Pirate Tarot
Deck by Carrie and Lucas Amodio.
Illustrated by Liz "Galindorf" Harper.
© 2009 Schiffer
Publishing
The Pirates Tarot should not be confused with
the Tarot
of Pirates deck.
Both are pirate themed tarot decks, but are very different presentations.
Both are pirate themed tarot decks, but are very different presentations.
The first thing I should mention is that the
sample card images displayed above are representative of
what my Pirate Tarot deck looks like after I modified
it. I chose to cut off the large outer borders for
easier handling and usability -- and I think they look nicer
without the excessively large borders with the PIRATE label
on each and every card.The card image at right is what the borders actually look like for all of the cards, making these cards measure in at a whopping 3-3/4" x 5-3/8." After I eliminated the large outer border, the cards measure 2-3/4" x 5." So the cards are still large and are still a bit tricky to shuffle even with the reduced size that I chose to make with my deck.
I simply used a sharp pair of scissors -- and a steady hand -- to modify this deck and round the corners. There are trimming tools and corner rounders available, and I would definitely recommend use of those if you don't feel comfortable with a pair of scissors in one hand and a beloved tarot deck in another. As it happens, I have ordered a card trimmer and corner rounder, but they won't arrive until sometime next week.
In the meantime, I decided that I would simply try using scissors to cut out the "cards within the cards" of this deck. As you can see, there is a perfect tarot card that is showcased in a special border -- but for me, this border was excessive and distracting. As pirates are known for their rugged nature, I figured the worst that could happen was that I would end up with a rugged-looking Pirate deck. But as it worked out, the modification process went well even with a pair of scissors.
I'm not sure, but maybe I should say -- "don't try this at home?" LOL! But seriously, you really can modify a deck with a simple pair of sharp scissors, although the cuts may not be quite as precise as they will be on a cutting measuring board. So you may need a bit of courage, especially if you utilize the 2 of Swords scissor-cutting method for modification.
Below is a comparison of the cards before and after modification, including the back image. As you can see, the back of the cards will be disturbed if you modify this deck, and they will no longer be reversible. Cutting out the "card within the card" cuts into the image of the double skulls on the back.
The center card is Justice before I cut the card out. And the card on the end is the actual image of a scissor cut Captain of Swords -- albeit my scan at the bottom is a little chopped off. But at the top of the card, you can see that it is possible to round corners with a pair of scissors. It may, perhaps, just take a little more patience . . . and maybe a bit more courage to do this?
With a pair of scissors, it only took me somewhere between two and three hours to cut the 78 cards by hand, and I'm happy with the results, so that's really what matters.
I discovered the Pirate Tarot through Koneta's New Path's Facebook page that I visit almost daily. She and I both use a different deck each week to pull daily cards and then post the interpretation to our respective Facebook pages. In the first week of January 2012, Koneta had posted the Pirate Tarot . . . and I was fascinated! I ordered this deck for myself right away -- just couldn't resist, as you know how we "tarot deck-a-holics" can be.
The cards are not colorized, but are replicas of wood carvings to represent pirate life. To look at the cards, it would appear they would have some kind of texture on the face of them, but they are actually laminated and smooth. This deck, however, is based on real woodcuts of the 78 tarot cards, and you can find more information about those at: www.dragonfiresigns.com. The actual wood carved cards do not have that extra bordering around them that are present with the regular cards.
Getting the wood carved cards would be pretty neat, I think, but it would also be costly. Plus, I don't think it would be quite possible to shuffle them. However, I'm sure they are meant for collection purposes only, in consideration of how much wood you would have with a full 78-card woodcut deck.
The cards vary in the shades of wood. Some are more reddish, some are lighter in color. And a few even have the black dots that look like little knot holes you will see on actual wood. But none of the cards have any coloring outside of what is natural. Even the large borders are done with an off-white background coloring with brown and tan shades.
The deck is actually based on the style of RWS tradition, so it's a fun and relatively easy deck to get acquainted with. A few of the Major Arcana card names have been changed to fit the pirate theme of this deck, as follows:
I – The Chirurgeon (The Magician)
II – The Figurehead (The High Priestess)
V – The Bosun (The Hierophant)
X – The Winds (Wheel of Fortune)
XX – The Plank (Judgement)
The Figurehead is the High Priestess in traditional tarot, and it displays the figurehead on the prow of a ship. The Bosun is traditionally known as the Hierophant in Tarot, and this card represents the person in charge of the deck hands. "Bosun" is probably not a familiar word for most people, but in looking to the dictionary, it tells us that a bosun is a petty officer on a merchant ship or a warrant officer on a warship who is responsible for the maintenance of the ship and its equipment. And thus, he will be responsible for the people handling those aspects of ship life as well.
