Category: deck review

The Pensive Path Tarot by Reese Marren

On By benebellIn cartomancy, deck review3 Comments

Envision yourself walking with lantern in hand, braving forward through a dense fog and following a forest trail. You stop at a pile of dried brushwood and see that buried underneath it is a small treasure box. It’s a treasure box that had been buried long ago, and somehow now unearthed just as you make your way along this pensive path. You open the box and contained within it is this set of tarot cards.

That is Reese Marren’s starting premise for the Pensive Path Tarot. The packaging itself facilitates this imaginative premise. It’s a tuck box, but unique, opening just as a wooden treasure box might. I’m also loving the smooth buttery finish on these cards (printed on black core 320 gsm embossed linen cardstock). The cards shuffle and fan beautifully.

The Pensive Path Tarot is a fine art deck somewhat reminiscent of the Tarot of Delphi or Victorian Romantic Tarot, showcasing late 19th and early 20th century classical paintings. Fine art decks are one of my favorites, and I think that holds true for a lot of us readers. In Pensive Path, Marren takes it to the next level by not re-hashing the same set of well-known paintings you often see on repeat among fine art tarot decks.

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Arcana Jianghu Lenormand by Li Sha and Wang Xiao Po

On By benebellIn cartomancy, deck review, oracle deck1 Comment

Jianghu 江湖 is the code of honor and fundamental values of Wuxia, a longstanding genre of Chinese martial arts literature. Jianghu translates literally to “Rivers and Lakes,” though those terms are used metaphorically here, covering multiple layers of meaning.

[Compare, for instance, how Feng Shui translates literally to “Wind and Water,” but it’s in reference to how the energies of people, places, and things harmonize with one another.]

In story writing, Jianghu is part of the setting that the author develops for a Wuxia novel. It is world-building. It’s the structure of social order, the class system, the magical system, the various martial arts factions or lineages, the government, the peasants, and everyone in between.

Lenormand, Cards 24 through 33

Jianghu expresses the cast of heroes and villains, the power structure of the world the Wuxia author has built. In this Lenormand deck, there are two versions for the Man and Woman cards (see above) — for the Man, the versions are Swordsman and Scholar; for the Woman, the versions are Swordswoman and Maiden.

Lenormand, Cards 1 through 11, plus a bonus Special Card, Alcohol

Jianghu is also the landscape of sacred mountains and mystical forests. It’s the many regions of the kingdom the cast of characters travel to on their adventure to obtaining magical relics.

I love the extra Special Card, as it’s called, in this deck– Alcohol. Per the explanation in the little white booklet:

“As a cultural artifact, alcohol connects our lives, emotions and spirits. In Jianghu, heroes drink to meet friends, writers and poets drink away their bitter sorrow alone. People drink by the red wedding candles to celebrate happiness, and drink in front of tombs to bid farewell to the dead on Tomb Sweeping Day.”

Just a side FYI — red is the color predominantly used in Chinese weddings. So “red wedding” has a very different connotation to the culturally Chinese than what you might be thinking right now, post-Game of Thrones…

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My Thoughts on the FTC Disclosure Guidelines for Social Media Influencers (Specifically, Tarot Content Creators)

On By benebellIn book review, deck review, opinion, professional tarot, tarot, tarot community3 Comments
Random old photo to accompany the commentary. I’m holding the Tarot of the Holy Light by Christine Payne-Towler, which at some point long, long ago I received for free. Do I need to disclose that?

Psst… I have a “TL;DR Short Summary for the Not-Readers” that summarizes this otherwise very long blog post. So if you don’t have the time or you’re only a little bit interested and not that interested, then scroll all the way down to the end for the TL;DR Short Summary.

I’m reviving and sharing a blog post I drafted in 2019 that has sat in my WordPress saved file for the last 3+ years. It’s about FTC-issued disclosure guidelines (“Rules”) for social media influencers, and key takeaways to glean from the Rules if you’re creating content in the Mind, Body, Spirit spheres. I never got around to finishing and posting that 2019 draft, back when the FTC disclosure guidelines first gained traction, but I think now is a good time to reopen the discussion.

