Deck review: The Guardian of the Night Tarot by MJ Cullinane

Without Darkness There is No Light

From the creator of Crow Tarot, this richly illustrated 78-card deck and guidebook are reminders that there is always light to be found, even on the darkest of nights. Discover a vast menagerie of animal energy to guide you on your journey through the toughest times and discover wisdom and insight in those moments.

This tarot deck is not a tool to banish the darkness, but an invitation to dream the divine dreams that emerge from the night and to find beauty wherever you are on your path. The wise creatures of this deck walk beside you and offer their individual gifts of wisdom and inspiration to your readings as the shining moon and flickering fireflies illuminate your path through the forest.

You can see the unboxing on TikTok or youtube, and the full flickthrough on TikTok or youtube. I also did two public spreads, a deck interview and the Once Upon a Time spread.

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This is my first deck by MJ Cullinane, but not my first from this publisher, and I have always enjoyed their decks! I was looking forward to trying this one out.

I. First Impressions

The cards come in a two-piece box, decorated with images from the deck. Inside the lid is a brief quote - "Without Darkness there is no Light" - which helps to describe the deck's philosophy.

The cards are a little larger than standard for tarot, about 3 by 5. I can still shuffle them, but some people might find them larger than comfortable. The images are mostly realistic paintings of different animals, mostly but not only nocturnal. Visually they're quite dark, with a lot of blackness, but that's because they're mostly set at night; the images aren't particularly dark or scary. Instead, these animals are intended to serve as guides and helpmates along our path, to help guide us through the darkness.

The images of the animals are realistic, set on a collaged background. These are also realistic - plants, forests and so on - and yet they have a touch of fantasy about them. Looking at these cards is like getting lost in another world, one similar to our own but different in tiny ways.

II. The Cards

The cards have a frame around the outside of the image. On one or two cards this obscures parts of the image, but mostly it's been worked around. I'm usually a fan of borderless cards as I feel they have a sense of openness, but here the frames work well to contain the image - it's like looking through a window or mirror, which really worked for me. The name of the card is at the bottom of the card, with numbers in Arabic on the Majors and in words on the Minors. 

You can see the fourth side is slightly hidden under the frame, but still visible.

Images are loosely based on the Rider Waite Smith school, but many don't line up exactly. All cards feature animals; there are no people in the deck at all. The cards feature this lovely design (technically not reversible as the moon doesn't line up, but very close to it.)

Major Arcana: 

The Major Arcana have Strength at 8 and Justice at 11. The guidebook does a great job explaining the link between the images and the meanings, but at first look through, they don't seem to line up with the RWS at all. As I worked with them, though, I started to see the details and the links with the traditional images.

This doesn't look much like Justice, but the scales are there!

Minor Arcana: 

The Minor cards are all fully illustrated. They all feature their elements, but carefully drawn in; for instance, the Six of Wands features six raised lemur tails, while in the Right of Pentacles they're cells in a beehive. There's no theme in the Minors like in some decks, but the King and Queen of each court are the same species.

Card Stock and Size: 

As I mentioned above, the cards are a little larger than standard tarot size, but still easy to handle. The size didn't impact on my readings, spreads or handling the cards in any way. The card stock feels nice and sturdy; I've been using them regularly for a couple of weeks now and I haven't noticed any chipping or tearing. They have a slightly textured feel, not shiny like some cards, and they shuffle and slide nicely without catching or stuttering. 

III. The Guidebook

Like many other works of art, this deck was born in the pandemic. MJ Cullinane had thought about it before, picturing some of the cards, but she came to work on it seriously during the lockdowns and uncertainty of 2020, choosing animals and plants that flourish in darkness in the hope that they would guide the users out of darkness and into the light. Visually, this is one of the darker decks I've worked with, but the cards do a great job showing that darkness doesn't last and we can come through it into light again.

Writing Style and Readability: 

The guidebook is about the same size as the cards, and reassuringly hefty. MJ has a chatty, easy writing style, like talking to a friend rather than listening to a lecture.

She talks about her inspiration for the deck, some ideas for getting to know it and calming and cleansing yourself and the deck before use. It's all very easy to follow and simply written. 

Card Meanings: 

There are some questions to consider when the Major Arcana comes up - I've seen a sample from the guidebook for another of MJ's decks and the same questions are there, so they obviously work very well for her. I found them interesting to meditate on with each card; next I'd like to try them with other decks and see how they work with them.

After that each card has two pages; there's an explanation of how the image relates to the meaning and how to interpret the card, along with some keywords for the animal or plant. There's no reversed meanings, and reversals aren't mentioned anywhere in the book. I'm a mood reversal reader, I don't always use them, so I didn't find this to be a lack; but I know some readers depend on reversals and might miss having the reversed meanings in the guidebook. 

I found the guide really helpful in understanding why MJ chose the images she did; I love a guide that really digs into the art work, and this one is very good.

Spreads and Techniques: There are two spreads, the standard one card and a four card draw that MJ created for another deck. There's also a list of which cards mean yes, no or maybe if you want to use that kind of spread, which I think is great - I haven't seen that kind of list in a guidebook before, it's really useful to have it right there.

IV. In Use

Intuition and Connection: 

As these images aren't always RWS based, I didn't feel an intuitive connection. However, they are beautiful images, and I was able to read with them. My usual querant said they were very accurate, better than some other decks (Ace of Pentacles, my querant had just made a move in a new business venture!) and I found that in my spreads the cards flowed easily and made sense. The more I worked with them the more easily I read them, so I'm glad I didn't give up early on! There wasn't a 'click' moment where they suddenly worked; it was a gradual understanding, deepening as I went.

Suitability for Different Skill Levels: 

I enjoyed this deck very much, but I think it would be hard for a complete beginner, as it's not completely RWS based. Once a reader is confident in their meanings, this would be a fantastic deck to help stretch their understanding and bring a new angle to their readings.

V. Overall Impression

Strengths:

• Very clear readings
• Beautiful images
• Accurate

Weaknesses:

• Not beginner friendly
• It can take time to get used to the images

Bonus

I very much enjoyed working with this deck. I look forward to continuing to use it and deepening my relationship with it! I found its readings were happy and accurate, despite the dark theme. If you enjoy unusual decks, animal themes or something a little darker than usual, or if you want to stretch your practise a bit, this is a fantastic choice. It's a great choice for the artwork as well! A really gorgeous deck.