The Tarot Room – Georgianna

Today’s pull from Georgie’s Magic Card Collection is a Playing Card Oracle I made myself.

5 Points About This Deck

1. Card Stock: The deck is made from a playing card deck I bought at a corner store for a dollar or two. The cards are plastic coated and hearty.
2. Major Arcana: As a Playing Card Oracle, the only Major card is the Fool, otherwise known as the Joker – but there are two in the deck.
3. Minor Arcana: As a Playing Card Oracle, the whole deck (excluding the Jokers) is made up of Minor Arcana Cards … Clubs, Hearts, Diamonds, and Spades. There’s only 3 Court Cards though … the familiar Jack, Queen, and King.
4. Readability: Each card is marked with words and symbols, so whether you know how to read playing cards or not, a clear message gets through.
5. Craftability: Everyone can make a deck like this – and I encourage you to do so. Just get yourself a playing card deck, some markers, some stickers, and look up some playing card divinatory meanings online … or from a book … or just make them up. It’s your deck, the rules are your own.

Making your own deck – Tarot or otherwise – is super fun. Do it.

Today’s pull from Georgie’s Magic Card Collection is the Rock Art Tarot created by Jerry Reopen, and published back in 1996/97 by US Games Systems, Inc.

6 Points About This Deck:

1. Concept: Jerry Roelen depicts and adapts rock art images found in petroglyphs, pictographs, and intaglios from around the world and associates them with Tarot archetypes.
2. Artwork: If you appreciate the raw energy of rock art, you’ll probably like the images in this deck – I find them mesmerizing … and the bold, bright colouring really brings them to life (and adds a little fun.)
3. Major Arcana: Many of the names of the Major Arcana are different than most decks, though they do follow basic tradition. Some examples – The Fool is Innocence, the Magician is Illusion, the Hermit is Meditation, and the Devil is Deception
4. Minor Arcana: Suits of the Minor Arcana are different than most decks as well … instead of the Suits of Swords, Wands, Cups, and Pentacles, there are the Suits of Intellect, Intuition, Emotion, and Sensation
5. Court Cards: Instead of King, Queen, Knight, and Page, there’s Mankind, Womankind, Defender, and Peacemaker
6. Readability: Despite the non-traditional elements of the Rock Tarot, between the evocative imagery, key words written on each card, and the comprehensive guide book (or even the little white book if there isn’t a full guide book), these cards are pretty easy to read. Or at least they make clear the energies and emotions around any spread you might pull.

All in all, I really like this deck. If you come across a copy, take a look.

Today’s pull from Georgie’s Magic Card Collection is a deck I made myself. I don’t remember when I made it, probably ten or fifteen years ago. I forgot all about it.

5 Points About This Deck

1. Major Arcana – This unnamed deck is a Major’s Only deck – 0 to 21. Sometimes that’s all you need.
2. Hand Crafted – I crafted these cards with my own hands. As such, they’re a little roughhewn, but get their point across.
3. Artwork – The artwork is varied, apparently taken from magazines and flyers. I personally like all of the pictures, but that’s to be expected since I chose them all.
4. Cardstock and Size – Nice card thickness. They fit well in my hands and are easy to shuffle.
5. How They Were Made – It looks like I pasted cut out magazine pictures onto regular playing cards then painted them with a glaze. Then I painted the backs black with a 4-pointed yellow star in the middle, splashed with glitter.

I absolutely love these cards and am thrilled that I found them. And they make me want to make another set.

Unfortunately though, they’re one of a kind so I can’t really recommend them to anyone. But I do recommend you make a deck like them for yourself.

My friend Tangelo helping out with a reading using Andrew McGregor’s The Orisha Tarot …

For today’s draw from Georgie’s Magic Card Collection, we’ll be looking at The Wild Unknown Pocket Tarot by Kim Krans, published in 2021 by Harper One.

