Tarot of Oneness - MJS Tarot

This is a magical deck. Decks like Tarot of the Hidden Realm and the Morgan Greer Tarot allow you to get up close and personal with the people on the cards. Tarot of Oneness gets you up close and personal with yourself and what is going on around you. It gives you a first hand perspective that does not allow you to shy away from what is in front of you.

The Cards

Tarot of Oneness is an 84-card RWS inspired tarot deck with minimal reference to gender. So much so that two 6 Lovers cards are included in the deck to allow users to choose the card that feels the most applicable to them. For me, I maintain both versions in my deck. I feel they represent masculine and feminine energy or energies. However, obviously the additional card can be removed if that is preferred.

Here is another deck with additional cards. I have been critical of these additions with some decks because I felt they were arbitrary but that is not the case with the Tarot of Oneness. When the additional cards have appeared in my readings they have made perfect sense. What I like is that their title and their artwork are in alignment which ensures their meaning is clear. What I have found is that this deck manages to ground you and elevate you at the same time. Everything you need to know is a right there in front of you. Spirit is all around us and working through us, rather somewhere “out there” that we have to try to get to.

The additional cards are presented at the end of the Major Arcana; however, they are not numbered. I like that. It makes sense to me in regards to the Fool’s journey. The five bonus cards are: Oneness and Higher Self, both pictured above, Life Force Energy and Synchronicity, both pictured below, and Present Moment.

There are also a few name changes in the Tarot of Oneness. In the Major Arcana three cards have been renamed. The Hanged Man is now Perspective. Death is Death/Rebirth which softens its impact yet better encapsulates what the card represents, and Judgement has become Awakening.

The entire Court has been altered as well. Pages are Inspirations, as in the Inspiration of Wands, pictured below. This renaming is designed to capture the energy and the initial excitement that emerges when starting something new. The Knights here are Action and signify taking the initial spark and doing something with it.

The Queens now Spirit, as in the Spirit of Cups pictured below, literally represent the Spirit of the suit. Finally, the Kings ‘project the energy of each suit outward’ and have become Embodiments as in the Embodiment of Swords pictured below. This Court is not linked to gender. Rather, it is a phase of development. Robyn Voisey explains that, ‘they have grown and evolved through inspiration, action and spirit phases. They now have all the power that comes with knowledge and experience.’ I love this approach as it makes the Court cards more accessible and understandable. Although, it does take away the idea of the Court cards as specific people which may impact certain reading styles and types of readings.

In every deck there are certain images that stay in your head. Most seasoned readers can readily describe the imagery on any RWS card. The images have become firmly entrenched and are easy to recall. However, how quickly and easily I was able to remember many of the cards from the Tarot of Oneness surprised me. Maybe it is because the images form stories that you are a part of and so memories form quickly. I am not too sure, but I do know that I do not need to look at many of these cards to remember what they look like.

For example, the 5 of Cups and the 9 of Wands pictured below. Both of these cards speak so strongly to me. In what feels like a lifetime ago I won a writing competition for a personal essay. I wrote about how, unlike many others, I love rainy days because they free me from doing the things I feel I should be doing when it is a beautiful sunny day. The 5 of Cups reminds me of that and therefore serves as a potent reminder of perspectives. Where am I focusing my attention?

The 9 of Wands is another powerful card for me. Regardless of the possible dangers, the baby turtles trust their instincts and head straight towards the water that is calling to them. They do not second guess their decision. Even when they become aware that some of them may not make it, they keep going. But this card says more than that to me. Yes I see that and it gave me a much needed nudge when it appeared in a spread recently, but there are other aspects to consider.

Remember that the very premise of these cards is to place you right there. True I could picture myself as a baby turtle and feel the call and determination to head for what I want despite the risks. Sometimes we just have to fend for ourselves too.

Or maybe I could be another seagull. If that was the case how does that change the message of the card? Am I competing? Or am I sharing in the spoils at another’s expense? Am I in the right place at the right time because I trusted my instincts?

I could also be myself, Lissa, watching the whole scene play out. My instinct would be to try and protect the baby turtles but what impact would that have? Does protecting them serve them in the long run? I would be interfering in the natural order of things. How many surviving turtles are too many? And, what about the birds that may have been counting on that feed to get them and their offspring through? How often do things not turn out how we would have liked but it was for the greater good?

Each card offers multiple possibilities based on what we choose to focus on. I see the Seven of Pentacles pictured above and envision myself planting a seed or maybe transplanting a seed if necessary. What I am also aware of is that I cannot keep digging up my seedling to see if its roots are growing. In that case I have to be patient and trust in the process. I also look at the gloves and wonder why I am not willing to get my hands dirty. Am I being cautious, sensible, fearful, or a little bit precious? For the most part I would like to think that I am giving something the time and space to grow, but I realise that is not always the case.

