- Afro Goddess Tarot Arcanas Deck and Guidebook Set
- Author and Illustrator Andrea Furtick
- Published by US Games Systems, 2024
- Guide price: £54.00 GBP | $45.00 USD
- ISBN 978-164671-176-5
- Reviewed by Jason C Dean
Afro Goddess Tarot Arcanas by Andrea Furtick is a stunning deck and guidebook. The narrative on the back of the box explains that Andrea designed the deck with a wide array of ‘melanated’ skin tones. As I explored the deck, I saw that this was obvious. However, although the name of the deck indicates ‘Afro’ Goddess, I felt that there were also a few signs and symbols from an amalgam of melanated world cultures. Additionally, males do get some representation, and there also appears to be non-gender-specific diversity within this deck. I purposely chose this deck to review from US Games Systems. This was for my education and exposure to the thought processes and illustrations of Tarot from a melanated goddess origin perspective, as I am an older white guy. Additionally, I wanted to support this beautiful work of creative art and life.
The Afro Goddess deck comes in a beautifully presented sturdy box, purple in colour, with the goddess, ‘The Supreme’, on the front cover. The Supreme is one of two additional Major Arcana cards in this 80-card deck (more about these cards later). A close examination of the box reveals that the deep purple colour actually contains a nice subtle squared pattern reminiscent of pre-Columbian American empires. This pattern is a contiguous theme providing background to the title blocks at the base on all cards, though in different colours depending on the suits, etc. The backs of the cards have a gold embossed world map that references the international cultural elements and Afro diaspora depicted in the cards. The whole deck is printed on holographic paper, giving the images an ethereal inner glow, and all cards have gold-gilded edging. The cards are slightly smaller than standard Tarot cards at 7cm wide and 10.5cm long (2.5” x 3.75”) and are easy to handle and shuffle.
The Goddesses depicted in this deck all have natural figures celebrating an authentic female natural curvilinear shape. The deck follows a traditional format of four suits and four Court cards for each suit. However, the Court cards have been renamed Daughter, Son, Goddess and God. Even though it appears that the Court titles are gender specific, in at least two of the cards, this is optional i.e. the Son of Swords seems to be female, and the God of Wands has a distinctly traditional Queen of Wands posture and composition, including a very large black pussycat familiar!
The Major Arcana cards all have traditional, recognisable titles. However, as might be expected considering the title of the deck, most cards are depicted in Goddess form, including The Hanged ‘Man’. The only male figure in the Majors is The Emperor. Andrea has included two additional cards to the Majors, ‘The Supreme’ and ‘Nova: The Universe’. When reading the descriptions, I sense they are elevated aspects of the Major Arcana. In The Supreme, she appears somewhat similar to The Magician, with symbols of the four suits floating around her. However, she is like a fully integrated spiritual whole, a supreme being whose influence and aspects integrate all of the Majors spiritual attributes in one card. The symbology of The Supreme is also cross-cultural, with this Goddess wearing an Ankh symbol over her heart Chakra; an I Ching style trigram of three unbroken horizontal lines on her throat Chakra (Heaven-Creative), a third eye on her forehead, and Earth and Air element style triangles on her upper arms (as above so below). Time and space are depicted by the hourglass she is holding and the clock face floating in the starry heavens behind her.
Similarly, the card Nova: The Universe, or Goddess Nova as referred to in the description, has a Magician combined with The World feel to the art with the addition of the Ouroboros symbol floating in a galaxy of stars, as she wears or wields the four elemental symbols. This Goddess is a direct ethereal connection to the universal spirit where everything is all, and all is one in you as an embodiment of Goddess Nova. The way I read with these two cards is to make them the focal point of any spread they appear. I sensed they are not operating in the Majors’ larger and longer influence cycles like if the World was to indicate the celebratory end of a large cycle of your life, or the Wheel of Fortune, an almost equally significant end-of-cycle mid-course correction. These two additional cards feel like they exist outside of the cycles of the Tarot, encompassing all cycles within cycles, like a system of systems, or perhaps a significant divine energy announcing an enlightened moment of self-actualization in the querent’s progress. However, they are not external influences; they are either your own ‘becoming’ or, when reversed, what you need to do to become ‘all’, as described by Andrea in the guidebook.
