Deck Review: The Herbcrafter's Tarot

Blessed June and Hello to the Community of Body, Mind, & Soul!

For those of you who do not know me, my name is Kali. I have been on staff at the shop since August of last year. Today, I will be sharing a brief review of The Herbcrafter’s Tarot and a few bits of information about myself.

Deck Review: The Herbcrafter’s Tarot 

Author: Latisha Guthrie   Artist: Joanna Powell Colbert

This deck was gifted to me about four years ago. Since then, it has always been one of my most cherished decks. My family chose well with this one. Two of my passions in life are Tarot and Medicinal Herbs. 

The Artwork

I was surprised by how much the artwork spoke to me. I tend to gravitate towards decks that display boldness and evocative images, especially where color and form are concerned. The soft, dream-like lines and shading, along with vibrant colors give the deck a subtle boldness. There is an authenticity here, each detail of each card is intentional. 

Structure

This deck is based on the traditional Smith-Rider-Waite deck, which has 78 cards total, 22 Major Arcana, and 56 Minor Arcana. The structure is the same, but it is the suits and court cards that have different names.

For those who are new to tarot, it may take some getting used to, but overall, I appreciate the structure of it. Being of Mexican descent, I appreciate the Spanish names. If you look in the guidebook, they explain the reasons for the names listed above. For the sake of brevity, I won’t go into detail, but I feel their descriptions are well thought out and resonant of heart and love.

The Guidebook & the Plants

Oh, how I love a good guidebook. The reason is because they can offer new perspective which can enhance your understanding of each card. I don’t always agree with guidebooks, but seeing the different ideas helps me to consider what I feel and what the card means to me. 

I am an advocate of being a "life-long learner" and when the guidebook includes special information that is not directly related to tarot, it makes my heart happy. The authors take time to discuss the plant, how it is used and how it applies to the meaning of the card. They also include ways to connect to the energy of the card through crafting with the plant itself.

Example:  Four of Water (pg. 58) “Place mint in a vial and wear it around your neck to help contain overwhelming emotions” “Begin a gratitude practice with a pot of warm peppermint tea”

You don’t really see this a whole lot. Tarot is often something of the mind and spirit, but I appreciate that they give us tangible and creative activities to do. The guidebook itself is a treasure trove of information. They go into a little bit more detail about the types of activities at the back of the book. 

Plants are a huge part of my life. Since my youth, I have been working with them and studying them. I tremendously appreciate the different plants used in this deck. While I was familiar with quite of few of them, there were many I had never heard of. For this reason alone, this deck has taught me a great deal. 

Favorite Cards from this Deck:

I’ll be honest, I originally chose about 17 cards that I love. I had to work to narrow it down, but here they are. I will let the images speak for themselves.

Final Thoughts

I wish I had the time to go over all the reasons of why I love The Herbcrafter’s Tarot. If you’re a plant person and into tarot, I highly recommend this deck. If you are new to tarot, I still recommend this deck, but advise that you also are working with the Smith-Rider-Waite deck so that you can compare the two side by side. In the past, a few customers have felt hesitant to purchase it because they didn’t know much about plants. To that I would say, there’s never a better time to start. No prior knowledge of plants is necessary, just a desire to learn. If you are looking to connect to the Feminine, this is a good deck, while there aren’t necessarily goddess images, Her energy is there and all the court cards are female. It is high in Mother Earth energy. We have an open deck of Herbcrafter’s Tarot, so when you’re at the shop, take a look and see if it calls to you. 

>>>Shop The Herbcrafter's Tarot here!

Starting on June 6th, I will be joining the team of readers at Body, Mind, & Soul. I am deeply honored and excited about this new chapter of my tarot journey. I will be providing tarot readings every Monday. Readings can be “in-person”, via Zoom, or by phone. 

One last thing…I feel its important to honor those we have learned from and who have helped to shape us. This is a new part of my journey and so I pause to give thanks. 

For Tarot Wisdom, I would like to honor Brianna Sexton, Kelly Ann-Maddox, Lindsay Mack, and Jaclyn Kitzman - these women have taught me a great deal and I appreciate their perspectives.  For Plant Wisdom and the Divine Feminine, I would like to honor my mentor and Spirit Mother: Lucia F. Bettler

Thank you for taking the time to read this deck review. I leave you with a blessing from The Red Tent by Anita Diamant

“Blessings on your eyes. Blessings on your children. Blessings on the ground beneath you. My heart is a ladle of sweet water, brimming over.” 

With Gratitude, 

Kali

Kali is a spiritual crafter, artist, and educator. She has over a decade of experience teaching students from early childhood to adults in a variety of subjects. A life-long learner and a jack of all trades, Kali has been studying and working with Tarot since 2014. Her passions in life revolve around crafting with her hands (such as knitting, crochet, herb gardening, jewelry, and baking) and being of service to those on their own spiritual journey. Connect with her on Instagram at @serpentandspider. >>> Book a one-on-one tarot reading with Kali here!