Deck Review: Quantum Tarot

The world dances in the palm of your hand. Somewhat mad scientists gaze out at you. Formulas writhe across the cards as you lay them out. The cosmos in seventy-eight cardboard images. Death features two skeletons preparing to do battle while butterflies create a hurricane.

Kay Stopforth and Christopher Butler, both guest bloggers, created an amazing deck with the Quantum Tarot: A Tarot of New Physics. Kunati Press wisely picked this one up to be their first, I believe, Tarot deck. I know Kunati is publishing another fave of mine next year.

I am incredibly impressed with the quality of Kunati’s product. The card stock is flexible without being flimsy. The gilded edges pop with lustrous silver. The box itself is a sturdy cigar style that will withstand the test of time (and my erratic shelving of my decks!)

Diving into this deck, I first noted that this is a very active deck. These cards don’t just hang out–they move and gyrate as you lay them down. Visually, I mean. They haven’t yet picked themselves up and moved about. I don’t put it past them though. (grin)

Each suit is subtly colored to bring forth that suit’s energy. Each card has a black framed bottom with the name or number of the card and a colored oval.  Blue is for swords/air. Green marks cups/water. Red is for wands/fire. And gold is for pentacles/earth.

One card that bothered me on a profound level–more than I expected in fact–was the Tower. When I looked at this shimmering building of light cracking in the middle and toppling, I was reminded of that fateful day in September when the Twin Towers fell. There is no mention of it in the detailed companion book, but I couldn’t shake my own symbolism from this card.

But I believe that is my own worldview as an American and not anything else. I should mention that the book that comes with this deck is fantastic. Each card starts with its scientific meaning. If you are like me and your eyes glaze over at the mention of mathematics or science, don’t despair. The information is bite-sized. I found the background of each card helped me layer my interpretations.

A familiar face stares out at you from the Chariot where a rocket is launching into the air while the familiar E=MC2 floats in the fiery blast cloud. Einstein himself gazes out from the other side of the card. The book mentions.

Special relativity that how time passes and how we observe objects is relative to our point of observation and rate of motion.

What a marvelous addition to the idea of the Chariot for me. I see the Chariot as taking charge of my own life so this reminds me that maybe I need to back up and see the total picture before driving off like a mad fool. 🙂

You will also see the faces of Kay and Chris in these cards. I won’t spoil it by telling you which cards, but see if you can find them. It’s a Tarot version of  “Where’s Waldo”. My housemate loved these cards. His first comment was “There are faces in all the cards.”

I looked and found only a few where I couldn’t determine if there were faces. It’s an intriguing way to really make this deck personal with all these eyes staring back at you.

Don’t let the name Quantum Tarot scare you into thinking you need to be a science person. I’m not at all (didn’t even finish that book everyone said I should about butterflies causing hurricanes.) This deck is very approachable.

It will appeal to the serious reader as well as a scientifically minded skeptic.  I can honestly recommend this deck as a working tool for tarot consultations. I think I am going to use it as a personal introspective deck because it really stretches my Tarot horizons.

• Quantum Tarot: A Tarot of New Physics
• Paperback: 207 pages
• Publisher: Kunati Inc.; Crds edition (September 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1601641699
• ISBN-13: 978-1601641694