The New Deck

 I've been waiting a few years for this deck. A friend floated the idea during the pandemic. Would I like a tarot deck that used literary references. 

Tarot. Literature. Two of my favourite things. Of course, I said yes. 

My wait for The Literary Tarot began. 

What I wasn't prepared for was the price tag. Most tarot decks can be procured for around $30. It depends on the deck, its availability and how it's produced. And this one came with a book and a box. It was also in development at the time of purchase. People were going out and finding the texts, making the art and selecting the way in which the deck was going to be presented.

I parted with the hundred and fifty dollars with a bit of trepidation. And this was two years ago. On the good side of things, the people at Kickstarter.com gave regular updates on how the cards were coming along. My friend, who organised the cards sent on these missives. 

But part of the contribution was going to a literary charity, And they also got in a load of authors to pair the cards with works of literature. Some heavyweights have put in their two cents. Margaret Atwood, Celeste Ng, Terry Brooks, Roxane Gay... You name it, they've chosen a book to go with the cards. 

My friend brought the cards over yesterday. 

I can't leave them, or the wonderful instruction book, alone. 

Flicking through the Major Arcana, there are some great choices. Bram Stoker's Dracula is Death. Cervantes Don Quixote is The Fool... and on it goes. I was a little bit in love when I saw that for The Hanged Man they'd chosen The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock (Probably my most favourite poem ever.)

They've also made some changes to the spot cards. 

The Cups (Emotions) are now the suit of Light. 

Wands (Drive, will and creativity) have become the suit of Ink. 

Swords (Thoughts, truth, cut and dried thought) are now the suit of Quills. 

And Pentacles (Earthly possessions, money, anything grounded) are now the suit of Parchment. 

I'm a little bit in love with them, though I'm not sure I'll be using them for reading. 

For those in the know, I normally read off the Rider Waite deck, with a set of Major Arcana that have come from an old Morgan Greer set. I also like using the Inner Child Tarot, the Osho cards and occasionally, the Voyager Tarot because it's a bit trippy. 

The Vogayer Tarot sample cards. 

It's giving me something to think about and play with. 

I also ponder do I take a deck with me on my writer's retreat next weekend. They might come in use. 

Today's song: