The back of the Tarot of Curiosities features an ornate keyhole, inviting us to unlock something with the deck. It could be a keyhole leading to (but also protecting) spiritual mysteries, but with turn-of–the-century imagery of Victorian houses, insane asylums, and minor terrors—the Devil could be straight out of my nightmares—there’s an invitation to unlock the doors leading to our inner darkness. The deck’s creator Nicole actually sent me the deck as a gift, and she suggests that it might be good for shadow work. I think that’s probably a good application for most people; the unnerving imagery could very well shake some spiders out of the cobwebs that often gather at the back of one’s mind.

The deck does not use the standard suits of the minor arcana. And when I conducted this reading, I wasn’t sure what suits related to what, although I had some good guesses. I think it’s worth noting that decks that use alternate suits probably shouldn’t be translated. It can be useful to do so in order to help communicate some basic qualities, but it’s also a disservice to the deck that is, quite simply, different from the traditional deck. Why treat it the same? Yes, it’s easy, and I do it all the time, but it’s also lazy. And that’s a good lesson from this deck.

Deck Interview spread with Tarot of Curiosities — **INTERVIEWING THE TAROT OF CURIOSITIES**

**What major lesson are you here to help me learn?** *6 of Keys (reversed)*
**Through which divine energy can we best communicate?** *Knight of Needles*
**In what area can you aid me to help others?** *4 of Needles*
**In what area could your guidance be easily misunderstood?** *Ace of Locks (reversed)*
**What can I do to keep our communication clear?** *9 of Locks*
**How can I use your guidance for the highest good?** *2 of Keys*
**How will I know when we’re ready for a new lesson?** *Knight of Bottles (reversed)*

The first card in this spread is the most colorful and saturated of the group. It’s my favorite of these seven cards for that reason, but it’s meaningful as the lightbulb in the dark. The six keys suggest balance in the experience of opening up to discover the light and the darkness. A letter decorates the bottom of the card (on top in the reversal), and it suggests messages from far off that lead to illumination. With its reversal, I see the card’s need for balance as especially important. While six is a perfect number and thus naturally harmonious, the card’s inversion warns of the potential to upend that harmony. Unlocking is a powerful act, but it comes at a cost. As they say, don’t write a check that your ass can’t cash. With this deck—and probably all shadow work really—you need to be willing to finish what you start.

The other cards are also reminders to not take on the work lightly. The divine energy through which I would do well to communicate depicts a nurse (or other hospital staffer) in a gas mask with the Danvers State Hospital (an enormous late Victorian asylum in Massachusetts). Three needles float above three roof peaks. It made me think of the card as related to the three and the pain of the 3 of Swords in some other decks. Here however, the knight is donning armor against any mental strife that might result from digging too deeply into one’s wounds. One way to read that is to adopt cautious and patient energy, to be willing to sedate my inner demons and come back at another time. It could of course also mean that I should go in expecting a fight.

The next few cards give guidance on the importance of an internal and independent journey. This isn’t a deck for starting new projects or looking to material concerns. Instead it’s about the psychological and, quite possibly, the spiritual. But again there’s a measure of caution. In the green tendrils of the reversed Ace, an eye looks out, watching. Realizing that the building pictured on several cards is a Massachusetts asylum made me eventually think of Arkham and Lovecraft’s horrors. The deck doesn’t seem to reference this Edwardian influence directly, although there are tentacles every now and again, but it felt like a good reminder to beware of what keyholes you peer through because someone or something might be looking back at you.

As a reminder of the highest good that I can offer with this deck, I see what I assume is a feral child on the 2 of Keys, and she acts as a reminder of what can be explored and unlocked with this deck. There are past struggles that weigh us down, and there’s a more basic version of each of us hidden beneath all those layers of pain and isolation. The feral child, though not an ideal state of childhood, is closer to the unconscious self freed from the lessons and constraints of culture.

The lesson I draw from the reversed Knight of Bottles comes from the pen tip-shaped ship looming in the background. At first it seemed to represent a bishop’s miter presiding over the romance of two sailors in love, and I was all for that. But this deck is leaving some haunting trails that may make their way into my mind as I write, and I suspect that I’ll be ready for a new lesson by the time Gemini makes way for Cancer.

Deck Interview: Tarot of Curiosities