Tarot of the Guiding Muse is a type of decks that instantly tugs at my heartstrings. The deck follows the non-public journey of Emi, and studying about her journey by way of the archetypal narrative of the tarot, you bear in mind to acknowledge your personal private story amidst the day by day chaos.
The deck is available in a magnetic memento field with a companion guidebook that reads like a storybook. The guidebook is my favourite characteristic of the deck set, the truth is. It lets you see the cohesion within the deck artwork, and totally grasp how holistic the deck idea is.
Each card, Main and Minor, is featured on a full web page, illustrated by the deck artwork. A easy sentence summarizes the cardboard’s which means.
- “Emi begins her journey…” for Key 0: The Idiot. “She conjures new energy…” for Key 1: The Magician.
- “She reaches throughout realms…” for Key 2: The Excessive Priestess.
- Above you see in Card 18: The Moon, “She is unsure…” after which, as soon as she has overcome her fears,
- “She has enjoyable…” in Card 19: The Solar.
You get instantly anchoring key phrases for each the upright and reversed positioning of the playing cards, and the way you may see the implications of the playing cards in your studying is advised by way of the plot level the cardboard covers in Emi’s story. Emi is impressed by the artist’s wife, Emily Hsu (née Nakamo), who herself is a tarot reader (and criminologist with the CA DOJ).
Let’s stroll by way of an instance. Once you pull the Two of Wands for a day by day card draw, open the guidebook for reference. Right here, Emi has the posh of selecting her new journey, as do you. Her impressed concepts are being put into motion, which is the message that now motivates you to place your concepts into motion. If the cardboard appeared upright, key themes for the day are planning, decision-making, and discovery. If the cardboard appeared in reverse for the day, then key themes are to face the unknown, and to navigate wishful considering. The query to ask your self: “Which path shall I take?”
Ted Hsu is the artist and creator of the deck. The artwork is hand-drawn, digitally coloured with a stylus and pill, impressed by a fusion of influences. The colourful shade palette attracts from Japanese animation’s emotional expressiveness, whereas composition parts echo the fragile strains of woodblock print methods.
I really like how the order of playing cards implies that the Queen outranks the King on this deck, although Hsu has preserved the normal card meanings for the playing cards.
The scenic illustrations effortlessly inform a narrative that can resonate with Asian Individuals, straddling East Asian tradition and the landscapes of Northern California, the place the artist is domiciled. As an Asian American, each scene on this deck is acquainted to me, resonates near dwelling, and echoes my lived expertise.
Click on on any of the photographs for a zoomed in close-up view of the paintings. Let’s contemplate the deck’s Key 20: Judgement:
“Emi stands on the sting of a stormy ocean. Though many have failed earlier than her, she solutions the decision of the Phoenix. She is able to beat unimaginable odds. Her previous battles have ready her for this second. C’mon folks, we are able to do that.”
The capitalized Phoenix, as I interpret it, is the Fenghuang 鳳凰 of Chinese language lore, a logo of rebirth, the Aristocracy, purification, and the divine promise of blessings to come back should you overcome the trial that you’ve been offered with.
Take note of the main points! As a result of by way of the main points you’ll be able to play join the dots. Emi featured in The Tower card, as an illustration, is in the identical hat and outfit she’s in for the 9 of Cash, exhibiting how she prevailed regardless of going through the harrowing trial of The Tower. Within the 9 of Cash, “Emi has made it!”
Within the huge panorama of tarot decks, few seize my expertise, my world view, and my sense of private identification fairly like Ted Hsu’s Tarot of the Guiding Muse, proper all the way down to the element of Emi being a cat lover.
Scenes just like the 4 of Cups within the ice cream parlor brings nostalgia. “Emi places on her pouty-pants face, even when provided ice cream from past. Regardless of the number of divine choices, she stays skeptical.” She says “meh”…
I really like that this deck shouldn’t be precisely an RWS dupe the place linework mimics Pamela Colman-Smith’s. See the Aces within the deck, as an illustration, or that Two of Swords (“She tip toes…”). The cardboard which means will probably be acquainted to any studied tarot reader, however the paintings is inventive and unique.
I really like the recurring motifs, like earlier within the Six of Cash, “Emi enjoys volunteering on the native cat shelter” to right here within the Six of Swords, “Emi takes her cat and a bag of swords on a lonely journey in direction of greener pastures.”
In lieu of the Idiot’s canine, we’ve got Emi’s cat, who started the journey by her aspect in Key 0, “Her loyal cat at her aspect.”
