The Fool's New Journey Tarot - Review

In an age when psychology has become more of a guiding and motivating factor in our lives than religion…

The Tarot system or format as we currently know it has been evolving over the last 500 years or so to reach the two Arcana, 22 Majors and 56 Minors that we generally expect to see when we crack open a new deck. However, a little glimpse back in time shows us that, in its earliest known conceptions, there were often much less than the 78 cards we use today (e.g. Mantegna), and, in a number of cases, many more (e.g. Visconti di Modrone, Minchiate.) It is, therefore, not surprising that there are modern interpretations of Tarot where the decks contain differing numbers of cards, and differing groupings and suits. One of these is The Fool’s New Journey Tarot, developed by John Matthews and illustrated by Charles Newington.

In his Introduction in the excellent LWB, Matthews describes how his intention to create a set of archetypal images, based on the standard Major Arcana, that spoke to modern experiences and norms eventually led to him creating 38 new cards, with the usual 22 Majors spread throughout the full deck of 60. These included additions such as The Maze, The Shadow, Hope, Truth, Chaos, Eternity, and so on.

 

Running through the cards, the initial perception is that the imagery is relatively simple – scenes depicted in water-coloured line drawings in a minimalist style. The artist’s intention was to reduce unnecessary clutter in the scenes, allowing the deeper meanings to come through despite an apparent lack of esoteric symbology. And maybe that was the focus of the deck – more a tool for self-discovery and meditation that for divinatory use. And, in that sense, this deck really works!

 

As a tool for clarifying current personal events and relationships, or for deep self-analysis, the visualisations work in drawing you in to deeper reflection or drawing you out to higher, clearer perceptions and personal understanding. I actually believe that, despite, or maybe in-spite, of their simplicity, these images are closer to true Jungian archetypes than those of the many decks that claim to be built upon Jung’s direct philosophies. Many of the new images speak directly to what I would consider to be depictions of truly modern archetypes that still relate back to emotions, perceptions and understandings that Jung would recognize were he living in today’s science-age entrapments.

As for production quality, it is excellent! The heavy-duty magnetically closed keepsake box comes with a wrapper with the deck title and logo on it. Inside is the larger-than-usual little white book of around 250 detailed pages, covering the premise of the deck and with a detailed description of all 60 cards, as well as a section for The Fool’s Story, a couple of narrative fables describing how The Fool progresses through the events and personalities encountered on his/her journey, and which serves the purpose of introducing the reader to the Journey concept for both the classic Tarot Major Arcana and then The Fool’s New Journey arcanum, which are both well worth the read. The book also has a section on working with the cards, covering spreads and interpretations and the like. The cards themselves are slightly wider and slightly shorter than the standard Tarot card size, and are printed on 350 GSM card. Their matte finish makes them easy to shuffle and, to keep them safe inside the box, they come in their own tuck box too!

All in all, this is a superb re-imagining of Tarot, uncovering a much wider scope for the Major Arcana and definitely adding a what should be a highly popular modern context to the traditional Tarot scope. I thoroughly recommend this deck to the young and young-at-heart looking for an introduction to self-introspection and growth.

Get your copy of The Fool's New Journey Tarot at Amazon.com

Weiser Tarot

So, I have to say I am quite disappointed with this deck. I bought it on the recommendation of a Tarot influencer as I was looking for a saviour deck for my ancient RWS deck, which is showing real signs of its age and deserves its retirement. I read the reviews of the Weiser deck and, quite interested, ordered it to use as a replacement for my working deck.

Initially, I was really impressed with the quality of the deck. I was looking for a deck with heavy duty cards 350 GSM or better, and with a good, sturdy, durable box to keep the cards safe, as most of the "official" RWS decks come in cheap and flimsy tuck boxes. The Weiser deck is printed on great card stock - although there are reviews here showing wear and tear on the cards. The keepsake box is strong and durable - just what I was looking for. I don't mind the matte finish either, even though I find it difficult to shuffle. Even the D.E.I.-ing of the characters depicted on the cards is quite fun and acceptable, and the enhanced colourisation of much of the clothing and scenery is well done.

