Self Love Tarot

Our latest interview is with Hania, the wonderfully talented creator behind the Self Love Tarot. The deck focuses on a female figure, without demanding female perfection. The girls on the cards are curvy, have hairy legs but they feel comfortable and happy in their own skin.

Hania created the deck to allow herself to feel self acceptance and self love and to look for good energy within herself and not to relate these feelings with her appearance. These cards help to promote these same feelings within the reader.

Kickstarter - Self Love Tarot

Where in the world do you call home?

For me home is the place where I can fully be myself and I feel happy. It doesn't have to be a place, it's more about the company. Now I call my home Wrocław, a city in Poland, where I live with my husband.

What was your first experience with tarot and when did you fall in love with it?

I am not very experienced in tarot readings. But the first time i was in contact with tarot cards was a very magical moment for me. I was about 12 years old and visiting Spain with my parents. We went to a second-hand open-air market by the sea and there it was. A traditional old tarot deck. I wanted to buy it but as I had my budget of 20 euros for the trip I couldn’t afford it. But this feeling of mystery and magic stayed with me since then.

What made you want to create your own tarot deck? What was your inspiration?

For me the inspiration for this tarot deck was a journey of self-acceptance. As a girl with a lot of body issues and a period of an eating disorder i was quite unhappy with myself. When I started painting and drawing plus size girls it made me feel pretty. I realized that size doesn't really matter and the importance was what you feel inside. As tarot consists of 78 cards, I could fully develop the conversation with myself that was needed at that time and it helped me a lot. The girl on the cards is my self-portrait and she made me more confident than I ever was.

What would you say is unique about your deck?

In my tarot deck you won't always find the typical elements, as I was creating it more based on a feeling than on the specific motives that are repeated in most decks. I was also trying to represent a girl who you can relate to. She has a normal body with hair and imperfections and she is trying to look at life with a smile and sense of humour.

How long have you had the idea for the deck for and how long has it taken you to create it?

I had the idea for a few months before I started. I was trying different media at the beginning, collage, gouache and colored pencils, but the watercolor turned out to be the one that I felt most comfortable with. It took me about two months of summer holidays to paint the Major arcana and then another almost 10 months to finish the rest of the cards.

What have been your challenges in creating this deck?

The main challenge was that I was learning the cards as I was going along with the creation of them. And now the digital part of the preparation of the cards for the printing which for me is just less fun than painting on the paper and getting dirty.

What is on offer for people who pledge?

Depending on the amounts they decide to pledge and the rewards combination, there are option of getting a postcard with a major arcana illustration, an A4 print, the deck of cards with gold details, a Positive Energy Guidebook or an actual original illustration of one of the Major Arcana cards of their choice.

The price of the deck during this kickstarter is lower than what it will be once the campaign is finished. And it is quite possible that this version of cards will end up being a limited edition :)

To back this gorgeous deck that will bring a smile to your face, click here:

Kickstarter - Self Love Tarot

Yokai Yochi Tarot

Our latest interview is with Buboplague - the creator of the Yokai Yochi Tarot. This deck is a body of art that is a culmination of the creator's love for ghosts, folklore, and traditional Japanese artwork all blended together with the storytelling of tarot. Every card features a different unique yokai (or two), each chosen to match or reflect the meanings and stories of the cards. Some are playful critters, while others are sombre spirits - there's a full array!

Each card was traditionally drawn in sumi ink on rice paper, then scanned and digitally colored for consistency, giving it a not-quite modern and not-quite traditional fresh look.

Kickstarter - Yokai Yochi Tarot

Where in the world do you call home?

Illinois USA, nothing special.

What was your first experience with tarot and when did you fall in love with it?

I was gifted Yoshitaka Amano's Shiwase o Tsukamu tarot deck many years ago (one of my favorite artists), and found the structure and stories of the cards really appealing. Since then I've always admired and appreciated all the artistry and thought that goes into making a deck. I love how unique each one is.

What made you want to create your own tarot deck? What was your inspiration?

The friend that gave me the Amano deck had actually heavily encouraged me to make one some day. It was a seed that was planted early in my mind and stuck with me.

This specific deck actually started as a personal art challenge, with no real goal for a printed product. I wanted something to work on here and there that had a set number of pieces and a theme, maybe a story to tell, that I could look back on and say "I completed this body of work." A tarot set seemed perfect.