The Two of Wands offers multiple perspectives too. Is it important to narrow the vision and focus on just one aspect? Or is my vision too narrow and I need to widen my view in order to take the whole scene in? This version of the card does not give me comfort zone vibes. But, it definitely suggests needing to think about the choices I am making.

I could talk about so many of these cards. I struggled when I tried to narrow down the number I had chosen to include in this discussion. Nevertheless at some stage you have to say enough is enough. It all becomes too much to juggle. That is one of the ideas the Two of Pentacles expresses. It can be difficult and/or stressful to keep multiple things moving ahead smoothly. Rarely does adding in more help to ease the situation.

Yet I can see there are other ways to decode this card. For example, some people find juggling easy. Juggling three things is entry level and all that it takes is a bit of practice and maybe better co-ordination. Or maybe while we are concentrating on what we are trying to juggle, we are oblivious to the other things that are happening around us. Do we need to be juggling so many moving parts? Are we juggling purely for show? I cannot help but notice that the pins are solid but the pentacles are not. Is that how I want things to be? Maybe yes. Maybe no. There is a decision to be made. What is the cost? What is the reward?

Then there is the Ace of Cups. That gives me a real nawwww feeling. It is cuteness overload without being cheesy. Instead it is nurturing, calming, enveloping, peaceful. Basically it is everything I want from the Ace of Cups. I love how the otter is looking straight at me as I look at the card. Its gaze holds me and I really feel it has something to say to me. I know otters will carry their favourite rock and they will float like that with their baby on their tummy. This otter is nurturing peace and it definitely gives off a peaceful energy.

At 7 x 12cm the cards they may be a typical tarot size, but they are not typical tarot cards. I have written a lot of deck discussions. It is not often they are filled with so many questions, yet that is what pores forth when using the Tarot of Oneness. In every way, these cards are a pleasure to use straight out of the box. Printed on 350gsm matt cardstock with apricot-coloured edges, Tarot of Oneness comes packaged in a solid, card-sized box with a magnetic closure. They are easy to shuffle, easy to fan, and if you relax and let yourself be the card’s protagonist, they are very easy to read with. Simply asking why am I doing what I am doing and how does it make me feel provides so many insights.

The Guide Book

The Tarot of Oneness comes with a card-sized, 188-paged, full-colour, easy-to-read book that provides all the necessary information. Having opened with a brief introduction, Robyn Voisey then shares a bit about the Merkaba, as it is the logo for the deck, before moving on to explain the deck’s structure.

Then the book covers spreads and card meanings. The Minor and Major Arcana received equal treatment so each card meaning opens the same way. On one page there is a full-colour image and keywords covering both upright and reversed presentations. The following page delves into the card meaning. Questions are scattered through the interpretation. Next, she describes each component of the illustration. For example for The Hermit, pictured above, she explains what she intended the dark steps, the green light, and the lantern to symbolise. While the information is fairly brief, when put all together, it captures the essence of the card well. This leaves readers with plenty to work with.

The book wraps up with an “About the Creator” section. I always love reading this information because it helps me to understand where the creator is approaching the tarot from. In this case, Robyn Voisey is an artist who has studied and worked with various energy healing modalities. She is also an avid collector of tarot and oracle decks. These three passions have given her a lot to work with and it explains why it feels natural to me to tap into the energy of the cards.

Spreads

The book includes four spreads:

Situation Spread (3 cards)
Mind, Body, Spirit Spread (3 cards)
Storyline Spread (no fixed number of cards)
Horseshoe Spread (7 cards)

None of the spreads provided are unique to this deck but the deck works well with each one. It probably comes as no surprise that constructing a first person narrative using the Storyline Spread was relatively easy since you step so naturally into each card.

I am sure that it is not necessary for me to write that I have become attached to this deck very quickly. The approach, the colour palette, the card stock, and the book are all great. Even the lack of Roman numerals for the Major Arcana did not bother me. They may have even felt out of place if they had been used.

This is an indie deck that I pre-ordered so it was not cheap, but, even with shipping to Australia, it was reasonably priced. And, once it was in my hands and I began working with it, I have not given the cost a second thought. Occasionally, in various guises, the question, ‘What deck will you never let go of?’ pops up on You Tube VRs. I have a strong connection with many/most of my decks but I can say with unwavering certainty that the Tarot of Oneness will never be leaving my collection.