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The Wizards Tarot is set in a Hogwarts-like universe, a world of modern magic and jeans-clad wizards. The 78 cards are crisply and beautifully illustrated, and accompanied in the box set by a 235-page guidebook for beginners.
Deck Type: Tarot Deck Cards: 78
Creators: Barbara Moore, Mieke Janssens
Publisher: Llewellyn 2020
Card Images from the Wizards Tarot
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Wizards Tarot Review by Medusawink
What exactly is a wizard? Well, a wizard is a bit like a witch, except different... actually it'spretty easy to find a definition of what a witch is, in fact it's pretty easy to find a witch, wellcompared to a wizard anyway. The fact is that wizards occupy more space in ourimaginations than they do in 'real life - in books, movies, and TV series such as Harry Potterand Lord of the Rings to The Magicians, The Dresden Files, the Alex Verus books, The Riversof London series to name but a few. It is because of this nebulousness that wizards makesuch a wonderful subject for a tarot deck.
What we do know is that wizards are associatedwith study, learning, knowledge, wisdom, signs and symbols, the hidden, magic, andfantastic libraries. The Wizards Tarot picks up the idea of novices and adepts learning,sharing, and wielding their skills, and plays with it... bringing you all the joys and challengesof wizardhood.
The Wizards Tarot occupies a fantastic world of castles and English Gothic-style universitycampuses (think Hogwarts or Brakebills) where the magically inclined dress down in jeansand T-shirts and dress up in corsets, silks and satins. And while I do prefer my wizards infloppy-brimmed hats, modern wizards here sometimes wear cone (of power?) hats thatmake them look a bit like trainee Smurfs. There are plenty of scenes set in appropriatelyforbidding woods, libraries well stocked with hefty tomes of eldritch knowledge, and thealchemistry lab complete with floating test tubes and bubbling alembics. Calculators andwands are used to solve problems, and one can almost hear the pattering of wizardly feetalong the cloisters.
This is a traditional 78 card, fully illustrated tarot deck. The Wizards Tarot has 22 MajorArcana, and 56 Minor Arcana. The Minor Arcana is divided into four suits (Wands, Cups,Swords, Pentacles) of 14 cards each; 10 number cards, and 4 Court cards Page, Knight,Queen, and King. The titles and ordering of the Major Arcana follows the standardestablished by AE Waite, no cards have been renamed.
The cards measure 70 x 120 mm which makes them a fairly average sized tarot deck, cut tosit comfortably in most people's hands.The card stock is exceptionally thin, light, and flexible. It has a highly polished finish, with avery smooth back and lightly textured face which facilitates easy handling of the cards.These cards slide when they are shuffled and do not stick together or clump. If you areheavy-handed when you shuffle you will need to be very careful with these cards, theirlightness makes them extremely user-friendly and pleasant to handle, but also easy to bendand crease.The print quality is excellent, these are very detailed illustrations with a broad range ofcolours and textures which are beautifully replicated. The images are clear and crisp, thereare no misprints, no blurring, and no colour bleeds.
The arcana and suits are not colour-coded, and no particular colours or colour schemesdominate the deck.The artwork is digital composition with excellent attention to detail and almost televisualspecial effects. There is that tell-tale blurriness that creeps into digital art from time to time,but this is largely confined to the background of the Wizard Tarot.The artist's palette is broad and natural - while the settings may be sumptuous and exoticand the magic may be wild, the wizards themselves still resemble very attractive humanbeings none of that green-faced blue-faced tomfoolery here.
The illustrations are for the most part remarkably consistent, however there is one card thatstands out as being anomalous to the Wizard Tarot The Moon. While most of the othercards present some kind of narrative, and in fact many of the characters are recurring, theMoon card doesn't seem to fit. Starring a Gojira-sized lobster with walrus tusks menacing atoy sized dog and wolf against a background of forbidding dark towers, the effect is quiteLovecraftian - Dagon looming over Innsmouth.
These are borderless images that fit to the edge of the cards. Both numbers and titles arelisted in a narrow golden frame near the bottom of the illustration.The design on the back of the cards a dragon wrapped around a crystal mounted on a hilt is not reversible.The cards and guidebook are part of a box set. The box itself is made of heavy cardboardand has a fold back lid, which is held shut with magnetic clasps. It is papered in glossy navybluewith numerous illustrations from the Wizards Tarot decorating it. It is also printed withinformation about the deck, and publishers details. The inside of the fold-back cover isprinted with the same design which decorates the back of the cards a dragon twiningaround a decorative crystal.
The cards come sealed in plastic, and sitting in a cardboard well in the centre of the box. Anavy satin ribbon is threaded across the base of the well which enables the easy removal ofboth the guidebook and the cards from the box. The well itself is printed with details fromthe Ace of Wands card a little reminder to the Seeker of the magic to come.While these box sets are somewhat bulky, they do offer excellent protection for your deckand guidebook. It's never going to be something that you will just slip into your handbagwhere its size and weight will go unnoticed, however a box set like this one isn't too big fora tote bag or backpack.
