I received the Dark Fairytale Tarot as a birthday gift from some old friends about four years ago. I have used it often since then, and it is one of my go-to decks for reading events. I have a few other older decks, including this one, that I haven’t posted my thoughts on, so I thought I would catch up on some of my deck reviews for them.

 

The Cards

(Click on image to zoom in)

The Major Arcana

Minor Arcana – Wands and Cups

Minor Arcana – Swords and Pentacles

 

It is one of the darker tarot decks and a lot of the images are pretty bleak, yet it has worked out quite well for me in general readings, tarot corporate events, and even a couple of impromptu tarot parties.

I think that while the deck as a whole looks dark and has an eerie atmosphere, some of the individual cards aren’t so bad when you look further into them. The artwork and depictions of the cards in this deck really appeals to me, and this was one of the first decks on my wishlist.

I get more of a gothic emo feel from these cards than actual dark and scary, and that has actually helped me to get my clients to acknowledge some of their repressed emotions and allowed them to express some of the feelings they’d been holding back.

 

Standouts

One of my favorite cards in this deck is the 3 of Swords. I wrote about it some time ago, comparing it to the 3 of Swords in Shadowscapes deck, which is generally considered to be a more gentle deck, and to me, it felt like the depiction of the 3 of Swords in this darker deck was a lot more hopeful.

Here’s what I wrote:

…the girl playing the violin in the picture and the energy of the swords pulsing through the heart makes it seem like more of a furious melodramatic energy, like that of a teenage girl who storms and cries over a breakup, and then the next week finds a new boyfriend who becomes the new current love of her life. It’s like channeling your emotional turmoil into art, music, or poetry, rather than being devastated by a tragedy that leaves you paralyzed and unable to get out of bed.

This certainly doesn’t feel like a scary card at all. A little dramatic, sure, but nothing that couldn’t be fixed.

In fact, in this deck, the cards that are considered “scariest” in tarot are some of my favorite depictions, and the ones that I feel are almost uplifting. Another example is the 10 of Swords.

This image is scary, sure, but there is so much energy to it. The poor girl has been stabbed many times and is unmoving on the ground, but the expression on her face, the fierceness in her eyes, the fact that her eyes are still open and looking right at you…

There’s a palpable sense of the will to survive. “You can try to kill me, but you can never hold me down.”

When I get this card for a reading, I know that the person I’m reading for as been through a lot, but they never stop fighting, and they never give up. It’s quite impressive, actually.

The Hanged Man is another favorite. Again, the kinetic energy here, the openness of her body showing the exhilaration and freedom of movement even though her ankle is attached to a rope.

Most depictions of the Hanged Man feel stagnant and unmoving, and part of the meaning of the card is about delays and suspension, so that makes sense. But just because one part of a project is suspended and put on hold doesn’t mean that there aren’t other lessons to learn or elements that can be moved.

The image of the Hanged Man in this deck shows that even though your movements might be restricted, there is still a lot you can do within that space. Think outside the box – another meaning of the card – and find creative ways to work within the guidelines.

Not all the cards resonate for me though. The Empress stands out for me in this deck for the wrong reasons. If I have to choose the card I like least in this deck, this one would have to be it.

The Empress is usually considered one of the “good” cards in tarot, she represents fertility, abundance, creativity, and she is usually depicted as warm, motherly, and often pregnant. Not so in this deck. In the image, she looks the complete opposite of what usually comes to mind when you think of the Empress.

Her blank expression, unsmiling face, the rigidity of her posture, the bleakness of the landscape, and all the skulls surrounding her throne… definitely not something you’d associate with fertility and abundance.

This card feels barren and hopeless. There is no energy here, no signs of life, except for the presence of the wolf and the raven. Still, I don’t like it for the Empress card, and I really don’t like it in a pregnancy reading.

However, I have done pregnancy readings with this deck, and most of the time, The Sun is the card that comes up and the readings have been positive, so it’s not that the deck is unsuitable for pregnancy readings. It is just that this one card as a representation of the Empress feels really sad to me.

 

Other Things to Note

Handling the deck

As I mentioned, this is one of my go-to decks for tarot events. The card stock is very thin and flexible, and very easy to shuffle, which is what I prefer for events, but it also means that the edges fray easily.

I have decks older than this one that are in better condition although I have used them longer.

Personally, it doesn’t bother me much because I’m not too focused on the aesthetics, and I’ll admit that I do tend to handle the cards roughly, especially during tarot events where there’s a high turnover rate with the seekers. If you are someone who cares about the card stock and prefers cards that lasts longer though, this may be something you will have to consider.

Creative writing with the deck

I also find that this deck is great for creative writers, especially if you write in the genre of dark fantasy or adventure. Some of the Major Arcana and the Court Cards are great for creating characters and the landscapes in these images are perfect for creating settings as well.

These cards are so dynamic and have so much story to them that your book would probably just write itself. They really are fodder for the imagination. I love fantasy novels, and I wrote a few short stories because the images just called to me and I wanted to put stories to them. However, the gothic and fantasy genres aren’t my forte, so hopefully a better writer than me can benefit from using these cards for their stories.

Further Study

I post my work with this deck on Instagram under the hashtag #mmdarkfairytale. You can find more of my thoughts on working with this deck and the individual cards there, and if you are so inclined, I’d love it if you would post your own insights into working with this deck as well.

If you don’t currently have the deck, you can purchase a copy here from Amazon.com – full disclosure; I get a small referral fee if you use this link for your purchase.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts! Enjoy the Dark Fairytale Tarot!