The Starchild Tarot Akashic

The Starchild Tarot Akashic, not to be confused with The Starchild Tarot by the same creator, aims to help us explore “the ancient traditions of the Tarot through a multidimensional journey of Consciousness and awakening.” This is a deck for self-exploration, self-expansion, and self-understanding. As you look through the photos I’ve included you’ll see this deck portrays each card in a unique way. That’s why I was keen to add it to my collection.

The Starchild Tarot Akashic Cards

From the outset, The Fool, here titled Starseed and pictured as the opening featured image, takes a different approach. She’s not depicted blindly stepping off a cliff. Instead, the Starseed is someone who’s shutting out distractions so she can hear her own guidance, her own voice, and to establish her connection to all that is. In this way the tone of the Starchild Tarot Akashic deck is set. We decide the journey we’re going on and we go from there.

For those of you familiar with the Work Your Light or The Starseed Oracles the artwork will feel familiar since Danielle Noel, the creator of this deck, was the artist for those decks. Again, photographs have been combined with illustrations and paintings to create these evocative images. The Starchild Tarot Akashic speaks to me on a different level. Danielle Noel writes, ‘Inspired by sacred symbology, the Akasha, and the fabric of our Universe, each card functions as a tiny gateway into new worlds and insights for you to explore.’ And that they do.

The Starchild Tarot Akashic is a very present deck. It focuses you on now – or at least that’s how I find it. Take the King of Swords pictured above for example. Aspects of him are looking to the past and the future but he is very focused on now and his next step. His thoughts and actions draw from his experiences and intentions but they alone can’t serve his purpose. He has to do something with the information at his disposal. He is focused on his path, not on the stars.

In the Nine of Wands also pictured above I like the energetic focus. The groupings of the wands says, “Three of Wands you’ve put yourself or something out into the world and the Six of Wands suggests victory is at hand. There may be one more obstacle to face and it may be a seemingly large one at that (the hill in the foreground), but the size of the energetic presence says you’ve got this. You’re bigger than any obstacle you may have to face. Keep going.”

I see so many faces in the mountain and indeed hidden throughout the card. They feel supportive and to me serve as a reminder that everything you experience has had a message to share with you and that signs and messages are all around. Face pareidolia, the technical term for seeing faces in objects, is prevalent in this deck. Whether or not that’s deliberate I can’t say. Unfortunately, the book doesn’t expand upon the imagery in any way.

As someone tuned to seeing faces in everything, I loved reading that what was once considered a sign of psychosis is now viewed as a normal human experience. Always nice to be reassured than I’m not psychotic. Maybe one day science will consider hearing voices and seeing visions in the same way.

Big cats appear on several of the cards. In a reading I did recently the leopard on the Queen of Cups, which I think might actually be a cheetah, featured prominently. As I look at the card now, at first all I was drawn to was the sky. Then the two cups and the way she is standing became my focus. Now I’m back to the sky and the mandorla around her head. I love that even when not actively doing readings the cards give me the messages I need to hear.

In changing pentacles to crystals in The Starchild Tarot Akashic, the idea that alongside the messages generally associated with the suit, there’s encouragement to connect to the Higher self within our day-to-day lived experiences, not just during meditation etc is powerful.

More so than in most decks, when I look at these cards rather than just asking myself “why are they doing what they’re doing?” I find myself wondering what the people are looking at. What are they focused on? This leads me to asking the same questions of myself. The Starchild Tarot Akashic definitely encourages inner journeying. What are we adding to the Akasha and what is within us that we can draw from?

Several of the Major Arcana have been renamed. Most are common changes; each is in keeping with the deck. In The Starchild Tarot Akashic you’ll find IX Serenity (Hermit), XII Perspective (The Hanged Man), Transformation (Death), XV Oppression (The Devil), XX Awakening (Judgement), XXI The Universe (The World) and XXII Akashic Records has been added. Justice is VIII and Strength is XI. The Minor Arcana suits are Cups, Wands, Swords and Crystals (Pentacles) with King, Queen, Knight and Page as the court. The card titles are printed on different coloured backgrounds; however, this is purely for aesthetic reasons as unfortunately there is no suit-inspired colour coding. Not essential obviously, but it is something I appreciate when it’s present.