The Afro Goddess Court cards can be loosely equated with traditional Court personalities or attributes. The Hierarchy from Page to King is not strictly applied, and some of the Daughters and Sons look adult, not always adolescent or immature. The Goddess of Cups card shows her sitting on a rock in the ocean. This depiction reminded me of the ancient mythological story of Andromeda, the Nubian princess whose father chained her to a rock in the ocean for the sea monster to devour because the King discovered her practising witchcraft. Further, the God of Cups is also on a rock in a turbulent sea holding Poseidon’s trident. I felt that this was somewhat reminiscent of Perseus, who borrowed implements from the gods to rescue Andromeda. This is my inspired projection, what I got from the cards as I read with them. This indicates to me that the cards in this deck are not just nice to look at and admire, but they are great divinatory tools and can be applied to draw out and hone your intuitive skills when reading with them.
I found that the numbered Minors are similarly easily applied as divinatory tools. Andrea’s take on some traditional pictured images is enlightening and expansive. The Five of Pentacles shows a Goddess locked out on one side of a gate. On her side, the tree is barren, and the ground is white and frozen, but on the other side of the locked gate, the tree is green and bears fruit. The Goddess is clearly not accepting her plight, she is pointing at the lush, fruiting tree, indicating her intent and action to overcome her exclusion from warmth and sustenance. In another twist on traditional imagery, the Five of Swords shows a victorious Goddess who has defeated her opposition. They have left their four swords sticking upright in the ground and sit in the distance just over the hill facing away from the battlefield, their wounds clearly visible. The Goddess, who is obviously pleased with the result, is licking the blood off her sword. An activity that I felt the Hindu Goddess Kali might happily do. Andrea’s perspective and description of the Five of Swords in her guidebook match traditional decks’ interpretations. However, the imagery here gave me the clear alternative that success at any cost can make revenge taste very sweet indeed!
It’s rare, but not unheard of, for a Tarot deck to be authored and illustrated by the same person and done well. As I explored this lovely deck, I kept thinking of The Muse Tarot by Chris Anne, with which I read. It’s not that they are similar, they aren’t. It was the quality of work, the skill of being able to do the art, write the book, bring the whole concept to life, and also put a priority on women that made me think about Afro Goddess Tarot Arcanas and The Muse Tarot as being in the same high conceptual space and quality. It’s in this light that I feel that Andrea has indeed produced an outstanding deck and guidebook set, plus she has done so for all the melanated and diverse Tarot enthusiasts of the world, and their supporters!
The Afro Goddess deck has a lovely guidebook with The Chariot card on the front cover. Every card in the 108-page guide has a full-colour plate showing the cards next to the suggested interpretations, including reversed meanings. A brief meditation to get you in the right headspace when reading and several examples of spreads to apply when using the cards are also included.
I feel this is an outstanding deck to own and use when reading for yourself or friends. I plan to take my copy to Psychic Fairs, where I read Tarot as a vendor. Offering this deck to clients as an option for their reading will be a great addition to the choice of decks that a querent may identify with.
So many good things can be said about the Afro Goddess Tarot Arcanas deck. It has many elements of many world cultures as it focuses on melanated Goddesses in all their diversity. It would be an ideal deck for people who want to get to know their feminine side more or understand the motivations and actions of all the Goddesses in their life. Overall, the Afro Goddess Tarot Arcanas deck hits all the bumpers on the Tarot pinball machine and gets a high score. It would be an ideal addition to anyone’s divination collection or a thoughtful gift to a friend who feels the call to Tarot and identifies with the Goddess in our lives.
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