Review by Lalia Wilson
The Modern Witch Tarot Deck (2019) was created by Lisa Sterle and is published by Sterling Ethos. The deck comes in a very sturdy cardboard box, has the traditional 78 cards (Strength is # 8, and Justice is # 11), and the cards measure 2 ¾ X 4 ¾ inches. The card backs are reversible-friendly. The LWB is actually a hard blue (2 ¾ X 5 inch) bound instruction manual with illustrations. The deck itself is 1 ½ inches thick, about twice the thickness of most decks. The cards are made of very heavy stock making them quite stiff and unamenable to riffle shuffling, as least until being broken in. This deck follows the Rider-Waite-Smith tradition.
What is different about this deck is that all of the characters are female or androgynous. They range in skin tones from the darkest brown to the lightest beige. European heritage and African heritage are obvious, a few images are clearly Asian in heritage, but Latinx and First American heritages are not distinguishable to this reviewer. That said, this deck is the most ethnically diverse deck I’ve seen.
There are three different cards shown here in this article, and six more shown in the Tarot Scopes article. I’m featuring some of my favorites from the deck here, at least those which were not drawn for the Scopes article. Unusual for me, I chose two of the most negative cards in the deck, the Ten of Swords and the Three of Swords. The Ten of Swords was the first card created for this deck by Lisa Sterle. It is an iconic image, which she also uses for one of two extra cards thrown in (not for divination). Our heroine is curled on her side, stuck with ten swords, and looking down at her smart phone. What is she seeing? It must be something that is devastating, given the swords!
The Three of Swords has the characteristic heart pierced by three swords. What is different is the blackness oozing from the pierced heart. Is this indicative of the querent’s own black heartedness, or that of his/her lover? It is clear that something very negative has transpired. I take this card to mean that bad things have been avoided by this romantic breakup.
Finally the Chariot card is powerful, joyful and fun. Who wouldn’t want to go for a ride on a motorcycle on a fine day? The witch driving the motorcycle holds her wand in her right hand, showing her control of the two sphinxes, black and white, that precede her. Are they actual sphynxes, or imaginary? It does not matter, as their meaning is clear—the witch must control them in order to proceed safely.
This is a great deck for feminists, and anyone seeking ethnically diverse characters. The artwork is lovely for all.