6 Points About This Deck

1. Artwork – The artwork in The Wild Unknown is hand drawn natural imagery made with no tools, ie. rulers and such. It’s gorgeous, and feels very personal. Colours are sparse, making their impact even more powerful when they do appear. As Krans says in the accompanying book, “I wanted the imagery to speak to a world of wild nature and mystery … a place where the darks are truly dark, and the lights are bright and expansive.” She succeeded.
2. Booklet – For a pocket-size deck, this fully illustrated 207 page (also pocket-sized) booklet is impressive, with a description of each card, as well as an explanation as to how the deck came to be, some general info on Tarot, and a number of spreads to get you started.
3. Court Cards – Instead of Page, Knight, King, and Queen, the Wild Unknown names its Court Cards Daughter, Son, Father, and Mother, again, creating a more personal feel to the deck.
4. Tarot System – This deck follows the Marseille or Thoth ordering of the Major Arcana with Strength being #11 and Justice #8. And though the card descriptions basically follow the Tarot ideas of the Golden Dawn, the Wild Unknown is not a clone deck. What’s most striking about it is that there are no humans in any of the cards. Oddly, I find that refreshing.
5. Readability – Despite there being no humans pictured in this deck, the Wild Unknown is quite readable, and offers very human advice. Even without looking at the definitions in the booklet (which are very helpful, by the way), with the darks being dark, and the lights being bright, all the trees and animals in each card make clear what it is they’re trying to say.
6. Pocket-Size – There’s a full-size version of the Wild Unknown deck as well, first published in 2012. I have that deck too, and have always really liked it … but I’m very much enjoying this pocket size version. It fits so nicely in my palm, it’s easy to shuffle, doesn’t take up much space, and I love the tin box it comes in. This little version has reignited my love for this deck.

All in all, the Wild Unknown is a beautiful set of Tarot cards, whatever size you choose.

Today’s pull from Georgie’s Magic Card Collection is the Learning Tarot Deck from Witchy Cauldron. My copy was published in 2022.

6 or So Points About This Deck

1. Learning Tarot – This Rider-Waite-Smith styled deck is appropriately named Learning Tarot, as it’s definitely meant to help new readers learn the cards. It’s available in multiple different languages.
2. Key Words – A rather lengthy set of key words for both upright and reversed positions is printed on the front of each card.
3. Affirmations – Each of the Major Arcana cards has an appropriate affirmation printed on the front.
4. Chakras and Astrology – Each card identifies both its astrological associations and affiliated chakras.
5. Yes/No – Also on each card, is the word – Yes, No, or Maybe … just in case you’re looking for something definitive (or definitivish).
6. Image – The images for Learning Tarot are from the Rider-Waite-Smith deck, but are relatively small as they share space on each card with all of the above listed descriptors.

For someone new to Tarot, this deck would be great for practising and getting to know the cards. It allows you to throw them down without having to have a book with you to look things up each time. Eventually, you’ll probably want to move on to a deck that highlights the images more … but who knows. To each their own.

I kind of like this deck. The cards are hearty, the messages are clear, and it comes in two fantastic boxes. As a new reader, I would have loved it. As someone more seasoned, I don’t really need all the notes, and the images are a little small, but it’s fun anyway, and I’m happy I have it.

I’m a little embarrassed to admit it, but I was watching Matlock the other night. Not the new one even, but the old one. The one with Andy Griffith from the ’80’s.

I’m making this admission here in The Tarot Room because the episode was called The Psychic (season 3, episode 13 with Camilla More).

The story line was fun … a psychic gets a vision that someone would be killed and that she was going to be accused of murder, so she goes to Matlock for defence before the killing even happens.

But it wasn’t the plot that grabbed me. It was that about half-way through, in a scene in an office of a psychic fair, there on the bulletin board were a bunch of cards from the Thoth Tarot.

I got a screenshot …

I haven’t really got anything to say about this sighting, except that I was thrilled to see my favourite deck there on the screen. I don’t see this deck in the wild too often. No comments were made about it, and I don’t think Tarot was even mentioned in the episode, but the cards were there. I liked that.

Today’s pull from Georgie’s Magic Card Collection is extra special to me. It’s a copy of my first Tarot deck … The Thoth Tarot designed by Aleister Crowley and painted by Lady Freida Harris. It’s published by US Games in association with AGM AGMuller.

