I have a philosophy when it comes to collecting tarot and oracle decks. I only buy them or add them to my wish list if I know that I’ll actually USE them. I have a few decks that I use just for study or just for the art, but for the most part, my collection is all decks that I use. But I found myself recently with a hole in my collection, and one that I was interested in remedying.
I didn’t have a really good winter deck. Sure, I have the Prisma Visions Tarot, which is close, but it doesn’t fully encapsulate what I was looking for in a winter deck- it seems a bit more rainy than snowy if that makes sense. Enter The Magical Nordic Tarot. It’s beautiful, and has scenes of snow and the Aurora Borealis, paired with pictures inspired by Nordic folklore. It really is gorgeous.
The colors are stunning, which is something that speaks to me. And the cardstock is glossy, but nice. I prefer matte cardstock, but it really isn’t so glossy that it’s distracting. There are also no annoying white borders, which also appeals to me. It’s a pip deck, meaning that the minor arcana cards have pictures of the suit symbols, and not illustrations. I usually prefer an illustrated deck, but this one is so pretty, I find that I don’t mind it. There are keywords on the minor arcana cards, which also isn’t my favorite, but really, the deck is so beautiful that I’ll just overlook that.
Let’s take a look at what the cards have to say!
The first thing I notice is that a lot of these cards are reversed. Does that mean that this deck will deal primarily with blocked energy?
- Tell me about yourself. What is your most important characteristic? Knight of Swords (Sponteneity) reversed. This isn’t a frivolous deck, and can cut through the bullshit, like a warrior would. While the colors are bright and the images seem pretty, this is a serious deck.
- What are your strengths as a deck? Nine of Cups (Good Fortune) reversed. This is a deck for the hard times. This is a deck to look to when things aren’t going well and you need a serious friend.
- What are your limits as a deck? Strength (Courage) reversed. This isn’t a deck that will help you find your inner strength, but will rather meet you in the dark places and hold your hand there. It’s not a deck for pep-talks.
- What are you here to teach me? Page of Swords (Vigilance) reversed. I have a tendency to be vigilant against the more difficult emotions, like depression or anxiety. But this deck is here to help me relax and see what they have to teach me instead- a good lesson for the depths of winter when you have some amount of SAD.
- How can I best learn and collaborate with you? Knight of Pentacles (Patience) reversed. Don’t come to this deck when I’m being patient and trying to ride out my difficult emotions, come to it when I’m at my wit’s end. Come to it when I just can’t take anymore.
- What is the potential outcome of our working relationship? Eight of Cups (Doorways). This is the only upright card in the entire reading. This deck can help show me the way through depression and SAD to the other side.
Well, that’s a pretty intense interview, and not at all what I expected from this deck. The colors are so bright and cheerful, and the images are so interesting, that I really thought it would be a little more light-hearted than all that. But I do think that it will be a valuable tool in my tarot arsenal, and I’m interested to see how it reads.
What about you, have you had any experience with this deck? Let me know if you’re finding similar themes with it in the comments.
Blessed be! <3