Depicting the stars: Star Spinner Tarot deck review

The Star Spinner tarot is a reinterpretation of the classic tarot deck, depicting the major and minor arcana in figures from mythologies and fairy tales from a variety of cultures. While the traditional tarot deck has 78 cards, this deck has a total of 81 cards, and a 160-page booklet is included as well; this is because one of the cards, The Lovers, has three different versions on account of being inclusive of sexual orientations. The minor arcana is separated by Chalices instead of Cups, Coins instead of Pentacles, and Wands and Swords. The illustrations are drawn by Trungles, also known as Trung Le Nguyen, a comic artist with his own graphic novel published by Random House; he has contributed to other publications such as DC Comics, Marvel, and Boom! Studios.

The back of the cards all share a shiny, metallic magenta cover. The feel of the cards is very smooth; they do not leave behind fingerprints or slip away from your hands. The paper material is not too flexible or stiff, so with these traits combined, it is very easy to shuffle without worrying about its quality decreasing over time. The color is bright and highly vivid/saturated and the finishing is glossy. Its dimensions are 3.25 x 2.13 x 5.3 inches. The images themselves are vibrant and lively, living up to its promise of depicting fairy tales and myths; the amount of details gives it a very ornate and royal feeling. Again, there are a variety of cultures depicted in the illustrations, which is a pleasant twist from the original. For example, the Sun and Moon cards depicted mythological figures from Chinese folklore. What I also like about the cards is that there is a substantial amount of animal imagery as well. For example, the King of Swords does not literally depict a king, but is represented by a raven.

I don’t have much to say in criticism. The composition could use some work for some cards, or in other words, the consistency in the level of imagery could maybe be touched on. For some, there might be space left that feels empty, and that could impact someone’s reading if there is not enough to build up on. Some also noted the lack of inclusivity of body size, as most of the human figures are depicted on the thinner side. All in all, if you want a card deck that is filled with vibrant colors and diverse imagery, this deck is definitely the one for you. Even beyond a card deck, I imagine many can appreciate the caliber of artistry in these depictions. This deck is a valuable addition to any card collection.

Depicting the stars: Star Spinner Tarot deck review

The Star Spinner tarot is a reinterpretation of the classic tarot deck, depicting the major and minor arcana in figures from mythologies and fairy tales from a variety of cultures. While the traditional tarot deck has 78 cards, this deck has a total of 81 cards, and a 160-page booklet is included as well; this is because one of the cards, The Lovers, has three different versions on account of being inclusive of sexual orientations. The minor arcana is separated by Chalices instead of Cups, Coins instead of Pentacles, and Wands and Swords. The illustrations are drawn by Trungles, also known as Trung Le Nguyen, a comic artist with his own graphic novel published by Random House; he has contributed to other publications such as DC Comics, Marvel, and Boom! Studios.

The back of the cards all share a shiny, metallic magenta cover. The feel of the cards is very smooth; they do not leave behind fingerprints or slip away from your hands. The paper material is not too flexible or stiff, so with these traits combined, it is very easy to shuffle without worrying about its quality decreasing over time. The color is bright and highly vivid/saturated and the finishing is glossy. Its dimensions are 3.25 x 2.13 x 5.3 inches. The images themselves are vibrant and lively, living up to its promise of depicting fairy tales and myths; the amount of details gives it a very ornate and royal feeling. Again, there are a variety of cultures depicted in the illustrations, which is a pleasant twist from the original. For example, the Sun and Moon cards depicted mythological figures from Chinese folklore. What I also like about the cards is that there is a substantial amount of animal imagery as well. For example, the King of Swords does not literally depict a king, but is represented by a raven.

I don’t have much to say in criticism. The composition could use some work for some cards, or in other words, the consistency in the level of imagery could maybe be touched on. For some, there might be space left that feels empty, and that could impact someone’s reading if there is not enough to build up on. Some also noted the lack of inclusivity of body size, as most of the human figures are depicted on the thinner side. All in all, if you want a card deck that is filled with vibrant colors and diverse imagery, this deck is definitely the one for you. Even beyond a card deck, I imagine many can appreciate the caliber of artistry in these depictions. This deck is a valuable addition to any card collection.

Confusing prospects! Thoth tarot deck review

The Aleister Crowley tarot deck is a different spin on the traditional tarot set– different like how a German Shepherd and a Labrador are different– created by the occultist Aleister Crowley. This deck is taken from Crowley’s book “Book of Thoth.” The one I have is the small deck, with its dimensions being 2.75 x 4.375 inches. Around the same size as playing cards. The cards come in a purple box with an ornate and colorful drawing of two yin-yang symbols and a snake forming an infinity sign around it. The back of the cards is this multi-colored cross on a checkered background. The design follows an Art Deco theme, with each card being a scan of the original painted illustrations, full of detail and color, plus its focus on symmetry in its compositions. The illustrations are packed with imagery from Egyptian and Kabalistic mythology, plus various modes of symbolism from astrology.

What mainly drew me to this deck was the artwork. I love how it is illustrated, like they could all be standalone paintings or in a fairy tale book. I later found out that the deck I have is a knock-off (because it had a QR scan on the bottom), but that wasn’t much of an issue because the quality of the images was not too shabby. It retained the vibrant colors and was not pixellated like it could have been in other dupes. The composition is both symmetrical and captures a sense of movement; there is a very clear direction in each illustration. This makes the images feel grounded, but not static. In addition, this line of tarot is notorious for its complexity– mainly meaning there is a load of symbolism and occult stuff to unpack. This could also be seen in the drawings. I like that you can pick apart after whatever message you have based on the color of a wand or the swords are formatted; in a way, it is like analyzing paintings for art history or in a museum. In other words, there is always something new to take away from these cards. What makes this different from my other deck mainly lies in the technical part; in order to comprehend these cards fully, you need to know your planets, your conjunctions, your signs– all that. I am not there yet….

That being said, there are some things I did not prefer. The surface of the cards were too slippery, it was very easy for them to slip out while shuffling for example. That paired with its small size makes it a little inconvenient sometimes. Also, with it being a dupe, the little plastic cover is coming off of the card. If you’re down for a mental challenge and/or want to appreciate some gnarly esoteric illustrations, the Thoth tarot deck is the one for you.