The Moonchild Tarot Deck Review

Deck – The Moonchild Tarot
Creator/Artist – Danielle Noel 
Publisher - Independent
Date purchased – 2018

Introduction

​If you read last week’s review of the Shadowscapes Tarot and decided the cards are too small for your peepers to cope with, Larch Tarot would like to point you in the direction of the Moonchild Tarot. The cards are big, beautiful and the box is practically a wedding cake design itself! It also has that international feel that would fit right in with the Wimbledon tennis season. So, if that unseeded player wants to know how they can make this their year to bag the trophy, the Moonchild deck will help you give them a clear message. 
As you would expect with a deck called the Moonchild Tarot, it is all about the power of the moon. However, there are a lot of references to Egypt: statues of Gods and Pharaohs, pyramids, sunshine and miles and miles of sand and along with the beautiful pastel colours and Art Deco packaging, this deck opens many paths to work with Tarot. There are three extra cards in this deck. I choose not to work with the extras, but I'll leave it up to you if you want to add them in. They are fully explained in the guide book. 

What’s Good

• Beautiful images – they’re mixed media collage and very well done with lots of Egyptian influence
• Diversity - different cultures, skin-colours, ages, size and sexes well represented
• Colour scheme – Bright pastels mixed with some black and white or greyscale 
• Larger card size 5” x 3.5”. This makes it so easy to see the details of the images but bear it in mind if you have small hands for shuffling
• Card backs are a beautiful design, gold foil over a white base and are reversible  
• Card stock – excellent quality and edged in matt gold
• Two-piece box – excellent quality with an original design  
• Guidebook – this is the same size as the cards and housed inside the box. Each card has a reproduction in colour and two pages of information (Majors and Minors) and lots of extra information about the phases of the moon, history of Tarot, links to astrology and crystals and some spreads. It’s jam-packed and the meanings are well-written and easy to read
• Danielle credits the people who have modelled for the deck in the back of the guidebook. It adds a little extra something to know who some of the images are of (some wished to remain anonymous and some are from stock photos) 

What’s Bad?

• Too many doorways - there seems to be a few too many cards dominated by the image of a path or doorway. The images themselves are not unhelpful, there just seems to be a few too many in the same vein 
• Images of some of the cards on the back of the box – now this is nit-picking really but the base of the box makes it look mass market instead of the independent product that it is 

Favourite/Stand Out Cards

There's usually one card that stands out above the rest in any deck. The Six of Cups is the one for me in this deck. It's not usually a card I enjoy seeing in a reading. I have read some comments saying that this does not invoke the traditional meaning of nostalgia. But I can imagine my self sitting in that beautiful building looking out to those striking turquoise waters and dramatic pink skies and thinking back to things that have passed. Stunning. 

Doorways - lots of doorways!

A non-scary Death card that exudes the feeling of transformation taking place. The woman in the Eight of Swords could easily be the High Priestess with her air of mystery, her cauldron and veil. Until you see those ominous swords stalking her, leaving her feeling pinned into place. 

One day I'll lie on a golden beach and look out onto turquoise waters, just like in these cards. The Three of Wands has a glowing moon instead of a sun and its surrounded by what looks like a crystal geode or rainbow in shades of pink. It gives a more present and future feel that the traditional 'waiting for your ships to come in' meaning.  The Three of Cups evokes the traditional three maidens dancing and celebrating and who wouldn't want to in those surroundings!

The Sun and Strength cards have suns instead of moons. No creepy baby in the Sun, just two women showing that success and enlightenment come from fun. The different textures in the Strength card can also be seen in a number of other cards throughout the deck. If you love the Textured Tarot by Lisa McLaughlin, you'll love this deck

Summary

​This is the best deck for…those who love their deck to have historical and astrological associations. This is a high quality product and if the images speak to you, the production values will not leave you disappointed. 

Where to Buy

​I bought mine from Little Red Tarot littleredtarot.com. The deck is currently back in stock (at the time of writing). This online shop is great way of getting independent decks in the UK without the hassle of customs. And they’re always so well-packaged. If you are in Canada or the US you can purchase direct from the Artist at themoonchildtarot.com
(this is not an affiliate link)