Moravia as my Cleric, Into the Void as the Bard, The Lighthouse in Fog as the Monk, Runic Tarot as the Barbarian, and The Wild Unknown Archetypes as my wizard. Arguably my strangest combination of decks yet!
For 2025, I wanted to make my monthly deck choices more creative (i.e. weirder) than I’ve done in the past. Though I’ve only had this blog up and running for a couple years, my friend Val and I have been compiling monthly decks since 2020, and it’s time to mix it up! This month I wanted to take a subject near and dear to Val’s heart, D&D, and base our decks off of it. Though I personally have not done any D&D play, I have heard enough about role playing games to get the gist. I suggested that we make a “party” from our decks that exemplify various classes in D&D. We assigned the basic 12 classes to the numbers 1-12, rolled a 12 sided die five times to determine who is in our party, and we ended up with the Bard, the Cleric, the Monk, the Wizard, and the Barbarian.
I’ll explain my choices as we check out the monthly draw!
For whatever reason, I was really drawn to laying out the cards in a right-to-left order this month. Gotta keep it weird I guess!
I’ve had the Into the Void: The Black Cat Tarot since spring 2023 and this odd, cheeky deck tends to get pulled out more than I’d like to admit. It’s a simplistic, non-standard RWS deck told from a (black) cat’s perspective. But it has a certain quirkiness with the limited black, white and yellow color pallet and the comic-like images that keeps me picking it up from the shelves over and over again. When we rolled the Bard first, I knew that no matter what else, this was the deck I needed. Funny, cheeky, story teller.
Here I pulled the Seven of Wands (and tbh, this deck keeps giving me this card this month so clearly there’s something here), where a cat playfully bats at a feather wand toy. Hmm. Typically I think of the Seven of Wands as the “defend the hill to die on” card. But this kitty seems to be enjoying itself! Perhaps this is a reminder that I should practice the skills needed to defend my hill and have some fun with it! Or perhaps is asking me “what do you need to take seriously and defend? Is there an illusion of threat that isn’t real?”
For my Cleric, I chose the Moravia tarot deck. I cannot help but associate the angels and heavenly beings in this deck as having a religious inclination. This deck is quite healing in is overall feel, though it does not shy away from being brutal when called for.
I drew the sweet Six of Cups from the Moravia. I might find the opportunity to make someone else’s life nicer, and they may reciprocate this to me in turn. There’s definitely feelings of nostalgia, childlike games of pretend, and creating one’s own world. Where do you need to create your own space? How can you care for others there? Where are you playing pretend where you need to set that mindset aside?
The Lighthouse In Fog is a relatively new deck to me and ooftda, it is sure one wild ride of a deck! I’m loving it and it’s strange take on RWS more each time I use it. I chose this as my Monk because it has so much raw elemental power portrayed in it, and is so mystical feeling.
I drew the strange, baffling seven of cups. Typically I think of the seven of cups as “choices” some of which make sense, and others being wild dreams. This at first blush looks like a chess board so of course there’s choices to be had as to where to place your pieces strategically. But when you look closer, you see many (if not all) the pieces are transparent! It may feel like you have many choices, all of which have an impact on the game–you don’t. This is an illusion. Perhaps the choices you see are not yours to make.
Because it requires reading the book and also having a bit of Jungian knowledge (well, technically it doesn’t, but Jungian-ists, you’ll be delighted) the Wild Unknown Archetypes was my choice for the Wizard this month! Also, it’s just plain magical in the strangest way.
From Archetypes I drew a card I’ve never drawn before, which given how much I’ve used this deck, is saying something: LXXVIII Anima Mundi. If this was a Tarot deck this would be The World card. There is a vastness of the universe before you. You will see its complexities and complications. You are but a small portion of the whole, but what part will you play? How can you bring your light to the greater good? Everything is interconnected.
And the Runic Tarot. Possibly the best embodiment for the Barbarian that I have in my deck collection. I don’t feel like there is much explanation needed for this one.
The Runic Tarot gave me V The Hierophant. Usually I think of The Hierophant as the teacher card (and I certainly have several teachers this month helping guide me!), and the accompanying book that goes with this deck describes the figure as the god Forseti. But, it is hard for me to not see a Christian biblical figure in this card, who is holding a tablet of commandments. It also makes me uneasy to see the dog at his side holding a sword at the ready, and the ground splitting under the people in the foreground. With the current political upheaval, I am getting strong “submit to my god, or else vibes.” Ick!
Well, seems like a troubled month is ahead. There’s a lot of discerning I need to do, to see what really matters vs what does not, what is an illusion, and what is real. With two sevens in this draw, there’s a critical turning point I’m wavering at. It seems like there is a whole lot of “everything, everywhere, all at once” feeling, and while there is a connection to the universe at large, there is also a looming figure that, while trying to look like they are kindly and giving and holy, are actually very oppressive (I mean, duh.). I get the sense I have to defend my position without looking like I’m on the defensive, as if I have to appear like I’m “at one” with the world, but really I’m planning for the long game. Woof.
How is YOUR March looking? Have you ever made a D&D party of your decks before?
Here’s a sweet picture of my lovely elderly cat for those that stuck with me though this one:
