Decks, Glorious Decks!
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Deck Review: Broken Mirror Tarot (5th Ed.)
Ah, the Broken Mirror Tarot… This deck, created by Sengia, was the first deck I ordered and didn’t imediately love (and the first Kickstarter Deck I had Backers’ Remorse over once it arrived!), and, after having it in my collection for two years, and working with it a fair bit, I’m still largely ambivalent about it. To start with, there is nothing particularly adventurous about any of the symbolism in this deck – it’s a pretty faithful RWS clone. There’s nothing wrong with that per se, I have plenty of RWS clones that I adore, including literal frame by frame re-craftings (like Jamie Sawyer’s stunning 1909 RWS Sawyer’s Redux Edition).…
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Deck Review: The Journey Tarot Deck
I’ve been a big fan of The Journey Tarot Deck by Teagan Michael Turner ever since its inception (you can see me raving about it on Kickstarter here and here), and now it finally exists in the physical world (and in my collection :-)) it does not disappoint. I will say off the bat that this is a pretty pricey deck, probably one of the more expensive ‘new’ decks in my collection (we won’t mention the painful amount of money I’ve spent acquiring some rare secondhand OOP gems, looking at you Bonestone!) However, you can tell the money has gone on the excellent production values (the box really is a…
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Deck Review: Le Tarot Arthurien
I’ve been SO excited about the incredibly talented Ana Tourian having not one, but two, stunning looking decks coming out (as well as the touted second edition of the infamous Bonestone Earthflesh Tarot!) I’m happy to say I now have both of them in my collection, and they do not disappoint. Here I’m reviewing the gorgeous Tarot Arthurien* that Tourian illustrated in collaboration with creator Claire Duval – and Tourian’s new solo deck, The Tarot of Echoes, will be coming up for review soon! As you might have guessed, this deck is based on the legend(s) of King Arthur (particularly the works of the French poet Chrétien de Troyes), and…
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Deck Review: The Lacuna Tarot
This is a weird little deck (N.B. I got mine through Kickstarter, but you can now buy it from the creator’s Game Crafter page). I definitely would NOT recommend it for novice or inexperienced readers, or folks who prefer a straight-talking, to-the-point, traditional-type deck. Hell, I feel I’m a reasonably experienced Tarot reader by now, and I’m not sure I’d recommend it for me! None of this is to say I dislike this deck: I like it. But it’s a very personal deck; it’s basically like wandering into someone else’s brain while they’re in the process of giving a reading. Everything is veiled and imprecise, like the thoughts that flash…
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Deck Review: Sawyer’s Path Tarot
Prepare yourselves for some serious gushing because I really really really LOVE this deck, the Sawyer’s Path Tarot by Jamie Sawyer. It’s fun but it’s also deep. The art manages to be both quirky and cute, but strangely haunting and emotive. I first saw it on @tarottidbits78’s beautiful page and was like “oh noooooo” because I’d promised myself no more decks, especially not (understandably) expensive indie ones with international postage costs, but the minute I saw it I knew it HAD TO BE MINE! I bought it as a pair with the Tarot 336, and I also got the Tarot Transitions, but I’ll introduce them all separately, because they all have very different…
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Deck Review: The Prismatic Tarot
I’ve had this deck for over a year now, but I decided it was a good time to finally review it as the creator has launched a Kickstarter campaign for the second edition. This is a chance to get hold of a copy of this deck, which has been OOP for a while, so if you like it, now is your opportunity! I have the now sold-out first edition (which I am reviewing here), but the creator, Kelsey Showalter, has confirmed that there will be no major changes to the second edition, just some minor touch-ups, and a swap to more slippery cardstock to aid shuffling. The Prismatic Tarot is…
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Deck Review: Genius Garden Tarot
Eeeeeek, I can’t believe how quickly this deck went from me falling in love with it on Kickstarter to being in my hot little hands. Seriously, the creator and artist of the Genius Garden Tarot, Jessi Huntenburg, runs a tight ship. This is the swiftest and most professional Kickstarter campaign I think I’ve ever backed! Huntenburg describes the ‘genius’ of the Genius Garden Tarot as “the unique spirit of your higher self, the directional arrow that points you toward your most creative potential”, adding “genius isn’t a title that’s reserved for the quickest or most accomplished among us. Instead, it’s a gift that’s given to each of us at the…
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Deck Review: Green Glyphs Tarot
The Green Glyphs Tarot is part of the latest collection from legendary Tarot creator James R. Eads (he of Prisma Visions fame). I really like its simple style and muted palette; for some reason it reminds me of the 50’s art my grandparents used to be in to (and the overall G-Plan-chic vibe of their house when I was a little kid). Eads writes about how he created the Green Glyphs collection (there’s also a Lemonard and some Rune cards) to feel purposefully familiar. “It finds itself in your daily life. A yellow butterfly. A day old cup of coffee. The Sun. The Moon. You. Me. It’s all there, woven…
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Deck Review: The Forager’s Daughter Tarot
Having seen it in a few other people’s collections, I initially decided to get the Forager’s Daughter Tarot (Afterlight Edition) because I really liked the concept of it as an artwork (as opposed to thinking I’d necessarily work with it a lot). I was not disappointed – the art in this deck, and the quality of the cards, really is stunning. If you collect Tarot/pretty, clever things then this deck is a really worthwhile addition to your collection. The artist and creator, Jesscia Lei Howard grew up surrounded by nature (a forager’s daughter!), and it is this love for the natural world, and the gifts it gives us, that is…
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Currently On Kickstarter: Pamela Smith x Midjourney Tarot
And in our next episode of ‘backing decks that in theory I don’t like’ we have: The Pamela Smith x Midjourney Tarot! I’m not a big fan of AI decks – not only do they de-value the bread and butter work of jobbing artists and designers, but I also just… don’t really like the hyper-realist style of image that AI produces. It’s a bit too uncanny valley for me. Having said that, I really like what this creator has done with the traditional RWS deck, and you can see they have a real talent for re-imagining and re-stylizing images. This is NOT just your bog standard AI produced deck, IMO,…
