The holidays are here and with them comes a whole lot of new Tarot decks suitable for giving…to myself, BWAH HA HA! I’ve been waiting on The Labyrinth Tarot for several months and now that it’s finally here, it’s…well, it’s OK. Some of the art is lovely, and the suggested layouts are clever, but the creators seem to have run out of ideas before they ran out of cards.
For a little Tarot 101 that explains the structure of a typical deck, look here: https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/reviews/a-jane-austen-tarot-deck-by-jacqui-oakley/.
Jim Henson’s Labyrinth Tarot Deck and Guidebook is based on the movie we shamelessly adore over here at the Bitchery, starring David Bowie and his inappropriate pants. The art is by Tomas Hijo, an amazing artist who uses woodcuts and printing to create images that feel mysterious and ancient. In the context of this deck, they look like the illustrations Sarah might find in one of her books.
The art on each card is very similar to the art in the sublime Tarot del Toro which is by the same artist and author. Personally, I would have liked a more colorful and whimsical approach to the Labyrinth deck, whereas the dark, moody art style of Hijo’s prints was perfect for the Del Toro deck, which also benefited from having multiple movies to get inspiration from instead of only one. However, this is subjective and I think a lot of readers will enjoy the old-fashioned feel of the art.
The first twenty-two cards of a tarot deck are called the Major Arcana. They represent iconic thoughts, ideas, and experiences. In this deck, the Major Arcana is made of all the major characters in the movie as well as some other symbols (for instance, Sarah’s stuffed teddy bear, Sir Lancelot, appears as “The Star”). The Major Arcana in this deck are well thought out, with interesting meanings and associations. I was especially happy that the guidebook included meanings for reversals (cards that are pulled from the deck in an upside down position).
I ran into real problems once I got through the Major Arcana and into the court and pip cards. In a traditional deck of tarot cards, these would consist of Kings, Queens, Knights, and Pages, followed by number cards (also called pip cards) in the suits Wands, Swords, Clubs, and Coins (or, in many decks, Pentacles). In this deck, we have Poles filling in for Wands, Junk instead of Coins, Pots instead of Cups, and Feathers instead of Swords. The Court cards are illustrated with goblins from the movie that, while they are adorable, seem a bit random. The pip cards are only lightly illustrated, with plain, stark images of pots and feathers and so forth instead of cards that tell a story. I’d have loved to see the Pip cards illustrated with more storytelling images even if that involved including the same characters in multiple scenes.
The trick with a good tarot deck is to find images that are true to their source material and that evoke a reaction from the querent. The power of tarot is, in my opinion, psychological, not supernatural. The images in the deck have to help the querent think about a problem in a new way. They help the unconscious mind and the conscious mind talk to each other, and might lead us to consider angles of a problem that we didn’t before.
In the Major Arcana, I thought this deck did a sound, if not perfect, job. I especially appreciated surprises, like the peach Jareth gives to Sarah representing The Moon, a card that involves illusion, anxiety, and intuition. Even if I quibbled about a card or two, I could see how much thought went into their design and description. I didn’t have any of that sense with the pip cards or with most of the court cards, which was disappointing.
This deck is reasonably priced and can make a good gift for a devoted Labyrinth fan. I thought the layout ideas were very clever and perceptive. I tried a few readings on myself and found the layout formats to be very helpful.
Alas, for most tarot readers, I think this deck’s negatives will outweigh its positives. After the intricacy of the Major Arcana cards featuring significant main and supporting characters from the movie, what’s left is mostly unfulfilling. While I was happy to visit this deck, I will probably not be adding it to my keeper shelf.
“The power of tarot is, in my opinion, psychological, not supernatural. The images in the deck have to help the querent think about a problem in a new way.”
Carrie S, your review of this deck was excellent and so full of insights, now I’d really like to find a basic deck but one with great imagery throughout. Is there a [non-emo] tricked out basic deck out there that a rank beginner might enjoy?
There are bunches, some more commercial than others. The Rider-Waite deck is kind of a basic or starting point. Others will appeal to specific interests. Personally, I have the Rider-Waite, a reproduction of a Renaissance Italian deck and the more or less modern Tarot of the Cats and the Aquarian Tarot. I’m sure others will be able to give you sources for a wide range of decks.
@Qualisign: time goes by so quickly, I may be misremembering the timeframe, but it seems to me that within the last three years, Carrie wrote a long post about favorite Tarot decks and there were lots of comments from the Bitchery about their favorite decks. That would be an excellent resource if you’re looking for a deck that really speaks to you. Perhaps someone can post that link.
