Deck Review: Tarot of the Crystal World

One of the most recent Kickstarter decks to land in my hot little hands is this amazingly weird creation from the genius brain of Brooke Penrose. The creator describes the Crystal World as “the world reborn inside a fun-house mirror”, and that ‘beautiful-freak’ air permeates the whole deck. It really is just brilliantly odd. Part unsettling, part hugely up-lifting. The aesthetic is quite Country & Western (more than anything else, it feels like a deck a fortune teller would be using in one of my sadly missed favourite TV shows, Carnivale), and the colours are very muted. Almost sludgy; bruise coloured; the sky right before a storm – which I’m usually not the biggest fan of (give me a BRIGHT deck and I’m happy), but on this deck it really works. It’s also a super inclusive deck, queer in every sense of the word, with great body and age representation – hooray.

“Country and Western layabouts, acrobatic dandies, fearsome warriors and the detritus of modernity; lost in time, recast as players on a stage directed by fate. Let these folks be your guide.”

Brooke Penrose

The Deck: Look, Feel, and Finish

The deck comes in a sturdy, lidded box, and the Kickstarter edition was accompanied by a decorative card bag for those who prefer more malleable packaging for their cards. The guidebook is *very* slim and provides a brief overview of the creation of the deck and its major themes, and then a line or two further explaining each card. It’s handily concise for those who are already familiar with the Tarot, but a beginner might struggle with it. Also, while I like being able to bring my own interpretations to an artist’s vision, others might be keen to hear a bit more from Penrose about the artistic and creative choices they made.

The card themselves are a great Goldilocks thickness (not too thin, too too thick, just right!), with a linen finish and gold glit edging.

Greatest Hits: My Favourite Cards from the Tarot of the Crystal World

And now it’s time to strap yourselves in as I talk through some of my favourite cards in this weird&wonderful little deck (as per usual I got over-excited and picked about a billion favourites!)

Starting off with some happy cards (as some of my other picks are really pretty dark). I’ve realised these first three tell a little story even of themselves: from reckless shagging, to pregnancy, to babies, lol. The flowers blossoming everywhere the Lovers‘ skin touches is a really beautiful detail on this card; I love me a preggo Empress, and this one doesn’t disappoint (stretch marks!); and the expression of maternal bliss on the face of the figure on the Ten of Coins (Pents) is perfect: “happy and secure in the arms of abundance”.

The unbridled, indulgent joy in the faces of the figures in the Two of Cups is really striking – intimate and giddy (I’m reminded of the Talking Heads line, hi yo sing into my mouth). The World card is just gorgeous (“now is a moment of grace”). These graceful little birds are a recurring motif in this deck and it really works. And the beautiful “tree of bounty” as the Ace of Coins (Pents) is great. A promise of abundance, potential, and growth already taking form.

The Three of Wands I like mainly for how the creator has styled/positioned the picture (blocking? Is that what it’s called?) Anyway, the sense of slightly impatiently, but excitedly, waiting is perfectly captured by the ‘swinging round the lamp post’ vibes here.

And wow, Judgement as the famous betrayed-and-redeemed Biblical Judge Samson (I think?) is really powerful. A reminder of both the dangers of hubris, and the sacrifice often involved in following our destiny, and restoring equilibrium to the world. After all, the Judgement card is not just about personal awakening, it’s about rising to meet a calling greater than yourself, even when the cost is high.

The inclusion of birds in flight on the fairly traditional rendition of the Eight of Wands really adds to the sense of speed and swiftness.

A beautiful Moon card – the figure here is really taking the time to study this new and unfamiliar landscape. Instead of being lost in it, she’s mastering it, holding it close and gazing at it, lips pursed almost in a kiss. There’s intimacy in her attention, a sense of respect for the mystery. It’s a powerful image of what we can do if we lean into the eerie, yet deeply creative energy of the Moon: not fear the unknown, but learn its language.

A slightly unnerving Ace of Wands. The guidebook states “a new beginning. In your hands is the key to creativity and rebirth”, but the suggestion of a wound on the clenching palm reminds me that the gift of creativity and new starts does not always come without pain or complications. Sometimes the fire that fuels growth burns a little on the way out.

Ditto the Nine of Cups, which is always a card I’ve had mixed feelings about (dreams come true vs. the dangers of over-indulgence). A round for the table is a joyous thing, but the hangover the next day: not so much. This card reminds us that pleasure, while worth savouring, needs balance to be truly fulfilling.

I feel there’s no way the image in the Six of Coins (Pents) can’t be (the legendary version of) King Wenceslas, which chimes so well with the message of this card (‘Therefore Christian men be sure, wealth or rank possessing / Ye who now will bless the poor, shall yourselves find blessing‘). In the carol, the King’s page falters on their journey to bring food and firewood to the needy:

“Sire, the night is darker now,
And the wind blows stronger;
Fails my heart, I know not how,
I can go no longer.”

To which Wenceslas replies:

“Mark my footsteps, good my page;
Tread thou in them boldly:
Thou shalt find the winter’s rage
Freeze thy blood less coldly.”

It’s such a moving illustration of the card’s deeper meaning. Yes, a warm fire and a full belly nourish the body, but it’s the act of giving that nourishes the heart. The King’s generosity sustains not only the poor man he helps, but also the page beside him. The Six of Pentacles isn’t about charity, it’s about the shared warmth that comes from helping one another, even in the bleakest conditions.

Coming over to the Dark Side of the deck now, lol. Ooof at the Three of Swords, betrayal just oozes from this card. It reminds me of every betrayal death scene in every Western or war movie I’ve ever seen. Just such a clever choice by the artist to pull images from the contemporary collective consciousness in the same way as the OG Tarot artists did.

And more ooof at the Eight of Cups. It is not always easy to walk away from things that once brought us joy (even if we know we are heading to higher ground). Sometimes there is pain in every step.

Again, I can literally hear banjo strings in my head when I look at the Five of Cups here. It just emanates disaffection and loss.

The Knight of Wands creeps me out a bit, but in a good way. His eyes are clouded, a milky blue, unseeing. It gives the impression that his mission is fuelled entirely by instinct or inner fire, rather than sight. And that really works when you think about the traditional meaning of this card: passionate, and impulsive, sometimes to the point of recklessness. While our passions can ignite movement and drive, they can also blind us to nuance or consequence.

And urgh at the Ten of Swords, the figure collapsing under the weight of so many death blows: “omens of disaster are not simply nudging you in the back, they are being driven through your spine”.

A final clutch of my favourite Court cards. Love the Page of Cups as a louche painter, and the Knight of Swords as a tally-ho type. I really like the way Penrose engages with motherhood throughout this deck, and the Queen of Cups is not exception: “She looks towards the jolly old King of Cups. She sees him. She looks past him to the future”.

I heartily recommend this deck. The Kickstarter campaign has now finished, but you can buy it from the creator’s website for $45 (Aus dollars, about £22) here.

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