The Modern Witch Tarot

Deck Name: The Modern Witch Tarot by Lisa Sterle
Artist: Deck Structure: The full 78 Cards, including 22 Major Arcana and 56 Minor Arcana Cards + 1 Extra
Minor Arcana Suits: Cups, Swords, Wands, Pentacles
Dimensions: 2.76 x 4.72 in. / 7.00cm x 12.00cm
Card Stock: thick, with a high gloss finish
Packaging: pop-off lid.
Companion Book: Hardback book of 56 pages by the artist.
This deck is based on the Rider-Waite-Smith structure and symbolism.

Modern Witches, this deck is for you!

No tacky pointy hats and long noses associated with Halloween or spooky imagery. The women in this deck are instead adorned with crowns and/or stylish accessories.

The strength of feminine energy is what we notice first when looking through this deck but masculine energy is not forgotten with the absence of male-forward characters. There is still a lovely balance of male-to-female energy by showing gender-fluid characters or women in traditionally male roles. It’s a wonderful way of underlining the very important concept that we all possess both energies and we draw from both at different times.

Major Arcana – Modern Witch Tarot

If you’re familiar with the Rider-Waite Tarot deck, you’ll have no problem settling into the imagery of the Modern Witch Tarot.

The Magician

One of the first cards is particularly sweet….The Magician is in full command of the tools at her disposal, channeling divine energy from the tip of her wand in her right hand to the tip of her finger in her left hand.

Once we take in the traditional symbol we are used to seeing with depictions of the Magician, wonderful nuances come front and center. This person is young! Her youthful face, playful hairstyle, and white frock give away that she is young in age. But don’t let that fool you. She is in full command of her skills and her focus is on-point, enhanced by her bold red coat.

The Hierophant

The Hierophant teaches her pupils and gifts knowledge to all who seek it. Her tattoos are a nod to her connection to the sacred symbols she interprets through her teachings for us derive divine meaning.

The Hierophant is traditionally depicted by a male character in a Christian religious role. And while this version deviates with a female Hierophant key symbolic images remain:

she sits between two pillars to show that she is in a sacred temple.
her scepter to show her high status in the religious order of her teachings.
two fingers pointing upwards to the divine, two pointing downwards to the earth.
two keys to represent the conscious and the subconscious.
The Hierophant traditionally wears three layers of clothing to represent the conscious, the subconscious, and the super-conscious mind. The Modern Witch Hierophant wears a dress, a scarf, and a layer of tattoos, a beautiful interpretation of each layer, in my opinion.

Minor Arcana – Modern Witch Tarot

Each card of the Minor Arcana is illustrated and closely mirrors the representations in the Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot, but of course with its own modern twist. The symbol for the minor arcana suits looks very familiar, but the illustrated scenes are fun to explore.

The Five of Wands shows 5 women, all from different parts of the world disputing their opinions with each other.

The suit of Cups features big, pink chunky goblets and blue backgrounds.

The Two of Cups uses natural (land and sea) and human-constructed elements (boots vs slippers, clean fitted dress vs cut jeans, and oversized t-shirt) to show differences between the two partners coming together in agreement.

The Suit of Swords is airy, with clouds billowing in the background of each card.

The suit of Pentacles represents the material world and our connection to it. The Six of Pentacles shows a woman who has weighed her finances, has a balanced budget, and is ready to share her wealth with others. Giving to others in need won’t be a stressor for her, and confidently offers gifts of her choosing to others.

Modern Witch Tarot – The Six of Pentacles

The Page of Pentacles is a young woman careful inspecting the pentacle in her hands. She handles it gently, and is fully absorbed studying the coin -new opportunities and financial gain are unlocked with the Page of Pentacles.

Why you will love the Modern Witch Tarot Deck

This deck looks simple at first look, but the layers of meaning and connection wash over you ask you get to know the cards.

I love the ethnic diversity and the characters look like true representations of daily life (or at least mine, accustomed to living in a city where everyone is from somewhere else).

As we move from card to card we also see all different body shapes. I especially love the gender fluidity of feminine-looking characters in the obvious male roles (Kings) and the traditionally male characters (the Magician, the Fool, etc).

Card Style

The colors are bold and bright and the illustration lines are crisp. The artist stays away from leaning on over-feminine motifs or background fillers

The symbols are shown simply and are easy to pick out when flipping through the cards. Clothing is used to add layers and personality to the characters we see in the cards.