Discover a new approach to tarot with this folk-tale inspired deluxe boxed book-and-card set from tarot expert Melinda Lee Holm and lavishly illustrated by Rohan Daniel Eason.
Folk tales have brought us invaluable lessons on life for thousands of years. With The Tarot of Tales, veteran tarot reader and author Melinda Lee Holm and illustrator Rohan Daniel Eason invite you into their magickal world of art and prose where your readings become personalized fairy tales told by the cards in narrative form. The meaning of each card is told in five different ways—one for each of five possible positions given in the accompanying full-color guidebook. Lay out the cards, find the corresponding passage for each card and position, and link them together to read the tale told to you by the Tarot. Presented in their own compact box for easy storage, the 78 cards provide richly detailed illustrated scenes that allow you to step inside your own personal storybook, one that changes to bring you the wisdom you need when you need it. Tarot is a language: let it tell you your story.
The Tarot of Tales is available now. You can find the unboxing and flickthrough videos on Tiktok.
This is a really beautifully packed set, perfect as a gift for your tarot loving friend - or your tarot loving self! It's not recommended for complete beginners, but we'll get there.
This is, if not complicated to open, certainly involved! The whole set is wrapped in a cardboard envelope that you slide off; then the box opens with a magnetic closure on the right to reveal the LWB; under that in a well is another box that holds the cards! It's not the pack you grab for a quick check-in on your way out the door, that's for sure, but it does make tarot reading feel like a Special Event, so if you like to ritualise your readings, this is a great choice.
The LWB is a lovely production, hardback and sturdy, with the image from the cardboard envelope on its cover. Melinda talks about her inspiration for the deck, her own Tarot journey, and gives some tips for using the deck. Then we're into spreads, a one-, three- and a very important for this book five card spread.
Now it's the card meanings. Every card in the deck gets two pages; one page is a full size image of the card, and the other page has the title and keywords. The rest of the page interprets the card in each position of the five card spread. It's written in the style of a story.
Strength is at 8 and Justice at 11.
The layout for the Minor pages is the same, with the addition of the realm each suit represents. Cups are 'The Sea', Swords are 'The Sky', Coins (Pentacles) are 'The Forest and Mountains' and Wands are 'The Desert and Volcanos'. The animal characters on each card come from those areas, as a quick hint to which suit you're in.
Now, the cards! They feature this back design:
It's technically not reversible, as the design doesn't quite line up, but you would need to be looking very closely to see that. The images are set within an ornate frame, with a black frame outside that; it makes the images look like they're being presented on a stage, which is an intriguing way to think about Tarot. All cards have their names across the bottom; Majors have their number in Roman numerals, Minors have them written out.
My first impression of the cards was that they were very dark, but as I worked with them I discovered that that wasn't the case; yes, the palette skews towards dark, but there's plenty of colour here, and the images are full of life and movement. There's also lots of clever details, like the second head on the dragon on the Two of Wands! Here are some samples and favourites:
When I started using this with my querants, they weren't sure about the image and found it to be not particularly accurate. However, as we kept working, both of those aspects improved; they found images and details they liked, and the readings became more focused and accurate. I think this is a deck one might need a little time to 'tune in' to, so be patient if it doesn't seem to resonate with you straight away - sometimes it just takes some time and effort.
I said earlier that I can't recommend this for beginners, and I do believe that. Although it's RWS based, it strays too far from the traditional images, and the LWB would be confusing for a complete beginner. However, for someone who knows the basic meanings, this is a fascinating deck, with plenty to expand their understanding of the cards and help with their practise. I love that, due to the style, some of the 'scary' cards of the deck are not so scary - depending on your audience this could be a good deck for reading for others. I'll certainly enjoy using it in the future!
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