The Tarot of Passing Showers Deck Review

Title - Tarot of Passing Showers
Creator/Artist - Valerie Chia
Publisher - Independent
Date purchased - 2020

Introduction

This is my first foray into purchasing a deck from makeplayingcards.com and I have to say it was a fairly pleasant experience. I ordered this deck just before lockdown, after seeing Casper, the Boy Diviner on YouTube showing it and it arrived swiftly with good communication. 
This deck is by Valerie Chia who also has a YouTube channel, The Slightly Chipped Moon. It is Anima style art with a steampunk influence and a very hand-drawn feel. Valerie talks about her art on some of her videos and said she had thought about keeping the deck black and white but in the end, she decided to produce a colour version. I'm so glad she did, the colour range is so varied and really helps to bring this deck alive. The cards are beautiful but here's what we found with the whole package. 

What’s Good?

• The beautiful artwork. You can really see the hand of the artist at work
• The cards are linen finish and good quality playing card stock. They shuffle so easily. They feel similar to the Way Home Tarot by Bakara Wintner only with a little more texture so they're even easier to handle. The cards are precision cut, there's no gaps, warped cards or rough edges to worry about
• You have a choice of what type of packaging to go for. I chose just a plain tuck box with the thought that I'd just order a bag from Emma Em's shop on Etsy. Valerie shows in one of her YouTubes that she purchased a tin with a custom illustration. You have the choice when you purchase from Make Playing Cards and it just depends on how much you want to spend
• Speaking of which, the price is very reasonable, for an independent deck and as I mentioned the deck arrived quickly and the customer service was excellent

What’s Bad?

• There are no frills with this deck, no edging or guidebook. That might not be a problem for some people who don't bother with the guidebook but I like to hear why the artist has chosen the symbols and images
  
• This isn't a deck I'd point you toward if you were looking for diversity  

Favourite/Stand Out Cards

There are some cards in the deck that are less defined than others, like the Star and the Aeon. Compare those to the 8 of Wands and the 2 of Swords and you can see a difference. None the less they're all beautiful in their own way. 

Although Valerie has chosen to colour the cards some are more black and white with just a splash of colour. The hand-drawn effect extends to the top and bottom borders and the font.

Although the deck is RWS inspired, there are some Thoth influences in the titles, such as Art, Aeon and the Magus. Strength is 11 and Justice is 8. There are also some images that vary from the usual RWS but depict the situations perfectly. I love the 3 of Swords with his head in the cage with the bird flying off. 

Summary

​This is the best deck for…anyone who likes anima art, a hand-drawn look and no frills. I'd definitely recommend it if you're looking for something different from the decks available from the usual places.  

Where to buy?

Make Playing Cards www.makeplayingcards.com