Decks, Glorious Decks!
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Deck Review: The WayHome Tarot
I got the WayHome Tarot after it had sat on my wishlist for a little while. I was a bit uncertain about it, and now I own it I do find it a bit of a mixed bag. I feel some of Autumn Whitehurst‘s art, while gorgeous, is internally incongruent and it gives a haphazard vibe to the deck I don’t always connect to. But there are so many cards where the imagery is so clever that I am OBSESSED. Simple. Perfect. On point. You can tell the co-creator, Bakara Wintner, has a deep affinity with the message of the Tarot, and she has an uncanny knack for making difficult…
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Currently On Kickstarter: The Not So Classic Doré Tarot
I don’t know what’s going on with Tarot Kickstarter at the moment, but there’s been a sudden flurry of great projects going live that I feel compelled to back (which is NOT convenient as I am in the process of moving house right now and am broke af). This deck, the Not So Classic Doré Tarot, has lots of features that I’m traditionally not that keen on – it’s black and white, it’s a bit dark/murky, it’s not ‘original’ art created to suit the message of the Tarot but instead re-purposed stuff (which I can often find a bit of a reach for some cards)… but, nevertheless, I found myself…
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Currently On Kickstarter: The Journey Deck
EDIT: Since I wrote this post, my deck has arrived :-). You can read my review here and buy the deck here. I LOVED the ‘Journey’ Tarot Deck by Teagan Michael Turner when it launched on Kickstarter a few months back, and was gutted when it didn’t reach its funding goal. Thankfully the creator has relaunched it, and this time it has already reached its (more modest) target, which I’m super pleased about, as I think it’s going to be a brilliant addition to my collection. This deck is quite an abstract take on the Tarot, but I really love the artist’s interpretations, and the art style is lush, dense,…
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Deck Review: The Everyday Enchantment Tarot
The Everyday Enchantment Tarot is a mass market deck that is readily available (either new or secondhand) from a range of online retailers . I’ve linked to W. H. Smith’s here, as they’re slightly less horrifying than Bezos’s Evil Empire, but it’s available from a whole range of sites. It’s really different from the style I usually like, but I was totally in awe of how amazingly the creator has managed to interpret some of the minor arcana cards through her artwork. I looked at some of the images and was like “yes, that’s it! That’s it exactly. That perfectly captures the mood of that card”. It was like I…
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Currently On Kickstarter: Liberation Tarot Deck
Edit: Since I wrote this post, I’ve received the deck :-). You can read my review here and buy the deck from the publishers here. Any deck that features contributions from the amazing adrienne maree brown instantly gets my attention, so I was very excited to see the Liberation Tarot Deck come up on Kickstarter. This is a collaboration project from a collection of artists and writers, and describes itself as being “in the lineage of projects like Slow Holler [and] the Collective Tarot” – hell yes! It’s a 79 card deck, and comes with a rigid box and a guidebook, and, you guys, *each card has a poem recommendation*…
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Deck Review: The Botan Tarot
The Botan Tarot by Addi Miyako is just super beautiful, really dreamy and soft, like falling into a bed of petals. I was really lucky to come across a reasonably priced secondhand copy, as at the time the deck OOP. The artist has now launched a second edition which you can (pre)order here (UK) as well as some other online stores (please check the artist’s webpage for authorised stocklists). The deck comes in a simple but stunning deep purple slipcase/shell and slide box, and the cards are then further held by a lovely peach ribbon. My one tiny quibble with the box is that the slide opening is at the…
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Deck Review: The Twice Told Tarot
I fell in love with the Twice Told Tarot when I saw it on Kickstarter last year, and immediately backed it. Created by Travis McHenry, alongside artist David Scaglione, its quirky style really appealed to me. Unfortunately the Kickstarter was cancelled – boo. But then the deck was included as a possible add-on to McHenry’s next project, the True Oracle of Nostradamus – hooray! So I bought the TOoN just to get my hands on the Twice Told Tarot (as I thought that would be the only way to get hold of a copy). Turns out you can currently pick up a copy via the Bloodstone Studios online store –…
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Deck Review: The Curious Travels Tarot Deck
I sadly missed the Kickstarter for the Curious Travels Tarot Deck by Arozear (Amelia ‘Mia’ Rozear) 💔. But then discovered the artist was releasing a mass market version with US Games ♥️. Even better, they then did one last print run of the indie version, which I managed to get hold of. This made me v v v v v happy as I’ve had my heart broken before by missing out on the indie versions of gorgeous decks. My only sorrow is not being able to get one of the beautiful tea towel / tarot cloths that were an add-on for the original Kickstarter deck. I’m not normally one for…
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Deck Review: The Healing Waves Tarot
The Healing Waves Tarot is currently out of print after a limited run, and I was after it for aaaaaages before I found a secondhand copy that wasn’t gougingly expensive (it was still pretty pricey though!). It’s definitely worth snapping up if you can find a reasonably priced secondhand copy. Otherwise you can join me in hoping that the creator, Nawan Junhasiri, does a second print run and/or works with a mass market publisher to release a prêt-à-tarot version. Unfortunately the guide book is only available as a passcode locked pdf, and as I bought it secondhand I didn’t have the password until some kind soul on Insta took pity…
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Deck Review: Out of Hand Tarot Deck
First up, I should say that I love all of (the incredibly talented) Jamie Sawyer‘s decks, and this one is no exception. It’s a companion deck to the Pocket of Peers Tarot, but works just fine as a standalone deck. Jamie worked (and still occasionally works) as a tattoo artist before designing Tarot decks, and you can definitely see the influence of ‘tattoo style’ art in her drawings, which I love. The deck is (mainly) first person POV of hands engaged in activities that speak to the original themes of the Rider-Waite-Smith deck. It’s very wry and clever, but also super wholesome and comforting. Packed full of Easter Eggs, working…
