Sunday, 26 November 2023

Deck review: Good Omens Tarot by Minerva Siegel and Lúthien Leerghast


Angels and demons guide your tarot practice in this officially licensed card deck and guidebook inspired by the Good Omens television series starring Michael Sheen and David Tennant.

Fans of Good Omens can predict the future like Agnes Nutter with this official tarot deck. Featuring beautiful illustrations of iconic angels, demons, Witchfinders, Professional Descendants, and many more fan-favorite characters and artifacts from the celestial comedy, this ineffable tarot deck is a must-have for fans of the Amazon Prime Video show.

Containing both Major and Minor Arcana, the set also comes with a comprehensive guidebook explaining each card’s meaning. Packaged in a sturdy, decorative gift box, this compelling tarot deck is perfect for fans of Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett’s devilishly divine world and tarot enthusiasts alike.

OFFICIALLY LICENSED TAROT DECK: Immerse yourself into the fantasy comedy series based on Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett’s popular novel of the same name, Good Omens, with this collectible deck created in partnership with the team behind the television series

ORIGINAL ART: Predict your future with this 78-card deck and 128-page booklet featuring stunning original artwork of Aziraphale, Crowley, Gabriel, Beelzebub, and more characters from the hit Amazon Prime Video show

GUIDEBOOK INCLUDED: This unique deck includes a comprehensive guidebook to help tarot practitioners of all skill levels perform fun and informed readings, complete with card meanings and instructions

THOUGHTFUL GIFT: The Good Omens tarot deck and guidebook come packaged in a deluxe gift box, the perfect gift for fans of the television show and the original novel, as well as tarot enthusiasts everywhere.

The Good Omens deck releases on the 28th November from Simon & Schuster in the US and Titan Books in the UK. You can see the unboxing and flickthrough vidoes on TikTok.


First things first; this is based primarily on the TV series, including the recently released second season, so the character designs follow the actors for each character rather than PTerry's descriptions (and of course, he wasn't part of the second season, although I understand that Neil Gaiman used ideas they had discussed for a sequel book.)

Secondly, these are illustrated in a highly stylized way, and several of them hit my face blindness pretty hard. That probably won't be an issue for most people, but it is something to be aware of. I like the illustrations very much, but I did have to go to the book several times to see who I was looking at!

The deck comes in a standard Titan/S&S box, with a lid that fits down over it from above and the cards resting in a well. The title and the banner reading Tarot Deck & Guidebook are both embossed, lifting slightly off the surface. The inside of the box is decorated with designs from the cards.

Minerva's LWBs are always thoughtful and tailored to their subject, and this is no exception. She talks about the makeup of a deck and how to get started. As with several of the pop culture decks I've had, the Minors have been renamed to thematically appropriate titles; in this case, Angels are Wands, Demons are Swords, Vessels are Cups and Humans are Pentacles. I have to admit, I thought it was strange that Angels are associated with firey Wands while Demons are airy Swords - and they're mentioned by element in the book - but it did make it easier to remember which was which! And Minerva may have been looking at the cards in each suit, rather than the elements attached to them.

Each Major card gets two pages in the book, one a full page reproduction of the card, the other with a description of how the image matches the meaning, and meanings for upright and reversed. Minors are down to one page, with a small image of the card and upright and reversed meanings. Finally there are some tips on caring for your deck, getting ready for a reading, and three spreads designed to work with the deck.



The cards are standard tarot size and feature this design on the back:


They're color coded, with the design at the top of the card being purple and green on the Majors, red and purple on the Swords (Demons), green and purple on the Cups (Vessels), orange and purple on the Pentacles (Humans) and two shades of blue on the Wands (Angels.) The images on each card feature those colors as well, along with others. The card number is at the top and the name at the base; unusually, Majors and Minors both feature Roman numerals. The images themselves are in a sort of frame on the card.


I mentioned the illustration style above, and I really do like it; it's all sharp angles and colors, and once I knew who the characters were I could pick them out fine. Here are a few samples;


In readings I found it needs some unpicking, it's not the most straightforward of decks, but it is accurate once I figured out what it was telling me. It's a great deck to expand your comprehension of the cards! Definitely one I'll be keeping in my arsenal.

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