Tarot for the Great Outdoors

If you love outdoor recreational activities and tarot then this deck provides a wonderful way to bring the two together. Creator, JQ Gordon says the Tarot for the Great Outdoors encourages you to, “explore your inner potential and the outdoors with the beauty, mystery and joy of tarot” and she’s right. This deck urged me to get up from my desk and head outside. Not many things motivate me to do that lately. Yet bushwalking, kayaking, camping and just generally sitting out in nature had been such an important part of my life. I wrote a personal essay about why which you can read by clicking here if you’re curious. But somehow, without realising it, I had forgotten just how important they were. Other things had taken their place. This deck urged me to change that and for that I am grateful.

The Tarot for the Great Outdoors Deck

The Tarot for the Great Outdoors has a positive focus which given its theme is not surprising. In the guidebook, JQ Gordon shares that when she looked at the Swords suit, here Blades, through a lens of “leadership and problem-solving” everything clicked. This motivated her to focus on the positive aspects of all the cards. To a certain extent I connect with this idea. Though not because I embrace a rose-coloured glasses inspired philosophy.

Rather, it’s because I find looking at the cards in this way encourages an action-based approach. What can I do to deal with ___________________ situation? is more empowering. Still, when I layer my tarot knowledge onto the cards, I find some of her representations a little baffling. In those cases I focus on reading the image. I am always open to fresh interpretations.

Some of the artwork reminds me of scenes from an old-style children’s book. I imagine titles such as, Let’s Go Sailing and Fun in the snow with Skipper and Bo. It creates a sense of nostalgia that I find soothing. There’s an innocence to it all that helps suspend disbelief. The deck features many recreational activities that I’m unlikely to partake in and yet seeing them uplifts me. The Tarot for the Great Outdoors brings a sense of fun and good times that reminds me of the potential that exists right outside my front door. The connection this deck seeks to create is tangible. That is powerful.

Julie Gordon suggests that Tarot for the Great Outdoors is designed with beginners in mind. But, even with the three “cheat cards” I’m not so sure. One card lists keywords for both the Minor Arcana numbers and the Court cards. The second provides keywords for the suits and the third has the Celtic Cross layout. Each of these is a great addition and reflects JQ Gordon’s personal tarot reading method. However, while we all have our own style, and I think that’s wonderful, I believe completing designing a deck around just a few keywords is a little too simplistic.

Take the fours as an example. The keywords are “break, rest period” and every card aligns directly with this. Therefore, there’s not a huge difference between the Four of Sticks and the Four of Wands, (pictured above). The book confirms that feeling. For the Four of Wands, it suggests that the best action is no action. Nevertheless, when I layer the card’s artwork with my pre-existing knowledge, I get the notion of coming home to, and being at home with, yourself. That I love.

Many books advocate learning the keywords for the numbers and I agree that it is a great way to begin. However, for me personally, based on my numerological knowledge (I studied numerology before I moved on to tarot), the fours are more about stability and structure than rest. Rest is merely one aspect of the 4 of Swords. Also, the concept of stability and structure is in turn influenced for “better” or “worse” by the suit. This adds the nuance that is missing here. Even referencing the tarot numerically back to itself, as is my current practice, ie the fours to The Emperor, doesn’t suggest rest is the focus.

Therefore, I question whether or not it’s a good beginner’s deck. For me, one of the hallmarks of a good beginner’s deck is that the knowledge it helps develop is transferable to other decks. That’s not to say this isn’t a great overall deck though. It is.

General Information about the cards

Okay, before I go any further though I need to address the card stock. If you’ve read that it’s bad, it’s not an exaggeration. I’ve loved some decks accused of having bad cardstock because of how nice they are to shuffle. That is not the case here. I mean it is easy to shuffle. Riffling is not going to tax your hands at all but that’s because this is flimsy cardstock. Most decks flex and then bounce back. This doesn’t quite make it. The Tarot for the Great Outdoors needs to be handled with care. Even then I have accepted that it is going to end up out of shape. On a positive, it is fairly easy to bend back into shape. Although, as you can probably sense from the photos, mine is far from flat. Look at The Hermit below.

Onto the card details. The suit names have been changed to Vessels (Cups), Sticks (Wands), Stones (Pentacles), and Blades (Swords). Yet, I was surprised that the Court cards have retained their standard nominations – King, Queen, Knight and Page. I thought they may have been renamed to match the theme. Also, even though still said to be associated with fire, Sticks are linked to ideas, intellectual pursuits, education and creativity. Apart from creativity, these are attributes I would normally associate with the Swords suit.

