The Drunken Witch

We’re starting a new thing this year! I’m going to compare some of my tarot decks for you all, so that we can see the difference in how art and portrayal can affect your readings with certain decks.

While all decks have a specified format that they follow, each deck can have different art, or different interpretations depending on how the designer, artists and readers feel from the art or their source. Of course, each deck should hold different feelings and different interpretations for the reader that buys and uses the deck.

I’m going to be comparing my favorite deck, the Santa Muerte deck, to a new (to me, I just got it a few months ago) deck, the Tarot of the Divines. The Santa Muerte deck is designed by Fabio Listrani. The Tarot of the Divine is designed by Yoshi Yoshitani.

The biggest thing to remember is that each deck has it’s own theme here. The Santa Muerte Deck is seemingly designed off skeletal figures and Latin American Dia de Los Muertos. The Tarot of the Divines is purposefully modeled after common mythos, legends, and fairy tales from around the world.

Both decks are the standard 78 cards. The biggest difference between the two decks, which we’ll see as we get through more and more cards, is that some of the cards do not have the same cohesiveness. For example in the Sante Muerte Deck, the minor arcana suits all have very similar Ace, Ten, and Court cards, that not only follow the focus of the suit, but also mirror across to the other suits. In the Tarot of the Divine Deck, all the suit cards are modeled off individual stories and each card is different from the last.

As we work through the deck, card by card, it’ll be interesting to reflect on how the individual cards are similar and different.

Do I recommend this practice? I think it would be useful for new readers as they move into a new deck from traditional Rider-Waite deck. It’s also a good way to get to challenge yourself about how you specifically read cards. However, this is more as a fun little activity and would not recommend doing this for every deck, unless you are very interested in the artwork side.

So why am I doing it then? Well, this new deck has been hard to bond with, even though it is a nice deck, so I’m questioning if this has to do with my own perceptions or my own willingness to be open to something new. If nothing else, I think it will be a fun passion project to really dive in and learn about both decks. By seeing the same card presented different ways, hopefully we can both learn how imagery can portray different meanings even for the same card.

Tarot Comparo Series 2024

Listed Below are the links to the individual posts as we progress through this journey!

Cups

• Ace of Cups
• Two of Cups
• Three of Cups
• Four of Cups
• Five of Cups
• Six of Cups
• Seven of Cups
• Eight of Cups
• Nine of Cups
• Ten of Cups
• Page of Cups
• Knight of Cups
• Queen of Cups
• King of Cups

Wands

• Ace of Wands
• Two of Wands
• Three of Wands
• Four of Wands
• Five of Wands
• Six of Wands
• Seven of Wands
• Eight of Wands
• Nine of Wands
• Ten of Wands
• Page of Wands
• Knight of Wands
• Queen of Wands
• Kings of Wands

Pentacles

• Ace of Pentacles
• Two of Pentacles
• Three of Pentacles
• Four of Pentacles
• Five of Pentacles
• Six of Pentacles
• Seven of Pentacles
• Eight of Pentacles
• Nine of Pentacles
• Ten of Pentacles
• Page on Pentacles
• Knight of Pentacles
• Queen of Pentacles
• King of Pentacles

Swords

• Ace of Swords
• Two of Swords
• Three of Swords
• Four of Swords
• Five of Swords
• Six of Swords
• Seven of Swords
• Eight of Swords
• Nine of Swords
• Ten of Swords
• Page of Swords
• Knight of Swords
• Queen of Swords
• King of Swords

Major Arcana

• The Fool
• The Magician
• The Priestess
• The Empress
• The Emperor
• The Lovers
• The Chariot
• Strength
• The Hermit
• Wheel of Fortune
• Justice
• The Hanged Man
• Death
• Temperance
• The Devil
• The Tower
• The Star
• The Moon
• The Sun
• Judgement
• The World