The Orisha Tarot by Andrew McGregor
Publisher: Llewellyn
Specs and ISBN: Boxed Kit | 9780738753522
English | 360 pages | 8 x 5 x 2 IN
Publication Date: September 2018
PLEASE NOTE: A review copy of this deck was provided by the publisher.
Andrew McGregor, Oba tilemî (Ontario, Canada) has studied tarot for thirty years and is an initiate of the western mystery traditions. He is also an initiate in Lukumi (Santeria) and as well as an artist and author. Visit him online at www.TheHermitsLamp.com.
Table of Contents of the companion book is as follows:
Gratitude
One: The Trumps
Two: Wands
Three: Cups
Four: Swords
Five: Disks
Six: The Court Cards
Seven: Orisha Spread
Final Thoughts
There is introductory material on the tarot deck itself and how it fits together tarot cards and the Orisha’s stories. Within the introduction there is also an explanation of the numbering and the cards and the overall structure of the deck.
Each card description has several pieces of information:
- Main story: a summation of the main story the card is based on
- Symbols: the symbols that are on the card and why they are there
- Divination: how these ideas might be applied to a divination question or interpretation
- Solutions: suggestions for offerings, things to avoid, and what behaviors might need to be changed in order to better address the situation
Each card from the deck is fully in the companion book and in full color, which I particularly appreciated if I didn’t have the tarot deck to hand but did have the book: automatic bibliomancy!
The addition of the Orisha spread is a nice touch—at the end of the book it is called the Forces at Work spread which is a modified five card cross. The positional meanings roughly amount to blessings, negativity, ashé (the energy of the universe), and free will (your role in getting things accomplished).
The packaging is wonderful. I must applaud Llewellyn for hearing tarot readers’ concerns about longevity of decks and strength of packaging and addressing them in newer decks. However, I do share other reviewers’ complaints about the thin nature of the card stock itself.
I realize that I’ve spent quite a lot of time reviewing the companion book itself instead of the deck, but that is necessary: as this tarot deck is not a “pick it up and run” deck… much like oracle decks, the guidebook is a necessity and not an afterthought. Each card is meticulously crafted with regard to symbols, colors, parables, and stories of the orisha, through the lens of individual tarot card symbology. Nothing is overlooked, and no symbol is carelessly placed.
The strength of this deck is the author’s intimate knowledge of both the tarot and the orisha. In pairing the Fool with Eleguá, he writes, “It is said that he [Eleguá] is both a young child and an old man, combining both aspects that people associate with the Fool card of the tarot—innocence and concealed wisdom.”
The same kind of concern and care flows through every single card of this deck, whether Major, Minor, or Court Card. It is truly a huge achievement, and anyone that is both drawn to the tarot and to the orisha traditions should have this deck on their shelves.
If interested in purchasing this deck, please click here to go straight to purchasing on the Llewellyn website.
Blessings,
~*~Hilary~*~
www.tarotbyhilary.com
hilary@tarotbyhilary.com
Book your reading here.
HILARY PARRY HAGGERTY is a tarot reader, witch, mentor, editor, and teacher. She has been reading tarot for over 21 years (13 years professionally). She was the winner of Theresa Reed’s (The Tarot Lady) Tarot Apprentice contest in 2011, and has taught classes on tarot and spell-work at The Tarot School’s annual tarot conference Readers Studio and at Brid’s Closet Beltane Festival. She writes a weekly blog on tarot at her website www.tarotbyhilary.com and has been featured in Maxim Magazine and BuzzFeed.
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© Hilary Parry Haggerty | Tarot by Hilary
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