Lord have mercy that the tarot card you were drawing on your birthday isn’t an omen of what’s to come for the year. Because I was “called” to work on the Five of Swords. Or I was “pulled” to, I dunno, I find all that New Agey jargon a bit fluffy but there it is. “I was called to” just means I don’t have a logical explanation for why I did what I did.
Birthed during the global pandemic, The Fool’s New Journey Tarot is a 60-card deck that reorganizes the familiar order of the traditional 78. “Sixty Triumphs for a New Dawn.”
Per the deck description on the box: “In 2020, the world changed. The arrival of a worldwide pandemic ensured it could never be quite the same again. In the same way, facing new issues at every level of life, it is time for Tarot to change. The Fool must begin a new journey.”
“The Fool represents the soul of everyman . . . and goes through the life experiences depicted in the 21 cards of the Major Arcana,” wrote Eden Gray over half a century ago. The Majors, noted Gray, were like archetypes of the subconscious.
But why only these 21 cards of the Majors, as depicted by Pamela Colman Smith no less, as the immutable model for every tarot deck produced?
So begins the questioning that led to The Fool’s New Journey, a new sequence of cards that speak with the archetypal voice governing all beings on earth (to borrow language from Caitlin Matthews).
John Matthews then collaborated with artist Charles Newington for these new archetypal tarot images. Together, the two set out to create imagery that would be stripped of the traditional imagery as much as possible, and to keep these picture cards simple. Matthews then set these images into a new order, a reset of the tarot.
These 60 trump cards present a new look at the tarot, literally a new journey for The Fool. And yet it’s funny that we think of this as a diverging path from traditional tarot, because in its heyday, circa 15th and 16th centuries, we had the Minchiate Tarot of 96 cards, the 50-card Mantegna, which was also considered a tarot, and the quite popular pre-Golden Dawn Etteilla Tarot that has an ordering of the Majors to confound today’s RWS readers.
The journey of The Fool represents the journey of life itself, and so the premise here would be that we, the everyman, all begin before The Maze (Key 1). In the natural course, we then must embody The Believer (Key 2), but before we can move into the role of The Magician, we must confront The Shadow (Key 3). If The Magician is skill and cleverness, The Priestess (Key 5) is wisdom and intuition. I love that in this New Journey, The Priestess is Key 5, what had been the traditional position of The Hierophant.
Continue reading “The Fool’s New Journey Tarot by John Matthews and Charles Newington”
I saw the #Tarot7Connection video challenge via Marilyn from Tarot Clarity on Tarot Tube and decided I would post a response via blog before reading the questions! =)
For visual interest, there will be random photos of pretty tarot decks accompanying my responses – no connection between the photos and my responses beyond coincidence.
Continue reading “#Tarot7Connection (TarotTube Challenge) Responses”
The illustrations for the Cosmic Wisdom Tarot has this nostalgic and heartwarming animations-of-your-childhood storybook style to it that is then paired with one of the coolest tarot card meanings guidebook I’ve come across.
I love the creative mind-map layout for the card meanings. Each card comes with a definitive “this card means yes” or “this card means no” in the case of asking a yes or no question to the cards. I love the bullet points of keywords and single-sentence thesis for each card, upright and reverse, and then the breakdown of symbolism, which is also going to help you learn the RWS system.
The Cosmic Wisdom Tarot is outfitted to be a great beginner’s deck, if you or someone you know is looking for one, because in addition to the RWS-keyed deck art, the guidebook does a great job presenting the tarot as a versatile tool, whether you are interested in learning it for divination, for self-discovery and personal growth, spiritual cultivation, or for inspiring your creativity.
Continue reading “Cosmic Wisdom Tarot by Ethony and James Fenner”
“When rationality runs dry, it’s Red that will reconcile this world, a hue vibrant and vital inside its brown.”
And so opens Chapter 1, Zero, of Red Tarot: A Decolonial Guide to Divinatory Literacy by Christopher Marmolejo. This is going to be a tarot book like no other. I can tell already. :: hearts for eyes ::
“To be born, this work broke open my heart, and so let this reading be opened by my blood offering, a requisite pound of flesh…”
Marmolego’s writing is going to draw out your feels, that’s for sure. Either you will be fully onboard this train or you will be left scratching your head. You’ll see what I mean. Let’s continue.
