Reviewing the Reviewer

At the end of 2018, I joined Indie Deck Review as a Writer.  Though I had read tarot for over 20 years it had largely been for myself, using the classic Rider-Waite-Smith, the same deck I’d received as a gift from my extraordinarily cool older brother as a preteen.  

I had other decks, but they didn't call out to me enough to lure me from the well worn grooves of habit.

There were some things I definitely enjoyed about bonding so thoroughly with a deck.  It's my base language when thinking of a tarot card. The red roses and white lilies amidst greenery, the Magician, dressed in white, outer robe of red, infinity sign above head in a bright yellow sky.  I ignored what he looked like as a human, as I was every card in the deck, so it didn't matter if he was gendered or assumed white. I stood with wand upraised in my right hand, before an array of other tools laid out on a flat working surface - the cup, the dagger, and pentacle.  My own left hand pointed towards the ground.

Years later, when I first read a prayer that said "Isis is all things and all things are Isis," (I think I read it in Isis Magic by M Isadora Forrest) I knew it as true as I was every card in my tarot deck.

This left me grounded and able trust to my own knowing,  my own readings, which were simple, direct, often improvisational, and full of clarifiers.  I read for myself without hesitation, grew accustomed to writing it down and later reviewing to reflect my interpretations against reality.  Just as I was every card, the only way to read incorrectly was to allow the untested personal interpretations of others into my readings for myself.  I realized early on this was a conversation between me and the universe and each reader taps into both the archetypes and their own personal relationships with those Archetypes.  We use the encyclopedia of our own experiences to fill in the large gaps between human myth and our own lives. To do this well would inevitably lead to big and small differences in the way we each of us read.  I also trusted the omens and signs to speak in a language I knew. As my vocabulary grew so too did the ways the cards communicate.

So I always saw my African American experience in the oh-so white eurocentric RWS deck.  I owned other decks and gave them away. I tried runes, cowrie shells, playing cards, pendulums, palmistry, tea leaves, fire, smoke, water, and crystal ball scrying, but nothing speaks as easily for me as the tarot.

I am, however, so grateful that others don't have to translate as much as I did. Today, a person of color can pick up a deck and literally see themselves in the images and feel personally welcomed.  A non-binary person, a queer person, a person not shaped like a nordic Barbie of the 20th century can find a deck that speaks to and reflects them. They can find such creativity and so many styles, themes, art to thrill their senses enough to see the pages of their lives within oracle or tarot cards made by regular people just like them.

Indie creators rock.

I love that the Indie scene is setting and pushing the standards the mainstream publishers seem to run with these days.

What a time to be alive.  What a time to have the privilege to peruse the wide scope of #cartomancy and report back what I find.  My experience with Indie Deck Review has been a sea of community, conversation, exploration, and learning.

Here’s what you can expect from me:

I review what I like.

I tell the truth, kindly.

I speak from my experience.

I am not a card collector, so you won't see every popular deck come through here.  There are many decks I find lovely but I do not buy or keep because they would go unused.  At this spider's web, they are here to work. If they don't get used, I honor them by re-homing them with someone who will love them.

Some of my favorites in the order they occurred to me:

Decks of  2019

Spirit Keeper's Tarot (Vitruvian Edition)*

Light Seer's Tarot (Indie edition)*

Wayward Dark Tarot (Indie)*

Melanated Classic (Indie)*

Dreams of Gaia (Mass market)

Dust II Onyx (Indie)

Mary-El Tarot, 2nd Ed (Mass Market)

*denotes a ridiculous amount of time spent with these in my hands

I've done more reviews. You can see them and many, many more from the talented team at indiedeckreview.com.

Afro Goddess Tarot Arcanas (1st Edition)

I have a confession to make: I nearly missed the magic of this deck.

Before we get to it, I have to pause.

This packaging is showing off.  There, I said it. I mean, can you leave something for any other deck? You got to have the luscious red bag, the box that looks like a rose sunrise, the **guidebook** the not too big at just shy of 3” x 5”, the silky matte, edges the color of raw gold.  And the backs… the backs of these cards get me every time. Take the deck in your hand, let your fingertips brush across the slightly raised texture, then tilt it, so the gloss and the matte play in the light just so… Bam! The outline of the Motherland shines in the center. I find myself just holding the thing instead of getting to it. By the time I reach the cards themselves, the setting is well and truly set.

Story time:

There's a place I get my hair cut.  I am an African American woman, so when I say I wear my hair natural, it changes where and who can cut my hair.  It's neither cheap nor fast, and I believe that how it feels while getting it done can impact my mental and spiritual well-being.  So when a big event comes up, I know where to go.  

