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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…
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Deck Review: Queer Revolution Tarot
The Queer Revolution Tarot is a Kickstarter deck I recently backed by Utah-based artist Kate Wilhite. Salt Lake City (and its inhabitants), which we see throughout this deck, is the real star of the show. Wilhite writes about her art: “because the state is religiously oppressive, queer and trans people tend to collect in the city, creating a queer bubble where we can live authentically and safely. I paint people in my community who live between binaries as a way to explore my own identity and to show the world how beautiful queer radical authenticity is.” What shines through in this deck is the love and kinship the artist feels…
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Deck Review: The Tarot of Oneness
The Tarot of Oneness by Robyn Voisey arrived when I was going through a rough time due to a bereavement, and I really appreciated its gentle, healing energy. I um-ed and ahh-ed over backing it on Kickstarter when I first saw it, as it’s not my usual bag of tea. Too kitschy, too twee, too happy-clappy; the images too hyper-realistic. But I am so glad I did, because it reads like a freakin’ dream. SO intuitive. It doesn’t so much speak to me, as sing me a personalised love song. The Deck: Look, Feel, and Finish It really is such a bright, joyous deck (look at those colours!). It’s all…
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Tarot Card Meanings: The Tower
The summer sunIt blows my mindIt’s falling down on all that I’ve ever knownTime to kiss the world goodbyeFalling down on all that I’ve ever knownIs all that I’ve ever known A dying screamIt makes no soundCalling out to all that I’ve ever knownHere am I, lost and foundCalling out to all ‘Falling Down’ (Chemical Brothers Remix) by Oasis (N. Gallagher) Welcome to my circle of destruction! The Tower is the sixteenth card of the Major Arcana, and represents sudden upheaval, destruction, revelation, and necessary truth. In this post, I explore the Tower Tarot meaning, through symbolism, psychology, history, mythology, and lived experience – to uncover what happens when illusions…
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Deck Review: The Mushroom Hunter’s Tarot
The Mushroom Hunter’s Tarot is one of the first decks I ever back on Kickstarter, and it got me hooked on the whole process. This is partly due to how the creator, Joe Buckley, managed the whole project. Regular updates, a beautiful Insta, everything on time and seamless, and a really top notch finished project. It was hard to find any flowers to do my customary “new deck photo” as the deck arrived in the middle of the bleak mid-Winter where I am in the UK, but these scrappy little yellow ones were fighting on! I wanted to photograph the deck with some mushrooms (obviously), but every time I found…
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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…
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Tarot Card Meanings: The High Priestess
“She is like a cat in the darkAnd then she is the darkness She rules her life like a fine skylarkAnd when the sky is starless All your life you’ve never seenWoman taken by the windWould you stay if she promised you heaven?Will you ever win?” ‘Rhiannon’ by Fleetwood Mac (Nicks) Welcome to the inner circle! The High Priestess is the second card of the Major Arcana, and she represents intuition, mystery, and the power of the unknown. In Tarot readings, she often shows up when we need to pause, go inward, and trust our inner voice. This post explores her symbolism, appearance in different decks, and the deeper meaning…
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Deck Review: The Wyrd of Sarah Howard
Ever since The Wyrd of Sarah Howard* reached me from half a world away a couple of weeks ago I have been OBSESSED. Like, totally head over heels in love. [*I’ve removed the links to Angus West’s old website and shop as it appears to now go to some weird scammy page. If you love the deck you can contact Gabi via Insta here] The artist and creator, Gabi Angus-West, recently did a small reprint of this previously out-of-print Oracle Deck. I spotted it on Fairlight Tarot‘s Instagram feed when they posted about receiving their deck, and it was like that bit in movies where the camera zooms in on…
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Tarot Card Meanings: The Magician
‘One dream, one soul One prize, one goal One golden glance of what should be (It’s a kind of magic) One shaft of light that shows the way No mortal man can win this day (It’s a kind of magic) The bell that rings inside your mind Is challenging the doors of time (It’s a kind of magic) The waiting seems eternity The day will dawn of sanity (Is this a kind of magic? It’s a kind of magic) There can be only one This rage that lasts a thousand years Will soon be done This flame that burns inside of me I’m hearing secret harmonies (It’s a kind of…
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Currently On Kickstarter: The Alleyway Tarot
The deck has now arrived with me, and you can read my review here __ I own Publishing Goblin‘s last Kickstarter Tarot deck, The Alleyman’s Tarot, and, while it’s a bit unwieldy to work with, I still love it for reflection purposes, and for thinking about the ways different artists interpret the traditional card meanings. The guidebook is also a cracking read, as opposed to the normal fairly generic guff. So I didn’t hesitate in backing this new deck, The Alleyway Tarot, that follows the same principles as its predecessor. Each card in the deck is designed by a different artist, and the concept is that this is a ‘found’…
