#deck review

June 6, 2022

by eli

Deck 

This is The Tarot by Oliver Hibert. I got this deck as a gift from Avery <3. He ordered it in my name because I had something else coming so it was a nice surprise! This is by far my most expensive deck and one of my favourite to show off. I also just found out they have an Oracle Board as well, so you already know, as well as this sick ass Colouring Book. The artwork is beautiful, and I highly suggest checking out Oliver’s other stuff if you like classic psychedelic eyeballs.

Booklet

Ok so this deck doesn’t actually come with a guide, but there is a little booklet explaining his background a bit. Basically he says that he doesn’t believe in making a guide because it’s up to the reader to interpret. It is organized like a traditional Raider-Waite but with one extra Magic card as a wild card. You can tell in the cards how much work was put into this. Classic ink and paper art tends to get looked over a lot but the lines on this deck are incredibly crisp. Despite being marker there are like no bleedover spots and the colours are fun and vibrant. It is a sin and a crime that I don’t have a blacklight to take pictures with yet but as soon as it happens it’s gonna look sick af. I love all the tiddies, ooze, and green pubes.

Spirit

I showed this deck to my husband because I was like 'lol this is Sai' so it was very obvious who was in this deck. Sai is less 'drunk girl hyping you up in the bathroom' and more 'overlooked prophet tweaking outside of the gas station proclaiming 'I am the beast I worship'. Like, I was just there to get a drink but, you know, he ain't wrong. Offerings are very easy with him, he'll take whatever you got if you offer. He first came to me as a child when I was a huge weeb. He's seen me at my worst and my best and knows that bitching and crying doesn't change shit. He is the embodiment of 'I am cringe, but I am free'. Once I met him again as an adult in a trance he told me he was taking me to hell and then we went to 711 lmao.

Reading Style

Because there isn't a guidebook for this deck I usually go off of intuition with a quick glance at my Tarot app. His tone is often a little harsh but it's the truth. This isn't the bestie who's gonna let you go back to your ex this is the bestie who hexed him for cheating on you. He's there to support you in whatever bad habit you want to give into but you're going to pay your dues when they come. You COULD go apeshit, drink, smoke, hook up or whatever, but don't get mad when shit goes wrong. If you tried your best and shit still went wrong, he'll help turn it into a shitshow. Not everyone makes the right choices but you can still make the best of it.

Suggested Readings

Deck: The Oriens Tarot/ The Oriens Animal Tarot Publisher: Ambisun / Rockpool Artist: Ambisun Writer: T.D. Cloud Overall Rating: 9/10

Note: I have the first edition of this deck, through Kickstarter, and I am not sure what all has changed in the second edition through Rockpool, so while this review may accurately reflect the new edition, there are likely to be small changes, especially to the box and the cardstock.

Cardstock: The cardstock on the first edition is somewhat plastified or very laminated, and although the cards aren’t too shiny or slick, they flex and shuffle very well. I’m a huge fan!

Artwork: The artwork is really bright and clear despite the dark background color, and all the animals (and insects are depicted recognizably and detailed, without being either cartoonish or hyperrealistic. I wasn’t sure how I felt about the neon colors at first, but I liked the art style and the colors really grew on me. I will say though, this may not be the deck for people squeamish about insects or spiders. It says “animals” but there are insects and sea slugs and the like, too. I think each animal/insect image does a pretty good job of illustrating the card meaning, too, without being based too heavily on the Rider-Waite-Smith imagery.

Book: With the Kickstarter first edition, I got a full-length ebook. I have no idea if the new deck has a full book, a Little White Book, or an option for both, so keep that in mind. The ebook I have has keywords for both uprights and reversals, a short paragraph about the animal chosen and the imagery, and then a paragraph each for upright and reversed divination meanings. As an experienced reader I don’t refer to the paragraphs about the meaning much, but I do really like the paragraph about what animal was chosen, and why.

Likes: I love the artwork, and how well these shuffle. I think this deck lends itself well to intuitive reading, as the imagery is so expressive.

Dislikes: The neon-on-dark took a little while to get used to, but that’s not really a “dislike”. I don’t really have any dislikes for this deck, just the warning that there are quite a few insects and also a spider, in case that’s not your thing.

Overall Recommendation

First up, huge thick stacks of cards are a pain to shuffle. The deck also has some cards with foiled edges and some not, and the foiled cards are just slightly larger than the others, which makes shuffling interesting. I divided the deck in half and shuffled the halves, then halved those and shuffled 'em together.

I don't know if it was the readings, or just this deck, but it tended towards deep spiritual topics, inner work, emotional wounds type readings. Some decks are for relationships, some like to talk to other entities, this deck wants to stare into your soul and have a long talk about your self care and self soothing routines.

I found it easy to read with, despite the size, shuffling, and intense inward gaze. The meanings are right there, clear on an intuitive level; it makes sense, even the 'extra' cards are insightful and on point.

Both cats wanted to join in on the readings, which is a good sign to me. They like the deck's energy, or perhaps my energy while reading with it.

four stars, one off for mismatched card size and difficulty shuffling. will read again!

I'm so excited to do an unboxing and review of this deck! Depending on the time and energy I have left after doing readings and putting dreadlocks in my hair today, I might record and post early because I'm that excited.