Even that Ten of Swords depiction is beautiful. Woven into the deck is a love story, although right here within the Ten of Swords, it’s of heartbreak and betrayal. “Emi is horrified to find her associate’s infidelity.”
There’s a plot connection between the Ten and the Three of Swords. Within the Three, she is heartbroken. “Emi stands on the doorway, watching her lover pack his baggage. Hurtful phrases have been exchanged and tears proceed to fall. Though darkish clouds collect, the solar breaks by way of. She’s going to work by way of this.”
Each element within the paintings is considerate. Take, as an illustration, the reflection within the mirror from the 9 of Swords:
“Emi is up late washing her palms once more. Her demons plague her and he or she is fraught with nervousness. Nevertheless it’s all in her head. Why? Why? Why?“
That late-night hand washing suggests deeper psychological processes and inside conflicts at play, from obsessive-compulsive dysfunction tendencies to a necessity for absolution and purification.
Emi, by the way in which, follows her personal ethical compass, with a robust sense of social justice. The Seven of Swords depicts Emi trespassing and, effectively, breaking and getting into right into a mansion, stealing, after which making her escape undetected. “Obtained ’em!”
Revisiting the departure from RWS iconography to interpret the cardboard meanings extra initially, see the Eight of Wands. She accelerates…
“Emi rides her agile jackalope, propelling in direction of every goal. She shoots shortly, realizing that her alternatives are fleeting. *Zoom!*
Or that Ten of Wands illustration —
“Emi swims in direction of the floor. She is set to make it whereas carrying all of her belongings. She might have bitten off greater than she will chew.” I can swim tougher…
One little level — Normally I prefer to assess the deck creator’s chosen order of the playing cards, although right here, it’s unclear what Hsu’s intentions have been by way of order within the Minors. The playing cards out of the field went within the order of Cash, Cups, Swords, Wands, which seems to be merely alphabetical order, whereas within the guidebook, the cardboard entries seem within the order of Wands, Cash, Swords, Cups, which is prone to comply with an astrological order (i.e., Fireplace, Earth, Air, and Water indicators as they seem round a zodiac wheel).
Right here, because of that inconsistency, I wasn’t fairly positive what the artist’s intention was by way of deck structure and the implications of his specific alternative of structural design.
As for the artist, Hsu is a neuroscientist and science writer who took a leap of religion and altered careers, now pursuing the humanities. During the pandemic, he went through a bit of an existential crisis, as many did, and began to pursue artwork extra significantly.
His strategy to the tarot, and thus the important thing premise of the Tarot of the Guiding Muse, is to work with the tarot past fortune-telling, esotericism, or spirituality, however somewhat, as a sensible on a regular basis instrument for introspection and self-reflection. It’s about getting into one other world to raised perceive yours.
You can even say that Hsu’s strategy to tarot is considerably existentialist, as a result of Tarot of the Guiding Muse, on some stage, conveys the thesis that meaning-making is in our personal palms, and is a private accountability. The protagonist of this deck, Emi, is on a journey of self-discovery and actualizing private authenticity, which conjures up us to tackle an identical existential journey for ourselves.
By way of manufacturing values, the cardstock has a matte linen end and the cardboard dimension at 7.6 x 13 cm is simply barely wider and taller than commonplace tarot dimension (7 x 12 cm). Additionally, that it’s packaged in a magnetic memento field and comes with a full-color paperback guidebook all at just $40 USD (as of this posting) makes it really budget-friendly! You possibly can even pay in 2 interest-free installment of $20. As somebody with background expertise within the logistics of that, that’s an unbelievable and beneficiant kindness by the artist.
I really feel deeply linked to Emi’s journey, her development from that preliminary name to journey, crossing the edge, the adversity she faces, her transformation, and her return with new information — sure, her heroine’s journey. I comply with her throughout landscapes which can be acquainted to me, and a cultural tapestry that’s significant to my cultural expertise. And but the Tarot of the Guiding Muse is a world that’s actually common, as a result of it’s genuine.
Tarot of the Guiding Muse and its storybook weaves meanings and interpretation of the tarot into an emotionally resonant narrative arc. The deck is firstly a love tune, from the artist devoted his spouse. It’s magical realism with considerate parables, refined recurring motifs and symbols, superbly written prose, that each one comes collectively to current us with a fascinating, memorable epic.
Actually one in every of my favourite tarot decks and highlights of 2024.
Order the Tarot of the Guiding Muse Here
FTC Disclosure: In accordance with Title 16 of the U.S. Code of Federal Laws Half 255, “Guides Regarding Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Promoting,” I acquired the deck set from the creator for potential evaluation. All the things I’ve mentioned right here is honest and precisely displays my opinion of the deck.
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