Deck Review: Raven's Prophecy Tarot

Maggie Stiefvater, The Raven's Prophecy Tarot. Woodbury, MN: Llewellyn Worldwide, 2015. ISBN: 978-0-7387-4743-9. Link to publisher.

 

I first used this deck in September 2023. This kit includes a full companion book and the 78-card deck.
The book is arranged as follows: 

• Introduction. Author and artist gives a bit of her story, how she came to Tarot, and briefly states what the book covers. 
• About the Theme. Explains the deck's theme based on ravens and how this is a deck about being an artist. 
• How to do a reading. Basic directions on doing a reading. This also provides a brief overview of a Tarot deck's structure and the steps the author takes to do a reading. 
• The Spreads. This part of the book is a bit sparse. We get the one-card draw, the three-card reading, and a ten-card reading. It is just enough to get you started. According to the author, those are the three spreads she ever uses. 
• The Major Arcana. Each card entry includes a black and white photo of the card, a short list of keywords, and card interpretation. Interpretations include card meaning as well as discussion of the card's art and symbols. 
• Minor Arcana. Entries are the same as the Major Arcana. The entries are arranged by suits: cups, coins, swords, and wands. Court cards are included in their suits. 

Overall, this is a very easy to read book. The author keeps it simple. She connects the art to Tarot well. The book explains the connections and artistic vision in a simple way. There is some depth, but this is not a heavily esoteric text. Could you read the cards without the book? Maybe, possibly. I read the book, and I highly recommend folks read the book to fully grasp and understand the cards' art, symbols, and vision. The cards may make more sense if you read the book. 

Each card presents a painting. Most of the images are over a black background, which makes the art stand out, which allows you to focus on the images. The suits feature the following symbols: 

• Cups feature ravens.
• Coins (pentacles) feature roses.
• Swords feature hands.
• Wands feature fire and flames. 

The symbols may appear basic, but the artist brings them to life. The art is lively and very expressive, especially in the suit of swords. The art offers much to work on for intuitive readers. This is also a very good deck for focus and meditation. 

Once I started using the deck, I found myself responding to it. Some cards took a bit more work from me initially, but as I got used to them they got easier to read. Studying the cards taught me some new insights and showed me some new ways to view the cards. This deck can be a good example that sometimes less is more when it comes to art in Tarot. The images are relatively simple yet they offer a lot of depth. 

The cards measure about 4 1/2 inches by 2 3/4 inches. The card stock is the standard thin Llewellyn card stock. The cards have an orange edge, which I feel works well enough. The cards' label font gives the deck a nice informality. The card back image is nice but not reversible. 

Overall, I really like this deck. You can use it year round, but I find it works well for fall season. I own this one, and I am happy to have it in my collection. 

4 out of 5 stars. 

This deck kit qualifies for the following 2023 Reading Challenge: