Tarot Deck – Spirit of the Wolf

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/

I don’t like a lot of nudity in the tarot decks that I use.

It kind of bothers me when The Star and The Lovers in the RWS Tarot have people who are nude. For some reason, I’m not bothered by the naked bums in the Judgement card. It sort of bugs me when I look at the Devil card, but not really. I mean, that card kind of makes it look as if the two people kind of asked for it, you know?

I’m not against nudity at all, I just find it distracting when you’re trying to connect with a card and you’re confronted by different body parts and genitals (sometimes bigger than they need to be). I’m supposed to be connecting to spirit, not wondering if I should ask the gentleman out for a drink or giving him a fiver.

I know that the nudity represents a vulnerability that we’re supposed to vibe with, and I’m supposed to be vulnerable, too, or at least reflect on what it feels like when I’m totally and completely myself. The fact that certain people within the tapestry of a tarot deck are nude or partially nude is a given, but I usually find myself looking away from the nudity out of respect. I feel like I’m catching them in a moment when they would rather be left alone.

Which is why I’m so surprised by the Sirena Tarot.

I love the decks created by Jens Friborg so much. He’s creator of the Tarocchi Tarot, both the regular edition and the vintage edition. I have the vintage edition and love it so much. When I saw the Kickstarter for The Sirena Tarot pop into my email, I went to look right away and backed it without looking at the photos. All I knew was that it would be amazing quality and beautifully done. After backing the deck, I went to look at the video he had prepared to introduce and was the deck and was met with mermaids.

I looked through the cards he had posted as part of the campaign and found that the nudity didn’t bother me so much as captivate me. I mean, mermaids have always been naked in some way, open to the elements of the water and the sea. In fact, they can experience all the elements of the earth and Jens Friborg does such a remarkable job showing this in his cards.

I was surprised that the nudity didn’t bother me. There are humans, sea creatures and other beings that people this deck and all of them are naked in some way. The Sirena Tarot didn’t just ask me to confront myself and the emotions I carry (the waters full to the brim with emotions), it asked me to take a look at the fact that the body, be it human or merfolk, is beautiful. It asked me to take a deep gaze into the pools of water and look at my own preconceived notions of my own body.

The thing about this deck is that it does this in such a beautiful way. The colours are all softly muted but still so alive. There is a ton of nudity in this deck, both human and otherwise, but none of it is shocking or over the top. Instead, it’s a beautiful representation of bodies and the third time I was going through the cards, the nudity didn’t bother me at all. I could only see the beauty and symbolism that Mr. Friborg worked into each card.

There is so much to love about this deck. The cardstock is top notch and has a light linen finish. Along with the softly muted colours, this is what makes the cards feel like they came from a time long ago. From the card backs and cardstock to the gorgeous art, it’s like we’ve pulled the deck from the sand at our feet. It feels bright and new but has an air of the ancient about the deck.

Sirena is based around the Rider Waite Smith deck and the symbolism that we’re all familiar with, however it plays around with the symbolism in other cards such as in the Nine of Swords or the Three of Swords. He’s added so much of himself into this deck and Sirena is better for it.

The different versions of Death and The Emperor.

There are also alternate cards in the deck. Usually, it’s a different card for The Lovers, but in Sirena, we’re given two alternate cards, one for the Emperor and one for Death. I know that you could choose to keep in which ever card you prefer, but I’ve chosen to keep both extra cards. I mean, sometimes Death and the change that it brings can hurt. Sometimes, the Emperor isn’t kind. I love that Sirena reflects this.

I also want to talk about the box for a second. The other decks made by Mr. Friborg come in gorgeous tuck boxes. The box for Sirena is a hard case with magnetic closure. What struck me about it the most was that, aside from the words Mr. Friborg, Sirena and Go Deeper, there are no pictures or writing on the box. You are given no impression about the deck aside from the box’s beautiful orange colour. It’s when you open the box, you realize that you are opening yourself up to world of colour and the world that Sirena contains.

The guidebook is also a piece of art in and of itself. It fits inside the box and the text is easily readable. What I loved about it is that each card is given a quote that leads into what the card is about. My favourite card in any tarot deck is the Strength card. It’s the first card I look at and it helps me to understand a lot about the tone of the deck. The quote for the Strength is: “In the dance of power, true might flows from compassion and control.” It’s such a beautiful way to bring you into the story that each card tells. I also love how it’s not about positive or negative, upright or reversal meanings. In the guidebook, you’re given the description, as well as High Polarity and Low Polarity for each card. I love the thought that was put into the meanings for each card and the look of the paper within, as if you are holding a little book that was lost within the sand.

What a world Sirena is. It’s asked me to look at myself and my body, going deeper within myself then I thought possible to look at all the different facets of my life. I’ve been asked to re-examine my own ideas of what is beautiful and that any body in its natural form is beautiful. I love it when a tarot deck can do that because the art and the message come speak so clearly. There are mysteries in the water, but you can solve them if you go deeper.

Learn more about Sirena and the Tarocchi Tarot here: https://arcantvm.com/

Tag: Tarot Deck

The Bonestone and Earthflesh Tarot: The Reawakening – A Deck Review

The Sirena Tarot – A Deck Review