@DiscoDollyDeb. I remember reading that post; thanks for reminding me. I will have to find it and reread it. But it was *this* review that gave me insights into what one might like as an initial deck, hence the question here. @Todd’s reply was incredibly helpful, and if I knew any more than zero about Taro, I’d have chosen the Tarot of the Cats. I just ordered a basic, classic Waite deck [love art deco, so it wasn’t a hard choice]. I figure once I play around with that, I’ll have some basis for understanding other people’s choices from the earlier post. This review certainly gave me a head start on why to dip my toes in this particular pond. Thanks, again @Carrie S.
I only buy a new deck when I see one card in it that makes me think “yes! this is the EMBODIMENT of my take on that card’s interpretation!” and then the rest will range from merely average to completely phoned in. (Court cards are a particular blight on my collection. The SETTING is so important for context, but nope, a person holding a suit-appropriate prop against a Sears portrait studio backdrop is the best they could do, no matter how much detail went into the rest of the cards.) One day I’m going to embrace anarchy, take the cards I like best from every deck, and shuffle them together.
Carrie’s survey of Unique Tarot Decks is right here: https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/2018/10/a-survey-of-unique-tarot-decks/
And there’s also the “Tarot” tag: https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/tag/tarot/
@Ren / Lena, as I read your post I was thinking “why not just take the favorite from each deck” and then you wrote it! But… called it anarchy. Why anarchy?, asks the person who has never held or been in front of someone holding, a Tarot deck.
Changing the subject: does anyone else with a woefully inadequate dictionary app pre-installed on their computer have a recommendation? Today’s not-included word is querent.
@LML: Practical concerns are that the cards aren’t all the same size, and they’d have different back designs, so on a “random” draw (as opposed to taking whatever’s on top of the stack), I might pick one with a greater chance of being “easy” vs. one with more risk of challenging self-reflection. (I could paint/paper the backs or pull cards with my eyes closed, but then we’re getting into the realm where effort outweighs reward.) From a fussier angle, my brain sometimes reacts poorly to tremendous visual contrasts, and some of my deck styles would definitely be jarring side by side. It might be worth getting used to it in order to have a full deck of cards that resonate with me, but the odds of me actually doing that when I can make do with any old deck are only slightly less likely than winning the lottery and commissioning an artist I love to make me 78 pieces of custom art.
@Ren/Lena, I didn’t think of any of those things – many of which also apply to regular four-suite playing cards. I do like the idea of commissioning your own deck. And then you could sell that deck…which brings us back around to effort outweighing the reward.
One thing I’ve found helpful is that if you’re unsure about a deck, see if there’s an app version! This can give you a better feeling for the art.
It saved my ass one time, I bought an app version of a deck…to open it and get blasted with nudity in almost all the cards. (Which isn’t my thing.)
Hey everyone! For starter decks, I suggest either the Rider-Smith-Waite deck or something very close to it, like the Modern Witch Tarot. You might find the former uner Rider Waite or under one of it’s colring variations – I like the Universal Rider Waite because the colors are softer. Modern Witch is essentially Rider Waite but much more inclusive so I highly recoomend that deck – but above all you need a deck that makes you feel a connection. The reason people like to learn on Rider Waite isn’t that it’s the “best” but rather that it’s so formative that most decks are based off it.
There’s a big movement now towards “Magpie Decks” ie decks made up from cards from different decks including homemade. There was a massive kickstarter last year for a mixed deck called The Alleyman’s Tarot. The Kickstarter ended but there’s a facebook group called The Alley where people who backed the kickstarter are constructing their own magpie decks – a lot of trading happening there and discussion of the problems of mismatched cards, etc. https://www.facebook.com/groups/492116961828242
Thank you for the tarot deck review! I love the artwork in this genre of magical media. The Modern Witch deck was a good first deck for me. My personal fav oracle deck is the spare Winterseer Animal set by Siolo Thompson. Other art favs of mine are Wildwood Tarot; Hush/Arthur Rackham tarot; Afro-Goddess Tarot; Revelations tarot; the Moonology oracle deck; the Lightseer’s deck; Ferenc Pinter tarot; Everyday Witch tarot; and the Fantasy Cats oracle by Barbieri. Etsy also has lush decks by independent artists. Have fun!