I was given this tarot deck by the Universe, via a generous neighbor who was downsizing to move abroad. I’ve been slow to write a review in large part because I have found it so satisfying to simply gaze at this gorgeous deck — to manipulate and reorganize the cards on my tarot table, looking for patterns, surprises, challenges… soaking it all in.
The Mary-El Tarot, created by California-based artist Marie White, is an absolute masterpiece.
Unlike most modern decks, the Mary-El is not a derivative of any of the Big Three: Rider-Waite-Smith, Thoth, or Tarot de Marseille. It is, however, entirely informed by the same deep pool of esoteric knowledge. It’s as if the artist were a member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn in 1900, studying alongside the spiritualists of the day. I envision two besties — Marie White and Pamela Colman Smith — passing concept sketches for pip cards to one another during lectures. I see Marie holding her own with AE Waite and gaining the respect of Aleister Crowley, who eventually offers her a side gig giving painting tips to Lady Frieda Harris.
This deck has both style and substance.
The Majors are fantastic. The Court Cards, as well. I’ll put pictures below so you can groove on everything beautiful there.
But the most exciting part of this deck is the 40 Minor Arcana cards. These are independently-conceived narrative illustrations that will bend your mind and disrupt the assumptions you’ve amassed from using traditional decks. Here are a few eye-catching, head-scratching examples:
Name That Pip!
To get comfortable with the alternative universe that is the Mary-El Minor Arcana, I suggest taking plenty of time to study the cards. Make a game of turning over one at a time with the title covered, and then try to Name That Pip. When you’re wrong (like I was, again and again), refer to the guidebook — written by the artist — and see how things fall into place. The game might be discouraging at first, but with time, you will recognize patterns, and Mary-El’s visual language will take shape.
Not everything in this deck is such a challenge, but even the more recognizable images feel new. Here are a few of the Majors — the Emperor, Death, and the World. I choose these because they show the artist’s choice to crop images close to the figures, rather than stage them in a detailed landscape. The result is a feeling of intimacy that still manages to retain the gravitas of an archetype.
The Court Cards strike the same balance, holding both universal symbolism and individual personality at once. Here are the queens:
How does it read?
I was a little concerned that this deck would be too much — too laden with mythology, too complex with Kabbalah, and even too saturated with color. I was concerned that the magnitude of the Pips was not adequately distinct from that of the Majors. I thought its voice would be so grand that I would only pull it out for weighty occasions.
Delightfully, none of my concerns have played out in practice. The Mary-El is proving to be fast and light with its smaller, borderless cards. (Printed this way in the 2nd edition). The colors in this deck act almost like a fifth element, speaking to each other across spreads, adding a new layer of possibility. There is an intimacy with the humans in this deck that welcomes an emotional experience with each card drawn. Overall, the Mary-El Tarot offers a quality alternative to the Big Three traditional decks. I see Pamela, Arthur, Aleister and Freida giving Marie White a hearty round of applause.
The card images above are shared with permission from the publisher, Schiffer Publishing / REDFeather. If you want the deck, I suggest getting it directly from them.
Yetta Snow is a professional tarot reader and educator based in Seattle, Washington. Her business, Present Day Tarot, approaches the Tarot as a way to bring meaning into every moment of every day.
For news about tarot classes, specials, and more from Present Day Tarot…
Present Day Tarot Blog 
Leave a comment