The Hoodoo Tarot - MJS Tarot

The Hoodoo Tarot sits on my desk alongside my other “ancestral work” decks, The Relative Tarot, The Beloved Dead Oracle, and The Witch’s Shadow Work Oracle. The Rosebud Tarot sits on the bookshelf beside me. Having decided to spend some time studying this deck though, notions of cultural appropriation started surfacing and I started to wonder whether it was okay to do so.

I knew I was drawn to the deck itself and that I loved the stories and the artwork. But, in reading Tayannah Lee McQuillar’s Introduction I questioned whether this was wrong since, as far as I am aware, I don’t have “a distinct lineage in North America” that connects me with Hoodoo culture. This raised so many questions outside of the deck itself that it sent me down an ancestral research rabbit hole.

A sepia-toned tarot card from The Hoodoo Tarot, titled XIII Ancestors, shows a child lying in bed, with one side of their face appearing as a skull—symbolizing the connection between life and death.

Two children stand in tall grass, facing each other. The older child hands a basket of yellow flowers to the younger one in a blue dress. Empty baskets rest on the ground. Below, text reads SIX OF BASKETS from The Hoodoo Tarot.

Three days later I resurfaced.

Here’s what I came to. While I am the great granddaughter of a man born into slavery on Tortola Island with a great grandfather that fought for the Union in the American Civil War these facts aren’t relevant. For me, what is important is connecting with my ancestral roots in whichever way keeps them alive for me now.

In a roundabout way The Hoodoo Tarot introduced me to ancestors and aspects of their stories that previously I had felt but never intellectually known. So I feel even more connected to, and grateful for, this deck now and I am comfortable discovering more about the people whose stories give meaning to these cards. In fact, now I wonder why I hesitated. These are stories that deserve to be told.

A tarot card from The Hoodoo Tarot, titled Ten of Baskets, shows seven people standing close together, smiling and holding mason jars. Above them is an arch of baskets, and the image has a vintage, faded appearance.

A tarot card from The Hoodoo Tarot labeled XVII THE GRANDCHILDREN shows two hands gently cupping a bright pink flower, set against a dark background.

The Hoodoo Tarot deck

This deck is artistically stunning. The muted colour palette and the sepia tones give it an earthy and grounded feel that’s powerful yet welcoming. From the outset this felt like an ancestral deck to me. Flipping through the Major Arcana and seeing XIII Ancestors (Death), XVII The Grandchildren (The Star), XVIII Pa (The Moon), and XIX Big Mama (The Sun) confirmed that feeling. All titles bar VIII Strength have been renamed.

A tarot card from The Hoodoo Tarot labeled XIX BIG MAMA shows a smiling woman in a green dress and hat, holding a plate of cornbread with a bright, radiant background behind her.

A tarot card from The Hoodoo Tarot labeled VIII STRENGTH shows a calm, dark-skinned woman beside a fierce lion, symbolizing inner strength and courage. The woman gently holds the animal as they both face forward.

Card title changes

The suits are Knives, Sticks, Baskets and Coins with the Court represented as family — Daughter, Son, Mother and Father. It is easier to list the Major Arcana changes:

0 The Free Man (The Fool)
I Black Herman (The Magician)
II Miss Ida (The High Priestess)
III The Big Queen (The Empress)
IV John Horse (The Emperor)
V Bishop C. H. Mason (The Hierophant)
VI Courting (The Lovers)
VII Railroad Bill (The Chariot)
IX Dr Grant (The Hermit)
X Aunt Caroline (The Wheel of Fortune)
XI Dr Buzzard (Justice)
XII Gullah Jack (The Hanged Man)
XIII Ancestors (Death)
XIV Father Simms (Temperance)
XV Miss Robinson (The Devil)
XVI The Big House (The Tower)
XVII The Grandchildren (The Star)
XVIII Pa (The Moon)
XIX Big Mama (The Sun)
XX Dem Bones (Judgement)
XXI The Garden (The World)

A tarot-style card from The Hoodoo Tarot labeled XIV FATHER SIMMS shows an older man in a purple robe pouring water from two jugs, blending streams into a vessel. A rustic wooden cabin and leafless trees are in the background.

A sepia-toned tarot card from The Hoodoo Tarot titled XX Dem Bones shows a startled woman covering her mouth while another person gestures toward scattered bones on a table.

