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).

So my ambivalence mainly stems from just how poorly my idea of what the cards would be liked mapped on to the reality. The minute I held the physical cards in my hands I just felt a big wave of… disappointment. And while the deck has a lot of good things going for it, I’ve never really recovered. Online (on the KS campaign page) the card design looked really vibrant and bright – like sunlight streaming through an old stained glass window. In reality the cards are kinda muddy and sludgy, and the very muted colour palette just blends in to one greenish blob a lot of the time. In a real stained glass window the lead is really important: it makes the glass colours really pop. I think part of the issue is there isn’t much “lead” in these images, so the colours tend to bleed together. It’s not so bad on the Majors, but on the Minors it makes them all look v samey. I need to take a good look to differentiate the Pent court cards from each other, for example. This is exacerbated by the fact there’s no numbers on the Minor cards (just ‘Pentacle’ or ‘Sword’) so you have to squint sometimes to figure out what card you’re actually looking at (kinda like a Pip Deck, except shittier, because the graphics are so muted).

I’m also not wild about the bright red shiny section on the box. It’s too in-your-face, especially given the muted vibes of the cards. The card stock is very thin, and while it’s ok to shuffle, it doesn’t feel very pleasing to hold. Two years in, the silver gilt edging has taken a bit of a battering, even though I don’t work with the deck that often. The small, paperback guidebook is probably my favourite thing about this deck. I think it’s been translated somewhat haphazardly from the original language (Chinese?), but this gives the explanations a wonderful naive quality that I find really refreshing! (I am a bit of a weirdo though, in case you hadn’t noticed). This fairly loose use of English extends to the cards in a way that’s a bit weird though (e.g. each Pent card is labelled ‘Pentacle’ in a strange use of the singular noun, Strength is ‘The Strength’ etc.).

Having said all that, I still really like the idea of the Broken Mirror Tarot, and there are some cards where the aesthetics work well.

The Sun captures the joy and energy of the card. I like how, although the Death card is pretty foreboding, when you actually look through the door Death is holding open you can see a crack of bright sunshine and green mountains – the possibility of rebirth beckons. I enjoy the topsy turvey design of the World card, it does a good job of encompassing the beginnings/endings and totality concept.

The Lovers card is nicely designed and captures a sense of yearning – as the guidebook says “their hands are about to hold. They are already shining without touching it” (see what I mean about the guidebook translation!) I really like the imagery in the Strength card, where we see (presumably) Atlas holding up the world while a storm rages around him. This strength is unseen, unappreciated, and largely thankless. Yet it endures. There is a core of strength inside all of us, which can keep us going even when it feels like the (figurative) weight of the world is on our shoulders. The Fool is a pretty faithful rendition of the RWS Fool, but I think it really suits the art style.

Ten of Swords is just a good looking card here; likewise I think the sludgy palette works well with the suit of Pentacles, so this Queen looks cool. Really nice use of repeating circles in the design of The Chariot card.

So would I personally recommend this deck? No. But it is a really cool concept, and if the art style appeals to you then, by all means, go ahead!

Deck interview with The Broken Mirror Tarot

For all I was a bit iffy about this deck, this is a pretty clear and to the point interview, so even if I don’t like it much we apparently work well together!

1. Tell me about yourself? What is your most important characteristic as a deck?

9 of Swords: This deck will help ground me when I’m panicking and/or facing painful and scary situations that are making me anxious. It’s a deck that will tell me to step back, chill out, and approach the situation logically (in the context of the other cards in the spread)

2. What are your strengths as a deck?

Strength: This deck will give me guidance to help me calmly face these situations and master my own anxiety.

3. What are your limits as a deck?

9 of Wands: The decks reminds me it can be so much energy readying yourself for battle! This deck is about how to calmly diffuse situations and walk away. If I want a deck for when I’m in a confrontational or activist frame of mind, I should look elsewhere.

4. What do you require from me in return? How can I best collaborate with you?

Ace of Swords: I need to be ready for some straight, no bullshit answers

5. What is the potential quality of our relationship?

The World: For all my misgivings about the deck it seems happy to work with me! This deck will help me pull back from the fight and see the bigger picture. Stop worrying so much and enjoy all I have and all I’ve achieved.

6. In what space / with what type of query will you best communicate?

King of Swords: OK, ok, I get it Broken Mirror! You’re a conflict-weary veteran who is nevertheless always ready to dispense some straight talking judgement and harsh but necessary truths!

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