The Rosebud Tarot

From the outset I felt that The Rosebud Tarot would be an ancestral deck for me but I wasn’t sure why. When I read in the opening pages of the guidebook that the focus of the artwork was on collapsing eras it made more sense. Although, I can’t admit to looking at the cards and thinking, “Oh wow, look at how the collaged images are collapsing time.” Instead I wondered if it was that the imagery connected me with my British and Afro-Caribbean ancestors in some way.

But in all honesty I felt it was deeper than that and in working with the cards I have found it to be much more in so many ways. For me it has encouraged me to understand the past so that I can integrate it without holding on to aspects that don’t serve me. It’s about understanding my own “ancestral” line.

The Rosebud Tarot deck

Victorian elements are heavily featured in the imagery but this isn’t a Victorian deck. The Rosebud Tarot is a collage deck that combines both black and white and colour photographic elements in such a way that ensures it stands in its own lane. (I have many collage decks to compare it to that you can see here.) This is a deck of juxtapositions that serve to expand your thinking in entirely different ways.

However, it took me a while to connect with the power of The Rosebud Tarot. I struggled to understand how to work with it. In truth, spending the time to put together this write up helped me gain some clarity. It also helped me to understand my resistance. Now I see that, for me, these cards have guided/forced me to re-examine and reimagine aspects of my familial history, world history, and my own history. It made me wonder, “What if every thing I held to be true wasn’t? What then?”

General information about the cards

Suit names

As you’d expect with a deck that changes things up as much as The Rosebud Tarot does, there are multiple name changes throughout the deck. The suits are renamed to reflect their elemental energies. Therefore, Cups are Water and pictured as watering cans, pots replace the Pentacles on the Earth cards, Swords are Air and shown as shears, and Wands, which remain as staffs, are Fire.

I like it when suits are named elementally. I also like that shears replace the swords on the Air cards. Shears are used to prune what needs to go to either shape something or to facilitate healthier growth. This changed how I approach the cards. My focus became more about “What thoughts, actions and decisions need some attention?” and “How can I improve them?”

Court Cards

The Court cards in The Rosebud Tarot have also been renamed – Curiosity (Pages), Velocity (Knights), Generosity (Queens), and Sovereignty (Kings) – to emphasise the quality of each member’s energy. These titles are in keeping with the unique nature of this deck and as such they work really well. The intention is great and I feel they make the Court more accessible.

Major Arcana

With all the other changes it probably comes as no surprise that over half of the Major Arcana have new appellations as well. The changes are as follows:

• 0 The Fool – O The Youth
• 1 The Magician – 1 The Mage
• 2 The High Priestess – 2 The Witch
• 3 The Empress – 3 The Lifegiver
• 4 The Emperor – 4 The Elder
• 5 The Hierophant – 5 The Professor
• 9 The Hermit – 9 The Seeker
• 10 The Wheel of Fortune – 10 The Wheel
• 11 Justice – 11 Balance
• 12 The Hanged Man – 12 The Hang-up
• 14 Temperance – 14 Alchemy
• 20 Judgement – 20 Emergence

Physical aspects

I found some of the photos felt over exposed which meant the images didn’t really jump out at me. To combat that, and because unfortunately my deck arrived badly warped, I decided to trim the deck. You can see the warp and the borders in the image above. Even though I liked the polaroid look the original borders gave the cards, I am glad I trimmed them because I connected with the artwork so much more once I did.

Originally they measured approximately 7.5cm x 11.5cm. My trimmed version measures 7cm x 11.25cm. The card backs were not negatively impacted by the trimming and are still reversible. Though I have cropped the photos to counter the appearance of the diagonal warping. Nonetheless, the card stock itself is easy to work with. It’s matte with a slightly waxy feel but it shuffles and fans fine.

Discussions on some individual cards

0 The Youth & Six of Air

I love this Fool card or should I say Youth card. The butterfly wings suggest taking flight following a transformation. Overall I see it as trusting in yourself and your ability to “fly”. I like that the suitcase is sitting on the ground too. It speaks to me of leaving any baggage behind.

The Six of Air suggests cutting things away. It gives a slightly different perspective to the usual 6 of Swords. In this instance, the bag that sits alongside them gives me a sense of the things they have decided to keep. I see a return to a simpler way of life, away from the hustle and bustle and I really connect with this card.

Every now and then, my husband and I like to grab our picnic blanket and head down to the local waterfront late on a Saturday afternoon. We grab a burger, then sit back and watch the sun go down. It’s such a simple pleasure. This card reminds me of those days. The shears become the pelicans that I love to watch taking off from, and coming in to land on, the water. It shows that peace is possible.

Eight of Water & 7 The Chariot

I draw several stories from this Eight of Water but the first one that came to mind was that she’s moving away from the train tracks because she no longer wants her direction governed. I almost hear her saying, “That’s not for me anymore. Thanks but no thanks. I need to go this way.” The image suggests she’s choosing what she wants to water and the flowers are responding accordingly.

7 The Chariot takes it a step further. Here, this lady is moving faster. She’s putting her tunes on and moving through the burning landscape. There is a lot of energy here. I like that she looks happy and that she is in charge. I also like the addition of the cats because they add to the sense of independence. There’s no fear. She can see the path and she’s ready to follow it.

