The Modern Witch Tarot Deck offers a fresh and inclusive approach to the ancient practice of tarot. Acclaimed artist Lisa Sterle infuses the strength of traditional tarot symbols with diverse representation, modern fashion, and the empowering energy of 21st-century witchcraft. This deck speaks to a new generation of tarot enthusiasts, offering a mirror into our interactions with the world through vibrant and relatable art.
What is the Modern Witch Tarot?
The 78 cards of the tarot deck are rich with meaning-archetypes like The Magician, The Empress, and The Chariot reflect our lived experience. This deck is an energetic deck based on the classic Waite-Smith Tarot. It is not traditionally 'witchy' (pointy hats, wands etc) but rather is aimed at modern witches. Modern witchcraft has something of a reputation for being inclusive and thus inviting to people who often find themselves marginalised.
The Modern Witch Tarot Deck is designed to answer your questions about the past, present, and future. Its empowering messages guide you toward taking the next step toward your desires. Included are 78 contemporary tarot cards and a hardcover guidebook, making it a complete and accessible tool for both beginners and experienced readers.
Key Features of the Modern Witch Tarot
- Contemporary Art: Lisa Sterle's vibrant art celebrates diversity and modern life.
- Inclusive Representation: The deck features diverse bodies, races, and gender expressions.
- Traditional Structure: Based on the classic Waite-Smith Tarot, making it easy to learn.
- Hardcover Guidebook: Provides card meanings and different card spreads.
Unboxing and First Impressions
The packaging of the Modern Witch Tarot is top-notch. The deck comes with a card-size hardcover guidebook. The cards come packaged in a solid upright box with a slide-off top/lid. The cards and their accompanying guidebook fit snugly inside. Showing a lovely attention to detail the inside of both the lid and base box are lined with a white on black design of magical symbols. This is a solid box designed to protect the cards and guidebook within it and as such it can be slipped into a backpack or shoulder bag without taking up too much space.
The guidebook, written by Lisa Sterle, is a neat little hardback of 56 pages. There is a Forward by Vita Alaya which introduces the Seeker to the concepts behind the deck as well as its purpose. From here we move straight to the Major Arcana each card has its own page with a small black-and-white reproduction of the card as well as a description of the action taking place, and a divinatory meaning. The Minor Arcana receives a little less attention, there are no images or descriptions of the card, just the interpretation.
Read also: Explore Witchcraft
Card Details and Structure
The Modern Witch Tarot has a traditional structure it is fully illustrated and consists of 78 cards plus 1 that the Seeker can choose to include/exclude according to their taste or mood. The Major Arcana has 22 cards, the Minor Arcana has 57 cards. The extra card titled Everything Is Fine is identical to the 10 of Swords, and though no divinatory meaning is assigned to it, presumably its title says it all. The Minor Arcana is divided into four suits Wands, Cups, Swords, and Pentacles, with 10 number cards and 4 Court cards. The Court cards are Page, Knight, Queen, and King. The Major Arcana follows A. E. Waites structure and titles.
The card stock is noticeably thick and heavy, with very little flexibility. This has resulted in a noticeably thick deck which some users may find to be quite a handful. The finish on the cards is super smooth, with a high gloss finish which makes the cards quite slippery and easy to shuffle.
Artwork and Imagery
Artist Lisa Sterles style is a charming intersection of popular and graphic art. This is exacting line work, with little shading, and block colours - it requires flawless execution and this deck has it in spades. She uses Waite-Smith imagery shorn of some of the old-fashioned (some might say fussy or busy) details, and updated to reflect 21st century life. The image on the back of the cards includes an all-seeing eye, a compass, symbols of the suits, and other esoterica.
Mixed in with known tarot symbols are modern accoutrements like cellphones and laptops. These additions don’t take away from the card meanings, if anything I find they add to the cards. That mix of modern and traditional makes this a unique deck to read with. Sterle makes an interesting choice with gender, I noted. This deck is an ode to the feminine- all expressions of it, including non-binary iterations.
Reading Experience
I’ve found that the deck reads beautifully. This IG post will give you a sense of how well it reads. Modern Witch works well as a beginner’s tarot deck because you can pick up any RWS-based book on the tarot and follow along without skipping one beat. This is absolutely a deck made for the age and era we are in today. I love that it gives visibility to those who have historically been marginalized and here are depicted as powerful, confident, and in command. Even how the Eight of Pentacles theme has been modernized gives this deck such a new-generation pitch to it.
Read also: Witch Costume Ideas for Men
While the wording of both the descriptions and the interpretations is modern, the divinatory meanings are not radically different to traditional meanings so much as updated and appropriate to 21st-century living.
Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Inclusive and diverse representation
- High-quality production and packaging
- Easy to shuffle despite thick card stock
- Modern and relatable imagery
Cons:
- Glossy finish may cause cards to stick together
- Some may find the Strength card problematic
Who is this Deck For?
The Modern Witch Tarot is ideal for:
- Beginner tarot readers
- Experienced readers looking for a fresh perspective
- Those who appreciate inclusive and diverse representation
- Anyone interested in modern witchcraft and contemporary symbolism
How To Read All 78 Tarot Cards in 30 Minutes!! Easier Than You Think
Final Thoughts
Overall, the Modern Witch Tarot published by Liminal 11 is iconic. This is the kind of deck that’s going to be in high demand, touted as vintage, and worth money in the distant future, exactly because of how period-specific it is. It is going to make a great gift this holiday season to that budding witchy-leaning friend of yours.
Read also: Learn Witchstone
Card Size
- Card Size: 2.76 x 4.72 in.