My real disappointment with the re-imagining of the deck is the changing of the sky colours in a large number of the cards. This totally changes the atmosphere of those cards, altering the potential interpretation of the imagery away from the accepted meanings that have been applied by Tarot officianados for decades. Yellow skies are indicative of happy and joyful outcomes, while the blues indicate peaceful and contented situations. Grey skies prognosticate serious or even gloomy perceptions, while the blacks are used in dire situations, such as The Tower and the 10 of Swords. The Weiser deck changes these skies across all of the Minor Arcana suits, thereby removing these interpretations and, in some cases, making a suit appear as a totally doom and gloom suit and another as all light and happiness! As we know, no suit is all one way or the other - that is the delight of the RWS, and the Weiser deck destroys this concept.

Having said all that, I still enjoy this deck, but it will not be the replacement for my aged RWS that I was looking for, and my hunt continues!

I added some scans of the cards showing the Weiser cards on the left and the Radiant Rider-Waite on the right, highloghting the differences in the backgrounds of each card.

Get a copy of the Weiser Tarot at Amazon.com

Blue Starlight Tarot by Wyspell - Review

This deck is awesome! I initially bought the deck as it came up in a “We Found Something You Might Like” email from Amazon, and I was captivated by the deep blue colourisation of the cards. As a Tarot deck collector, I am always looking for new and different interpretations of the arcane mysteries, and this deck seemed to fit the bill.

First impressions on receiving the deck were, “WOW! What an awesome, sturdy box they come in!” Far too many of the mass-produced decks by the big Tarot publishers come in flimsy, weak flip top cartons that provide little protection for the cards and certainly are not impressive as keepsakes for the precious decks inside that are supposed to last a lifetime. Not so with this Wyspell deck! The box is heavy duty card, very strong – even stronger than the box my original RWS deck came in 60 years ago! It’s really pleasing to see that these newer publishers are prepared to put the time and money into decent packaging, and at a price point that is certainly on par with those mass-produced decks!

On unwrapping and opening the box, I too encountered a strong, persistent smell, either from the inks or the glues used in producing the cards, boxes and book. I am sure this will diminish overtime as the deck gets used and aired out!

The LWB – or, in this case, maybe Little Blue Book – is well produced and clear, with a good amount of divinatory instruction for each card in both the upright and reversed positions. The orange (or maybe sepia?) coloured paper is designed to match the colour scheme of the cards, and is easy and clear enough to work with.

And then the cards themselves! These are produced on great cardstock – 400 GSM or maybe even better – and are sturdy while still being flexible enough to riffle shuffle. They are also gold-edged, which adds to both the visual appeal of the deck and the rigidity of the cards. The matte finish is not so heavy as to inhibit shuffling, so really good production quality all-round. The colour scheme of the deck is striking, and is what drew me to the cards initially. The main colours are black, shades of deep blue, shades of orange, some golds/browns and the flesh tones of the characters. The artist has used this palette to produce rich artwork that is both stimulating and yet easy on the eyes. The characters are well depicted with excellent detail, and many of them are facing forwards so that their eyes are looking right at you, which makes them all the more intriguing. Even the Star is boldly staring at you with just the hint of a smirk. The typically black backgrounds are star-filled and illuminating, as per the theme of the deck, and add an air of ambient mystery that compliments the scenes portrayed.

As for the scenes, they are based on the standard RWS model, but, as this is not a clone, there are a number of variations that are to be expected in the new design. None of these significantly alter the symbology of the deck, so an experienced reader could easily work with the deck to perform readings. Beginners could start with this deck, as it is easy to work with, given the detailed LWB, but would benefit at some point in their future learnings to invest in either the RWS deck or a detailed book about the RWS deck so they can see both the symbolic similarities and the differences that would lead to a deeper understanding of this deck.

All in all, an excellent deck that I thoroughly recommend to both new Tarot acolytes and experienced doyens of the cartomancy arts!

Get yours from Amazon.com: Wyspell Blue Starlight Tarot