Red Tarot is not an easy read, but it’s not intended to be. It’s filled with dense layers covering symbolism, mythology, history, present day politics, literature, and so much more. This book is about shedding red light on each card in the tarot to reveal it as a prism of political praxis, inspired after Prof. Sandy Grande’s Red Pedagogy.
Each tarot card entry draws from four key disciplines:
This is achieved by weaving in the teachings of Toni Morrison, bell hooks, Paulo Freire, and José Esteban Muñoz.
Continue reading “Red Tarot by Christopher Marmolejo (North Atlantic Books, 2024)”
Winnie-the-Pooh is my childhood, and to date remains one of my favorite characters and accompanying series of stories. To see one of the most beautifully produced tarot tributes to Pooh come alive by Rue & Vervain is an incredible honor.
The production quality of this box set is top tier, whether you’re talking indie or traditionally published. Not just production value, but Amsel’s artwork, staying true – simultaneously – to the spirit of what Milne and Shepard created and to the spirit of the RWS tarot is no small feat, and few in the past have achieved it with a themed deck.
Also I just noticed the compass in the map — it spells out POOH!
Continue reading “Wisdom of Pooh Tarot: Christopher Robin Box Set”
StaarCon, the Southeastern Tarot Artists and Readers Conference, based out of Florida, is relatively new on the scene, with its first conference in 2021 for which I was lucky enough to be a keynote speaker.
Currently in the U.S. tarot conference circuits we’ve got the Readers Studio in New York founded by Ruth Ann and Wald Amberstone (click here for my coverage of the 2018 event and here for the 2019), the Northwest Tarot Symposium (click here for my recap of NWTS 2022) recently taken over by Michelle and Roger Welch of SoulTopia, and the Masters of the Tarot Conference at the Omega Institute, co-founded by Rachel Pollack and Mary K. Greer (click here for my thoughts on the event).
StaarCon has the personableness and small-group-feel of the Omega conference, some of the razzle-dazzle characteristics of the iconic Readers Studio, and the ability to attract big personalities the way NWTS does. Oh, and because video recordings of all master classes are available all year long and there is the post-conference tarot lounge events and virtual gatherings, it’s reminiscent of Ethony’s Tarot Summer School at the Tarot Readers Academy (my blog posts on it in 2016 and in 2018). So if you’re looking for that tarot conference with a little bit of something for everyone, then that’s StaarCon.
I was invited back as a keynote for StaarCon 2024, my first time attending in person (the 2021 conference during the pandemic was virtual only). What’s unique about StaarCon is its hybrid model, with the virtual event managed by Accelevents. Meaning you can elect to attend in person or attend virtually from the comfort of your own home.
For the price of admission, you’re getting access to a wide array of master classes on tarot techniques, tarot adjacent studies like astrology, crystals, and sound bath meditation, in-depth targeted explorations on how to read the cards, powerful and transformative guided visual journeying sessions for connecting with an animal totem or quantum healing, tarot business essentials, more academic-driven workshops, to creating and selling your own deck, just to name a few of the topics covered this weekend.
I previously showed the above in a #54321tarot tag. Whether you get the coins or cards, if you’re interested in the 72 angels correspondences, there’s a free download from me at the very end of this walk-through.
The download is so you can do a direct comparison between the 72 angels and tarot correspondences per Christine Payne-Towler’s Tarot of the Holy Light and the tarot correspondences per Frater Setnakh.
This post is a photographic walk-through of the 72 Angels Talisman Coins and Cards created by Frater Setnakh.
Continue reading “Frater Setnakh’s 72 Angels Talisman Coins and Cards”
You might find this free handbook helpful.
Here’s some of what you’ll find in the downloadable PDF and DOCX:
Continue reading “Copyright Law and Tarot: Handbook Download”
The Masonic Tarot came out in October 2022, created and illustrated by Chilean artist and academic Patricio Diaz Silva, and it is in the top 10% of the most well-done tarot decks in recent years. The illustrations for the Major Arcana are exquisite, as are the court cards.
Do note, however, that this deck has elected to go with non-narrative illustrations for the pips, which works for the Masonic Tarot given its ceremonial leaning purposes.
The deck is designed as a “gateway into the secret mysteries of the soul” integrating the sacred symbolism of Freemasonry. The premise melds together the arcana of the tarot with models from Masonic rites, with heavy emphasis on alchemy.
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