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 ‘bottom’, so if you display your Tarot decks by standing them up vertically (so you can see the front designs) it means if you’re absent-minded like me, when you go to pick it up everything comes flying out – d’oh! For this reason if I ever designed a Tarot deck with a shell and slide box (which I do like, design-wise), I’d put the slide opening at the ‘top’.
The cards are my dream cardstock – matt finish, but quite a glossy matt (if that makes sense), thick without being unmanageable to shuffle, gorgeous indigo blue edges. A real delight to handle, and the back design is lush.
The Botan Tarot comes with a simple mini guide, but I really recommend also getting the accompanying zine, which explains the stories behind the art choice in much more detail, as well as containing stunning large size colour renditions of the card artwork.
It’s very hard to pick my favourites ’cause LOOK HOW DREAMY THE WHOLE DAMN DECK IS 😍
The artwork on this beautiful Sun card, with her firework flower earring, is just stunning. Love the idea of the energy and movement of the 8 of Wands as a shooting star, and, again, the art is to die for. My love of a Hanged Man that incorporates some of the joy of surrender and a flipped world view is well documented, and this card really delivers. The idea of the Emperor as a falconer is a great one, and the art really captures the wisdom and also the weight of responsibility inherent in this card.
The Magician’s traditional symbols as tattoos is genius. Miyako writes about how the Tower is a very personal & emotional card for her, as she’s chosen to represent it with a drawing of a tower from the Japanese internment camp at Topaz where her grandma was held during WWII, even while her grandad fought for the US as part of the 442nd Infantry Regiment. She writes, “the guard tower is empty, a symbol of powerless fear, abandoned but left standing as a reminder. Flowers reclaim the structure, just as I reclaim my family’s story to be a vehicle for a more just future”.
The depiction of kintsugi on the bowl in the Ace of Cups is perfection. The artist observes, “one is never too broken to be capable of giving and receiving love”. A stunning Hierophant (High Priest) card, Tanuki the shape shifter as the Page of Wands, and adorable teamwork in the Three of Pents (coins).
And here’s my favourite card from the Botan Tarot. Like all the cards, the artwork has that ethereal delicate beauty which I find enchanting. I think this works especially well on the Devil card as it shows the temptation of all the things the Devil represents. A lot of what is harmful to us in the long run looks so alluring at first glance. The smoke he’s blowing out forming the suggestion of horns is just so clever! Miyako writes, “[rather than] make the horns more apparent, I wanted to give the feel that the horns are merely suggested – we don’t always see what’s bad for us in its truest form”.
Deck Interview with the Botan Tarot
1. Tell me about yourself? What is your most important characteristic as a deck?
Ten of Coins: This deck is full of wisdom and established knowledge it is eager to pass down to me to ensure my longterm success
2. What are your strengths as a deck?
Strength: Teaching me acceptance and mastery of my emotions. Letting go of fear.
3. What are your limits as a deck?
Two of Wands: This deck is not so good for strategic planning
4. What do you require from me in return? How can I best collaborate with you?
Page of Coins: I’ve got to prepared to put the work in and accept that gains will be slow but steady
5. What is the potential quality of our relationship?
The Moon: Leading me off the path more travelled by, illuminating the dark spaces in my psyche
6. In what space / with what type of query will you best communicate?
Queen of Coins: Actually, this indicates to me this would be a good deck to use for reading for others. It wants to help me to help other people, it is a warm, empathetic deck.
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When the second edtion comes out, my advice would be to snap this beautiful deck up ASAP!
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