The Deck and Book Nook: The Sun And Moon Tarot

Illustrator Vanessa Decort has created a stunning yet simple deck with her Sun And Moon Tarot. This latest offering from U.S. Games looks rather plain at first glance but on close inspection, there is a richness and complexity that draws you in and lends new, subtle nuances to your tarot readings. Decort describes the deck this way: “The Sun And Moon Tarot considers universal archetypes and cultural symbols, and also incorporates the artist’s own personal symbols.”

The deck is comprised of the standard 78 cards, with Majors, Minors and Courts. Based on the Thoth deck, it stays true to the titles that Aleister Crowley used (ex: 7 of Pentacles – Failure; Art – Temperance; Princes and Princes rather than Knights and Pages). I’ve always been somewhat intimidated by the Thoth deck but Decort has taken that influence and infused it with an almost playful, childlike essence. This could be because she has a background as an illustrator for children’s books or perhaps she simply wanted to deliver the wisdom of the Thoth deck in a more whimsical and accessible manner. I’m not sure which reason guided her work but the result is an inviting, fun deck that never loses its Thoth roots.

This is a well made deck on sturdy card stock with a somewhat matte finish. It felt great in my hands, shuffled well and seemed built to last. This is very important to me as I tend to be hard on my decks through constant use. The back of the deck is a gorgeous black and white mandala – and it’s reversible, another small detail that I like.

Each image is framed by white borders with titles (in English) and numbers clearly printed. The typeface is easy to read, no squinting required. Colors are bold yet muted. I especially liked the choices for the Minors suits – neutral, earthy tones for Earth; dark grey, burnt sienna and orange flames for Fire; rich midnight blue for Water; and light sky blue for Air. These color schemes make sense and allow the reader to instantly know which suit they are working with before they even glance at the title.

There are strong Kabbalah and alchemy influences throughout the deck – each Major has a Hebrew letter and the elemental symbols appear on every minor. Yogic images are scattered about – from the OM symbol in the Hermit to the dancing Shiva as the Universe (World)! Of course, being a yogi, this is personally very appealing to me!

The Major arcana is especially rich with symbols – the yin and yang in the Temperance and the Phoenix in the Death card convey the meanings clearly. Astrological symbols are featured throughout the Majors – for example, the Cancer symbol on the chest of the driver in The Chariot or the ram’s heads and lamb (Aries) in the Emperor.

One of the things I liked the best about this deck was the multicultural imagery. Rather than “standard” RWS people, there are all races represented here – black, white, dark haired, redheads and more. This gives the deck a “modern” appeal and I happen to like that as my own personal life is diverse – so seeing this detail made me feel more connected to the deck.

Despite the Thoth influence, the standard Rider Waite interpretations show up in the Minors. Rather than pip cards, the Minors are fully illustrated with people in various postures and actions – and this makes the Minors easier to grasp. I especially liked the image of the 10 of Wands, which shows an African woman delicately balancing a bunch of sticks on top of her head as she travels across a desert landscape. This lends a more hopeful feel to the standard interpretation (Decort interprets it as: “Ability to adapt when overwhelmed, like reeds bending with the wind.”)

I found it odd at first that none of the images had faces. In fact, they were blank like an Amish doll. I am a visual person and I thought this would inhibit my ability to read these cards. Surprisingly though I found that the symbols and the body language of the people allowed me to understand the cards easily. And without any facial expressions to guide me, I started to find that I was less limited in my own interpretations. For example, the 3 of Swords has an image of three swords going through a cloud which forms a thought bubble above the head of a woman who is resting her hand on her knee. Normally I interpret this card as heartbreak or loss – but this image spoke of perhaps reflecting on a disappointment. In a weird way, the lack of facial expressions is a bit liberating.

The Sun and Moon Tarot comes with a standard little white book but I think this deck needs a companion book as I felt there was not enough information to really grasp the possibilities that are present in this deck. For example, I read reversals and there were no interpretations for them. I’d like to see how the artist would interpret these. I’d also like more information on how this deck relates to the Thoth as I feel that it could help to shed light on the Thoth and make it more approachable to those of us who shy away from it. But these are very small, niggling requests.

After going over all those details, I always find the best way to really see if a deck is useable is by doing a reading. So I asked the deck this question: how will the Sun and Moon Tarot work for me? I pulled the Ace of Wands. One of the interpretations in the book was “Spiritual enlightenment and intuition”. I feel this is an appropriate description as for me, this deck does not have any of the “same old same old” stuff that I tend to rely on – I have to really pay attention to the symbols and energy and let the faces come alive without my preconceived notions. This IS intuition in action.