The Unicorn Tarot

Created by Suzanne Star - Illustrated by Liz Hilton

See every card in the deck.

This is a lovely deck - each card has a unicorn on it somewhere (as you’d expect ;-) and the images themselves are well-executed, having a vaguely medieval feel about them. All of the Major Arcana have figures as well as more familiar symbolism on them. I liked the way in which the unicorns were worked into semi-traditional pictures….for instance, a giant rearing unicorn forms the tower, from which small human figures fall headfirst. On Temperance, a white-gowned, golden haired angel pours water from goblet to goblet, whilst a unicorn lies at her feet.

For all that the deck includes familiar images (if you’re used to the Rider-Waite deck and its use of symbol) often things are put across in an original fashion, which is thought provoking and interesting. Most of the cards are evocative of their meaning, so would be a good starter deck.

My favourite card here just has to be the Ace of Cups…..three unicorns leap from a chalice as though on waves and water splashes around them. The Death card gave me a chuckle….the traditional scythe-bearing figure is there….standing next to the skeleton of a unicorn…..

The handbook is, in some ways, a bit of a letdown. The Major Arcana cards are thoroughly explained, with both symbols and keywords. However the Minors are not addressed at all in depth - there are a few key words for each card. I think a beginner would probably need a better handbook than this in order to begin to really get into pip cards properly. The only spread included is the inevitable Celtic cross, which is prefaced by a very peculiar and complicated instruction for shuffling. You’re meant to ask the Querent to shuffle, then you cut the pack, and ask the querent to draw 10 cards at random with their left hand (????) ….I think unless you have a deep need for rituals like this, you can probably dispense with all this rigmarole.

The deck uses traditional Courts King/Queen/Knight/Page.

This is an attractive deck - great for unicorn collectors, but very usable by anybody.

Review by Jan

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