These are not just random name changes designed to fit a theme. Throughout the entire deck the people that inhabit the cards feel real. They aren’t just a collection of features looking back at you. They are people with stories and those stories bring so much meaning to the deck as a whole. I look at these cards and I feel. That is the only way I can find to put into words what working with The Hoodoo Tarot is like.

A sepia-toned tarot card from The Hoodoo Tarot shows two figures, one in a hat and chain, sitting together facing a large, glowing full moon. The card is labeled XVIII PA at the bottom.

A tarot card from The Hoodoo Tarot labeled SEVEN of BASKETS shows seven small baskets on white fur, with sprigs of purple flowers below them on a tray. The image has a soft, vintage appearance.

Maybe something within me has shifted. Or maybe I’ve just found a new part of myself that was aching to be discovered. But both this deck and The Relative Tarot have had what I can best describe as a visceral affect on me. I am going to try and step back from that though as I continue to write about The Hoodoo Tarot and let the cards speak for themselves.

The Major Arcana

The best way I can think to do that is to share some of the stories deck creator, Tayannah Lee McQuillar, has linked to the cards. I’ll start with the Major Arcana.

Sepia-toned photo of a woman labeled Aunt Caroline, inspired by The Hoodoo Tarot, standing outside by a house in a patterned dress. An old-fashioned camera and a person's hand are visible in the foreground. Text reads “X Aunt Caroline.”.

A card from The Hoodoo Tarot labeled II MISS IDA shows a young girl in a white dress standing in an attic, surrounded by lit candles, with a crescent moon visible through the window. The image is rendered in sepia tones.

X Aunt Caroline & II Miss Ida

X Aunt Caroline shares the story of Caroline Dye. She was born into slavery in South Carolina. Once freed she worked as a cartomancer. Highly sought after for her psychic gifts, she sold meals to those that waited on her services, investing the money into land and property. While the book’s meaning then refers to fate and things turning out how they are meant to I read this card through the lens of Aunt Caroline’s story. She changed her life and the lives of those around her.

II Miss Ida refers to Ida Carter. Ida “Seven Sisters” Carter is said to have felt called to rootworking at the age of seven whereby she lit seven candles for seven days from the first of May for seven years. Now there is some contention about whether she simply traded on the legacy of the Seven Sisters but regardless of what you believe, there is still much to be drawn from her story.

A tarot card from The Hoodoo Tarot titled Son of Baskets shows a smiling young boy holding a basket filled with flowers, standing in front of a blurred background with another figure partly visible behind him.

A tarot card from The Hoodoo Tarot titled Daughter of Coins shows three people smiling and sharing food at a gathering, with two more talking in the background. The setting appears warm and lively, suggesting celebration and community.

Court cards

The Court cards in The Hoodoo Tarot are amongst my favourite across all my decks. When I sat down the night before last to select cards to photograph I had a disproportionate number of Court cards. That is highly unusual for me. The power of these cards is the stories I create around the image more so than the stories linked to them in the book.

A vintage-style tarot card from The Hoodoo Tarot labeled Father of Knives shows a man in a suit, bow tie, and hat standing beside an arrangement of knives, clock faces, and gears on the ground. The image is in grayscale.

A card from The Hoodoo Tarot, the Mother of Sticks depicts a regal woman with dark hair, a crown, and jewelry, holding a pipe with smoke swirling and a bird perched on her hand against a soft green background.

Father of Knives & Mother of Sticks

I am not a Hoodoo practitioner. So, the idea of the circle of cornmeal surrounding clocks that spell out a person’s name to ensure the person’s time of annoying him is up isn’t what comes to mind here. But what I do take from the suggestion is the ability to control the time I give to thoughts that aren’t supporting me. He is not separating himself. He is separating the cause while he himself remains in control of his situation. Therein lies his power. Intention is everything.

The Mother of Sticks just feels powerful to me. She isn’t coercing the raptor in anyway. Rather she identifies with it. As the book says, “Like the Mother of Sticks, these beautiful raptors are determined to keep moving forward.” I like that.

The Minor Arcana

A tarot card from The Hoodoo Tarot, the Eight of Coins shows a person in a hat and necklace, sitting and writing or drawing at a table with white flowers in the foreground. The background appears to be a workshop or studio.

A tarot card from The Hoodoo Tarot, titled Three of Knives, shows a bare tree with three knives hanging from its branches. A person sits under the tree, head down, next to a stone adorned with three hearts in this somber monochrome scene.

