This 2021 deck was created by Thea Wirsching and illustrated by Celeste Pille. This deck has been years in the making. It includes the traditional 78 card tarot deck and a 6” X 9“- 240 page book. This is a quirky deck that most people will not be able to read immediately as it deviates from the most well-known tarot traditions of the Rider-Smith-Waite, the Marseilles, and the Thoth. The Major Arcana are numbered, with Justice being card VIII and Strength is XI. What is usually the High Priestess is the Priestess, and the Hierophant is the Pope. Two of the four court cards are renamed: Pages are Pioneers and Knights are Missionaries.
The deck is centered in 19th century America, the United States, and includes major literary figures and their works in addition to some aspects of American history. This handsome set, housed in a permanent storage box that looks like a 19th century book, is of interest to anyone with a love for Americana, American Literature, or the tarot. Did your favorite American of the 19th century make the cut? Are your favorites of 19th century American literature included?
I’m going to give you some hints. Each of the Major Arcana
is a different figure of this period or a work of literature. The World is Walt
Whitman. Each of the four suits represents a literary stream. The King of
Swords is Edgar Allen Poe and the 10 pip cards are ten of his famous works. The
King of Wands is Herman Melville and the pips are events from Moby-Dick and
others of his works.
Another feature of this set that make it well worth your
library are the six unique spreads offered, the “word cloud” of meanings for
each of the 78 cards, and writer’s appendix of literary correspondences. The
latter is exclusive in my years of studying and using tarot. A couple of
examples from the literary correspondences: The Fool is Fantasy; The Moon is
subjective mood; The Ace of Cups is Children’s Literature; and the Six of
Swords is Science Fiction.
I recommend this tarot set.
Lalia Wilson
