The Housewives Tarot
By Paul Kepple and Jude Buffum
Published by Quirk Books
$14.95 USD
One of the things that makes me sad (or crazy, depending on the day) about Tarot is that everyone always seems to take it so seriously. Yes, it is important that people seek insights into their lives, and no, we don't want to mock the energies or Divine Hand that guides us. But it isn't all sitting around chanting and moaning, rubbing crystals and burning incense, is it?
The Housewives Tarot answers with a resounding "No!" This is a whimsical, nostalgic deck that approaches the art of Tarot reading with a tongue firmly planted in cheek. Drawing heavily on '50s style, the suits are creatively presented: the Cups are martini glasses, the Swords are kitchen knives and scissors, the Wands are variously represented by dusters, brooms and mops, and the Pentacles are dishes. The women in the deck (and there are a lot of them--this is, after all, the Housewives Tarot) are coiffed, apron'ed and outfitted in the hottest '50s fashions. The men all have crewcuts and baggy pleated trousers, except for the Knight of Swords, who sports a leather jacket and a greasy ducktail as he sits astride his motorcycle .
(Click here to see images from The Housewives Tarot)
The creators of the deck have beautifully carried through on their motif without missing a step, and flashes of genuine humour can be found even in the usually staid and stuffy Major Arcana. In Justice (XI), for example, a young mother has her son turned over her knees and is wielding a wooden spoon in the direction of his bottom. (This might be the same child who appears as the Page of Swords, who is running with scissors and leaving grimy handprints all over the walls.) The Tower, in most cases a dramatic and unsettling card, is in this deck the torso of a rapturous woman surmounting a prodigious jello mold, replete with fruit. And The Chariot is a lime green station wagon with fake wooden sides!
Yet for all its whimsy, it would be a mistake to dismiss the Housewives Tarot as merely a novelty deck. While I would not recommend it for beginners, more experienced readers will be pleasantly surprised that the deck actually offers some valid insights. I chose this deck to do a reading for my sister, who has a tendency to show up at parties dressed like Endora from TV's Bewitched, and she was suitably impressed with its accuracy.
The deck comes attractively packaged in a recipe box, and includes a tiny instruction booklet as well as some actual recipes (Madame Marlena's Mystical Martini is delicious, really!). If I have any criticism at all of this deck, it is that the cards are printed on cardstock that lacks the gloss and lacquer of other decks, so I am uncertain as to its durability. I'm not sure this deck would stand up to a lot of use, but the enjoyment you get out of it would be worth replacing the deck.
Tarot collectors and enthusiasts would be delighted receiving this deck, as it offers a nice change of pace and a rare, humorous read.
Click here to buy The Housewives Tarot from Tarot Garden.