Eight of Coins & Three of Knives

Something about the Eight of Coins draws me in. I want to see what he is writing and I want him to look up. Albeit I appreciate that he is focused on what he is doing. The book tells me this is Island Smith, a man “respected for his knowledge of traditional Creek medicines and cures.” That doesn’t surprise me at all as it is his sense of dedication that calls to me.

Ah, the Three of Knives. He’s injured, surrounded by broken bottles and a dog is urinating on his loved one’s grave. As the book says “triple ouch.” But, there is light in this card. He hasn’t given up. I learned that the tradition of creating bottle trees comes from the Kongo people, who believed that since spirits could live in bottles negative spirits could be captured and the sunlight could destroy them at dawn. Therefore I believe he will go on because as one of the meanings given suggests, he is “determined to survive.”

A card from The Hoodoo Tarot labeled TEN of STICKS shows a person in white clothing carrying a bundle of sticks on their back, walking uphill with a stick in hand and reaching toward red flowers. The background is neutral and textured.

A tarot card from The Hoodoo Tarot, titled Eight of Baskets, shows a bearded man in a brown vest and white shirt beside yellow flowers, standing before an old wooden house with stacked baskets on the steps.

Ten of Sticks & Eight of Baskets

As I said earlier, even though there is much to be gained from the information provided in the book, these cards also speak for themselves. I see the woman on the Ten of Sticks is using her drive, the single stick she rests upon, to help her keep going. She can manage her load because she knows what she is after. The book supports this but in a different way.

It reads, “An overburdened old woman climbs a hill to eat Schisandra fruit. It’s not a plant that’s easy to find, but it is known as a wonderful fatigue fighter and anti-aging medicine.” I wasn’t aware of the fruit but I could see her determination.

Finally the Eight of Baskets. It is said that he is walking away from a house that someone has ensured he knows he is not welcome at. The powder residue you can see is said to be hot foot powder. I like that he is walking away rather than trying to remove the powder. Why stay where you’re not welcome? It seems so obvious but how often do we try and fit in instead? I love the simple power of this card.

A playing card from The Hoodoo Tarot features a worn, textured background with two black silhouettes of irregularly shaped land masses, each containing a key symbol inside. The shapes are positioned near the top and bottom of the card.

A tarot card from The Hoodoo Tarot titled SIX of COINS shows a hand with rings holding two gold coins, with more coins and red dice below against a textured background.

Physical attributes of The Hoodoo Tarot cards

The cards measure approximately 7cm x 11.75cm and are printed on a smooth, satin finish card stock. They feel a little stiff straight out of the box but they are okay to shuffle. I like the reversible backs and I appreciate the story they tell.

The one thing I would hope gets changed if the deck is reprinted is the packaging. I love the outer box but I dislike inner packaging that splits the deck in two. While I recognise that it makes the box smaller, I would prefer a thicker box and single stacked cards.

Some random pairings

I’ll keep these brief.

A tarot card titled Ten of Coins, from The Hoodoo Tarot, shows a family gathered around a table, sharing food and smiling. The scene is warm and joyful, with coins prominently featured, symbolizing abundance and togetherness.

A vintage-style tarot card from The Hoodoo Tarot, labeled XI DR. BUZZARD, shows a smiling man in a suit and hat holding papers, with a courthouse, a Justice statue, and scales of justice in the background.

Ten of Coins & XI Dr Buzzard

Two things came to mind here. The first was that your family legacy will overcome any injustice weighed upon them. They can’t be held down. Knowledge is passed down in many ways. The second was more predictive — an issue surrounding a will will have a just outcome. Yet again I’m convinced there is no such thing as a random draw.

A tarot card from The Hoodoo Tarot labeled Six of Sticks shows a person riding a decorated white horse through a forest, holding a staff upright. Both the rider and horse appear adorned with ribbons and a round yellow emblem.

A tarot card from The Hoodoo Tarot labeled TEN of KNIVES shows an old, weathered building with three tall arched windows. Below the central window, a door is open and several knives are stabbed into the ground in front of the entrance.

Six of Sticks & Ten of Knives

It feels like this is a continuation of the previous two cards. Success comes when you know that regardless of what happens you can’t be held down unless you allow it. However, there is a warning here too, or maybe a message to inspire confidence. Regardless of how successful something was in the past, it doesn’t guarantee it cannot be overpowered in the future. If enough people conspire to make it so, any previously successful venture can be brought to an end. To gain clarity, I drew a third card for this pairing because I wanted to understand which way the message was leaning. 0 The Free Man came up. This is likely to be a liberating experience.