The 235 page guide book is well bound, printed on heavy, glossy paper, and written byBarbara Moore. All Moore's books are worth their weight in gold and this one is noexception. Her books are generally written for absolute beginners, however there is plentythat an adept can glean here too.The Introduction outlines the ideas behind the Wizards Tarot, and also explains the generallayout of the guidebook.
Chapter 1 'Of Tarot and Wizards is a comprehensive history of the tarot, explaining some ofthe conventions of the tarot, and also what a newly minted tarot reader can expect to learnand gain from their cards.
Chapter 2 'Reading the Cards takes the Seeker through the fundamentals of tarot cardreading, which includes daily practices, exercises, and suggestions for tracking one'sprogress. It also lays out the basics of how to do a reading. Included here are three 'cheatsheets (quick lists) one for Reading Tips, one for 'Basic Steps for a Tarot Reading, and aSuits and Numbers Keywords.
Chapter 3 'The Major Arcana moves card by card through the entire Arcana. On the lefthandpage is a full colour reproduction of the tarot card illustration, on the right-hand sideare keywords for both upright and reversed cards. This is followed by the 'Meaning aparagraph which describes in essence what is happening in the illustration and how thistranslates to the Seekers question/reading/life. Finally comes 'Advice which is a paragraphof prescribed action, suggestions, and ideas connected to the card in question. Sometimesthe advice pertains to the Seekers emotional and mental states while other times it looks atphysical acts and actions one can take for an advantageous outcome. All the divinatorymeanings are fairly standard, popularly accepted interpretations. While not soft peddlingsome of the darker aspects of tarot, Barbara Moore generally looks for solutions to issuesand how to effect positive outcomes from negative situations.
Chapter 4 'The Minor Arcana this chapter divides the cards up by number rather than bysuit, and in doing so looks at the powerful effect numerology has on tarot. Each MinorArcana card is reproduced in full colour on the left-hand page, with relevant information onthe right. Again, keywords are given for both upright and reversed cards. Minor Arcanacards have less specific information, Meaning and Advice are not parcelled out in neat littleparagraphs. Barbara Moore's information is such that it instructs and educates the Seekerwithout too much recourse to the tarot illustrations. Conversely, if you are curious as to thesymbolism and narrative of the artwork you may find yourself thwarted to a certain extent.But, keeping in mind that tarot reading is a skill that is learned not bestowed, this gives thenovice Seeker space to create their own narrative around the illustrations based on thekeywords and Barbara's expert guidance.
Chapter 5 'The Court Cards. Again, each card this fully illustrated on the left-hand page,while on the right keywords are given for upright Court cards only. Both the keywords andthe paragraph that follows describe personality traits rather than events or abstract ideasthat are sometimes associated with the tarot Court. In the Wizard's Tarot Court cards aredefinitely people, and as such, aspects of their personality that may be desirable in one setof circ*mstances can become a liability in another.
Chapter 6 'Spreads. This chapter details a handful of useful divinatory layouts includingstalwarts - the single card draw, the three card layout, and the Celtic Cross. Also includedare several of Barbara Moores custom designed divinatory layouts SupportingTransformation, Your Best Self, True Magic Spread, and the Alchemical Spread. Each ofthese spreads becomes progressively more complex, involving greater ritual and largernumber of cards.
Chapter 7 'The Magical Path looks at the Fools Journey through the lens of the WizardsTarot. Along the way it draws the readers attention to some of the Easter eggs andhomages paid to pop culture wizardry hidden throughout the deck.
So, if you are looking for a wizards tarot, or rather a tarot featuring wizards then you needlook no further this is the deck for you. Here are wizards living their best lives. There isnone of this cunning-mage-disguised-as-a-beggar business, these wizards have enviableenvirons and wardrobes, as well as the all-important magical powers. While it probably isn'tthe greatest absolute-beginners tarot deck (because I am a purist and think you should startwith a classic deck) anyone with a bit of tarot reading experience under their belt will findthis deck easy to use.
For all of you who have aspired to urban Wizard-dom the tarot deck ishere, and it is so much fun!
Complete Details of Wizards Tarot
Creators: Barbara Moore, Mieke Janssens
Publisher: Llewellyn 2020
Deck Type: Tarot Deck
Cards: 78
Major Arcana: 22
Minor Arcana: 56
Card Size: 2.76 x 4.72 in. = 7.00cm x 12.00cm
Card Language: English
Card Back: Non-reversible
Back Design: Dragon twined around a crystal topped staff
Companion Material: 235-page companion guidebook by Barbara Moore
Rating: 16/20 or 
stars out of five
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