Whether you’re into dark fantasy decks or not, appreciate complete reinterpretations of Major Arcana cards or not…I just had to mention THIS tarot deck by Winslow Dumaine because of its theme and goal.
Dumaine has just launched a Kickstarter campaign for a deck that I have not seen before. Sure, it is not the first ‘dark’ deck, nor is it the first mostly black & white, or even the first fantasy/weird deck. But the combination of those three and the inspiration behind the deck (and its premise) is definitely one to have a look at. I was actually having my Happy Holidays already, but decided to sharpen the sword a bit to show you… The Tarot Restless.
The Tarot Restless is a deck in mostly black and white with a touch of colour here and there and its deck designer basically reinvented the Majors (different names), while leaving the Minors intact…though completely immersed in his dark theme.
Tarot against abuse
That darkness isn’t just coming from the fantasy with a huge infusion of gore and weirdness (it won’t be for everyone, but the theme is consistent and mostly recognisable in those 56 minors). Its creator, and this is definitely the reason why I am putting it out there, made this deck solely to help crush cycles of abuse, have women (or men) find the strength through working with this deck to get ‘outta there’ or help others do so.
That alone could convince you to pledge for his KS, but maybe the art work is your thing too. It is weird, yes…but the longer I look at it, the longer I see that struggle and not plain and simple ‘gore to score’ as some darker decks tend to do.
His “total overhaul of the classic deck of tarot cards” (his words) is based around his personal life and the experiences of strong women in my life. The result is an adaptation of tarot, set in a morbid and bizarre fantasy setting — in this case the companion has short stories to accompany the deck.
As said, one of the major themes of the deck is escaping abusive relationships and developing personal strength in a hostile world and that is why you’ll also see 13 of the 22 Majors have different names. Newcomers are, f.e., The Undecided, The Widower, The Degenerate, Revenge and Will (Death has been baptised The Open Grave). All the Majors, even the ones that kept their well-known name, have gotten a makeover too as you can see.
Am I the only one who adores this version of The Tower in The Tarot Restless? It absolutely still gives the meaning of the Tower in the Waite-Smith, but with a major important variety: a life destroyed by human hands. But that’s what I see…
The project – deck and book – is already finished, so if you pledge for his Kickstarter campaign there is no chance of having to wait a year to see results. What you see is what you get. Winslow has already reached his goal to print, but there are stretch goals, t-shirts and posters to get as so often is the case with these campaigns. I really, really hope the a deck arrives here soon – sans import duty and taxes I might add – because I’d like to see how a deck as this would read and what someone who has, fortunately, not been a part of such a history can do with it…
If you want more info on the deck you can visit Dumaine’s website.
To pledge go to his The Tarot Restless KS campaign here.
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