The Santa Muerte Tarot....Fabio Listrani

I like it.  I usually use my Halloween Oracle cards for that festive Fall season I love so much, but I remembered this deck was in my wish list and has been for awhile.  I wanted to get it early, so I could work with it properly before using for readings. I had read mixed reviews about the deck and decided as usual to ignore them because I make my own mind up thank you.

And I am glad I ignored the negatives because this deck is just lovely.  It isn't over the top skeletons and wonky halloween type imagery. It is very well done and often the cards show a lot of humor too. The Hierophant is reading a Ouija board, which made me giggle.

The card stock is nice, glossy but shuffles well.  The imagery is gorgeous and very layered. Sometimes that can be a detractor but in this case, I think it works well. Some of the meanings vary from the usual RWS meanings but not too much and it is explained in the book and matches the imagery in the card so it is, for me, intuitive. 

One thing I wasn't sure I liked at first was that all the minor arcana 10's are butterflies. Then I realized that butterfly = transformation and decided it was well done after all!

The cards and images celebrate all who have gone before us. It is in their memory and our collective unconsciousness that we will continue to nourish and which we can tap into with Tarot. Death represents transformation and rebirth in the present. We all face death and in death we are all equals. (from the book)

The cards are almost borderless which really makes them pop. I could add this to my list of decks that I use daily, they are that well done. I love a good intuitive deck and this one is very intuitive. Very much worth the $25.

Easier said than done though.  I have a lot of decks. Some I bought for the art and some I bought because they work well. I use all of them depending on my mood but I realized I wanted to find one deck that fit me intuitively - one I can study more deeply.  

So, I went through all of my decks, one by one and narrowed them down by how I felt when I read with them.  I was a bit bummed that two of my favorite decks, The Tarot of the Magical Forest and The Ceccoli Tarot, didn't really feel intuitive like I wanted them too.  Because I know what the cards mean, having learned by memory, I can read with them, but if one were  to just look at them without knowing the meanings, they would be very different.

That is NOT a bad thing and I plan on using the Ceccoli Deck to do dream work with. But I really think the deck you work with most should feel like you just know it.

After a LOT of work, I have narrowed it down to the decks pictured above. Each one of them feels more verbal to me. I can look at the cards and see what they are saying or trying to say and each of those decks have layers of symbols and nuances, which I love.  I plan on using each of those decks for a month or so, or until I feel like that is THE deck.

Again, using many decks is awesome because you get to see a wide spectrum of images and symbols and you can learn a lot that way.  But getting to know at least ONE deck intimately brings you closer to yourself. Always learning, always seeing something new. Never stop learning!

  Steampunk Tarot by Barbara Moore

I have never bought a tarot deck just for one card, but I did for this one.  The 10 of Wands. Usually a very heavy card in imagery, it tends to show a man carrying a very large bundle of wands in front of him so he can't even see where he is going and is probably going to drop them soon.

This card from The Steampunk Tarot means the same thing, carrying a large burden or having many burdens, but LOOK at how she is carrying them. She has them evenly on her back, her hands are free and she can see where she is going. 

Those wands represent the end results of all the actions and choices she has made in the past and the face up cards fluttering behind her represent her conscious knowledge of her past and how it has created her present. 

She is not despairing however! Because all of that has made her strong and determined now. She has shouldered her responsibilities and is moving forward into what waits for her, see that one unturned card?

This card is a tough one and not always pleasant but you know what brought you here. The things you decided in the past have brought you to now. So light the way with that knowledge as you move forward in life and remember it is HOW you carry those *burdens,* that can make a huge difference in dealing with them.

And that, is why I bought this deck.  Also, after working with it, I discovered I really like all of the cards. This decks been around awhile and I never really felt drawn to it, even though I love all things Steampunky, until I saw that 10 of wands. Powerful card when you change your perspective.

This quote, attributed to CS Lewis, Lou Holtz and Lena Horne, no idea who said it first, but it is a perfect illustration to the 10 of Wands.