- Author and artist: Duy Khánh Võ
- Layout design: Lynyrd-Jym Narciso
- Production: Bydala divinations and Estrella Montien.
- IG: Bydala_divinations
- Website for purchase: https://bydaladivinations.com/
- Dimensions: Standard Tarot card size (2.75” x 4.75”)
- Review by Janine Worthington
This is the stunning sequel to the CARTA award winning Tarot deck – the Quên Tarot and what a beautiful pack of cards it is.
What you get for your money is a nice magnetic clip box with 50 cards which fit nicely in the hand (I have small hands) with a matt front and back, sturdy card stock and a stunning shiny copper edge. They don’t shuffle as easily as the glossy decks but this isn’t a problem for me, I really like the matt finish.
The edges and the backs of the cards were the first thing I noticed about the deck and they are actually the nicest card backs I have come across with a hand-painted ocean scene which reminds me of the rawness of the emotions and also a clue to what I will find when I delve into the images.
It’s quite hard to take my eyes off the shiny copper edges which are very enticing but when I do turn the cards around I’m in for a nice surprise. The 50 images are hand painted/drawn and consist of a descriptive keyword for the card and the title and date of the artwork itself. The images are a journey through the creator’s family life in North Vietnam and a peek into their soul, it’s an extremely personal deck. Some of the images evoke sadness, some wonder and some are incredibly happy. Even though they are someone else’s journey I find that I can relate to a lot of the same experiences. I also like that it separates out into the 4 different seasons – Spring, Summer, August, Winter giving an additional feel for the card meanings.
At the bottom of the deck is the certificate of authenticity which includes a link to the author’s website and a QR code which takes you to the PDF guidebook. This is perfect for someone who uses their phone a lot as I do, I can simply scan it and it takes me straight into the accompanying document. I can then click on the hyperlinks in the contents page and it take me straight to the card I want. I would have preferred this section to be in alphabetical order as it’s a bit easier and quicker to search through but that’s a small thing.
The deck starts with an introduction to the characters and the journey that the reader will take with them going down memory lane, stepping stones in to the past. In this way I am also caught up in a story, which I love. The ‘how to’ section informatively tells me that I can use the cards as clarifiers with their sister deck – the Quên Tarot or I can use them on their own for guidance and healing. I learn that, as well as relating to the four seasons, the deck also splits into the four main periods during the day – morning, noon, afternoon and evening. I can see this could be useful for me for personal self-work.
Each of the card images listed in the following pages is accompanied by the story and also the card meaning. I find it is a bit like reading a personal diary, full of emotion and insightful memories. Now when I go back to the cards to use them I have the story that runs through them and joins them, I find this brings them to life and gives them a depth they didn’t have on first glance. I would highly recommend reading the stories through and then using the cards, it’s very different from using any other deck.
When I came to do my reading I felt drawn to ask something very personal and emotive and the three cards I drew blew me away with the rawness of the answer. I kept them out as a reminder to myself and I can think back on the stories contained in the cards which now weave in and out of my own. All in all I found something special in these cards, in addition to the beautiful artwork and I am sure you will too.
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