• Deck Title:                 The Lubanko Tarot
• Author:                      E. Lubanko (Instagram: @emilylubanko)
• Publisher:                  Llewellyn
• Publication Date:      October 2025
• RRP:                          US$28.00 / GB£32.00
• ISBN:                          9780738780702
• Reviewed by:   Cadence (Instagram: @temperanceandtruth
  
  

The Lubanko Tarot was originally independently-produced by E. Lubanko, a US-based artist, and it was one of the more elusive (and expensive) decks to find in the aftermarket. Thankfully, we all have access now due to the mass-market version produced by Llewellyn.

The Lubanko Tarot artwork is unrestrained, exposed, and intense. In the mass market deck, the artist provides three different versions of the Lovers to choose at your discretion (photos are not included, as they contain nudity). I was glad to see that the original Lovers was included; massive kudos to Llewellyn for including this visceral image that may not be to everyone’s taste (so to speak!). It is certainly an extreme shadow version of the Lovers, depicting one person literally consuming the other, a reference to the sometimes toxic, obsessive, or co-dependent entanglement we can experience. We desperately desire to lose ourselves in a great love, while simultaneously fearing and avoiding that kind of vulnerability. It should be noted that, to my knowledge, all of the artist’s original images were included in this mass-market version, including images of nudity, queerness and pain, and types of complex themes that I was pleased to see weren’t watered down. The deck generally follows the Rider-Waite-Smith tradition.

I like that the artist spends just a little bit of space in each entry describing the art. It always feels like such a shame when the artist doesn’t take or isn’t given that opportunity. Lubanko gives us ample room to explore the art on our own terms, too. For me, this art feels unapologetically authentic and raw. We are offered the opportunity to explore our own biases and perceptions of the world around us through the imagery. The sample questions included in the guidebook are contemplative and deep, for example: ‘What was I taught about this concept as a child?’; ‘What is power?’; and ‘What does my immediate culture tell me about this concept?’.

Let’s look at the Seven of Cups. In this image, a levitating figure has arms stretched down toward a watery portal with snakes surrounding them. The guidebook refers to the Seven of Cups as, “the roots of one’s personal fantasy”. We are encouraged to reach into our subconscious depths, “[going] deep to know [our] own mental layout, from the basement to the attic”.  The Ten of Wands is another of my favorite images, showing a climber on an overhanging cliff, holding on with one hand with the seemingly impossible weight of ten wands strapped to his back.

I used a Deck Interview of my own creation to dive into the guidebook entries.

1: A card to describe our relationship – Wheel of Fortune. Our relationship is a means for me to remember the “transient nature of all things” and how to savor the happiness…but not get too comfortable, as the only constant is change.

2: Something I can learn from you – Seven of Cups. To use self-awareness to examine what is real versus what are “the roots of [my] personal fantasy”.

3: When should I use you? – Ten of Pentacles (another of my favorite images in the deck). When I need to be reminded to appreciate the “peace that comes with…a sense of family, community”.

4: Something I can do to strengthen our relationship – Seven of Pentacles. Invest time in our relationship and getting to know each other so that I can “see the scope of” what is available through the challenging work of self-discovery.

5: Something I should know – Queen of Pentacles (yet another favorite image). The “warmth and growth of…abundance” comes via investing great care in my home, my family/found family, my financial stability and independence, and myself.

The production of the deck is very nice. It is in the new smaller-sized box that Llewellyn has been using as of late (Hedgewitch Tarot and Green Codex Tarot are the same size) and includes the altar stand that is also a newer addition. The substantial guidebook is full color and includes reversals. The cardstock is a thin matte satin, making riffle-shuffling a breeze; though I’m guessing that some will feel that the cardstock is too thin. The edges are a fantastic black matte; however, I noticed that the edge color degraded after only a few shuffles.

It is clear that the artist and creator put their very souls into this work. They note that others have said that their deck works well for shadow work; Lubanko considers shadow work “to be synonymous with tarot work itself—to ask the hard questions, to go into the depths left previously unexplored”. I think this is a great description of the overall feel of this deck.

This deck is definitely not what I would consider a crowd-pleaser in that there is no attempt to make the imagery palatable to all. But if you are drawn to honest, inclusive, unconstrained, and unrestricted art, this deck will give you the opportunity to confront and explore all aspects of human nature, dark and light.

To purchase the deck directly from Llewellyn, click HERE