Deck Review: Steampunk Faerie Tarot

• Deck name: Steampunk Faerie Tarot
• Author: Pamela Chen
• Artist: Ashley Cassaday
• Publisher: Llewellyn
• Recommended retail price: $28.99 USD / £32.00 GBP
• ISBN: 978-0-7387-7149-6
• Review by: Melissa Stratton Pandina

I don’t normally hold out great hopes for Fairy decks, but the Steampunk Faerie Tarot is an exception. These are not folkloric faeries, which is my preference, but the cutesy Victorian fairies with steampunk elements. The deck reminds me of The Fixies (2010) children’s cartoon. This is a whimsical deck that is made of digital art. It follows for the most part the Rider Waite deck. Sometimes, when straying from the RWS it adds to the meaning of the card. Most of the times, it leads to some confusion. The whole deck is well thought out, though, and well planned.  It is a readable deck for an intermediate reader. This deck will never be my primary deck, but it made me smile and I can see myself using it when I just need a break from the overly serious.

The biggest strength of this deck is the pips. They are fully realized, and there is no card that feels phoned in.  The pips are divided into Salamanders, Selkies, Sprites and Gnomes. Of these it is the Salamanders that stick out the most. The little lizards are very playful and give a break from all the techno-fairies. The salamanders also play into the artists strength in her depiction of light, and her use of complimentary colors. In the Selkies, the cards work better when they are seals. Look for some of the details like gear-spots. On my first go, I hated the Selkies because they are some of my favorite creatures. However, as I worked with this deck more, the more I really started to appreciate them.

I have a few favorite cards in this deck. I love The Chariot Card. The Fairy looks like she is a wheelchair. There are few decks which have differently-abled figures, so I really appreciated that this one did. I adore The Tower card. In fact, this is the best Tower card I have seen all year. It is dynamic in pose and leans into the artist’s strength with its lighting. The Ace of Wands has the same type of lighting, and the salamander dancing on the wand is just so joyful. While most Wand cards in other decks feel static, this one crackles with energy. My last favorite card is the Strength card. This one is quieter – just a sweet picture, with a fairy resting her head on a robot dragon. There are so many clever things happening in the construction of the robot.

This is not Pamela Chen’s first tarot. She is also the author of Witchling Academy and Tarot of the Owl. Both have a similar level of lightheartedness as the Steampunk Faerie. So, if you liked Chen’s earlier creations, you will like her latest. As for inclusivity, it is not the worst but not the best. I think there are more lavender fairies than any other race. They do have about 25% of darker complexioned fey. As mentioned earlier, there is one character with a disability.

Like all Llewellyn decks, the book is a work of art. It is full color, glossy and easy to use. I’ll be honest, I did not like the introductory chapter. To me these fairies are too far from folklore, and the book was not written tongue-in-cheek enough for me to fall enough into the fantasy world of the deck. When the author claims the deck was channeled, I rolled my eyes. However, the following chapters have some decent information. She refers to reversed cards as ‘counterclockwise’, which makes my dyslexic head spin a bit! However, I do like that she encourages the use of reversals. Each description starts with an affirmation. It then has the card meaning ‘clockwise’ and ‘counterclockwise’, and finishes with an ‘ignition’ section. While short, the descriptions are interesting, pithy, insightful, and fun to read.

The cards themselves are glossy and printed on a nice card stock. The backs, though, are a forgettable picture of gears, not the most interesting, but at least not too distracting.  The box, about the size of my hand, is a flap magnetic box with a ribbon to lift the cards out. Again, it is nice enough, but nothing special. In the end, it is the standard Llewellyn quality.

This deck is a good addition to a fairy enthusiast’s collection. While it is not on my learning deck list, it is a good 2nd or 3rd deck. I would also recommend it as a deck to give to a younger teen (especially one raised with The Fixies.) It is pretty, fun, modern, and, most importantly, easy to read.