What would you say is unique about your deck?

Maybe the style? It's a bit traditional looking but a bit modern. It was made to feel both old and new.

How long have you had the idea for the deck for and how long has it taken you to create it?

It took me years to start, because I could never settle on a solid theme, but once I finally narrowed it to yokai, it all clicked and fell into place pretty fast. That old seed that was planted suddenly erupted.

It took six months to draw from start to finish and I worked on it in between other things, then when I was done I posted it all to social media. The reception was so overwhelmingly positive that I decided maybe I should print it after all... And then designing the box, writing the booklet, formatting the cards for print, and the whole pre-production and preparation process felt like it took even longer than drawing the deck!

We are living in such crazy times. How has the pandemic affected your creativity?

It hasn't that much actually. I was one of those few where not much in my life changed, except some time off from my job during the 3 month quarantine.

I did feel that unspoken pressure to create and draw more because we all suddenly had more time, and not being productive in that extra time made me feel guilty -- I think that was a common feeling among creatives.

What have been your challenges in creating this deck?

Finding a uniform style that wasn't too simple or too complex, that I could be consistent with for 78 cards. I restarted the first few cards quite a few times before I settled on a look.

There's been a lot of challenges trying to get it to print as well, it was delayed a full year; but in the end I think the timing worked out.

Are stories of the Yokai handed down through the generations? Were you familiar with them all or did you have to research them?

I love traditional stories and do a lot of reading/research on my own out of interest, but a lot of the common yokai lore I was introduced to as a child either by my mother or my grandmother. So it was a mix of both knowing them and researching to find something that fit.

For the deck, I did try to stick to all pre-existing yokai and folklore, and I wanted to specifically include some lesser known ones - some are so obscure that there just isn't much information, but are still beloved enough to be recognized and documented.

How will you celebrate when the deck is finally published?

A nice long nap.

What is on offer for people who pledge?

The main item is the deck, but people can also get a cotton cloth, a couple of pins, and those that pledge in the kickstarter will be able to buy prints of any of the cards!

To add this unique Japanese deck to your tarot collection, click here:

Kickstarter - Yokai Yochi Tarot

The White Fly Tarot

Our latest interview is with Danilo Sanino - the creator of The White Fly Tarot. This deck's narrative derives from both Fantasy and Grotesque themes

It includes the major and minor arcana and comes with a special guidebook that provides meaning for all cards in their upright and reversed positions. The guidebook comes in English, Italian and French.

Kickstarter - The White Fly Tarot

Where in the world do you call home?

I have never identified myself in the place where I live, or in the reflection of the people around me. The definition of home for me is a feeling of peace and tranquility that I can achieve after a satisfying job, or during time spent with friends, or just by myself.

It is definitely an inner space, which I have yet to completely conquer. The "home" theme is a goal that I am reaching, but I am in transit at this moment in my life.

I hope to cross the threshold of my inner house, and be home, soon.

What was your first experience with tarot and when did you fall in love with it?

I remember that in the first years of high school, with my first Tarot deck, I read the cards to my classmates. I had written the meanings of the Arcana on the cards, and the whole subject was difficult for me.

Then, over time, I temporarily abandoned the tarot, to study Astrology and various metaphysical themes of Indian derivation in depth.

I have been studying the Bhagavad Gita, an ancient Indian Sanskrit text, and practiced yoga for years. After this, during the pandemic, I took up the tarot again, and thanks to YouTube I dusted off my ancient curiosity. At that moment, I fell in love with them. At that point, I was more mature to assimilate the meaning of the cards and the synchronistic act of reading them.

What made you want to create your own tarot deck? What was your inspiration?

I have been working as a professional illustrator for more than 10 years. I felt that the right time has come to give birth to a great project that summarizes all my experience.

Commissioned work, although it represented a point of personal pride and financial support, has reached its saturation in my career. I feel the need to be an author, of something special, something on which my intuition and creativity can be expressed.

I have always been very prolific in my creativity, I have produced thousands of illustrations over the years. Some of them were perfectly suited to the meanings of the cards, therefore, I adapted them, adding details, varying colors, improving them to have a satisfactory result.

Others, however, have been specially designed for the project.