What’s of note to me is how the legal minds who are often the ones drafting these Rules seem to be people who have no personal experiences or insights into the communities they’re drafting the guidelines for. Even when they employ subject matter experts, those SMEs tend to be biased, or come from a very particularized segment of the community, and therefore do not fairly represent all interested parties.

There’s consumer protection, which nobody’s against. But then there’s untenable rules of compliance that aren’t clear enough for practical application by the people the rules are demanding compliance from.

By the way, none of this is my legal opinion, and do not rely on it as such. All of this is personal commentary in reaction to the FTC disclosure guidelines as someone who considers herself a deck reviewer but who could potentially be categorized as an “influencer.”

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Lunar Mansions Astrology and the Chinese Lunar Mansions Oracle

On By benebellIn astrology, cartomancy, deck review, oracle deck3 Comments

The Chinese Lunar Mansions Oracle by Zhong Ling and Wu Xue might be the first of its kind. And with its companion guidebook that details the classical attributions for the 28 lunar mansions, the deck is a great beginner step for learning about this system of Eastern astrology.

This will be both a review of Chengdu Arcana’s Lunar Mansions Oracle and an introductory overview of Chinese lunar mansions astrology.

If you’d like a quick reference handout to download, click here:

The 28 Lunar Mansions (Chinese Astrology)

PDF

The Oracle is a set of 28 cards in a standard finish, typical of mass market decks, though longer and wider than standard tarot card size. The card back design features the four directional animals that are the basis of lunar mansions astrology.

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Eastern Ink Tarot by Zhong Ling, Li Kang, and Sasha Graham

On By benebellIn cartomancy, deck review, tarot, tarot community3 Comments

Eastern Ink Tarot was conceptualized by Zhong Ling, a Chinese tarot reader and founder of the Chengdu Arcana Culture Communication Company, the publisher of this deck. She’s also the founder of a tarot school in China, established in partnership with Lo Scarabeo.

Zhong Ling teamed up with award-winning artist Zi Kang, who studied under renowned Chinese masters and trained in traditional Chinese painting styles. For the paintings you see in Eastern Ink Tarot, he sourced his inspiration from ancient books, traditional Chinese culture, and philosophy, specifically the yin-yang school of Eastern philosophy.

Both Zhong Ling and Zi Kang are seasoned tarot scholars, and that’s something I really appreciate from deck creators. They’re passionate and learned about the tarot, and then decided to create a deck. In Eastern Ink, you can see that knowledge come through in which RWS symbols they preserve and where in the art they take creative liberties.

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The Urban Incantations Tarot by Lynyrd-Jym Marquez Narciso

On By benebellIn deck review6 Comments

This tarot deck is badass. It’s grunge-inspired, urban fantasy, with a John Constantine vibe, and I’m so here for it. The color palette evokes conjured visions set against the shadows of night. Atmospheric, fraught with its air of mystery and dark grit, Urban Incantations Tarot by Lynyrd-Jym Marquez Narciso is like divination with the storyboard stills of a screenplay.

Click on photographic images for enlarged view

Narciso was inspired by the late 90s and early 2000s punk, rock, and alternative music scene. His art in Urban Incantations Tarot is rendered in digital mixed media. The style is cinematic, tense with drama– a brooding neo-noir.

The interminable nightfall, city lights, with scenes so evocative that you can hear the patter of rain and distant thunder. The way Narciso accentuates with smoke, flames, and droplets gives you the sense of an enlivened world, lambent and permeable.

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Transformational Oracle of the Morrighan by Bela Síol

On By benebellIn cartomancy, deck review, oracle deck1 Comment

The Transformational Oracle of the Morrighan by Bela Síol and illustrated by Igor Alexandre is a mostly black-and-white illustrated deck with accents of color. The Oracle set is an invaluable resource for anyone seeking connection to the Morrighan.

Bela Síol is a Brazilian pagan priestess and creator of The Oracle of Nehalennia, The Oracle of Freya, The Oracle of Arianrhod, The Oracle of Venus, and many more. The illustrator Igor Alexandre is a priest and herbalist who explores themes of the occult, nature, and paganism in his art.