The Wheel of Fortune is interestingly renamed as "The Winds." I can relate to that title, as the Wheel of Fortune makes me think of the "winds of change" that are favorably blowing (when the card is upright). If it's reversed, the winds of change can be rather unfavorable and bring some undesired conditions when one finds himself or herself at the "bottom" of that proverbial wheel in life.
Judgement has been renamed "The Plank" in the Pirate Deck. And most of us know what "walking the plank" means. With hands tied behind one's back, an offending ship member, is sent in judgement to walk down the end of the plank and fall into the waters to drown. These were, of course, archaic practices, even though there are still "pirates" of various sorts in today's times.
Each card denotes a few keywords at the bottom. Some of the words used are even old or archaic in nature. For example, in the Chirurgeon card, the keywords are "transformation, artifice, inspiration." Okay, what the heck does "artifice" refer to? Maybe I'm the only one in the dark here. Time to go look it up!
Okay, after checking the handy-dandy online dictionary, artifice refers to a clever trick or strategy. It can portray trickery, craftiness, or cunning. That would definitely be fitting for the Reversed Magician -- or in this case, the Reversed Chirurgeon. It just so happens that "artifice" wasn't in my vocabulary, but now I know what it means. I think this is a word from older times rather than current speak.
With that said, most of the keywords are modern and easily understood - and do a good job of representing what the card's main meanings are. But you'll find a few words here and there that may prompt you to grab a dictionary or look the word up online.
I personally don't mind having keywords noted on a card. If they resonate with me, fine, if not, I just disregard them and read according to what I see and feel about a particular card. However, some readers definitely dislike having any keywords printed on a tarot card. For some readers, it's distracting, and for others, they simply don't prefer or relate to the choice of the keyword being used for a card. It comes down to personal preference, as so many things do when it comes to the Tarot and various styles and presentations that are available.
The theme of this deck and the special design of wood carving for the cards give this deck a masculine feel. However, there are women featured in this deck, so it's not gender biased. The fact is, in the pirate days it was often considered bad luck to have a female aboard ship. Yet there were some female pirates, a few of whom became famous in their own rights, including Anne Bonny and Mary Read who were pirates of the Caribbean.
The suit names of this deck are:
- Pistols (Wands)
- Swords
- Cups
- Coins (Pentacles).
- Cabin Boy (Page)
- First Mate (Knight)
- Lady Captain (Queen)
- Captain (King)
I thought it would have been nice if this deck had included an actual book to go with it -- something to tell us about how a card relates to the life of pirates. But alas, there is nothing to turn to, not even a little booklet that most decks will provide.
Despite the cards being huge with large borders, the cardstock is excellent! So the cards can hold up to a lot of shuffling. My cards are still quite large, even with the removal of the title borders. But I can honestly say that I am much happier with my modified Pirate Deck! I really don't need a reminder from every single card as to which deck I'm using. I like the thickness of the cards. They are quite sturdy. So even with the one thing I disliked about the deck (the borders), I'm happy with these cards -- and even happier after modifying them to remove the borders. I think they read nicely and are very clear.
In fact, I'll briefly share a reading I did with my modified Pirate Deck, so you can see the cards "in action." I thought it would be fitting to at least ask this deck how it felt about being modified with the border removal. I probably should have asked before I started cutting, but after several cards in . . . it was too late to ask then!
However, I was happy to learn that this deck didn't mind a bit. It emphasized that personal choice is of utmost importance. I used a Past/Present/Future layout to allow this deck to tell me what it was before modification, what it is now, and what it will be in times to come, in terms of the association between this deck and myself.
Past -- Lady Captain of Cups
Keywords: Sensuality, Productivity, Harmony
Even if I had left the borders on, the Pirate Tarot tells me that this was a productive tarot deck before modification. If I had not felt so strongly about the borders, I could have still found harmony with the cards. However, "feelings" with this card are very strong indeed with the Lady Captain from the suit of Cups (Queen of Cups). So the emotional aspects are important to consider. What is right for one might not be so for another.
Additionally, I've never been much of a "formal" person, so I'm not one to insist on being called "Mrs." or "ma'am." I've always welcomed people to refer to me on a first-name basis rather than to use a title when addressing me. Thus the removal of the title on the borders may also relate to my feelings about formality and the desire to be more casual -- because that is what feels good to me. What an interesting concept from the Lady Captain of Cups, and I think this is quite fitting for me!
