Indie Tarot Deck Review: The Somnia Tarot Is If A24 Made A Tarot Deck
As a tarot reader and a tarot collector, I live for the creative interpretations of tarot decks. And as I’ve recently started to get into indie tarot decks, I want to chronicle my journey by sharing reviews of indie tarot decks that I’ve gotten, so that you can see the wonderful artistry and learn about tarot decks that you might not have known existed.
I’m kicking off this blog series with a look inside The Somnia Tarot.
Who Created It:
Nicolas Bruno, a New York-based artist who transforms his dreams and nightmares into surreal imagery.
What’s the Tarot Concept:
A conceptual photography-based tarot deck inspired by Bruno’s dream journals. Also includes elements of sculpture and costume design by Bruno.
In the information booklet, it’s said that the deck was created during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and that it was completed in November 2020. Each photograph was created on Long Island, New York along its marshlands and shorelines, and the characters were portrayed by self portraiture, family members, and close friends.
How many cards:
78 cards.
Lineage:
Smith-Waite.
Influences:
Jungian archetypes.
Why I Got It:
I came across The Somnia Tarot on my IG feed and I think it was the High Priestess card that I saw that really stopped me in my tracks. I found myself zooming in on the image, and letting myself feel my fear. I felt scared looking at the image, but I couldn’t stop looking at it.
I did some quick creeping and found that the rest of the deck followed a stylish horror that reminded me of A24 films. Think Saint Maud, The Green Knight, Hereditary etc.
I can already see the A24 trailer in my head.
There was something about the imagery that disturbed me a lot. It touched something deep in me.
But as someone who has impulse shopped tarot decks, I let my desire sit for a while to see what rose to the surface.
At the same time that I became aware of The Somnia Tarot, I was becoming more interested in collage tarot decks and to me, photography tarot decks is a close adjacent to it, and I was also intrigued by tarot decks that were Serious.
So, I decided to purchase the tarot deck after seeing that this deck would mark a new direction of my tarot deck collection.
What I Like About It:
From an aesthetic point of view, I absolutely love it.
The tarot deck came in a navy cloth bag made of tulle-like material. It came with a thank you card and a coupon code for a future purchase. The two-part collection box is rigid, and it feels really good -that matte linen finish sure is luxurious, I’ll say.
There is an information booklet inside that is pretty basic but again - the attention to the details is there, as the typesetting adds an extra touch.
The backs of the cards are a little boring for my taste. I don’t think they really pop, but feel a little generic. The backs of the cards are too basic for the imagery, and it’s a shame because this is not a basic tarot deck.
The border layout reminds me a lot of Uusi’s tarot decks, and this is quite pleasing to the eye. The colours of the photographs feel a bit more muted and darker than what I saw in the promotion photos, but the imagery is so damn evocative.
Literally all the cards with the people covered by cloth with rope around their neck creep me out, and I love it.
Shuffling-wise, it is a little awkward to do a riffle shuffle because the cards are not only too thick, even when split into two halves ,but the cards are also just an inch or two too long, so I can’t hold the cards long in each hand to riffle them.
So I split half of the deck into two further halves to try to riffle shuffle, just to see what it would feel like. And the cards have a nice bend and make a pleasant shuffling sound.
I can see that this deck would be a good one for shadow work and dream work.
My favourite cards:
The Sun
Judgment
Two of Wands
Written By: Irene Lo