8 Points About This Deck

1. Deck Size – there are a number of different versions of the Thoth Tarot, varying in size and colouring
   •small version – 5X9 cm
   •medium version – 8X11 cm (my copy printed in 1983)
   •medium version – 7X11 cm (my copy printed in 2023)
   •large version – 9X14 cm
   There might be more, but these are the ones I have and know about. The small deck is fabulous for carrying around. It fits nicely in my hands and I just love it … but I have to say that the words printed at the bottom of each card are a little fuzzy (or at least mine are). The large deck is beautiful!! But it is a little big for regular readings, and is difficult to shuffle. For me, at least for regular readings, the medium size is just right.
2. Colours – There’s been colour corrections done on the 2023 deck to apparently bring the images closer in line to those of the original watercolours by Frieda Harris. This change startled me at first, but I’ve grown accustomed to it now, and think the new (or should I say original) version is beautiful.
3. Court Cards – After thirty years, and many other decks, I’m still blown away by how dynamic and gorgeous the Court Cards are in this deck … every one of them.
4. Card Names – If you’re accustomed to the Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot, you’ll find some differences in the Thoth Tarot. First off, the Suit of Disks replaces the Suit of Pentacles. As well …
   • •Knights replace Kings
   • •Princes replace Knights
   • •Princesses replace Pages
   • •The Magus replaces The Magician
   • •Adjustment replaces Justice
   • •Lust replaces Strength
   • •Art replaces Temperance
   • •The Aeon replaces Judgement
   • •The Universe replaces The World
5. Ordering – The Thoth Tarot identifies Adjustment/Justice as #8, and Lust/Strength as #11 (opposite to the RWS Tarot).
6. Non-Tarot Associations – There are astrological and kabbalistic associations noted on each of the relevant cards.
7. Keywords – There are keywords noted at the bottom of each of the Minor Arcana (excluding the Aces and Court Cards).
8. Symbology – The Thoth Tarot highlights symbolism from all around the world and multiple spiritual/religious paths. Crowley intended it to be a compendium of the world’s spiritual and magical ideas.

There’s so much to say about this deck that 8 points is just not nearly enough, but that’s where I’m going to leave it for now. I’ve got nothing but positive things to say about The Thoth Tarot. It was my first deck, and after all these years, it’s still my favourite.

Today’s pull from Georgie’s Magic Card Collection is the Happy Soul Yes/No Crystal Oracle Deck by Diane Kewley and Joey Wargachuk. I’m not sure when it was published, but I got my copy this past summer.

5 Points About This Deck

1. Purpose: The Happy Soul Yes/No Crystal Oracle Deck is meant to offer a straight up affirmative or negative answer to a querent’s question … which is often what people are looking for when they’re wanting a divinatory reading, and Tarot isn’t always so good at that.
2. Oracle Deck: The Happy Soul Yes/No Crystal Oracle is an Oracle deck, not Tarot. There are no Major or Minor Arcanas, simply 28 cards – 7 Yes, 7 No, 7 Maybe, and 7 Defer
3. Crystals: Each card shows a different crystal along with a short phrase connected to the energy of the pictured stone, and the answer, ie. yes, no, maybe, defer
4. Works Well With Others: This a great deck to use in tandem with other Oracle or Tarot decks … the Yes/No Crystal Oracle can suggest a yes/no/maybe/defer answer, while the other decks can fill in the details of that suggestion
5. Happy Soul: Happy Soul is a crystal and metaphysical shop in Toronto with two locations, one on Bloor Street West, and the other on Queen West (I’ve only been to the Queen Street store). The founder of the shop, Diane Kewley is one of the deck creators, and as far as I know, Happy Soul is the only place to get a copy (in person, or online).

If you’re looking for a straight and easy answer from your cards, this is a fun deck to try. And if you’re already familiar with the properties of crystals, you might especially like it.

Remember though, nothing is definitive with Tarot, or any Oracle deck, so always use good judgement and your own discernment when making decisions that matter.

Today’s pull from Georgie’s Magic Card Collection is a Halloween treat … The Halloween Tarot by Karin Lee with artwork by Kipling West. My copy was published way back in 1996 by US Games, but there’s plenty of copies around today.

5 Points About This Deck

1. Theme: You may have guessed … Halloween is the theme of The Halloween Tarot. It’s a delightful celebration of monsters and goblins and vampires and ghosts and all kinds of tricks and treats,
2. Suits: Following with the Halloween theme, instead of Cups, Wands, Swords, and Pentacles, The Halloween Tarot brings us Imps, Bats, Ghosts, and Pumpkins.
3. Artwork: Adorable. Bright. Cheerful. Spooky. But not at all scary.
4. Readability: The Halloween Tarot follows the Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot structure, so if you’re comfortable with that, you’ll have no trouble with this deck. Not to mention, the pictures tell a great story on their own. It’s a pretty easy deck to read.
5. Black Cat: There’s a wonderful big eye’d black cat in every single card. Having a black cat angel ghost in my own life … this only makes me love this deck more.

The Halloween Tarot is fantastic – fun and sweet and full of spirits … I recommend it to all.