Of course, I knew about The Bonestone and Earthflesh Tarot when it first came out.
It was independently released and a very limited printing and I just remember people being so thrilled to have snagged a copy of the deck. I hadn’t been lucky enough to do so and the deck kind of fell off my radar until I learned that the deck was being re-released and published by Lewellen and Blue Angel. I delved into the online images and discovered a whole new world.
Inspired by the legends and myths of before times, I was curious to see the deck looked. I wondered at a tarot deck filled with beings from all kinds of beings from myth and mysticism. I was a little worried about it. I had used decks that drew from myth and legend before, but they had been centered to one mythology or one type of legend. Would the deck work at all? Sure, the art was gorgeous, but how would the cards read? I was so curious and really wanted to delve into the world that Avalon Cameron and Ana Tourian had created.
When a friend gave me a gift card for Yule, I knew that there was only one thing I wanted. I got myself a copy of The Bonestone and Earthflesh Tarot. I opened the box and was prepared for disappointment, positive that my excitement would not continue after the fever pitch. It’s like this sometimes with decks. I thirst for some decks, only to find that as a whole, the art doesn’t work or the guidebook is badly written. They become part of my collection, but I don’t use them, the attraction I felt for the cards gone now that the thirst was satisfied.
A lot of the decks I thirst after do end up salivating that thirst and continue to do so. Examples of decks like this are The True Black Tarot, The Emphere Tarot, The Spacious Tarot, The Light Seers Tarot, Fifth Spirit Tarot, Tarot La Base!, The Painted Tarot and The Phantomwise Tarot. These are card I turn to again and again for guidance and advice, but there are so many others that don’t. There is nothing worse in the world of cartomancy than waiting for a deck for what seems like forever and finding that I don’t connect with the deck at all once I have it in my hands.
That didn’t happen with The Bonestone and Earthflesh Tarot: The Reawakening. Instead, it has only increased. I’ve pretty much used this deck exclusively since December. Whenever I go to read with he deck, I’m drawn back into the world that has been created within the cards. When I open the box and flip through the cards, the art just pulls me into a world that I want to be part of. Added to that, it’s widened my knowledge of legend and lore. I was surprised by how many of the myths and stories I did recognize, but there were so many other cards that featured legends that I did recognize.
In a way, the Bonestone and Earthflesh Tarot has helped to guide me back to a place within myself that I had closed off. It gave me the windows that I needed to look within myself and helped me to find the door I wanted to open. More than that, the card helped me to see myself as I truly was without all my perceived failings and negativity. It can be a very raw deck or a very healing one, it all depends on the cards I pull. I love decks that aren’t afraid of telling it like it is. I’ve never been afraid of the shadow side of things. I mean, we’re not made completely of light. There would be no light without the shadow, so we can’t ignore the negative. It is what helps us to grow. The Bonestone and Earthflesh Tarot does this with impeccable balance. Using the cards gave me a new light to shine upon myself and I am forever grateful.
The deck comes in a beautiful two-piece box with a lifting ribbon, and the cardstock is absolutely fantastic, thick but nice and springy. It shuffles beautifully, whether you are overhand shuffling or riffle shuffling. The colours of the art are amazing and vibrant, and you can tell that creating this new version of the deck was a joy. The inside of the box holds the message: This is a world between worlds, a place of discovery, redemption, damnation and self-realisation. How will you weave your story? The Bonestone and Earthflesh Tarot helped me to see the kind of story that I wanted to weave in my own life and have helped immeasurably in re-discovering the parts of myself that I had hidden a long time ago. It was a comfort sometimes to delve into the guidebook and learn about the myths and then read the stories to find out how I could relate to each card.
I wasn’t at al prepared to have this kind of connection with a deck of cards. My go to deck is The Wild Uknown. I received it for a gift from another friend years ago and have even gotten a tattoo of three cards from the deck on my right arm. Up until now, The Wild Uknown has been my spirit deck, but it looks like I finally have another.
The guidebook is a dream. Printed in full colour, it’s a chunky guidebook filled with spreads, a bit of tarot history, rituals and the secrets that the cards hold. It’s not only a tour through the cards, but a tour through your own spirit as well. Each card has an entry on what the cards means, the story or narrative behind the card and the upright and reversed meanings as well as numerology and astrology notes for each card and journal prompts that will enhance your writing and help you get to know the cards in more personal way.
When you get to the Minor Arcana, you are given an overview of what each suit means and symbolizes before they get into the cards themselves. I’m normally not one for guidebooks but have found myself diving in and reading the story that the cards present. Even more, as I said above, when I delved into the myths and legends brought to life by each card, I took the time to see how those stories could be a mirror to what I was going through. Tarot and story have always been mirrors for me to help me see myself completely. I turn to Tarot to learn more about myself, but rarely am I shone where I need to look in myself so clearly.
I normally flip through the guidebooks that come with most deck and instead I work to find myself in the cards. However, the companion book to the Bonestone and Earthflesh Tarot: The Reawakening reads like those storybooks I loved so long ago as a kid that helped me look at myself and how I interacted with the world by giving me examples of how things could be. The companion book read like this and it contains so much lore and wonder.
I am in awe over everything to do with this deck. Everything from the gorgeous box to the guidebook and the cards contained within is absolute perfection. I can’t wait to see what The Bonestone and Earthflesh Tarot can help me to learn about myself as I continue my journey onward in the land of legend and mythology.
You can learn more about the Bonestone and Earthflesh Tarot here: https://blueangelonline.com/shop/card-decks/tarot-cards/bonestone-earthflesh-tarot-the-reawakening/
The Bonestone and Earthflesh Tarot is available from Blue Angel Publishing and they can be found here: https://blueangelonline.com/
Spirit of the Wolf 