Tarot of the Holy Spectrum

​Deck Title: Tarot of the Holy Spectrum
Creator/Artist: Chase Voorhees
Publisher: Independent
Purchased: 2020

Introduction

I saw this deck on a YouTube video one Saturday morning when I probably should have been doing housework and not sitting watching TV. But something about it grabbed me and I ordered it straight away. It was probably the colour concept. This deck is based around the colour spectrum and the cards in each suit show the colour range with a block colour chosen for each court suit and the Majors with a predominance of black. I found that once I had it in my hands, black was the main shade that I could see. In order to really benefit from the colours you do need to do a larger spread.  A three card spread just doesn’t look any different to any other deck. In fact, in comparison to some other decks that are a riot of colour, like the last review of the Cosmic Cycles Tarot or even just something mass market such as the Happy Tarot, the colour palette in this deck is much more muted throughout. But it’s interesting art work, so here’s what we found in the Tarot of the Holy Spectrum. 

What’s Good?

• The art work has an interesting feel of being digitally drawn but with a precision finish that looks like it was done by hand. I have no idea of how it was actually created but you won’t find any pencil marks on these cards. Every marking feels intentional. The images are modern and do follow the RWS system but there’s plenty of unique takes on the traditional depictions. Each card has two or three colours plus black and although the colour range is there it does feel ‘grown-up’ and quite muted
• The card stock is great. The cards are standard size and thin matt with black edging but they are smooth and so easy to shuffle. They feels like good quality thin
• The images are borderless so you get the full impact and combined with the plain black backs and minimal box design, the whole deck has a unique feel
• The box is two piece but you can’t nestle the bottom inside the top. It’s good quality card with a holographic lemniscate on the top. Very chic

What’s bad? 

• If you’re hoping for Disney’s colouring box, don’t go for this deck. It’s sleek and chic but it’s black and shadowy too. For some, that might actually be more of a positive
• There’s no guide book. There’s a podcast interview with the creator and artist who says that he wanted the user to intuit their own meanings and I know there are a lot of people who agree with this, but I’m one of those folks who like a guide book. I like to hear what the creator was thinking when they decided to use a particular image for a card and also to point out the little features that are important to them that I might have missed

Stand Out Cards 

Black and a colour reminds me of a certain work wardrobe I used to wear! Here it really shows how the colour palette can shine without looking like a box of crayons just vomited. 

The Majors are mainly black with less colour but just as striking. The High Priestess is barely there with just the ripe pomegranate almost bleeding onto the page. They have both numbers and titles that are clear and easy to read and don’t detract from the images. 

I really like how the woman resists the movement of the wind in the 7 of Pentacles while she checks the fruit on her tree. The Judgement card is renamed the Awakening (although most cards stick to the original titles and the suit titles are the same). This is a good example of how the images are modern and up to date but enable the true meanings of the cards to come through. There are men and women in the deck, with some diversity represented but mainly young thin folks. 

Summary

If you like the Wild Unknown and the Light Seer’s, I think you’ll like this deck. It doesn’t have quite so much of a hippy vibe, more cool and modern. The other deck I’d compare it to would be the Naked Heart. So if you like clean lines and a punch of colour but are looking for humans rather than animals, go for the Tarot of the Holy Spectrum. 

Where to Buy?

I bought mine directly from the creators website and in a time of pandemic lockdown it got here quicker than a government warning. There was a hefty delivery fee but I don’t know of any UK outlets that currently stock this. The website is www.tarotoftheholyspectrum.com/ and at the time of writing the first edition has sold out but there’s going to be a second edition, so sign up if you want this cool deck.