The moment I opened the Totem Tarot Deck to interview it, the spirit of the deck told me I was to use it for PERSONAL use only. This was not a group event or one-on-one deck. If the deck had a knife, or in this case, a crystal (I’ll explain later) it would have been pointed at me to agree to the statement above.
I agreed.
The Totem Tarot Deck is one of the most intense and subtle decks I have ever worked with. Created by Rachel “The Skeptical Shaman” White and graphic designer Emma Cook, this 78-card deck is the deck is the one you pull out when you need an honest and blunt answer. I’ve heard interviews with Rachel White and subscribe to her podcast and love her no-nonsense approach to “woo”. She is blunt and honest just like her deck.
Like all decks, the Totem Tarot is divided into the majors and minors but instead of wands and pentacles, the suits are Moons, Metals, Crystals, and Trees. The court cards are Master, Mistress, Knight, and Ladies. And the majors consist of deities, totem animals, energy bodies and more. By doing this, I feel challenged and it forces me to focus on the card’s message.
The cards are printed on glossy black paper with no borders and come with a LWB (except it’s black). The design is minimal and beautiful with sacred shapes, astrology symbols, runes, and archetypal nature images. This deck isn’t like a standard deck where you look at the image and figure it out; it makes you work for it, and that’s why I like it.
In addition to divination, this deck can be used for meditation and journeying work and is perfect for digging deeper into your tarot practice. When I interviewed this deck, I was told we would work well together, and it would help to improve my psychic communication, and calm my mind. And it does. I highly recommend The Totem Tarot for anyone who wants to be challenged and get out of their Raider-Waite-Smith rut.
