Category: Tarot Deck Reviews

A Reflection on the Thoth Tarot

by Jamieson Wolf, posted in Tarot, Tarot Deck Reviews, Tarot Decks, Thoth Tarot

I have a love and hate relationship with the Thoth Tarot.

Back in 2013, I was introduced to the deck and was immediately taken with it. I had been reading tarot for some time but wasn’t enamoured by it. When the Thoth Tarot came into my world, I was going through a life change.

I was dealing with the end of an abusive relationship and struggling against my own body as I tried to figure out a path ahead. I had been diagnosed with relapse remitting multiple sclerosis and my body was completely different to me now. I no longer knew my body or myself as I once had. I needed guidance to find my way in the world and I had so many questions about what lay ahead.

When I saw a post by one of my good friends, I thought this was the answer that I was looking for. She had been learning to read the Thoth tarot at a local shop and all the people in the class were giving tarot readings that evening on Halloween. I knew that I had to go and discover what spirit had in store for me and I thought it would be a wonderful way to spend Halloween.

The reading was a gorgeous experience and I fell in love with the Thoth Tarot as soon as I lay eyes on them. The cards were so vibrant and full of colour. The man who had taught her to read with the cards was giving another run through of his workshop and I signed up right away and got my own copy of the deck before I left the shop. It didn’t hurt that there was a spark of something between us. He asked me what my zodiac sign was and I told him that I was a Leo born on the cusp of Virgo. He looked up my birth date and time and confirmed that I was a full Leo.

Over the next six weeks, he taught a group of us to read the Thoth tarot with an intuitive focus and delve into the mysteries that the cards offered to us. He was a gifted teacher, pulling from the cards a world that I hadn’t known was possible. The cards became a part of my daily life and so did he in a way.

It didn’t take me a long time to realize that he wasn’t a very nice person. I noticed how he was in the workshop and how judgemental he could be with the other students and their interpretation of the cards. At the beginning of the workshop, he told us that there were no wrong interpretations of the cards, however he relished pointing out to a student that they were wrong. He got a joy from that, I think.

As I started to attend more workshops given by him over the next few months, I learned more about tarot, manifestation and reiki. I also began to learn a lot about him as a person. He arrived in my life when I was vulnerable and, though there was an initial attraction, it wore off pretty quickly for me. I could see shadows around him when he spoke.

The end for me came when he told me he loved me.

It was so out of the blue and completely unexpected. I had begun dating someone and he knew this. I’m not sure what his reasons were for telling me he loved me, but they had the reverse effect that he wanted. I was put off by it. There had been no discussion of love or lust and we had never been on a date or anything of the sort. Though I had tried to find love before, I had come to realize that I had been going about it the wrong way. I had to love myself first.

It didn’t take me a long time to realize that his professions of love were just a way to manipulate me. I had survived an abusive relationship a year before and knew the signs of someone who was emotionally unavailable but wanted to claim a person. He didn’t want to be with me, he wanted to possess me.

It didn’t escape my notice that he had only professed his love for me after I had begun to fall in love with someone else. I think he could see that spark of light that had begun to glow within me, and he wanted the light that for himself. We had never gone on a date; he had told me previously that he didn’t to date me, so this talk of love had come out of nowhere.

I did the only thing I could think of doing: blocked him on all social medias. Blocking him on social media seemed like a reactive and sure fire way to establish a boundary. It was something that I had not done with my previous boyfriend or my ex-husband. I hadn’t taken the time to protect myself and I had let them take so much from me. I would not let him take any more of me than he had.

I wanted to set the boundary and that wall that he had to cross should he realize what he had done. It was my rock wall, thorny hedge, moat and ring of fire around myself as I blocked him on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and text. It was a way that I could build a barrier around myself. With each social I blocked him on, I realized why there was something about him that had felt comforting.

After three abusive relationships, his behaviour had seemed like a home I could find comfort in. It would have been an easy habit to fall back in. It had been my MO, really. To let these men latch on to me and take everything that they could from me, and I was left wondering what had gone wrong. I didn’t want that for myself. In choosing to act and protect myself, I took away a part of his voice.

I started to draw cards about my feelings about him and the way he made me feel. All the cards I drew were the tough cards like the 8 of Swords (Interference) or the 10 of Swords (Run), the ones that asked me to really think deeply about why I needed and wanted this relationship with someone who was so obviously toxic he could be distracting (Prince of Cups). There was one reading there all the cards I drew were Sword cards and he had taught me to see the suit as bad.

