Mystical Monday: Tarot Card Art

Wild Unknown's The Chariot via Tumblr

Modern tarot decks are being released independently left and right and they are simply stunning. There's intimacy and a little bit of pressure in choosing the right deck. Because there is always an element of interpretation to the cards, you want to be sure that you're choosing a deck where the cards send the right messages to you. If you're looking through a deck and large sections seem pretty but meaningless or worse, distasteful, then you definitely aren't going to get a good reading. 


These are my favorite decks that I've stumbled across in my search for the right deck. Lots of independent releases here, and hopefully I can highlight a few different styles to help you see the degree to which interpretation exists compared to some consistent similarities that are necessary to make the deck function. 

James Eads is incredibly popular and used a Kickstarter campaign to fund this deck. The Light Visions Tarot came first, all in black and white and was a full deck of 78 cards. This deck is slightly modernized and isn't as overly magical or mystical as some decks. The Devil is a forbidding wood, not a really detailed horned figure like in some decks. There's a lot of moonlight and movement in this deck which I think is part of what appeals to people. 

The Devil & The Magician:

Then we have the overwhelmingly rich Prisma Visions deck in which 23 cards from the above deck were released in color. There's the same sense of movement, but this time splashes of red, orange and blue make the deck seem even more lively  and electric. 

We have The Tower & The High Priestess:

 

The Empress & The Lovers :

The Linestrider Tarot was released by artist Sielo Thompson in March 2016, and she describes it as "gentle and whimsical." It was funded via IndieGoGo Campaign and it's full of soft watercolor and ink work. It has a more soothing vibe than the Eads decks. 

The 4 Queens:

The Hermit:

The Wild Unknown Tarot by Kim Krans has become incredibly popular, and there's an awesome Tumblr community full of people doing readings and of people's tattoos using Wild Unknown art. Talk about taking off. As you can see from this little spread, there's a lot of black and splashes of red in the Wild Unknown. In the bottom right, the Hermit is a single lamp on top of tortoise, which is an interesting comparison to Linestrider's bear above. The lantern is the key connecting component that helps you identify the card, and it's interesting to see just how much room for interpretation exists in the artwork. 

The Ostara Tarot is another beautiful, popular deck that was created by a team of four illustrators profiled here. Here we have the Ten of Swords and the High  Priestess.

In terms of tarot through the years, there have always been new twists and takes on the Rider-Waite, which I know is the classic deck that we're meant to revere, but it's pretty uninspiring in terms of the actual art. Salvador Dali had a deck inspired by historical figures, using Marie Antoinette as his Queen of Wands.

Do you have a preferred deck of your own? I'm leaning towards the Linestrider, but can't seem to stop going back to the Eads deck! Are you surprised at how diverse and beautiful decks can be? 

P.S.- Happy Birthday, America!