The Major Arcana are represented by National Parks and monuments found in the US. The artwork for these is stunning. Outdoor recreation activities are used to illustrate the Minor Arcana. Strength is VIII and Justice is XI

My impressions of some individual cards

Five of Blades & Eight of Blades

Both of these cards showcase the positive messaging that drives the Tarot for the Great Outdoors. Rather than presenting cards in a negative light, they show solutions. Getting frustrated and complaining doesn’t serve a purpose. Taking practical action that seeks to resolve the situation does. The Eight of Blades still aligns with the more typical notion of being trapped but here the people are taking charge of the situation. They are clearing the obstacles that are preventing them from moving forward. Plus they have engaged the help of others.

Sometimes it is others that help to clear the path for us, but it makes it easier if we let them know we need their assistance. For many years my husband was a volunteer for the local state forest. He helped to clear the tracks of fallen or overgrown trees and repair any damage where necessary. Generally, there is someone willing to help if they know they can be of assistance. That’s what these cards urge me to consider.

Ten of Sticks & Two of Stones

On several of the cards an LNT sign is included. LNT stands for Leave No Trace. When I see them featured, I try to incorporate there message into my understanding. The Ten of Sticks baffled me at first because I was looking at it as the burdens associated with the 10 of Wands. Now I see it as a suggestion for how to handle feeling overwhelmed and overworked – get outside with friends and family. Relax and reconnect. The LNT advice is to be respectful. Keep the noise down so that everyone can enjoy the peace and quiet. I feel that idea can be applied in various ways. Don’t be the noise in someone else’s head comes straight to mind.

The Two of Stones serves as a reminder to do no harm when making choices. By all means choose your own path, but don’t completely ignore the impacts those choices have on others. Unfortunately, it is too easy to get caught up and become blind to the ripple effects seemingly trivial decisions can still have.

0 The Fool & Ace of Blades

Even though The Fool is reminiscent of the RWS Fool, I was surprised to see it illustrated in this way. Given the nature of the deck I expected to see someone taking their first step on The Appalachian or Pacific Crest Trail. In light of the theme of this deck, when I look at this artwork, it feels like the culmination rather than someone taking the first step.

On the Ace of Blades I see someone being handed a multipurpose tool. That in itself is great and practical. But I had a problem with it because I see the Ace of Swords as clarity. Yet as I was writing that I had to change “have” to “had” because the next comment I went to add was that I also see this card as representing finding a solution. And, a Swiss Army Knife offers many solutions. This is a classic example of what I referred to when I wrote about the additional clarity writing these posts brings me. If you want to read that post you can click here. I’ll also put the links at the end in case you want to finish reading this post first.

King of Vessels & King of Sticks

The Court cards in the Tarot for the Great Outdoors give a different vibe to what I’m used to. When I look at this King of Vessels I see the potential to overcome turbulent emotions and his ability to navigate them, but with an unknown outcome. I like to imagine he is in that situation through choice rather than an “oh dear, didn’t quite see that coming” moment. When he appeared in a reading recently I saw him as someone in control and enjoying an exhilarating experience.

I like to kayak but I don’t know how I’d feel if I found myself in that situation. If I landed it and was able to continue my paddle I’d be feeling pretty pumped. At the time though, I think I’d be feeling a lot of things none of them would look or sound calm and composed.

The King of Sticks seems more trepid than confident and since I don’t recall him coming up in a reading nothing has changed my mind. He is one of the few people I don’t relate to. I would love to trade places with most of the people in the deck, if I had the skills required, because I like the look of what they’re doing. Reading that the King of Sticks is sustaining the “peak mental focus” required to ensure he can finish his hike without wandering into a gator’s nest doesn’t help.

The Tarot for the Great Outdoors Guidebook

The Tarot for the Great Outdoors comes with a 60-paged LWB that is essential if you want to get the most from this deck. For example, I would never have known by looking at the card that the King of Sticks was navigating the hardest part of the 1,500 mile Florida Trail. Now as I mentioned earlier I do not connect with him but I will remember what he is attempting to do. Therefore I’m sure when he appears in a reading the idea of doing the hardest task first will come to the fore. Whether he’s suggesting to take an easier approach or to get the challenging stuff out of the way first will depend on the other cards. But that is the beauty of this deck. It tells a story that you can then easily extrapolate your own meanings from. Without the guidebook many ideas could be missed.

Earlier I said that the cards lack nuance but the guidebook helps to change that. There is much to like in this little white book. It has some interesting additions and you can tell that JQ Gordon is passionate about her subject matter. She wants to encourage people to get outside. In the opening she writes, “remember that to enjoy the great outdoors, you don’t have to be an athlete or spend a lot of money, in fact, the only thing you have to do is step out your front door.” This is so true.

I also believe it applies to tarot. You don’t need to be a seasoned tarot reader with a swag of indie decks to get the most out of tarot. All you need is the willingness to open a pack and begin.

