• Author: Tess Whitehurst
• Artist: Ana Novaes
• Publisher: Blue Angel Publishing Australia
• Publication Date: 2025
• RRP: AUD $49.95
• ISBN: 978-1-922574-45-9
• Country of publication: Australia
• Reviewed by: Kim Goldsmith / Cosmic Snail Tarot

As soon as I had The Tarot of Secrets in my hands I was blown away. The artwork, design, look and feel of this deck is stunning. It ticks almost all of my boxes, which is surprising for a new mass market deck. You may have already read my previous TABI review of the Feminine Myths Oracle published by Blue Angel written and illustrated by Ana Novaes, which I continue to enjoy using in my tarot practice. There is a sketchbook feel to the drawings in that oracle deck, with its strength lying in the energetic and intimate portraits of contemporary women in close up, harnessing characteristics of various global goddesses. However, the sophistication of art and quality of concept in The Tarot of Secrets is next level by comparison. It looks like Novaes’ figurative drawings have been sprinkled into a kaleidoscopic world of colours – a place where carnival meets Surrealism. The colourful backgrounds to each card are overlaid with sacred geometry, alchemical and elemental symbols, making it rich fodder for intuitive minds as well as those of you who combine astrology and other systems into your tarot readings.

The Major Arcana have the standard names, only Key 12 is just called ‘The Hanged’. Strength is Key 8 and Justice Key 11. In the Minor suits, Cups are replaced with Vases and Pages replaced with Princesses. This deck is not a clone of any one Tarot system, but seems to blend aspects of RWS, Marseilles imagery with esoteric symbolism of Golden Dawn or Kabbalist decks. The artist’s imagination has taken the essential feel and meaning of the card and made it her own. For example, Key 16 The Tower is instantly recognisable. But Key 6 – The Lovers is a thing unto itself, depicting a headless man and woman standing in a tower of water above clouds, with a sun and moon hovering over their necks.

The Tarot of Secrets is populated by people-like beings – but often headless, or their faces are obscured (or maybe don’t even exist?!) Take the 6 of Vases (Cups/Water) for instance – I think there is a woman there, as I can see an arm and a bit of hair, but maybe there is nothing but air underneath her blouse, and her face and right arm are made of leaves and flowers. What about the 9 of Coins – we can see red thread wrapped and tied around several trees but the culprit is out of sight. There is a human-like presence in most of the cards which I find intriguing. Objects and animals (real and mythic) populate many cards too, like the phoenix in the 10 of Wands and the fox disappearing into the clouds in the 7 of Swords. Each character defies a label or a definition so this ambiguity of gender, age and race may appeal to many tarot readers.

The cards have a satin finish and don’t glide too easily but are fine for overhand shuffling, and feel nice to handle. Despite being fairly large (14cm H x 8.3cm W) they are not unwieldy, and the size enables visibility of all the small details. If you are compelled to cut off borders (I prefer to keep mine) then the card image reduces to just a bit smaller than 11.5cm H x 6.75cm W, which is roughly the size of a standard RWS tarot card. While on the topic of borders I think the design is elegant and well executed with a specific coloured border used for each suit and majors, and then a thin black line around the image and card title. Card backs are black with faint stars and a single crescent moon in the centre. The box is large and heavy due to the guidebook but is beautifully decorated with artwork from the deck.

The guidebook is thick and an extremely useful tool in understanding the themes behind The Tarot of Secrets. The suit colours are used on the page ends of the guidebook, making it easy to find the section of the book you need. Every card, whether a Major or Minor, is given the same amount of text. Card information includes an additional subtitle i.e. Knight of Wands is ‘Ambitious Hero’. ‘Guidance’ provides a general summary of what the card means in a reading. ‘Dynamics’ is concerned with how this card may act on or interact with other cards in a reading. ‘Secret’s’ explores the elemental, astrological and alchemical symbolism of the artwork in the card. ‘Meanings and Messages’ is a more direct section that offers bullet pointed phrases that act as a quick reference guide for both upright and reverse card meanings.

Alchemy is the fundamental basis for the imagery in The Tarot of Secrets. Don’t fret if you know nothing about this topic, as each card page in the guidebook includes a ‘Secrets’ section which describes what alchemical elements are depicted in the card. You may need to do your homework a little to understand why or how these materials are used in alchemy, but there is enough of a description to give you the gist of their importance. For instance, Key 1 – The Magician, identifies the symbols for salt, sulphur, mercury (the metal and planet) and the four elements (air, fire, earth and water) in the image. The guidebook explores the notion of the Magician as ‘a chemist combining the universal compounds to bring his cherished inner vision into form’. Rather than a history lesson in the use of these materials in alchemy, the connection drawn between the Magician’s ability to manifest their own reality, and alchemic practice, is much more meaningful and relevant in the context of a tarot reading.

Several spreads and example questions are given at the introduction to the guidebook. I tried all spreads and particularly liked the seven-card reading which is sort of a linear version of the Celtic cross. I chose the question “Please give me an insight into my relationship with this person” and the result was a very on point and comforting reading about allowing space for my friend to sort out their own challenges instead of trying to push communication with them at this time. Tess Whitehurst offers a unique section in the book on ‘How to do magickal and spiritual work with The Tarot of Secrets’. ‘Ask the queens’ is a novel activity in which you must pull out the four Queens in the deck and start talking to this council of Queens about your situation. Then one by one, look at each queen, note down what you think she might advise you and consult the guidebook entry. I haven’t tried this one yet but I am very curious to hear what they all have to say!

The Tarot of Secrets is a colourful and richly symbolic deck. It is suitable for any level of tarot experience since the accompanying guidebook is comprehensive, offering many ways to interpret the cards. This deck really excites my imagination and draws me into its unique and strange alchemical world, and I am sure it will be a well loved member of my expanding tarot collection.

About the author: Tess Whitehurst is an Energy Healer, Feng Shui Consultant, and author of numerous books and decks, including The Wild Witch Oracle which I recently reviewed here on the TABI blog.

About the artist: Ana Novaes is an interdisciplinary Brazilian artist working with traditional and digital drawing media. She has illustrated several oracle and tarot decks including: Feminine Myths Oracle, Nova Witch Tarot, Soul Reflections Tarot, Soul Mirror Oracle and coming soon to Blue Angel Publishing, The Symbolic Tarot.