- Universal Folk Tarot
- By Anita Inverarity, author and illustrator
- Published by: U.S. Games Systems, INC 2023
- Internet price for Deck and Guidebook Box Set: UK £24.71 / US $26.61
- UK Release Date May 2024
- US Release Date March 2024
- ISBN-13 978-1646711611
- Reviewed by: Jason C Dean
I opened the US Games box a couple of months ago and was excited to see the Universal Folk Tarot. It was beautifully unusual and piqued my curiosity immediately, ‘what do we have here’, I whispered aloud! Then I started living with the deck, laying out all the Minors in their Suits in sequence. The same with the Court cards, and again with the Majors.
I returned to the deck off and on, spending time with it comparing all the Aces, Twos and so on. The same went for the Pages, Knights, and the other Court cards, comparing them across the Suits. Then I looked at all the pairings between the Majors and their connected number in the Minors, The Lovers and Two of Cups, and Temperance and Two of Pentacles being among these, which I playfully refer to as ‘upper’ and ‘lower’ case components of Tarot. Of course the guidebook was included in this exploration, which has three of Anita’s favourite spreads that can be used for ‘meditation, inspiration, and affirmations’. So, after absorbing all the amazing cards and artfully written guidebooks, I could see there was ‘weight’ to this deck! I thought (and still think) I am looking at a significant component of Anita’s life’s work here. No, really! The guidebook wants to be a tome, and the whole package combining the two is an expansive system of divination and self-exploration. Plus, it can be used easily with her Universal Folk Oracle, which I was inspired to buy a little later. Anita has produced what I feel is a loving gift of personal knowledge for us all. In these works (each card is a work), she expresses her deep understanding and vision of the integrated human experience with nature, the earth, and spirit.
The Universal Folk Tarot by Anita Inverarity is a stunning deck and guidebook. The narrative on the back of the box explains that this deck is based on the “Waite-Smith framework interwoven with narratives from world folklore and mythology”. This is obvious and true, however, the RWS underpinning is subtle, and this deck is certainly not a clone. This is because Anita, the author and artist, has thrown the breadth and depth of her considerable experiential, spiritual knowledge into the Universal Folk Tarot. Each card is lovingly rendered and full of symbolism, which Anita explains in her extensive guidebook. It is here that the interconnectedness of the card to the guidebook is paramount as each card carries its meaning across many integrated modalities, which include flowers, crystals, plants, animals, world folk stories, symbols, clothing, talismans, amulets, and artefacts. Reading my description, you might think this sounds complex, but it is not. Anita has artfully woven a tapestry of words that make the interpretation and description of the cards fun, rich, and simple.
The deck comes in a beautifully presented sturdy box with the Nine of Cups (The Wishmaker) on the cover. The box is also adorned on the sides with lovely images and excerpts from other cards in the deck. As I explored the cards, I was struck by their rich beauty. It has representatives of peoples (majority female) from all cultures, colours, and geographically dispersed places with accompanying folk stories. These are melded into interpretations, descriptions, and meanings, including upright and reversed meanings. All the Minor Arcana cards have keywords under the card titles, and these seem to be folk story lessons applied to that card’s meaning. An example of using keywords is the Eight of Swords (The Martyr), where the woman appears to be dwelling in her self-pity, wearing a blindfold that stops her from seeing the scissors around her neck, and that freedom is just a snip away. The Majors do not have keyword associations, which I feel gives weight to their considerable archetype influence. The combination of the two, when reading in storytelling fashion, gives the Majors two important attributes where they become the ‘therefore’, ‘why’, or the ‘headline’, and the Minors are the folk story’s ‘meat’, the details linking the cards. The result I felt is that when reading, linking the story with the cards and answering the question is a little like creating an earth-based spirit parable within its storytelling construction.
The Majors follow the RWS sequence and are the only cards where numbers, in the form of Roman numerals, are used. The Minors are not ‘numbered’ except in the word description, e.g. Four of Wands. I found myself having great fun exploring the Majors, noting the use of animals from around The World, a lioness and a monkey in Strength, a Kookaburra and Arctic Turn in The World, and an Asian Dragon in The Sun. In fact, animals are littered throughout Universal Folk stories. There are cats big and small from various continents, birds from all over, goats, horses, fishes, sea horses, rabbits, dogs, foxes, bears, insects and snakes (and probably more). Anita has indeed given us a deck reflecting and inspired by folk stories universal. However, Anita is also influenced by her Scottish descent, and there is a lovely hint of her culture in the flavour of the deck and guidebook.
I liked and found a personal association in almost all the cards. But my current favourite is the Page of Cups (keywords: The Tea Leaf Reader). There was something about the spiritual aspects of the description, uncovering knowledge, divination, intuition, and psychic gifts. The art depicts ideas, and visions in the flying fish, and the landscape and island show us the growing mastery of hidden talents. This Page’s cloak has paisley-like blue fractal patterns, and they have all the tools at their “disposal where divine gifts can be channelled successfully.” I find this card inspires my aspirations, but further, I sense it is perhaps the Minor Court card paired embodiment of The Magician’s larger archetypal influence, having all the tools and skills for embarking on the road less travelled.
If you have read this far, you can probably guess that I am enamoured with this deck. I am always in awe of authors and artists creating their Tarot decks. But I’m even more amazed if they are both artist and authors and do it well, as Anita has certainly done here. In the Universal Folk Tarot, Anita Inverarity has created a special Tarot deck of exceptional beauty. I could sense emotions in every card of this deck like it was a box of deeply personal belongings that I should treat gently and respectfully. Having it in my home was like enjoying the company of a special guest. I am sure the Universal Folk Tarot would be an equally special inclusion in any Tarot enthusiast’s home.
**Note: I would also like to add that Anita Inverarity has an amazing variety of art available to view and purchase on her website. Some of the art posted are the originals of the Universal Folk Tarot and Oracle decks, or you can get smaller prints that are very accessible. In addition, Anita has a ton of other artworks to explore. It’s worth just viewing her gallery for the pleasure of it. I found it added an extra level to understanding the origin and spiritual environment where Anita created the Universal Folk Tarot.
0 Comments