As a priestess Síol first connected with The Morrighan in 2009. Morrighan, or Morrigu, refers to the one but also the multifaceted Goddess of Ireland, namely the triad of goddesses Badb, Macha, and Morrigu, and sometimes appearing as the triad of Banba, Fodla, and Eriu. Still others, it’s a triad inclusive of the war goddesses Fea or Nemain.

This all weaves a complex mythology for The Morrigan. Síol’s The Transformational Oracle of the Morrighan is based on the triad of Badb, Macha, and Morrigu or Anand (sometimes Nemain). Each card explores one of the many key lessons connected to The Morrighan.

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Love Oracle of Eden by Abusua Pa

On By benebellIn cartomancy, deck review, divination, oracle deck1 Comment

The boutique indie publisher Abusua Pa, who printed the Tazama African Tarot, has released an absolutely exquisite and divine oracle deck, the Love Oracle of Eden. This is the second deck by the Black-owned publishing house, whose mission is to increase Black representation in tarot and art.

“Joy is the essence of my being.” – from the Love Oracle of Eden guidebook (2022)

With the Love Oracle of Eden, writes the creators Bjorn Franklin and Chiria Da Luz Fortes, “We had the idea to create a deck about love and relationships, as we did not come across many decks that covered this important subject while including people of colour.”

“To encourage honesty and love with oneself no matter how painful it may be. . . . Even my worst day is a sincere blessing and an opportunity to show myself and those around me grace.” – from the Love Oracle of Eden guidebook

They stumbled upon the art of A.J. and Chantelle Hamilton, the artists of the Love Oracle of Eden. 56 incredible models posed for these photographic compositions, each meticulously curated by the artists for this deck.

Let’s start with the production value. Holy smokes I’ve never seen anything quite like this. The caliber of thought and, like, at this point that deck box is some sort of origami, the level of care that goes into the craftsmanship is impressive. Every design element is not only beautiful, but serves symbolic purpose.

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Spanish Lenormand by Eugene Vinitski and Elsa Khapatnukovski

On By benebellIn cartomancy, deck review1 Comment

First, Eugene Vinitski and Elsa Khapatnukovski took us to Venice of Italia with the Golden Venetian Lenormand and now to Spain with the Spanish Lenormand. This  is a Petit Lenormand Oracle based on Johann Kaspar Hechtel’s Game of Hope, circa the late 18th century. The deck consists of 36 cards-symbols expressed through brilliant Pyrenean colors and cast with the mystery and magic of Iberian witches–las brujas (Iberia being the Land of Rivers).

What’s most standout about this deck is the art. Note how Vinitski adds a lot of texture to his work, a la the Post-Impressionist painters of continental Europe. You get the sense that the artist is a Romantic at heart. As I go through these illustrations, they call to mind early Modernists such as Marc Chagall (1887 – 1985) and stylistic traces of Jean Metzinger (1883 – 1956).

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Unifying Consciousness Tarot by Lori Lytle and Leo Scopacasa

On By benebellIn deck review4 Comments

The Unifying Consciousness Tarot by mystic Lori Lytle and illustrated by Leo Scopacasa is premised on emissions of loving forces to unify collective consciousness. These works of art are intended to “activate the soul of the viewer,” by “achieving resonance with the inherent vibration of love” (notes the guidebook).

Bonus Card: Arcana 22, Activation

This tarot is molded from the conviction that we are all one and we are the eternal. Readings with this deck empower you as a being of Light. The All-Seeing Eye becomes a recurring theme throughout the illustrations and is also the motif on the card back design. The Eye in every iteration you’ll see is crafted to activate your soul memory, wisdom, compassion, memories, and to be securely guided by the unifying consciousness of Love.

The pack of cards is a cosmic crew of otherworldly and divine beings, freeform entities, and universal forces framed into the Waite-Smith Tarot structure, with a total of 79 cards. The extra card in this deck is Arcana 22: Activation. This is the key that attunes your All-Seeing Eye to this deck as the window through which you’ll See.

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