The external inspiration came from the observation and study of the various Tarot readers on YouTube. Internal inspiration, on the other hand, comes from my creative world, which can only express itself through what I call "play". If I don't enjoy drawing, I can't come up with a good result.

Creativity is a game. I know it sounds unprofessional, but that's what I believe. Metaphorically speaking, this concept aligns with Eastern philosophy which speaks of reality as a game, like a matrix. Macro creation is a game, just like micro creation, of the single individual.

It's definitely a serious game, that's what I believe in.

What would you say is unique about your deck?

It's hard to say. I think it's the synthesis of my style, which maintains realism, while expressing itself with cartoon accents.

I wanted to give very clear and expressive images that would describe a story, if put together. For example, the Pages, Knights, Queens and Kings figures are people who might belong to a fantasy novel. We also have mythical animals on other cards, such as the phoenix and the unicorn.

I wanted to differentiate the Major Arcana from the Minor ones. The Major Arcana have a white background, the subject represented is alone in the empty, white space. The Minor Arcana instead have a full color, in the whole area of ​​representation, the background is colored and full.

I am very satisfied with the final result :)

How long have you had the idea for the deck for and how long has it taken you to create it?

The idea of ​​creating a deck came to my mind years ago, but I wasn't ready. I started doing them, but then I stopped. Finally, last year, 2020, I decided to restart this long climb. I started with the first card, the two of Swords, in August. I completed the deck in December, working hard every day (and night), so 5 months in total.

We are living in such crazy times. How has the pandemic affected your creativity?

The pandemic played a fundamental role in the realization of the White Fly Tarot project. During this period, from March 2020 onwards, every day I spoke to my best friend via video call. We read tarot cards to each other, to reduce anxiety and feel together. This process gave me the desire to create a Tarot deck. Furthermore, I have studied a lot the meaning of each single card, practicing constant and daily reading.

As for creativity, the pandemic was a tool that completely isolated me, in my inner space, amplifying the will to express and work on a long-term project.

Outside there was uncertainty and fear of the future. Sitting at my desk, with my pencils and papers, computer and graphic tablet, I took refuge in a safe space.

What have been your challenges in creating this deck?

There have been some challenges. The first of all was facing the magnitude of the project. During the making of the first cards, I did not know when I would finish, and above all I was not sure I had the consistency to get to the last one.

The other challenge was: "How can I make this Tarot deck known to the world?" So I studied various ways, and I discovered Kickstarter, a crowdfunding site where my project is currently located.

At the end of the project, I still don't know how I will carry this deck forward, I am considering various options. I hope some doors open for me.

Your deck is based on a fantasy and grotesque theme. How do you define a grotesque theme?

For me, the theme of the grotesque is similar to horror and macabre, but it doesn't reach their heights. In other words, it maintains a feeling of darkness, but carries with it a lightness that can be given by a funny detail.

For example, in the Devil card, we see a semi-human subject with buttons instead of eyes. He is sitting on a goat, which instead of the hoofs has high heels. This is grotesque.

Instead, in the Nine of Swords, I inserted a real horror image. In the classic description of this card, there is a person who is affected by the Nine of Swords, sitting in a bed with his face in his hands. I wanted to represent, instead of the consequences of the nightmare, the nightmare itself.

But I didn't want to give the whole deck a horror feel, so a few times I put in details that broke the drama.

In another card, the Moon, we see a half human, half moth subject. This character, as it is described, could lead back to horror. But the way in which I represented it, in the colors and above all in its delicate pose, almost dancing and floating in the air, soften its characteristics. It could be called grotesque, I think :)

How will you celebrate when the deck is finally published?

On a personal level, I have already told my best friend that we will cook a memorable dinner together.

On a broader level, I am in a phase of change in my life. I hope this project reaches the stars, I'm thinking of opening a YouTube channel dedicated to the deck, but I'm in the "work in progress" phase, especially on a mental level.

Reconnecting to the first question, I hope this project gives me the key to open the door to my inner home.

What is on offer for people who pledge?

Since it's my first project on Kickstarter, I want to keep it simple. So far, I have included buying one, two, or five decks as an option. I am evaluating the possibility of putting stretch goals, such as emailing digital illustrations relating to cards, in high quality.

Thanks a lot for this interview! It makes me happy and proud :)

To add this wildly imaginative deck to your tarot collection, click here:

Kickstarter - The White Fly Tarot