Review by Lalia Wilson
Here are two decks from the Boyers, one a couple of years old, Snowland Tarot, the only winter themed deck easily available, and the new-this-month Coffee Tarot. I’ve used both of them in the TarotScopes article, so you can look there for six additional images from each deck in addition to what is shown here. Both these decks would make good holiday gifts, even to yourself!
The Snowland Tarot is a winter-themed deck with images suitable for all age groups. Your children and grandchildren will love the cards, so keep them safe. The Snowland Tarot has 78 cards plus four additional cards for the four elements, called Soul GPS cards. There is a LWB available as a PDF, and a more extended book will be available shortly. The deck comes with its own fabric bag, with a delightful snowflake design. The card back is reversible.
I've chosen to show you two of my personal favorites from the deck. One is the Lovers card, called Commitment in this deck. It features a lovely blue star sapphire ring. The Fool card, called Beginnings, shows a youth with a sled standing on a cliff. His dog is pulling backward on the sled. These images communicate the meanings of the Lovers and the Fool in a way that connects with all winter lovers.
Still a family-friendly tarot deck, the Coffee Tarot follows a consistent theme of coffee, from the planting of the bean to the harvest to the roasting, to the many ways western culture uses coffee as a social, and solitary, beverage.
My favorite card in the deck is the Death card, called Out of Business, which is a natural and low-key way to communicate endings and loss. I love the artwork, done by Ron Boyer, including some of the humor in the images. Also of note is the limited palette, sepia or coffee tones! The Coffee Tarot has 78 cards, plus four element cards, plus a Goddess Coffee Card, plus a Brain card. A LWB is available as a PDF, and a more extended print book will be available soon. This deck is reversible-friendly. The deck comes with its own fabric bag with an attractive coffee-themed print.
The cards are slick and easy to manipulate. The cardstock is durable. Both decks measure 3 ½ by 5 ½ inches. They are a little large for my hands to handle. On the plus side, their size allows the images to be more easily studied. Both decks follow the Rider-Waite-Smith tradition. One thing that will be a challenge to the novice is that many of the Major Arcana are given alternate names and none have numbers, Roman numerals or otherwise. For example in the Snowland deck, the Hanged Man is called Inversion, and the High Priestess is the Oracle. You will need to keep the LWB at your side until you learn all the alternative names.
Both decks are available at www.janetboyer.com.