During one class, one of the other students asked, “What do we do if we draw three sword cards?”

He had given them a grin and said, “Drop the cards and run like hell.”

And yet, every time I asked the cards a question about him, I always drew Sword cards.

I feared the suit of Swords for so long because of him. They had become everything bad in my life, everything that hurt, cut, burned, or maimed. He had filled me with that much terror of the Sword suit.

During one of the classes, he had all of the students pick out which card represented themselves. I chose the Ace of Wands, ready to sparkle and shine bright, to look into the shadows of my life and see those shadows’ part. Within the light that the Ace of Swords came clarity and creative opportunity as well as hope for a future for myself. A new path that was free from darkness.

My good friend who had given me that first tarot reading was in this class with me. She compared me to the Ace of Swords. I was and always have been writing something. My words were and are the way that I show myself to the world. Parts of me are tucked or sewn into everything that I write.

My good friend knew this, and to her the Ace of Swords, the cards of writers and words smiths, seers and crafters of the written word, suited me perfectly. However, my fear of the Swords suit, what they could take away from me, held so much fear (It was only when another friend gave me a copy of The Wild Unknown Tarot deck by Kim Kranz when I realized that Swords, while sometimes cold and others fierce, also had their softer side as well).

I knew that the cards were really asking me to take a look at my own thoughts and perceptions of who he was and what his motivations were. The cards wanted me to make my own mind up about him and I did. Even though it was hard, I cut him off completely from my life and held strong.

He came into my life when I was already vulnerable from an abusive relationship, and it took me a long time to realize that I had entered into another abusive relationship with him, even though it was non-romantic on my side. Though we never dated, that didn’t matter. Any relationship can be abusive.

If I was going to put a complete wall between us, that meant doing the hardest thing I could think of doing. I put the deck away and turned my back on tarot for a bit. I found solace in The Lost Map Oracle Cards by Colette Baron-Reid. I saw those cards as safety. They told a tale that could contain only my words and not the words and wisdom given to me by him. I would not have to hear his voice in my head once I turned my back on the Thoth deck.

I put my Thoth deck away. I wrapped the deck within its pink silk shroud and put it back in the wooden box that I kept them in, marked with a pentagram. He had become so wrapped around the cards in my mind that I couldn’t keep myself from associating the Thoth deck with him. Every once in a while, I would take the deck out and unwrap it and then put it away again. There was sill to much of his energy wrapped up into what the Thoth tarot represented to me. I even tried getting a new deck of the Thoth deck and had the same result. I didn’t think I would ever read with the Thoth Tarot ever again even though much of what I knew about tarot was from that deck.

When I heard that there was a new edition of the Thoth Tarot was published by AGM Urania in Germany and I had to admit that I was curious. I was also surprised about something else: they had named the artist on the box. In my years of using the Thoth Tarot, I never even knew the artist’s name. He had never mentioned Frieda Harris and I hadn’t thought to learn anything about her, quite different from the Rider Waite Smith tarot. Everyone knows about Pamela Coleman Smith. I didn’t know anything about Frieda Harris and her name intrigued me. He had not once mentioned her name, it was all about Alistair Crowley, a man of great power.

I’ve always viewed the true artist behind any tarot deck is the artist themselves. I mean, sure, the creator is the one that nurtures the seed into fruition, but the artist is the one that brings the cards to life. I don’t end up reading the guidebooks of many of the tarot decks I own. I don’t think I’ve ever read one cover to cover. I connect with the art and prefer to read my decks using what I see in front of me. It’s how I end up connecting to a card.

I ordered a used copy of the AGM Thoth Tarot off of Amazon, just to see how it would feel to have the deck in front of me. I still have the copy of the Thoth tarot that he taught me to read with. I decided against burying my original copy of the deck simply because he wasn’t a pack of cards, even if the Thoth tarot had become synonymous with him, at least in my mind. I’ve got it tucked at the back of my tarot collection. I could have gotten rid of my wooden box containing the deck very easily, but I wanted a marked or touchstone to remind me of where I’d been.

When the new copy of the AGM Thoth Tarot arrived, I was surprised to find that the deck was still wrapped in plastic, both the box and the cards. The deck wasn’t used after all, and I hadn’t paid that much for it. It felt like a bit of good fortune. When I got the deck out of the box and looked upon the face of Lady Frieda Harris, it was like greeting an old friend, I knew her art so well. I flipped through the Little White Book and found out a little bit about her and how she and Alistair Crowley met.

