The Wild Unknown Tarot Deck Review

Deck – The Wild Unknown
Creator & Artist– Kim Krans
Publisher - Harper One
Date purchased - 2019

Introduction

The Wild Unknown was an independent deck that was picked up by the mass market due to it being hugely popular. It was and still is all over the internet, with people literally getting the cards tattooed on themselves. It is a beautiful deck. I imagine the kind of person that uses the Wild Unknown to be a festival-going, tie-dye wearing, vegan, yoga-practising earth-mother. With a tattoo or two. I really like this deck but I have a problem. I struggle to read with it. It's not that I can't read with it. There are just some cards that have me stumped. So I had a long hard think about this. Am I expecting to be able to read this deck like it's an RWS? Do I feel like it's not for me because I don't fit the image of the type of person I think this deck is typically aimed at? Well lets look at what's good and bad about the deck and see if that sheds any light on my dilemma. 

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What’s Good?

• The images on the cards are so clearly rendered they are really easy to see
• The images are black and white as if they've been drawn by pen and ink but with some splashes of colour that gives a really effective  contrast
• The packaging for the mass market edition, bearing in mind the low price point, is fantastic. A book-style outer box holding the cards in a two-piece box and the guide book (with removal ribbons in both boxes!)
• The information in the guide book is well-written and clear. I like the handwritten font, it matches the style of the cards 
• The deck is animal and nature based, so if you are looking for a deck with no humans or figures, this would be a good choice

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What's Bad? 

• The card stock itself is good, so I don't know if it's just my copy but there are breaks in the deck. It may be that a few of the cards warped during storage. It can affect cutting the cards, so I've taken to just shuffling and not cutting to eliminate the same cards being pulled. I'm sure it'll work it's way out after some general use 
• I haven't been able to pick this up and run with it. Maybe my learned knowledge is interfering with my intuition. Or maybe I just need to be respectful of the deck as a system in itself and spend more time with it and the guidebook to really connect
  
• Although the packaging is great, there is a slip cover that is just unnecessary in my opinion 

Favourite/Stand Out Cards

The horse's expression on the V of Cups just says it all. He's so sad. All five cups are upright in the light but his head is in the darkness.  The Fool card is so sweet and easy to read. Both are beautifully depicted.

No weird little creature in the VI of Cups. The past is represented by the roots of the tree, vibrantly coloured and supporting new growth. In this card it's the roots that are in the light and therefore the focus is on them, on memories, childhood and nostalgia. The VI of Pentacles is a beautiful image but did seem a little bit more like what I'd expect to see in the VII of Pentacles. But here the focus is on prosperity, harmony and growth, enabling generosity. This card seems to have less give and take than the traditional RWS. 

The Empress III and the Emperor IV are like night and day, quite literally. The Empress tree shows warmth and vibrancy, coming from the light and the Emperor stands strong and authoritative, growing from the darkness of the soil and reaching towards the light of the sun, perhaps a little partial to basking in the sunshine. 

I can hear the flapping of the birds wings in the Judgement card, as they rise up and flock towards the light and the pure white bird calling on them. This contrasts with the stillness in the birds in the III of Cups as they sit and chat on the branch. This kind of reminds me of that BT advert years ago with Busby, the bird who liked to talk! There is less emphasis on celebration, more on community and friendship. 

Summary

​This is the best deck for…...taking to a Festival for use with other free spirited folks. Having reviewed this deck I have to conclude that I've stereotyped it! The images are lovely and quite clear to read. That's if you read these cards and not a learned memory of an RWS deck. I think the best way forward is to spend time with the deck and re-imagine who else would use these cards. It could maybe be me. Or you. 

Where to buy?

Amazon, keep an eye out it as it can sometimes be found for under £20! (www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=wild+unknown&ref=nb_sb_noss_1this is not an affiliate link)

Bonus Cards - Most Tattoo'able