When you walk in the door, the bell chimes and you get the first waft of incense.  Neo soul or reggae music is playing, folks draped in Pan-african colors and ankhs speak with unfiltered cadences that sound like home.  The vibe is that of peace, intention, and Black community. Laughter rings out from the barbers in the loft. You can wrap all of this ambiance in your braids, locs, and twists to carry around with you to enhance your power.

This deck is like that.  It feels like the first time I walked onto a historically Black college campus.  I saw a part of society deemed minority, normalized. Showcased. A full-color scale of a diverse people, living all 78 cards of a life deck, not solely defined by color and contrasting culture.

I almost missed it because this kind of normal was hard won for me and seems to be taking greater and greater hold.  Representation goes beyond a food dish and skin color. I'm so glad Andrea Furtick spoke this deck into being where others can experience it too.  This is what can happen when someone is painting and speaking their truth from within a community. It's like getting to know someone at home on a Sunday afternoon and then another time decked out in their finest formals.  By the time you get to see them deep in their comfort and shining like a diamond, well then… now you’re getting to really know them.

While there are cards I'd be interested in seeing revisited in later editions, the strong ones sing.  I was a little put off by the not quite cartoon feel to the art, but then, I nearly missed it again.  

Softness

There is a softness, a realness, an innocence, that Black folks aren't often allowed to show in unsegregated spaces.  The men are muscular and smiling, starry eyes unflinching and without a hardness made to defend and challenge. The women vary, thick, slim, curvy, busty, full-figured.  The humans depicted are shown gentle, firm, wielding power and authority, and vulnerable. You know, real people. I would hazard to guess we are all these things and it's important to have specific examples. I don’t often see myself in decks and I like the non-caricature regularity this artist has captured.

Afro Goddess Tarot Arcanas is an easy to read  RWS derivative, though there's are a few tweaks worth noting.

Supreme

The weeping Justice got me in the feels, though it leaves true justice in the hands of the Hierophant since, sadly, it doesn't seem to be meted out in this card.  Or maybe resolutions are found wherever the individual confronts where they've fallen short, or where the collective joins together and resolves to find a way forward.  

The Two is a lovely depiction of stepping into the reality of the saying the world is your oyster.  The Three has already taken steps down the path that stretches ahead.

Look at the 5 of wands as 5 different people in shade and expression, moving together into one road.  Check out the varying thickness of the 4 and 6. Somehow, I made it all the way to this gorgeous 10 of wands who can balance her basket and still hold up her skirts, before I noticed their eyes, stars dancing in the light of each person's eyes.  And the expressions tell you what you need to know. I always stare at the gaze of the Daughter of Wands for a long while. She’s curious, thoughtful, slightly cautious, but willing. I see a lot of myself in her.

There's a noticeable softness in the grip of the 4 of Pentacles.  The 5 as well, choosing the prosperity on the other side of the closed gate as it literally is greener rather than the Tiny Tim style poverty and stained glass windows.  The reflection and slight worry of the 7 has relaxed into basking in the fruits of labor. I wonder has the giver of the 6 returned home to her garden and is reveling in the prosperity that allows her to give so freely?  The Pentacles court subtly uses hair length to speak of their suit's vitality, fertility and material wealth.  Of course short hair doesn't mean a lack of anything (but the time it takes to dry it), but I appreciate subtlety. 

Overall, I find myself saying, I'm glad this deck exists.

At the time of this writing, we’re eagerly awaiting a restock and the next edition to come out. I want to see those holographic cards, gurl!

Check out the Afro Goddess collection here.

Sufi Meditations Cards

I've always admired the way Sufis try to pray and love with their whole hearts.

These beautiful Sufi Meditation cards by @joumajnouna creates art using Kufic script as visual meditations around 33 qualities cultivated from Sufi wisdom.

The Meditations are familiar words, such as Generosity, Trust, and Impermanence.  But there's also things like Humour and Returning from Distraction. When my mind slows and my heart is soft, I just drink in the image before contemplating the word listed on top/bottom of the cards.  For a real treat, open the slim guidebook, who somehow contains quotes and stories (no Rumi in sight) from wise ones to reveal sharp, layered teachings whose lessons will linger.

The geometric patterns and vivid colors don't overwhelm, managing to lift the word(s) hidden in the beautifully arranged Kufic script to new heights on the crisp white background.

How does the form and chosen colors play with your perception of concepts like Introspection and Trust?  Go slow, draw daily for lovely results, or add it to your Oracle collection.

The 33 cards are divided loosely in categories instructing How to Be With:  life, others, oneself, and the Divine. I suspect there's a lesson in here for any and all who wish to draw a card.

While they originated from a Jan 2019 Kickstarter, you can find the Sufi Meditation cards and more at http://majnouna.com