A tarot card from The Hoodoo Tarot, labeled 0 THE FREE MAN, shows a man in a suit and hat walking confidently past a mausoleum, holding a staff and bag. Moss and an iron fence complete the vintage, sepia-toned scene.

The Hoodoo Tarot guidebook

Normally I like to dedicate considerable space to the guidebook because I appreciate the time and effort that goes into writing them. However, since I have mentioned the book constantly throughout this already somewhat lengthy post I am going to keep this section quite brief. That is not in any way reflective of how I see the book.

The book opens with an extensive Contents page that makes it easy to find the information you’re looking for. Even the Introduction is broken down into subheadings.

INTRODUCTION 
A culture, an Inheritance, and a Rebellion
- What is Hoodoo
- The Origin of Hoodoo
- The Forms of Divination Traditionally used in Hoodoo

A vintage-style card from The Hoodoo Tarot shows a man in a vest and hat sitting with baskets around him. Behind him hang dried goods or fish. The card reads FATHER of BASKETS at the bottom.

A tarot card from The Hoodoo Tarot titled VI Courting shows a silhouetted couple holding hands, walking toward a split path. Two figures in white stand on either side, each holding a colored apron—one red, one blue.

Next are sections covering ‘Getting to Know the Hoodoo Tarot’ and ‘Hoodoo Spreads and Sample Readings’. I like that she gave sample readings for each of the four spreads. Personally I only used the “See ‘Bout Your Folks” Ancestor Spread as the other spreads didn’t feel relevant to me at the time.

Card meanings

Next are the card meanings. The Major Arcana comes with a wealth of information. Beneath the renamed title is the standard title in brackets followed by a Bible quote presented in italics. Then there is the name of a plant Tayannah Lee McQuillar links to the card.

A vintage-style card from The Hoodoo Tarot depicts a man in a suit holding a wand over a plant. The card reads I BLACK HERMAN at the bottom, with a drum and skull resting on the floor beside the plant.

Black Herman (The Magician), pictured above, has Snakeroot. This is followed by an extensive description of the image including information about the person portrayed. Next is the meaning which concludes with a series of ideas to consider. For example:

If you receive Black Herman in a reading, consider the following:

- If you fail to plan, then you plan to fail.
- Do you really believe it's possible, that you can make it happen?
- Are your talents and skills being put to good use?
- Do your intentions, beliefs, and desires match the life you live?
- Stop playing and do what you have to do even if it's hard.
- How committed are you to him, her, this, or that?
- Where there's a will, there's a way.
- What are you creating/manifesting/permitting right now? Do you really want that?

A tarot card from The Hoodoo Tarot titled Son of Coins shows a smiling young man with glasses holding an open book and a large zodiac wheel featuring a sun face and astrological symbols, set against an earthy textured background.

A card from The Hoodoo Tarot depicts a woman in a red headscarf, gold jewelry, and white garment, seated at a table with gold coins, a jar, a deck of cards, and a crystal ball. The card reads Three of Coins.

The Court cards and the Minor Arcana are limited to the title, the plant, a description of the image (which is only a paragraph long rather than several), and a paragraph of meanings. But, it is enough to give you a solid grasp of the card meanings or to get you started if you want to put in the research hours.

A tarot card from The Hoodoo Tarot labeled XXI THE GARDEN shows a woman in a skirt and sleeveless top watering flowers in a vibrant garden, with a white picket fence and house visible in the background.

A tarot card from The Hoodoo Tarot titled Ace of Coins shows a hand holding an empty plate and another hand serving a slice of pie with a coin inside, topped with whipped cream, on a wooden table.

Wrapping it all up

When The Hoodoo Tarot arrived I opened the box and began my usual process. I had barely finished going through the Major Arcana when I stopped writing notes because I just wanted to use it. Sometimes I will do this because I can’t get a feel for the deck just flipping through, but in this instance it was because I was so eager to work with it. And nothing has changed. I wouldn’t say this is a beginner’s deck but I would say that if you feel called to work with it, it is probably calling you for a reason. Heed the call.

Front and back cover of The Hoodoo Tarot by Tayannah Lee McQuillar are shown. The front displays an illustrated woman with tarot cards, while the back of The Hoodoo Tarot shows sample card images and a summary of its content.

Publishing details

Created by: Tayannah Lee McQuillar with art by Katelan V. Foisy

Published by: Destiny Books in 2020

ISBN-13: 9-781620-558737