CARDS FROM THE DEVIANT MOON TAROT & MINI-REVIEW

The Ace of Wands & The Ace of Cups
in the Deviant Moon Tarot

The newest deck in my collection (of approximately 60 decks) is The Deviant Moon Tarot by Patrick Valenza. (The two aces above are two of my most favorite cards.) It has also become my "go to" deck for readings for myself at present, which does not always happen with a deck new to my collection. Its images speak directly to my current issues, though I suspect it will continue to do so even when this particular personal turmoil passes. As for a deck whose pictures can be viewed as dark and even creepy at times, I'm finding them often rather beautiful or at the very least to the point in their darkness.

But beyond my personal identification with the dark side of the moon right now, if you will, The Deviant Moon Tarot artwork is endlessly engaging in detail, color, and textures. Flat sections flirt with areas of shadow and depth. The illustrations are recognizably Tarot, yet go one and sometimes more steps beyond into new territory. And I hasten to add that there's even some humor salted throughout. All of which makes for an intriguing, meaningful scene on each card.

As with all my new decks I studied The Deviant Moon Tarot card by card first, before doing any readings with it. Yet, each time now I come to it for a reading I find something else I had not seen or for which I had not caught the implications. Though this is not uncommon with suggestive images such as the Tarot's, it is far more prevalent with this deck for me. And that adds to the richness of the readings that result.

Can you tell I highly recommend this deck to anyone who'd like to explore and expand their relationship to Tarot imagery?

Now to share more of my favorite cards from this deck: 

Four of Wands

The Hermit (IX)

I should note that it's still an uneasy favoritism of The Hermit. I find this version disturbing, yet it also resonates for me deeply. When I hang in with Tarot images that are difficult for me they often produce valuable insights.

The King of Cups

The Three of Wands

This Three of Wands is a good card with which to end this post. That umbilicus speaks to me of the present nurturing the future. I have even seen the future returning the favor in one reading I did in which this card showed up. All this puts a more active slant on the more traditional 3W imagery (as in the Rider/Waite/Smith deck) in which a figure is standing looking out toward a vague future horizon, as if waiting for his ship to come in. In this Deviant Moon version the connection between present and future is expressly alive.

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'til next time, keep enjoying The Tarot, in whatever ways it comes to you in your life,





[aka: Patricia Kelly]
****If you wish to copy or use any of my writing, please email me for permission (under "View my complete profile")**** SEE ALSO: United Haiku and Tanka Society (UHTS) (charter member); Roswila's Dream & Poetry Realm for Tarot poetry; Roswila's Taiga Tarot for taiga (illustrated tanka); Trying to Hold A Box of Light for digital photos only.