Deck Interview: Tarot of the Divine
Tarot of the Divine is a beautifully illustrated deck by Yoshi Yoshitani that features 78 scenes from fairy tales, myths, and legends from around the world. I had seen the deck in a few places, but I was drawn to buy it when I saw the Two of Cups, which shows the ancient love of Gilgamesh and Enkidu, two burly bearded Sumerian men. It’s such a contrast to the gentleness of the card and to the cute art of many (but certainly not all) of the cards in the deck. I like the contrast that that allows, as well as the sometimes unsettling juxtaposition, such as seen in the Nine of Wands, that really is part and parcel of old fables. More importantly though, this deck has expansive ideas based in its myths, and I’m excited to explore them all with the supplemental book that Yoshitani sells to describe all the fairy tales and her take on them.
As always, I’m using my own deck interview spread, about which you can read more here.
INTERVIEWING THE Tarot of the Divine
What major lesson are you here to help me learn? Ace of Cups (reversed)
Through which divine energy can we best communicate? Five of Wands
In what area can you aid me to help others? The Lovers
In what area could your guidance be easily misunderstood? Eight of Swords
What can I do to keep our communication clear? The Hierophant
How can I use your guidance for the highest good? Nine of Coins
How will I know when we’re ready for a new lesson? Eight of Coins (reversed)
This is a deck of fables and legends and myths, so it’s no surprise that the big takeaway here is about opening up to the greatness we’ve each inherited. I see this in the fourth and fifth cards with Donkeyskin (the Eight of Swords) offering advice on where we shouldn’t focus and White Buffalo Woman (the Hierophant) providing clarity on communication strategies for working with the deck in the best way. The combination of cards suggests that we should not dwell on limitations we’ve placed on ourselves to adapt to difficult situations (the Eight). Instead, this is a deck that speaks through traditions and stories handed down to us (the Hierophant), so we need to be open to the reality that we carry mythic selves within us. It’s rare that I would focus first on the fourth and fifth card in this spread because these two cards usually show a potential distraction and negation, less often my focus than how I can best use the deck. But here, it’s an incredibly uplifting message about the full power and potential of these cards to help others. The lesson for me and the ways that I can connect to these cards seem almost irrelevant in the face of these other two cards and how I can use the deck on behalf of others. That isn’t to say that I won’t use them for myself because I absolutely will—they’re gorgeous and fun—but the real value will be in helping others to see themselves a little larger than life.
For my journey, the deck is here to help me navigate my own relationship with self-care and how I receive things into my body and spirit. As described in the supplemental book, Beneath the Moon, the Ace of Cups shows Matsuo’s sake given to the spirits (kami) as an offering. Reversed, it feels like a good reminder about how the card’s traditional meaning for me (self-love or self-care) relates to the sacred if intoxicating gift of sake. I read this as a lesson about balancing the potentially harmful or counterproductive consequences of things like alcohol (whether that’s pastries or comfort foods or games) with the joy or satisfaction or even relaxation that those things can bring. It’s a lesson about loosening the rules in moderation. I’ll be interested to see how it plays out with this deck, but it’s good to know that this deck can help with those things.
As for how to connect with this deck on a divine or spiritual level, I pulled the Five of Wands, which depicts the Pandavas, five semi-divine brothers who shared a wife, a kingdom, two exiles, and then a revolution. I don’t know quite what to make of it here, but it’s a strange blend of cooperation and competition that speaks to me. My initial thought was a masculine, fiery energy, such as a Mars-like energy, but I was stuck on the image of the blue-skinned brother, a sign of godhood in Hindu paintings. In researching their story, I realize that they have gone through cycles of loss and recuperation, of self-effacement and glory. This seems right in line with how I think that this deck can help others, stepping out of their own shadows and into their grandness, much like Donkeyskin in the Eight of Swords eventually does.
With these emphases, I read the Lovers in the third position as a card that shows me how this deck can help me show you the real you, the hero that lies within the damsel and beneath the monster’s surface as discovered in the story of the Beauty and the Beast. Yes, there is love, just like there is self-love in the reversed Ace of Cups, but that’s an effect of the real gift of this particular deck. That opening up to one’s greatness then leads to the highest good, expressed as the Nine of Coins. This is personal abundance and satisfaction after coming to terms with who one is and can be. The card’s associated legend tells of a boy who worked hard and lived a good life, earning him many rewards, along with eventual rivals. But even when his good fortunes turned sharply, he stayed true to himself and, through this, found his way back into the good graces of the people who had turned on him. So much of this is about becoming more than you think you are or can be and recognizing the mythic within you.
The final card encourages me to use this deck as I continue to work and develop on the literal craft of my practice, as depicted in the Eight of Coins. It’s an area that’s evolving for me, and I look forward to the inspiration that this deck will undoubtedly bring. As the story of the Six Swans associated with this card describes, this may not always be fun and I may not want to talk about it when it is challenging or going poorly, but it will be transformative.
The cards pictured here are from the Tarot of the Divine, created by Yoshi Yoshitani and published by 10Speed Press © 2020. All rights reserved. You can purchase the deck and supplemental book, Beneath the Moon, through her online store.