I read so many books about Crowley and the symbolism of the cards when I started reading with the Thoth Tarot, but I don’t recall one mention of Frieda and who she was. I was happy to finally meet her and to see her name on the box of the cards that she created.

As I made my way through the deck again after so many years, I focused not the mysticism that Alistair Crowley wanted in the deck, but the artistic skill used as Frieda tried to paint another person’s vision. Ever drop of water, ever tongue of flame was painted by her and she had to paint it to his specifications, but still, they are her paintings.

It was comforting to know that this was a new deck, unassociated with him. I can finally read with the Thoth Tarot again after so many years, and it has nothing to do with it. I can finally let his influence over the deck go and embrace the cards I know so well once more so that I can see them in a new light.

It’s wonderful to know that on one hand, I’m meeting and old friend again, but on the other, I’m also forging a new relationship with the cards and can’t wait to see what I learn about myself.

Thank you, Frieda, wherever you are.

Quên -A Review

by Jamieson Wolf, posted in Tarot Deck Reviews

I’m lucky to have backed Quên on Kickstarter. I chose the Quên Tarot and Oracle with the guidebook. I’ve been in awe since they have arrived.

The cards invite you inward. The Quên Tarot follows the cards we know, but there is something that I really connected to. There is an earthiness about the cards, as if they come from time, and you can feel the cards have been on before you have found them.

I love the focus story, memory, and healing. Before reading the guidebook, I was curious about the places, cities, realms, and countries on each card. When I dipped into the guidebook and read the story behind the cards, I connected even more with the cards.

The art, cardstock, gilding, and production are amazing. I love everything about this deck. There is a subtle quietness about it that asks me to discover something about myself and find a way to heal.

The story behind The Quên Tarot focuses on a woman trying to find her soul mate even if she can’t remember who it is. The Quên Oracle asks you to turn that questioning inward through the power of memory.

As a writer, it’s the story brought me further into the world that Duy Khanh Vo has created. It evoked memories of places I have been and others I have only dreamed of. Quên is a beautiful tribute to story and memory.

I’m blessed to be taking this journey with these cards.

The Ancient Egyptian Tarot by Clive Barrett

by Jamieson Wolf, posted in Tarot Deck Reviews, Tarot Decks
The Ancient Egyptian Tarot, 1995

I still remember my first tarot deck.

I was a teenager and I had gone to visit my brother. I don’t remember where he was staying at the time, but I remember the gift he gave me. My brother gave me a copy of The Ancient Egyptian Tarot by Clive Barrett. He knew that I loved everything having to do with Egypt and the mysteries that it held. “This looks like something you’d enjoy,” he said.

Never having looked at a tarot deck before, I was unsure of what to do. I followed the direction in the book, shuffled the cards, pull a card for myself and read the meaning in the card. That’s it. Though I loved the artwork of the deck, I didn’t connect with the deck, and I had no idea what to with it. Eventually, I gave the deck away to a friend.

Flash forwards a few years. The Ancient Egyptian Tarot had sparked something in me. I wanted to know more about myself and the world around me. I was drawn to the occult and the tarot once more and began to learn with the Thoth Tarot. Every time that I flicked through the cards, I couldn’t help but remember The Ancient Egyptian Tarot.

I began collecting decks and with each deck, I was able to find a piece of myself that I hadn’t known that I had lost along the way. As humans, we’re all made up of facets, different pieces that make up a whole. I began to find myself in the cards and the strength to delve into the facets that I was made of.

There came a time when my brother was no longer in my life. I began to think of the deck that he had gifted me with. I thought that if I was able to hold on to that deck again, I would at least have a piece of my brother in my life, even if it was only in spirit. When I contacted the friend that I had given the deck to, it was to find that they too had parted ways with it.

The Ancient Egyptian Taro, 2022

I began to look for a copy of The Ancient Egyptian Tarot. I was disheartened to find that it had gone out of print. I thought that shouldn’t be a problem. I looked everywhere online, and I found copies of the paperback book that had come with the cards, but no deck. I did find a copy on eBay, but I wasn’t sure it was a legitimate post and I didn’t want to shell out $300 for something that may be a scam.

I kept up my search throughout the years. It was always the same, I found copies of the book, but there were no cards in sight. I don’t know why I never considered Etsy. I figured that if the original deck was published in 1995 and the cards were long gone, chances were that the original creator was no longer making cards.