Four of Earth & 12 The Hang-Up

In contrast I look at the Four of Earth and I see excess. Actually, to be honest the first thing I saw was the vodka bottle at the forefront with the yoga mat relegated to the back position – out of sight and out of mind. This woman seems to have it all but there’s no sense of appreciation. She’s just surrounded by stuff that she, or someone else, had to lug to the beach. Yet, it doesn’t look like she’s going to use any of it.

This version of The Hanged Man, here 12 The Hang-up, provides a possible solution. It is more active than most representations. Rather than seeking to gain a new perspective this woman needs to focus. The crocodiles lying in wait beneath her have probably given her all the focus she needs. If she starts to look down to see what they are doing things might not end so well.

But, if she focuses on what is important to her and what aligns with her intention then she can transform her fears and doubts into motivation. It brings to mind the “Choose your Hard” meme that gets around on Facebook and Instagram. We might not want to do something now because it seems too hard, but if we don’t face it, the consequences of that non-choice are likely to be much harder to deal with. This woman is making the right choice.

Three of Fire & Ace of Earth

The Three of Fire reminds that impossible ideas can become possible if we believe in them and are willing to put in the work necessary to make them so. For me this follows on perfectly from the earlier cards.

And, the Ace of Earth wraps it all up. It’s one thing to be given the seed, but on its own that is not enough. It is up to us to do something with it. The seed cannot reach its potential if we don’t give it the attention and circumstances necessary for it to grow.

We can either be like the lady on the Four of Earth and surround ourselves with stuff in case it comes in handy one day or we can actively work with what we’ve got. The choice is ours. Those books beside her won’t read themselves and just having an exercise mat is not going to get you fit.

The Rosebud Tarot Guidebook

The Rosebud Tarot comes with a 97-paged, perfect bound, full-colour guidebook. It opens with “What is Tarot?” before moving on to discuss the basic structure of the deck. Then it is straight on to the card meanings.

Spanning two pages, each Major Arcana entry has a full-colour image, alongside the title with its RWS equivalent name in brackets below, followed by a description of the image, and a poem. Keywords for both upright and reversed are presented in a footnote fashion on the second page.

This is a great little guidebook and definitely worth reading. The poems strike a chord that mere description cannot. Although, the descriptions do help draw your attention to elements that may go unnoticed.

Examples from the Major Arcana

For example, in part, the description for The Mage, pictured below, reads, “on the left side of the image, a caterpillar repeats the message of infinite regeneration.” I didn’t notice it until it was pointed out to me. Now I can’t not see it.

The accompanying poem is:

To be spirit-made-flesh is to be 
spirit-made-crafter,
tangible hands touching creation,
the pulse of the cosmos
heart beating a rhythm of magic, 
of mastery within
the elusive borderlands
of reality.

Will you acknowledge your agency?

Will you remember your role 
as the bridge between
the unseen and the precious ephemerality
of incarnation?

Every poem adds to the card. I love the second half of the poem for 2 The Witch which reads:

Even silence has a rhythm,
when you listen long enough.

A rhythm that reveals the
lessons of a magic
no book can hoard

-- you must live it
for it to become true. 

The Minor Arcana entries

The Minor Arcana is arranged by number rather than suit. They don’t receive the same attention as the Major Arcana and yet they still get the point across effectively. I’ll use the Seven of Fire and the Seven of Air as an example.

Keywords are given for the overall number with all four cards presented over two side-by-side pages. For the Sevens, the overall keywords are “mystery, heroism, skill.” Then the information is as follows for each of the cards pictured above.

Fire - defensiveness
protect what is
precious, sure -- but
does precious need 
protecting?

Air - deception
a plausible
pretense
functions just
fine, until it 
doesn't

At the end of the book there is “An exercise for practicing interpreting the Minors,” instructions for “The Rosebud Blooms” spread, and a paragraph about each of the creators.

Wrapping it all up

Just as you start to become familiar with The Rosebud Tarot, Generosity of Water comes along with all its full colour brightness and shocks you out of your complacency. In no way is this woman drowning because of her new insights. Rather, she looks at ease. This is well worth remembering if you decide to take the deep dive these cards can take you on.

The Rosebud Tarot Cards

Artist	Amanda Lee Stilwell
Card Size	approx. 7.5cm x 11.5 cm
Card Stock	Waxy, matte card stock
Shuffle	Fine to shuffle in any manner
Fan & Flip Through	Smooth to fan and flip through
Suits	Fire, Earth, Water, Air
Court	Curiosity, Velocity, Generosity, Sovereignty
Strength / Justice	Strength 8; Balance 11
Miscellaneous	Solid 2-part box

The Rosebud Tarot Guidebook

Written by	Diana Rose Harper
Pages	97 pages
Appearance	Full colour, perfect bound card-sized book
Contents	None
Spreads	The Rosebud Blooms (8 cards)

Publishing Details

Created by:

Amanda Lee Stilwell & Diana Rose Harper

Pictured Version:

Published in 2023 by Weiser Books

Websites:

Diana Rose Harper

You’ll find Amanda Lee Stilwell’s Instagram at @lastcraftdesigns

Weiser Books