The Starchild Tarot Akashic is printed on good card stock with a satin matte finish and antique gold gilding. The gilding is smooth to the touch and the cards have a waxy feel. To overhand shuffle and fan they are a bit clumpy but they riffle fine. The cardstock makes them a bit stiff initially but as with most decks, they will loosen up over time. At 7 x 12cm they’re a standard tarot size.

The Starchild Tarot Akashic Book

Strangely the 166 page book is not packaged in the box with the cards. It’s separate and yet it’s not a full-sized book either. I’m not sure what the idea behind this is, but I’m guessing it’s linked to the layout of the card meanings. Since the black and white card reproductions are really small and create a lot of white space beside them, it would probably have been better to remove them altogether or reformat the book to produce a card-sized book. Although The Starchild Tarot accompanying book maintains the images and manages to fit into the box.

As a book that isn’t enclosed, I’m surprised that since she has a deck with a very similar name, the aforementioned Starchild Tarot, this book is titled “The Starchild Tarot: A Lightworkers Guide.” To recognise that this book is for the Akashic version you need to look inside because it is not mentioned anywhere on the front or back cover. Leaving those slightly confusing aspects aside though, this is a good book.

I love that the book encourages the use of a tarot journal. It includes some ideas on how to set one up but there are so many options you can really get creative if you’re that way inclined. I have two types of tarot journals. One contains spreads, thoughts, and general information I’ve come across. I also always have one on the go that I use to record my personal readings.

I find writing up my own readings as if I was doing an email reading for a client helps to keep me focused on what is in front of me rather than on what I would like to see. It also allows me to refer back to a reading at a later date so I can process the information without becoming overwhelmed if a lot comes through at once. I don’t do it every time but I definitely find it a beneficial practice and I believe, for this reason, its one of the advantages of email readings.

Anyhow, back to the book itself. There’s some very basic information about Starseeds and a breakdown of the suits including their star sign associations. Each of the Major Arcana has a Spiritual Keys table with Chakras, Gemstones, Astrological/Planetary, Guides and Symbols covered. This is located after the card message, keywords, and reversed interpretations. Some of the Astrological/Planetary keys differ to what I’d expect. For example, 0 Starseed links to Kether, Nebulae, The Earth, Sirius, Orion, Arcturus, Lyra, Pleiades, Andromeda and Vega. I guess this is not surprising considering the card title but I still expected to see Uranus in there somewhere. I’m keen to explore these associations and see what I discover and how I relate to them.

Something else I love about this book is the information provided on the 13 Chakra system. It’s presented in a clear and accessible manner and adds another dimension to the cards. Also I feel the questions posed as part of the meanings for the Major Arcana anchor the message. For 0 Starseed, ‘Every time you make a choice, you alter the course of your story. How are you going to write the book of your life? How are you connecting with your inner light?’

The Minor Arcana explanations aren’t as detailed but they still provide the information you need to get started. For the Court cards she’s included a section titled People which helps to breathe life into these cards.

The book wraps up with a section titled, ‘The Characters of the Starchild Tarot,’ which credits the models and the photographers and includes links to their websites and socials where appropriate. This is a nice touch.

Spreads

Five spreads are included in the book:

Three Card Spread (includes 7 options)
The Celtic Cross (10 cards)
The Starseed Spread (5 cards)
The Akashic Spread (5 cards)
Metatron Spread (7 cards)

The Starseed, Akashic and Metatron spreads are in keeping with the aim of the deck and thus they are a great addition. The inclusion of the others is great for beginners which makes this a sound overall package for all drawn to inner work. The Starchild Tarot Akashic is a deck that connects you with your emotional and intuitive centres for your own personal growth. If my experience is anything to go by, it can definitely lead to rapid awakenings.