This is just a flip-through first impressions look-see of the Earth Magick Tarot by Daniel Martin Diaz. So I won’t delve too much into commentary. We’re here for the pretty pictures. =)

The cards are printed on 330 gsm linen with black core and comes in a tuckbox. There’s a stamp seal sticker that’s too beautiful to tear, so I opened the box from the reverse side to get the deck out.

You have the standard 78 plus “2 AD cards,” one with the deck title and the other with the artist’s initials, as you see in the top row of the photo above.

The artist, Daniel Martin Diaz, is based out of Tucson, Arizona. Diaz’s works explore the story of humanity, on a quest to understand the physical and metaphysical world.

The direction of these illustrations are influenced by both scientific and philosophical principles, from anatomy, computer science, and quantum physics to Hermetic alchemy and the occult.

By the way, the deck packing has a Pagan Otherworlds Tarot vibe, and even the pattern on the tuckbox reminds me of Pagan Otherworlds. While the art style is certainly different, if you love one, then I’d bet you’ll love the other. Earth Magick Tarot is Hermetic Tarot meets Pagan Otherworlds, so if that is your aesthetic, this deck is right up your alley.

The Los Angeles Times is quoted as calling Diaz’s art “broodingly personal” with “a compelling, esoteric edge,” and that’s definitely a great descriptive. These graphics are apocalyptic-visionary, evocative of mystery and fear, but also in many ways, subtly ironic.

Click on any of these photos for a more zoomed-in close-up view of the illustrations. The numbered pips in this deck are illustrated but not narrative. Meaning is conveyed through symbolism, often rooted in Western alchemy and medieval Christian mysticism.

Loving the folkloric references of foliage-dressed humans and that Wild Man / Green Man feral figure of the forests motif. They make for intriguing conceptual juxtaposition with the Age of Reason theme throughout this deck.

Diaz’s tarot is a must-have for his art. These are hand-drawn Hermetic alchemy-inspired illustrations by Diaz done in the style of medieval engravings.

The illustrations in Earth Magick remind me of Mutus Liber, a 17th century illustrated text on Hermetic alchemy with no words and no explanation, shrouded in mystery and inspiring plenty of speculation. All you can intuit is that the artist is drawing from religion, science, and philosophy.

And like it is with Mutus Liber, we are left to our own devices to interpret the symbolism. Oh, and Mutus Liber also happens to be the name of the Discord group I’m part of! You can click on the preceding link to join the group.

The composition for most of the cards follow RWS, and since the art draws heavily from familiar RWS tarot imagery, this isn’t a particularly difficult tarot to read with. In fact I think it’d make for a beautiful go-to workhorse reading deck because it sets the mood, and adds to the tone of the atmosphere a mystical-leaning tarot reader would want to cast.

One little thing I found interesting albeit extraneous. In line with the alchemical theme, the four suits note the elemental correspondence for the suit with its alchemical glyph.

The thing is…if you’re one who works with the alchemical correspondences, then this extra symbol isn’t helpful because you would already know that. A more helpful reference might be the astrological correspondences, which would be used for their alchemical implications.

The Majors feature the astrological glyph for the planet Earth, which is interesting. If rendered in red, this specific glyph on the Majors is also indicative of sulfur. My best guess is that the symbol on the Majors was intended to represent the four alchemical elements coming together, and not intended to indicate planet Earth or sulfur. Ohhh!— but wait!– the deck is called the Earth Magick Tarot! Perhaps the planetary/astrological glyph for Earth on the Majors is intentional! Cool!

The purpose of this look-see is for a photographic walk-through of all the cards in the deck, for those contemplating whether to get it for their collection. My opinion is yes, I love the aesthetic and I love that it’s hand-drawn.

However, I don’t love that the product does not come with any explanatory text or material whatsoever. No guidebook (it’s sold separately), no little white booklet, no pamphlet, not even an e-mail, web, blog, or digital anything with more info.

The guidebook product description made it sound like it was just going to be about card meanings, which isn’t what I want. That’s why I opted not to get the guidebook with the deck. What I want is the artist statement and the more in-depth exploration of the specific symbolism employed by the artist.

So you’re kind of on your own in terms of discovering artist intentions, symbolism, or the back story for Earth Magick Tarot.

To be clear, the lack of written expository context doesn’t take away from the usability of the cards. They’re fairly easy to follow for any RWS reader, and some of the illustrations pull from the Crowley-Harris Thoth. So if you’re acquiring this deck to actually use in divinatory readings, you’ll be fine. But if you’ve acquired for deck collection or art purposes, then you’re left wanting more.

You’ll also get a cotton linen drawstring bag, but I’m personally not always a big fan of these sorts of add-ons. For someone like me, they don’t add value, so on the creator’s side, the cost of including these sorts of add-ons are better invested elsewhere.

If I’m going to utilize a drawstring bag (or a spread cloth, another popular “freebie” add-on indie creators oft employ), then they need to be very high quality. If it’s meh, I’m just not going to use it, and it’s a bit of an unnecessary extra on everybody’s part.

Overall, there’s no doubt the Earth Magick Tarot is an exquisite deck and will be a coveted addition to any tarot collection. Daniel Martin Diaz is one of the most talented fine artists to contribute to the world of tarot.

This is my second tarot deck purchase in 2023, and I ordered it (1) for Diaz’s artwork and (2) to learn more about the artist’s intentions behind the works. I first learned about the deck through BlushingNerdTarot on YouTube. As soon as I saw Diaz’s artwork, I had to get this deck.

I’m beyond satisfied with objective (1) but hopefully (2) will be remedied for subsequent printings of this deck and future editions will include a little more materia.