I thought that since we’re in April and in Aries and I like the alliteration, the theme this week would be Astrology.
Celestial Tarot
So this deck is on my want list, and definitely already has a place close to my heart. The Celestial Tarot is by Kay Steventon, who is also the creator of my beloved main deck, the Spiral Tarot.
It’s inspired by the planetary and astrological signs, either a constellation or a planet is placed at the head of the Major Arcana. The Minor Arcana are headed by seasons or combination which create the elements.
The deck is still available, but if you want the book that goes with it (and trust me, you do. Her accompanying tarot books are really fantastic), then you’ll have to pay a very pretty penny for it, unless you want the e-book version, which is available for less than £3.
Kingdom Within Tarot
This deck is said to be a combination of quite a few aspects of Tarot, which one might expect. At the top of each card there is a provided glyph for planet and astrological sign for the Minor Arcana, and then just the astrological sign for the Major Arcana.
- Image Credit: The Tarot Garden
The art reminds me of computer games in some places, like a game I once had where you created your own game (ish). It wasn’t that great, I think it got it from Woolworths for a £1 some 13 years ago. But they are certainly creative. I quite like the Fool, the Queen of Cups, and The Kingdom Within All (World), for example.
The idea behind the deck (or so I read) is to make the imagery less based on the traditional Tarot imagery, but more on the astrology and Kabalistic associations with the cards. Thus there is what is claimed to be a much deeper meaning in the imagery.
Published in 2011 by Schiffer Books, and created by Juno Lucina the deck is still around on Amazon for around £40 new, though half the price if used. It comes with a companion book which contains ‘everything you need to know about the Kingdom Within Tarot’, though a more expansive book has been written about the tarot and the concepts used in the Kingdom Within Tarot, in the creator’s book, The Alchemy of Tarot: Practical Enlightenment through the Astrology, Qabalah, and Archetypes of Tarot.
Maat Tarot
This deck, self-published by Julie Cuccia-Watts is a beautiful, multi-cultural tarot deck that has its basis in the lunar cycles.
On the author’s website, the cards are available in large size or poker-playing size, and have quite the range in pricing, going up to $53 (I’m assuming USD?). Another of her decks, which does have my interest, the Journey into Egypt Tarot, though that is an even more precious penny, costing $90, $115 if I want it delivered to the UK.
Mandal Astrology Tarot
This deck is a non-circular but circular deck. The images are placed in a circle on the square cards, and the corners are filled with Kabalistic and astrological glyphs.
Despite the seemingly simple artistry, it looks to me as though while of course relying heavily on the astrological knowledge of the reader, it resonates a little bit with the Thoth Tarot, mostly in the way that the Swords are done. In the Thoth Tarot, the swords always come together and meet at the tips–with the exception, of course, of the Ace.
I couldn’t really find this deck available in the UK, despite the link on Aeclectic, but found the book that accompanies it. I ended up researching the author, A. T. Mann, and it turns out that over a decade ago, I had a few of this books. I’m so rubbish with remembering names! I do recommend his books though.
That wraps up this week’s Weird Deck Wednesday. Do you have a deck or a theme you want to suggest to me for next week? Do you have any of the decks mentioned in this post? Let me know in the comments!
