Opening the Ostara Tarot felt like an early Christmas gift. I’d waited for years until it became available through Schiffer’s Red Feather department and when it was finally released, I happened to be out of the country and had to wait some more. Serious deck-anxiety, I tell ya (yeah, yeah, First World Problems). Let’s see if all that trumped up anticipation was worth it! Reviewing Ostara Tarot in 3, 2, 1… The Ostara Tarot is a collaboration deck, like so many are currently in creation. And as we all know: some are much better than others. The biggest issues with multiple artists are 1. parts of the deck can be off putting while loving other sections; 2. a lack of flow due to completely different art forms; 3. no cohesion with(in) the deck. Those decks end up on the collector’s or sale pile. But…the fact The Ostara Tarot was picked up by a big publisher after having had a small indie release does seem to promise those three points aren’t an issue. I think I’ve rarely ripped off a foil as eager as I did with this one in order to find out. What the deck wants you to know…
If you know me personally you know I have a soft spot for Greece and more specific: the island of Crete. I actually have been experiencing some ‘homesickness’ when it comes to Kriti, so reviewing Schiffer’s Minoan Tarot was timed well. This deck is completely based on the Ancient Cretan civilization and incorporates years of research. When I did the
Tarot as a support for psychology, tarot therapy, tarot as a transformative tool, tarot for personal growth… Those are all terms we’ve heard and seen before. It is not a secret anymore tarot can be used for other things besides divination. However, in the literature the psychology angle has been unexpectedly scarce. Arthur Rosengarten’s Tarot and Psychology is probably as famous as it is ‘old’. Tarot at a Crossroads steps into this void
You always needed to bring a big bucket of cash if you wanted the (OOP) Bonefire Tarot to become yours. Luckily, that’s no longer necessary. Schiffer recently published the first, very successful deck by Gabi Angus-West in a mass market edition and it is *that* Bonefire Tarot that has…