Imagine my surprise when I stumbled upon Clive Barrett’s Etsy page, and my further astonishment that he had made a new edition of The Ancient Egyptian Tarot. The only thing that it wasn’t available. When I messaged him, he told me that there were issues with the Royal Mail from England and to check back. He would list the deck when it was available to be mailed out internationally.

I checked this afternoon, and the deck was there. Only one copy was listed. Of course, I ordered it. I’m thrilled that after all these years, I’m this much closer to having a copy of The Ancient Egyptian Tarot. It actually seems unreal at this point.

It won’t be the same as having the copy of The Ancient Egyptian Tarot that my brother had given me, I know that. However, with it being a new edition of the deck, it’s my hope that I can form a new relationship with the cards, a relationship that I didn’t have and wasn’t capable of all those years ago.

I know that when I get my copy of the deck, I will take a moment to say thank you to my brother for that gift all those years go.

Representation Matters In Tarot

by Jamieson Wolf, posted in Tarot Deck Reviews, Tarot Decks

For years, I did not see myself within the cards.

Living as a gay and disabled man, when I read with the cards I found it difficult to see myself. I know that Tarot goes beyond gender and race but there is just something so wonderful about picking up a deck and automatically seeing yourself without having to think about how you would fit into the cards.

For Pride Month, I thought I would take a deep dive into the decks where I’ve seen myself without having to look too deeply, the decks where I’ve immediately felt at home within the cards. I think it’s so important for anyone who uses Tarot to see themselves within the cards. It’s especially important during Pride Month.

Here are the decks I return to again and again that are unapologetically GLBTQ+:

The Numinous Tarot by Cedar McCloud

I love The Numinous Tarot for so many reasons. It’s a totally GLBTQ+ revisioning of the cards in bright and beautiful colour. There is representation of race and also disabilities. You can get your copy here: https://numinoustarotthird.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders

The Harley Spencer Tarot Deck by Harley Spencer

This deck is amazing. It’s queer positive and is so inclusive of gender, race and sexuality. I particularly love how in the Lovers card, the people are neither male nor female. They are just two beings who love each other. You can get your copy here, but upon publication it looks like the decks may be sold out except for the new factory-made edition: https://www.hs-tarot.com/

The Fifth Spirit Tarot by Charlie Claire Burgess

This deck is so inclusive and so wonderfully queer. It has people of every gender type and is inclusive of race and disability too! It goes beyond binaries and is wonderfully diverse in every possible way. You can get your copy here: https://www.fifthspirittarot.com/

The Urban Tarot by Robin Scott

I love this deck so much. It’s got representation of GLBTQ+ and gender, race and disabilities too. It’s wonderfully diverse and it’s more aligned with Thoth than RWS, but it’s so evocotave and wonderful. You can get your copy here: https://www.usgamesinc.com/the-urban-tarot.html

This Might Hurt Tarot by Isabella Rotman

I hear this deck. It’s wonderfully diverse and just so sweet and lovely. It’s got so much substance to it and it’s inclusive of GLBTQ+ and people with disabilities. It does a remarkable job of representing people from different races too. You can get your copy here:

https://www.thismighthurttarot.com/

Tarot of the Divine by Yoshi Yoshitani

This deck uses stories, legends and myths from all over the world to tell the story of the cards. It’s inclusive of GLBTQ+ and races from all over the world. I love how Yoshi chose each story or legend to represent each card and it’s so bright and colourful. You can get your copy here:

Tarot of the Divine

The Pride Tarot by US Games

This deck is a collaborative deck with all kinds of GLBTQ+ Tarot readers and artists creating cards for this deck. It is so wonderfully inclusive in terms of race and disability and of course being the Pride Tarot it’s unapologetically GLBTQ+ and oh so wonderful. You can get your copy here: https://www.usgamesinc.com/pride-tarot.html

The Uncommon Tarot by Shaheen Miro

This deck is a wonderful reimagining of the RWS we know and love and it includes beautiful collage artwork. It makes this deck somehow timeless and more current. It’s inclusive of gender, GLBTQ+ and race and is oh so lovely! You can get your copy here: https://redwheelweiser.com/detail.html?id=9781578637140

Any one of these decks would make a welcome addition to your collection or perhaps start you off on your Tarot journey.

Happy Pride Month to everyone! Be proud, be loud and let’s celebrate!

The Tower Takeover Tarot – Deck Review and Thoughts

by Jamieson Wolf, posted in Tarot Deck Reviews, Tarot Decks, Unboxing

I think that everyone can agree that 2020 was one heck of a year.

