📌 Specs & Quick Summary
Deck Name: Patch Tarot
Publisher: Schiffer/redFeather
Deck Size: 78 cards, full Majors and Minors
Card Dimensions: Standard size
Card Stock: The cards are flexible and comfortable to hold. The edges are gilded, adding a touch of luxury to every spread.
Guidebook: 192 pages, including descriptions of all cards and tables to check astronomical information.
Skill Level: Intermediate to advanced.
Overall Vibe: Immediate thoughts, bright and cheerful. I admit, I first thought it was going to be surface level, but once I started working with the cards the depth was immediately obvious.
Major Arcana: There are no renamed cards in the Majors. Cards have their number at the top middle and name at bottom middle. There are keywords at the top, upright on the left and reversed on the right, and kabbalah and astrological associations at the bottom. I started reading without the associations and gradually added them in; the cards work both ways.
Minor Arcana: Pentacles are Coins but otherwise suits are as normal. Courts are King, Queen, Prince and Princess. Pips are fully illustrated, and I often found myself studying the images without attempting a reading - they really draw you in! I did find that on my first shuffle the cards tended to stick together a bit because of the gilding, but they loosened very quickly and I haven't have any problems since.
Handling & Durability: Standard tarot size, so if you can usually handle a deck these will be easy. I've been using them for about three weeks consistently and there's no chipping or bending yet.
III. The Guidebook
Spreads & Extras: There are some ideas for spreads, but the only one given detail is the Celtic Cross. There are no spreads designed specifically for the deck, but the included ones are useful.
IV. In Use
Can a deck that looks like a half-remembered fever dream of a cartoon give good readings?
Yes. Very much so.
Patch Tarot looks cute, colourful and just a little bit strange — like a cartoon you once saw at 3am while randomly channel surfing and have never quite managed to find again. But underneath that playful artwork is a deck packed with information, drawing on RWS, Thoth, Qabalah and astrology. And, more importantly, it reads beautifully.
PRE-READING
My first impression of Patch was that it was a very approachable-looking deck. Nothing about the artwork feels dark or intimidating, and the cartoon style gives it a playful quality. I wasn't immediately completely sure about the art style, but I got used to it surprisingly quickly — and once I did, I really liked it.
There is considerably more going on in the cards than that first impression might suggest. Patch combines the RWS tradition with Thoth, Qabalah and astrological associations, and there are lots of little details tucked into the illustrations that would be very easy to miss.
So I was curious to see whether all of that extra information would make the deck richer to read, or simply make it more complicated.
POST-READING
As I expected
The RWS influence makes Patch very easy to read. The pictures are close enough to RWS that I could recognise the cards and their meanings immediately, and where the imagery differs, it is still very understandable.
The keywords also match my understanding of the cards in just about every case, so I never felt that I had to abandon what I already knew in order to work with the deck.
My spreads ran smoothly as long as I approached the cards through how I understand them. The readings felt accurate and sometimes a little bit cheeky, which is always fun.
I was surprised by
Just how much information is hiding in these apparently cute little cards.
There are details that would be incredibly easy to overlook if you weren't aware of what they meant. The Eight of Cups, for example, has Saturn and Pisces associated with it, and there is a little Pisces constellation in the sky. It's a tiny detail, but knowing it's there adds another layer to the card.
The extra information could occasionally confuse me, but that's largely because I'm not used to considering planets when I pull tarot. As I became more familiar with the deck, though, that extra layer became easier to incorporate into my readings. It didn't replace the way I read the cards; it gradually became another tool I could use.
And perhaps the most appropriate thing that happened was that the first card I pulled from Patch was the Eight of Pentacles.
That feels very apt for a deck that wanted me to work with it. Patch rewarded me for studying the cards, paying attention to the details and learning how its additional symbolism worked alongside the meanings I already knew. The more time I spent with it, the more comfortable the cards became.
The guidebook
My main criticism is that I wish the guidebook had talked more about the details in the illustrations.
There is so much packed into the artwork, and I would have loved to have had more help identifying and understanding some of those little references. This isn't an unusual problem with a deck that contains this much visual information — guidebooks often concentrate on the meanings of the cards rather than giving you a tour of everything hidden in the artwork — but it does feel like a missed opportunity here.
Fortunately, it also means there is plenty for me to keep discovering.
RECOMMENDATIONS
If you like tarot decks that look cute on the surface but reveal considerably more depth once you start working with them, Witch's Cat Tarot is an obvious companion. Like Patch, it has an approachable aesthetic that makes it easy to pick up, but there's much more going on once you start paying attention to the details.
For a visual comparison, I'd point towards Smiling Friends. It's not an exact match, and I'm certainly not suggesting Patch Tarot contains anything remotely resembling Mr Frog, but there's a similar slightly strange, off-kilter quality to the animation. Both have that feeling of looking at something cute and familiar that has nevertheless come from a world with slightly different rules.
MUSIC PAIRING
A Whiter Shade of Pale — Procol Harum
✧ VIBE CHECK ✧
Colour palette: Bright yellow, fresh green, sky blue, coral pink and the occasional unexpected splash of purple.
Soundtrack: The cheerful noise of a world waking up — birdsong, open windows and something slightly psychedelic playing on the radio.
Season: Spring, when everything feels new and exciting and even a little bit strange.
Mood: The excitement of being given a new challenge and immediately wanting to know how it works.
Scent: Fresh grass, pencil shavings and that faintly dusty smell of an old box of crayons.
Texture: Smooth card edges, scribbled notes and the satisfying feeling of turning something over in your hands and finding another little detail you hadn't noticed before.
TAROT CARD PULLED
Eight of Pentacles
The first card I pulled from Patch, and possibly the most appropriate introduction it could have given me. This is a deck that rewards putting the work in: looking closely, learning its language and allowing the extra layers of symbolism to become part of how you read.
✦ THE TRUE QUESTION ✦
How much more can we see when we learn where to look?
Patch is full of details that are easy to miss at first glance, but become increasingly meaningful once you know what you're looking for. For me, using this deck became partly about learning its visual language — not replacing the way I already read tarot, but adding another layer to it. Sometimes the biggest difference isn't what's changed in front of us, but how much more we're able to notice.
Weaknesses: Just the guidebook! I would have loved to know more about all the details included in the art - but that would have needed a book twice as big, and the information that is included is really good.
Recommendation: I might not say a complete beginner, but certainly as soon as you have a basic grasp of the meanings, this deck will help expand and deepen your readings. Experienced readers will gain a lot from this.
Closing Impression: Patch Tarot is a deck that manages to be both approachable and surprisingly deep. You can pick it up and read the cards using what you already know, but if you spend time looking more closely, there is another layer waiting underneath the surface.
Patch Tarot is approachable without being shallow, playful without being superficial, and surprisingly rich once you start looking closely. You can read it with what you already know, then keep discovering more as you learn where to look.
And honestly, I'm very glad I put the work in.
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