Clockwise from top left: The Yokai Yochi Tarot, Moonlight Tarot, The Wild Child Oracle, Fantasy Garden Tarot, Into The Void: The Black Cat Tarot

April is the month of the Trickster. At least in my world. While I don’t take April Fool’s day seriously, it apparently takes ME very seriously. Already my month and plans have been totally upended. This is by no means a new thing for me–every April seems to be just full of the unexpected, for good and bad. This year is no exception. BUT that means I have an excuse to bring out some really fun decks! Several of these I’ve been waiting ALL FRICKING WINTER LONG to use them and now I wait no more!

Apparently its the month of black and yellow decks… Front to back, Yokai Yochi, Fantasy Garden, Into The Void, Wild Child Oracle, Moonlight

This month, from working on the #DeckCrush tag, I was reminded of my much beloved Moonlight Tarot. This little-known, loosely RWS deck that is made by a Ukrainian artist and is only available from her Etsy page (https://www.etsy.com/shop/Ilisvidess) it possibly the most underrated deck I know of. It reminds me of the 90’s and has some major unexpected twists on the meaning of cards. I just love this deck to pieces, and even went so far as to edge it in black (poorly). From this deck I drew possibly the raddest 7 of Wands ever, and man-oh-man is it a properly timed 7 of Wands; this bloodied rose faced an opponent and though it is fragile its thorns defends its gate from intruders–defend and fight for what is rightfully yours! Don’t give up in the face of adversity.

Then I was so pleased to choose the Into the Void tarot, a minimalist, hilarious deck of just black cats and all their antics. I feel like because this deck is so simple it can be a challenge to use, but at the same time, if you know cats you’ll just “get” some of the more puzzling cards! Are cats not the ultimate tricksters? For this month (also very appropriate) I pulled 10 Wheel of Fortune. Remember that you have little control how things go in life, good things and bad things come to pass, it is important to be able to roll with whatever the situation brings. I love on this wheel how it feels very much like The World with reference to the four elements.

Then, to cool things off a little, I added The Wild Child Oracle into the mix because I’ve been itching to use it. I pulled the beautiful XXXI Reverie–remember to keep dreaming, if you get too caught up in just putting out fires and going from one thing to the next, you’ll lose your guiding star. Be mindful of self care and set aside mental breaks during the day and to treat your sleep time as important rest periods. Like, turn your phone off before bed!

I wanted to throw a happy, bright, spring deck in the mix, so I added this newly arrived Kickstarter deck, The Fantasy Garden Tarot. It’s exactly as it sounds; a semi RWS clone with a fantasy twist. This deck is by the same artist that did the Bloody Tears Tarot, and they stuck with their Bic pen sketches. I’m realizing I really love the unfinished feeling of this art style, and again, I get some 90’s fantasy vibes from this deck! While it’s FAR more traditional than their Bloody Tears deck, The Fantasy Tarot does take its own sort of unusual twist on the standard RWS meanings. It’s a very calm deck, all considering. I drew the page of swords from this deck and it’s a very peaceful page of swords indeed! I do like how he has a chaperon wrapped around his head, it reminds me of the famous sketch of Fiore dei Liberi, the sword master from the early Renaissance. With that in mind, my deck seems to be reminding me that while I’m perhaps not as active right now, I still need to be mindful of my student role in my various studies–bad-assery was never accomplished by passive learning!

Last but certainly not least, I have the beautiful Yokai Yochi Tarot. This was the first deck I KNEW I needed to have in this months line up. Yokai, local Japanese spirits and supernatural beings, cavort across its cards doing various nefarious or silly things. With its charming, minimalist, and very Japanese sensibility, this puzzling deck takes the meanings of RWS and turns them upside down, almost like a shadow-self of the meanings, but in a very don’t-take-yourself-too-seriously kind of way. The mysterious three legged crow in the sun card that I drew for this month is indeed a portent–a myth based on a literal crow that calls to predict the future! It brings good tidings, but a reminder that we often manifest what we believe the future will bring in self-fulfilling prophesies, whether we mean to or not. I have to admit, this card is one of my favorites in the whole deck and I’m quite happy to see it!

My month’s reading is all over the place! Stand your ground even against the things that change without your permission. Retreat and find guidance in your dreams and wishes, be ever a mindful student even if you don’t exactly know what you’re doing, and expect success even if that isn’t what you are seeing or experiencing!

What about YOUR April? Do you have certain experiences in this month? Are you drawn to a certain deck?