I got a little unexpected money a couple of weeks ago from a phone survey I participated in, and decided to use it to get (surprise, surprise) a new tarot deck! I’ve been lusting after the Crow Tarot ever since I saw it. I LOVE crows and ravens – all corvids, really. They’re beautiful, smart and soulful. My magical working name is Macha – a Celtic earth Goddess who makes up one of the three aspects of the Morrigan. Macha’s familiars are crows and horses. And you might have noticed that I chose a crow to be part of my logo… Yep, had to have it.
Unboxing Impressions
I really like when tarot decks come in an appropriately sized box – the Crow Tarot has a very nicely sized box that just fits the deck and LWB. This matters to me for two reasons – packaging will invariably end up in landfills so in my opinion the less the better. But also, with decks that have smaller boxes, I’m more inclined to hang on to the box for storage or travel. If it’s enormous, I have to get rid of it (which makes me sad) for storage reasons.
Although produced by a large publisher (US Games) the box and book are of sturdy quality – closer to the indie/small publisher decks that I’ve purchased than what you get with the RWS and Thoth decks. The book (LWB) is moderately sized at 88 pages total. No card images in the LWB – just text, about a paragraph or two for each card, and a spread created by the artist and deck creator, MJ Cullinane.
I should note that I purchased a special gift set version, and it is possible that if you purchase the deck alone, the packaging may differ.
The Cards
One of the things I like least about decks from US Games is that their paper stock is often pretty thin. Thankfully this is offset by their decks being pretty durable. The Crow Tarot cards are (as expected) on thinner side, but are slightly stiffer than Thoth or Morgan Greer decks I have from US Games, and I like the feel of them overall – they’re sturdy and comfortable in my hands.
I didn’t realize how much the feel of cards mattered to me until I got a deck that had cards so flimsy, I was almost afraid to work with it. The artwork was wonderful – it was an early edition of the Druidcraft Tarot – which was what prompted me to buy it. But I was so turned off by the quality of the cards that I ended up moving it along.
The back of the Crow Tarot cards is a repeating pattern of symmetrical leaves (well, they look like leaves to me…) in a warm shade of brown. From a distance they remind me of the back of some playing cards. I quite like the look – they’re kind of neutral with a nice earthy look to them.
This deck is strongly based on the Rider-Waite-Smith, and carries over a lot of the same imagery and symbolism. The suits are Wands, Cups, Swords and Pentacles, and the court cards are Kings, Queens, Knights and Pages.
The artwork is done in a digital collage style which is reminiscent of the beautiful Enchanted Tarot. But while the artwork of the Enchanted Tarot never really spoke to me (I tried to work with it for years before moving on to the Morgan Greer), the crows interact with their landscape in a way that feels very familiar and approachable. The images are boarded in an off-white palette that varies from card to card.
The crows themselves are lovingly done. Some are clearly crows, and others ravens (to my naturalist’s eye, anyway; not sure how specific the artist’s intentions were as she referrers to them all as crows), and some are ambiguous. Their body language tells so much of the story, and it’s hard not to relate to them, if you have a fondness for birds.
Reading
I loved reading with the Crow Tarot, and felt an instant kinship to the cards. Not all decks feel this quickly accessible to me and I feel like I can add this immediately into my rotation of decks that I regularly read with. I used the Tarot Deck Interview Spread by Little Red Tarot.
New Tarot Deck Interview Spread:
1. What is your most important characteristic? The Hermit, Rx
Crows are gregarious creatures who seem to value community. The reversed Hermit asks us to check our solitary behavior and see if we’re renewing ourselves or just hiding.
The Crow Tarot is not to be used in isolation – spiritual work with this deck should be bolstered by community. Those who love and support you especially.
2. What are your strengths as a deck? The Hanged Man.
No need to second guess readings (although deep contemplation is recommended) – if we can accept what this deck has to say, and give ourselves time in isolation to ponder its messages, we will benefit from our readings.
3. What are your limits as a deck? The Devil, Rx.
Helping us see the ways in which we’re self- limiting.
4. What are you here to teach us? The Star.
We are capable of reaching that place of calm acceptance and understanding that follows transformative work. We can definitely use this deck as an important tool in our self-transformation.
5. How can we best learn and collaborate with you? 8 of Swords, Rx
The only limits we face are the ones that are self-imposed. Learning to see where we can free ourselves from our own limited thinking and seeing will help us make progress with this deck.
6. What’s the potential outcome of our working together? 3 of Pentacles.
We need to see this deck as a working partner that can help us achieve our goals. If we can, we will find success in our work.
Crows really are all about working and living in community (when it’s not breeding season, anyway). This deck reflects its beautiful subjects in its capacity to be a part of our community of support. Use this deck knowing that you’re not alone on your path. Whether you feel it right now or not, you are surrounded by love and light and energy that wants to see you succeed. The Crow Tarot helps us feel that reality.
