Review by Faerie Moon
The Tarot of Oz
By David Sexton
Since I was a child, I have believed in the fantasy of Oz. This magical storybook land is a place of color, richness, friendships, and unending adventure. Judy Garland and cast brought to vivid life the Land of Oz, immortalized in print in 1900 by L. Frank Baum.
In a new venue, and a new millennium, the Land of Oz and its myriad of characters is once again walking the Yellow Brick Road… this time in a deck of remarkable Tarot cards. The Tarot of Oz by David Sexton is a compilation of characters from the original series of Oz books by L. Frank Baum. Sexton has researched the books, and has chosen some surprising characters as archetypes for his delightful deck. His artwork is reminiscent of the sketches found in the original books.
The cards are approximately 3.25” x 4.50”, but they seem larger because of the use of white space around the central figures. Instead of filling the entire card with artwork, Sexton chose to highlight the characters with over-sized white borders. Like a sketch in a coloring book, the borders give a feeling of lightness, simplicity, and focus. The card stock is an average weight for the size, lightly coated for ease of shuffling. I personally would not shuffle these cards. Because of their size, it would be easy to bend a corner.
Sexton’s use of color on this deck is inspired. Keeping to the theme of simplicity, the colors are bold, like you would find in a new box of 72 Crayola crayons. The background artwork on the cards is divided into two parts, upper and lower. On each card, the upper portion of the background is a large O inset with a Z, the symbol of the Land of Oz. The lower portion of the background is a colored circle that matches the tone of the Z inset. While it is subtle, the lower circle connects with the upper O making a figure 8, the symbol of infinity.
On the 22 Major Arcana cards, the O is a bright, sunny yellow while the inset colors vary from card to card. The four Suits have theme colors: The O on the Swords are grey, the Z insets are red-orange. The Wands are carnation pink with lavender insets. The Cups are turquoise with yellow insets. The Stones (Pentacles) are grass green with dusky-purple insets. Against this intriguing background, the characters of Oz tell their story.
Just from looking at the cards, before I read the accompanying book, I would have assumed Swords to be of the Fire element because of the red-orange backgrounds. Wands, with their misty pinks and lavenders seemed more appropriate to the Air element. Fortunately, the book points out that the deck follows the typical pattern of elements: Swords-Air, Wands-Fire, Cups-Water, and Stones-Earth.
It’s interesting that the Suits actually tell a story. The character that is represented by the Ace in the suit, while not on every card, is featured prominently throughout the suit. The Ace of Swords is the Scarecrow, the Ace of Wands is the cowardly Lion, the Ace of Cups is the Tin Man, and the Ace of Stones is Dorothy. The Scarecrow is given a quest by Ozma, and his journey and its successful conclusion is shown in the Suit of Swords. The cowardly Lion proves his innate courage as he battles with fears and challenges while he searches for the perfect birthday gift for Ozma; his story is told in the Suit of Wands. The Tin Man searches for his lost love in the Suit of Cups. Dorothy shows us how to be grounded in the Suit of Stones even when one is living in the magical kingdom of Oz.
It has been recommended by others that this deck be reserved for more advanced readers. I feel that it should be reserved for people who know the Oz characters! The Court Cards and the Majors have the name of the featured character printed on the bottom of the card. The Minors don’t have this feature. Without the book to guide me, I would be lost. There is a story behind every character and why s/he was chosen to represent a particular Tarot card.
Although the accompanying book is small (approx. 3.5” x 5.0”), the information is concise. I use the book as an introduction to each card. While I may know that The Moon can represent deceit or illusions, I prefer to know why the author chose The Wicked Witch of the West as his Moon goddess:
“Just as the Wicked Witch’s arrival blocks Dorothy and her companions from following the clear and simple path of yellow bricks, so the Moon challenges us to step off the more obvious paths and learn from the dark forests that surround our yellow brick roads.” (Sexton, page 58, The Tarot of Oz)
An added bonus of this deck is the extra copies of 2 cards: 21 The World, and the Ten of Cups. On the backs of these cards are the questions and layout of the Yellow Brick Road Spread. This unique 9 card spread is patterned after the desires of the main Oz characters: Home, Heart, Brain, and Courage.
This is a new deck (2002) that portrays and old and classic story. I am delighted to have it in my library. I don’t think that I’ll use this deck for public readings as it would take some concentrated time to get familiar with the characters. But, I am looking forward to seeing what the Land of Oz has in store for my personal readings!
You can order your own Tarot of Oz by clicking this link: The Tarot of Oz