It was the year that brought us Covid and along with that there was so much upheaval as our lives changed forever. It was as if someone had hit some kind of a restart button and we were left to pick up the pieces.

After Covid began, I had seen this meme and laughed. 2020 really did feel like it was a year full of Towers where we had to constantly shift our perceptions as our foundations shifted beneath us. At the time, I thought a deck full of the Tower card would be funny and very kitschy and very appropriate for what we were all going through.

Kaylani Perisho, the creator of the Tower Takeover Tarot, took that original meme idea and instead of having a deck simply full of Tower cards, the infused the Tower card with each different Tarot card. This changed the meaning of the cards I knew so well. It took the idea from being funny and kitschy to being transformative and introspective. It added a depth to the cards that hadn’t been there before.

I was surprised that the Tower Takeover Tarot wasn’t simply another clone deck, but a deck that stood on it’s on merits. Take the Ace of Swords for example

Normally, this card marks the beginning of a new journey. The Sword brings mental clarity and perhaps a mental breakthrough as it cuts through all the mental thoughts that try to drag us down. It is a card of writers and philosophers, thinkers and doers. However, looking at this card I was stuck by it. The hand had let go of the Sword. What did it mean if the Sword was falling? After thinking about it for some time, what occurred to me was that maybe I was afraid of the clarity that a mental breakthrough would bring. I had chosen to let go of what the Sword promised instead of facing the change that needed to happen. See how much that changes the meaning of the card?

Or take the Strength card. The woman and the lion fall through the air from the Tower. I typically read this card as choosing to be courageous to love yourself. The woman normally befriends the lion who represents all the wild parts of herself. Loving yourself can be a difficult thing to do and the Strength card asks you to consider all the ways that you are worth of love. Well, what does it mean if they are falling from the Tower? I read this version of the card as turning away from self-love, choosing fear instead of choosing to love yourself. Self-love and self-compassion can be difficult to achieve, especially if our foundations have been shaken. When I look at this card, I read it as that I’m being asked why I would turn away from self-love when it is the one thing I truly need?

How about the Ace of Wands? Normally it is the start of a new creative journey, one that will take your spirit to new places and bring light and hope. It asks you what you will create and how that will change you and make your world brighter. Well, what does it mean when the hand lets go of the Wand and lets it fall from the Tower? Well, I read this card as turning away from what brings you joy, walking away from a creative endeavour that would bring light to your life, maybe out of fear for where the new creative project would take you. It’s a lost opportunity and you have to stop and think of why you’re letting it go instead of holding tight to the joy that it brings.

See what I mean? The tradition meaning of the card is turned on its head and forces you to take a deeper look within yourself and what is going on in your life. Far from being funny and kitschy, these cards are deep and introspective. I love how the cards in this deck make you really think about the different and deeper meanings of the cards.

I was honoured when Kaylani asked me if I wanted to be in the deck. Of course I said yes. I had no idea which card she had put me on until I received my deck the other day. I was thrilled to see that I had been placed on the Page of Wands card! Normally, the Page of Wands is at the start of a new journey, one that brings possibilities and new beginnings, inspiration and new ideas. However, what about the Page of Wands falling from the Tower? When I look at this card, I read it as a fear of beginning on a new journey, turning away from inspiration and what I’m capable of. When I hit the ground, I’ll have to begin again anyways. Why try to turn away from inspiration when it will always find me?

I love everything about this deck. It comes in a hard cigarette style case and the cardstock is fabulous.  The cardstock is wonderful and the deck shuffles so well, both regular and riffle shuffling. I love how bold the card backs are, more of that lightning striking across the back. It also comes with a small guidebook that is full of information, including spreads and different draws you can do as well as questions to ask. For such a little book, it packs a whole lot in there.

All in all, this is such a wonderful deck. I didn’t think that a deck full of nothing but Tower cards could be such a life changing, inspiring deck. Kaylani Perisho calls it a transformative deck and it certainly is that. The Tower Takeover Tarot is a wonderful deck and I love everything about it. So take a chance and get yourself one. You can buy it directly from Kaylani here: https://www.etsy.com/listing/868030256/tower-takeover-tarot-deck

Kaylani has done such a fantastic job taking something that could have been tacky and turning it into something that is a lovely tool for introspective guidance and counsel. She has paid so much attention to the quality of the cards and has taken so much care with the Tower Takeover Tarot every step of the way.

Take a chance and see what the Tower can teach you!