The book itself launches straight into the information. There’s no contents page or page numbers. Instead the Tarot for the Great Outdoors guidebook starts with a welcome to outdoor lovers and goes on from there. In sharing her reasons for creating the deck and how it all works she intertwines the seven “Leave No Trace” principles and other forms of nature based divinatory practices linked to the outdoors. For the latter she mentions pyromancy (gazing into fire), ornithomancy (looking at the patterns of birds in flight), geomancy (tossed pebbles), and haruspicy (studying the entrails of sacrificed animals). I’ll definitely be leaving that last one alone.

The How to Use Your Cards section is more about how to familiarise yourself with the deck. It’s great because it encourages beginners to view the suits and the deck as a whole and to relate it to your own personal experiences. I’m assuming that people drawn to the Tarot for the Great Outdoors are likely to have outdoor recreational experiences they can draw on when using the cards.

The card meanings and information about the national park featured on each particular Major Arcana card is smoothly interwoven throughout the text. For example XII The Hanged Man opens:

The Hanged Man delivers a moment to recharge and gather strength if you’re feeling stuck or facing a challenging situation.

Ohio’s Cuyahoga Valley National Park is close to two urban centers, but stepping into the park can make you feel far way from it all, especially if you’re near one of its one hundred waterfalls. It’s the perfect place for relaxing in a hammock, the sound of the roaring water drowning out all the stress and anxiety in your head.

The Hanged Man has a reputation and a name that can seem scary. However, the important thing to know is that he hung himself up voluntarily, like you might hang upside down for a yoga inversion. The Hanged Man asks you to disengage from society for a brief respite. Rest is something everyone needs once in a while, and it can help you gain a new perspective on a situation.

Another paragraph follows on from that but this gives you the gist of how this book is written. The section wraps up with the keywords, self-care, contemplation, and withdrawal. Under a second section titled Beware come stagnation and sluggishness. A black and white thumbnail accompanies the Major Arcana however no picture is included for the Minor Arcana.

The Minor Arcana follows a more narrative style. I’ll use the Nine of Stones as an example:

If you have ever foraged for mushrooms or know someone who does, they may have told you about the joy of trudging out into the wet woods in the fall, in search of the elusive motherlode. Sometimes you find it, sometimes you don’t. But when you do hit gold, you know! And what a thrill it is to find a big patch of beautiful yellow chanterelles. Nines are cards of fruition, so rest assured that you are on the brink of achieving some success in earthly matters. Let it come, and enjoy this time.

I keep looking at this Nine of Stones card and thinking how beautiful it is. It’s making me more curious about the Midnight Mushroom Tarot. If you have it I would love to know your impressions and how you find reading with it.

Wrapping it all up

The beauty of the Tarot for the Great Outdoors is that it doesn’t try to transport you to a magical, imaginary world. It shows what exists in our own. That’s its true magic. I do worry that I have painted the deck in a more negative light than I believe it deserves. The fact is I would currently include it in my “Top 10 Mass Market Decks” because of the impact it has had on me and what it is attempting to do. Also, because I find the artwork comforting and readily open to interpretation. However, for the reasons already stated, despite the creator’s intentions, it isn’t a deck that I would recommend for newcomers to tarot. As always though, I say “buy the deck that calls to you”. If this is that deck, then you’re in for a treat.

Summaries

The Tarot for the Great Outdoors Cards

Artist	Sharisse Steber
Card Size	7 x 12cm
Card Stock	Matte finish
Shuffle	Easy using any method but care required
Fan & Flip Through	Fine to flip through and fan
Suits	Vessels, Sticks, Stones, Blades
Court	Page, Knight, Queen, King
Strength / Justice	Strength VIII; Justice XI
Miscellaneous	Solid two part box

The Tarot for the Great Outdoors Guidebook

Written by	Julie “JQ” Gordon
Pages	60 pages
Appearance	B & W, LWB
Contents	No contents page but contents are: – Welcome Outdoor Lovers – Why Tarot for the Great Outdoors – Leave No Trace – History of Tarot – How the Tarot is Organised – The Major Arcana – The Minor Arcana – How to Use Your Cards – Common Questions – Readings – Conclusion – Card Meanings (Major Arcana then Minor Arcana organised by suit)
Spreads	One Card Draw Three Card Draw (3 versions) Before, During and After Spread (3 cards) Here and Now Spread (5 cards) Celtic Cross (10 cards)

Publishing Details

Created by:

JQ Gordon with illustrations by Sharisse Steber

Pictured Version:

Published by Skipstone Books in September 2023

Websites:

Sharisse Steber

Julie JQ Gordon

Links

Personal Essay – Stepping on Blue Periwinkles

Deck Review Process