Book Review: Death and The Maiden Creativity Journal
- Authors and Artists: Jasmine Becket-Griffith and David Van Gough
- Publisher: Blue Angel Publishing
- Publication Date: (AUS) June 2026 / (UK) August 2026 / (US) September 2026
- RRP: (AUD) $29.95 / (UK) £16.99 / (US) $23.95
- ISBN: 978-1-922574-67-1
- Country of publication: Australia
- Reviewed: Kim Goldsmith Cosmic Snail Tarot
Jasmine Becket-Griffith and David Van Gough are the visual arts duo who have created the Death and the Maiden Creativity Journal published by Blue Angel. It is one of the many commercial offerings connected to the graphic novel series Death and the Maiden published by Dren Productions, and written by James Mascia. Here is the blurb for the series:
When Stralice comes of age, she is sent to complete the Flourishing. She knows little of what is going to happen other than she must go to the Chimerian Wood. She only knows that she is not ready for this task. She makes the journey, carrying the two items she needs for her quest, an egg, and her heart. But what awaits her in the Chimerian Wood is not something that she is prepared for, and it pulls her on a journey she never thought possible.
The story has the look and feel of Grimm’s fairy tales and other classic folk stories that explore the darker aspects of the journey from youth to adulthood.
Jasmine Becket-Griffith is well known in the tarot and oracle community, most notably illustrating decks by Lucy Cavendish such as Les Vampires and Oracle of Shadows and Light and other decks like the Beautiful Creatures Tarot. What I didn’t fully appreciate until doing this review and exploring the artist’s home website Strangeling:The Art of Jasmine Becket-Griffith is how expansive her arts practice is. Please watch the video link above to see how she creates 3D printed sculptures of her characters and large scale acrylic paintings ensconced within ornate vintage frames she sourced to fit her works that reference fairy and folk tales. I realise that some of her artwork on oracle decks is in fact snippets of larger paintings or even just painted studies for much larger and detailed paintings. Her oeuvre includes Disney exclusive products too – reinterpreted portraits of Mickey Mouse, Alice in Wonderland and Donald Duck – painted in her cute and macabre style.
David Gough is less familiar to me as an artist, and his artwork is not yet visible in the tarot community, although an upcoming Death and the Maiden related tarot deck is mentioned in his biography. Gough is interested in serial killer culture, alchemy, magic and the macabre. I also note that there are palpable references to characters from the tarot in some of his portrait series. Take for instance “Origin’s of a Black Hole” from his Paridiso’s Fall series that distinctly reminds me of Le Pape (5) or The Hierophant card and “Feast of the Gods” could be a gothic rendering of The Magician (1).
It is very interesting to note that over the last decade more and more fine artists are crossing over into the tarot and oracle deck creation space and I am really curious to see what this creative team has in store for us in the near future. David Gough studied at the San Diego Art Institute, and Jasmine Beckett-Griffith has had her artwork featured across the globe in fine art collections. Their wealth of knowledge and energy dedicated to creativity lends itself perfectly to producing a creative journal that others can use to explore their artistic side.
The Death and the Maiden Creativity Journal is a deluxe product featuring 25 colour artwork images and excerpts from the graphic novel series. There is plenty of lined space to write your creative musings plus a few line drawings for you to colour in. The paper is thick, but isn’t archival or water colour tolerant so it is best to use pens, coloured pencils and collage. I recommend it for journaling, sketching or doing mindful colouring in. But if you have some of the matching graphic novels you could also do some creative writing exercises based on the stories and characters you find in the series. The pages lay flat which I find a little irritating when using it but the size is good for portability if you feel like sketching outside or on the train.
Would I use this for tarot study or deck creation? I don’t think I would as I prefer a blank journal to do my own creative work. Yet if you need a little inspiration to get your artistic ideas flowing then the artwork by Gough and Beckett-Griffith could help with this. In the centre of the journal are thirty Vision prompts: “Choose one at random, close your eyes and visualise it, then let the image unfold through writing, sketching or reflection”. I chose to write what card sprung to mind from the Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot next to each word. Just immediate associations without too much rumination. Some of the words immediately brought to mind more than one card so I wrote those down. I had to look up the meaning of a few words too before I could connect the dots. Behemoth stumped me – I kind of toyed with The Devil, Strength or even The Emperor card, but I just couldn’t see it.
- Demon – The Devil (15)
- Saviour – The Chariot (7)
- Celestial – The Star (17)
- Hermit – The Hermit (9)
- Despot – The Emperor Reversed (4), King of Swords
- Glutton – 9 of Cups
- Soothsayer – The Hierophant (5) or The High Priestess (2)
- Cryptid (a creature/thing of hearsay) – The Devil (15), The Moon (18) or The Magician (1)
- Prison – 9 of Swords
- Melancholy – 5 of Cups
- Drifter – 8 of Cups or Knight of Cups
- Preacher – The Hierophant (5)
- Sawbones (informal expression for Doctor or Surgeon) – 3 of Swords or 10 of Swords
- Sentinel – Knight of Swords or Justice? (11)
- Reaper – Death (13)
- Effigy – The Hanged Man (12)
- Zealot – King of Swords or The Hierophant Reversed (5)
- Castaway – 6 of Swords
- Toiler – 8 of Coins or 10 of Wands
- Fool – The Fool (0)
- Vagabond – 7 of Swords
- Deity – The World (21)
- Behemoth – ?
- Rebel – Knight of Wands (Rebel with a cause?)
- Primal – Strength (8)
- Hysteria – The Moon Reversed (18) or The Tower (16)
- Transformation – The Sun (19), Death (13), 10 of Swords, The Star (17)
- Chaos – The Tower Reversed (16) or 5 of Wands
- Drowning – 5 of Cups or 4 of Cups
- Crawl – 9 of Wands
What comes to mind when you see each word? Is your choice different to mine? Why did you make the connection? After reflecting, would you change the card? I was surprised how much I enjoyed this activity – it is an interesting knowledge test on the tarot! Of course, you can use this vision prompts list in any way you like, my approach was to connect it to tarot for the review.
Overall this is a great journal with a few prompts and prints of art to inspire you but enough space to allow your own thoughts flow. I look forward to seeing more of Death and the Maiden products in the future.
More on the creators:
A professional artist since 1997, Jasmine Becket-Griffith is a traditional acrylic painter whose work blends realism with fantasy and the surreal, mixing historical and spiritual elements with fairytales and the beauty of nature. Her signature liquid-eyed maidens have been featured in many books and magazines, merchandising lines such as the Bradford Exchange and Hamilton Collection, the Walt Disney Company, and Lucasfilm. Her work has been showcased in galleries throughout the US, including the Corey Helford Gallery in Los Angeles, Disney’s WonderGround Galleries, Art of Disney, and Disneyland Galleries in Disney Springs. Jasmine is based in La Jolla, California. For more information, please visit strangeling.com
David Van Gough is a Necrosurrealist artist who integrates classical literature, religious iconography, mythology, alchemy, conspiracy theories, and personal biography into his work, describing it as “an emotional and spiritual excavation for purpose”. In 2010, he was named an Honoree Artist by the San Diego Art Institute, and his work has been featured in exhibits on both sides of the Atlantic, showcased in a documentary, a horror film festival, and on various book and album covers. He is based in California. To learn more about David, please visit davidvangough.com
You can purchase Death and the Maiden Creativity Journal here: https://blueangelonline.com/shop/journals/death-the-maiden-creativity-journal/