Present -- The Lovers
Keywords: Choice, Passion, Union
The Lovers card in the center of this reading immediately informed me that modifying the deck was a choice. So this leads from the emotional aspects of the Lady Captain of Cups that indicate a choice that will be right for one person is not necessarily going to be right for everyone else. By removing the borders, the Pirate Tarot tells me that I can create a more wholesome and workable union with this deck. I have done what is right for me, and this deck is absolutely fine with it. And certainly if you do feel more passionate about a deck, you will be inclined to use it more often than to just let it sit on a shelf.
Future -- The Bosun
Keywords: Tradition, Knowledge, Education
Because the modification process has changed this deck to suit me personally, the Bosun comes up to indicate that tradition will carry on. This deck may indeed feel even more traditional to me without the distraction of those large borders (including the title) that I chose to remove. This card speaks of knowledge and education, and so it seems that this deck will be one that will take me on journeys to learn and explore. The removal of the borders has also removed the distractions and the titles that I disliked. And now I am more open-minded to hear the wisdom from the cards.
This was a fun reading to do, and I'm very pleased that I didn't upset the Pirate Tarot by modifying it. This deck seems quite pleased with my choice because of the fact that it was a choice for me to make, and because I am happy with it. We all need to do what works for us personally.
It's interesting that the Bosun card speaks of what is traditional -- and urges us to seriously ask ourselves what traditions we will follow personally. Perhaps the modification was a gesture of the Reversed Bosun's energy, but in doing the border removal, I have created a deck that fits my own traditions more closely and makes me happy to follow. So the energy is upright once again, especially since I'm pleased with the results.
Through the Pirate Tarot deck, you can explore an adventure from the perspective of a pirate's life. Yet the meanings will apply to you in the present and will relate to your personal question. This deck even has a sense of humor. One of my favorite cards (shown at the top in the sample card display) is the Sun which features a rather happy-looking cat who has his paws on the delicious prize of a fish. The Sun is a happy card, and I think this was a fun choice of scene for this particular card. It offers a bit of humor from this deck, and there are other cards that are sure to bring a smile to your face as well.
I felt drawn to this deck because of my love of historical things that are brought to life in such a fun way. Admittedly, I found history classes to be extremely boring in school days, but that was because the teachers didn't make it interesting in a way that would bring things to life and make it seem real. I'm one who loves to explore old museums and historical landmarks -- even though it's rare for me to get the chance. But I like the feel of history and to know that people lived differently in different eras, but they were people nevertheless, and some made their marks on history and became a legend whether due to good reasons or bad ones.
This deck is a reminder that pirate life did exist and was very predominant in earlier history. As I also love watching the "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies (yep, the ones with Johnny Depp in them!), this seemed to be another force that attracted me to the deck when I first set eyes upon it on the New Paths Facebook page. Incidentally, Koneta also owns and writes for the New Path's Tarot Blog which is interesting to explore in the world of Tarot.
So who will find this deck to be most interesting? For starters, I think it may appeal to the masculine audience as an alternative to some of the more feminine types of decks that are abundantly available on the market. The Pirate Tarot may also appeal to those who enjoy a sense of history brought to life. And of course this deck will likely be seen favorably by those who are especially interested in pirate tales, stories, and movies.
Because this deck is also based on tradition, those who prefer tarot decks that fit the molds of the Rider-Waite Smith decks may enjoy the Pirate Tarot as well. Collectors, too, may favor this deck to add to their tarot treasures.
Deck Details - Pirate Tarot
Number
of Cards in Deck: 78
Size of Cards: 3-3/4" x 5-3/8
Included with deck: A single fold out sheet that notes the Past/Present/Future Reading, the Celtic Cross Reading, and instructions for a card game. No individual card meanings are provided.
Major Arcana: The Fool, The
Chirurgeon, The Figurehead, The Empress, The Emperor, The
Bosun,
The Lovers, The Chariot, Strength (card #8), The Hermit, The
Winds, Justice (card #11), The Hanged Man,
Death, Temperance, The Devil, The Tower, The Star, The Moon,
The Sun, The Plank, The World
Suit Names: Cups, Pistols (Wands), Swords, Coins (Pentacles)
Court Cards: Cabin Boy (Page), First Mate (Knight), Lady Captain (Queen), Captain (King)
Back Design of Cards:
