There’s not a person to be found and yet these are very approachable cards that I find easy to read intuitively. To be honest, I wasn’t sure that would be the case when I bought them, so I was pleasantly surprised. The Spiritsong Tarot melds the idea of animals as spiritual helpers with the tarot system. The choices made for each card merges “each animals unique power with classic tarot practices.” These choices are then rendered in detailed, watercolour images that are beautiful to look at. The colour palette is soft and muted and yet still quite alive. They really are…
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Golden Tarot
The Golden Tarot uses digital collages of artwork from the late Middle Ages and early Renaissance period. Looking through this deck is like walking through an art gallery – a pleasure for some, me included, not so much for others. Kat Black, the deck’s creator, wanted “to widen the audience for artwork of an under-rated and little known art period,” 1200 – 1500 AD. She chose not to use any commonly recognisable works in order to showcase pieces people may well not be familiar with. In other words, there’s no Botticelli, da Vinci or Michelangelo. Although, for me, as I flick through the cards there is something familiar about them.…
