A 'Bad Bitches Tarot' Commentary.

Publisher: Independent: Ethony Enterprises Ltd.

Box Style: Magnetic Flap Closure

Number of Cards: The traditional 78

"Bad Bitch, Good Witch!" The Bad Bitches Tarot is one of those decks when you get your hands on it, you are moved by how much energy and thought was put into all of the details.... Those that follow Ethony know she loves to call her followers her tarot bumblebees and she uses the symbol of the bumblebee throughout all of her decks. Most of which I have and more of which you will see in Cartomancy Corner upcoming. 

She's followed the card back design from this deck into her others, only changing the backdrop color but keeping the beautiful foiled details of her sacred animal..  The Bad Bitches Tarot boasts a luscious rose petal cardstock.  If you are familiar with the Wild Unknown Tarot, it's very similar except even more silky matte feeling.  This is one of the things I love about the deck the most, but it also can prove problematic which I'll get to in a bit... 

When the deck is stacked on your display or desk, the rose gold guild around the edges glistens in the light adding to its magical energy even before we dive into what makes each suit stand out... 

Nobody could argue that this is a traditional tarot deck, the backdrops are kept modern in minimalist fashion showcasing the feminine figure on almost every card. The minors are more pip like with some having the numbered suits surrounding the character, some with the number of pentacles, wands, etc. worked into the outfit she wears... In fact, the only cards that do not have a feminine figure are the aces which hold the traditional outstretched hand symbolism, but still in an updated way... With that said, those of us that are versed in Tarot can pick out influences and nods to the traditional cards throughout this deck that makes flipping through the strong feminine figure illustrations kind of like a fun scavenger hunt. 

The background hues are slightly variated so that the wands have more of a fiery pink, the cups a pastel blue, pentacles a lighter earthy green, and the air element suit a slight lavender.  The majors all boost a goldish cream shown further down this post.

The women throughout this deck run the gamut of feminine expression. Some of them coming through as vulnerable or demurer while others truly stand in their personal blending of the sacred masculine. A great example of this is while she did choose to use the hand illustration for the aces, she did not shy away from the Kings... It could have been easy to perhaps have decorated crowns with feminine design with no actual femmes on the King cards. Instead, she chose to showcase how a Bad Bitch can hold an authoritative mastery energy and still stand in her femininity.  

Cards I adore!!! 

So many of the cards in this deck were just gorgeous so it was quite hard to narrow down which I wanted to put the spotlight on. The major arcana especially!  Below are the ones that for me come through as small masterpieces, from the illustrating talent to the base design of each card...

The Lovers... Ethony's decks are wonderfully inclusive. You will no doubt find somebody in her decks that you can resonate with. From body size to skin tone there is always representation. In this Lovers card we see a societal example on inclusivity showing love without boundaries.  Even in today's climate, putting out LGBTQ friendly work can be a risk when wanting to place a product into the world for mass consumption. So, I highly applaud the authenticity of having the Lovers card as a same-sex couple!   Just as a lover's card can stand for choice, whether that be choosing passion for a project or passion for a person, the choice made here hits the mark of a deck centered around female sovereignty. 

The Star... As an astrologer I got the biggest smile on my face when I saw that the clothing choice for this woman was not just a T-shirt with a star on it. No, she is cleverly dressed in beautiful constellations... In a card that typically denotes the idea of inspiration my heart beams at the reference to The Zodiac. The combo of constellations that make up our personal astrology serve as insight to our personalities, yes. But they can as well inspire us along our life's journey just the same. From which holds sway over our Pluto to Midheavens, they all influence and energize us.

The Hierophant...  While there is reference to the traditional Hierophant in the crimson cloak that she is wearing, that's really where the similarities end... The traditional depiction of a clergyman has the meaning of moral rightness, a sense of orthodoxy, and being in touch with your belief system. This modern take on the same ideals gets the job done without the pomp and circumstance.  It wonderfully references, the influencers part in today's agenda and how we can get a lot of our ethical compass through the lens of our phones. I found it to be a very smart take on contemporary society. 

Strength... I enjoy how fierce this card comes through! A lot of times illustrators will follow the Rider Waite Smith example of a woman seemingly very much to placate the lion. She's coaxing it slowly, which can be a key ideal of strength. How strength doesn't have to be brutal. But in this deck, it's really as if she's about to unleash her strength upon the situation at hand and I love that for her! I would argue that this card is one of the best, if not the best at illustrating 'bad bitch energy.'

I have the second edition of the Bad Bitches Tarot, so the next few cards are different from the original edition. Some slightly, a few, entirely.

Death... You will typically see in decks the Death card acting as a vibe barometer for the author's attitude towards hard topics.  Death will either see a very 'Grim Reaper' energy with sickle and a more serious tone, or there will be a watered down, glass-half-full energy of rebirth/transition. Those that take the latter road are typically wishing to make this card more palatable for those that either have a fear of death or any other hang up with the gravity it tends to bring.  I appreciate that here we see a Goth Princess, where it still has the sickle and skull, but yet the dress is reminiscent of catharsis through the life of a butterfly emerging. The blending of those two I feel do a wonderful job of highlighting that sometimes we have to remove things from our life in order for others to grow and develop. 

The Empress... While this Empress is depicted with child, she is so with one on her hip as opposed to in her womb. I found this to be wonderfully embracing to anybody working with the deck that has fertility issues.  As much as that is associated with femininity and womanhood, it is not an easy road for all women.  Depicting it in this way I feel leaves it open to interpretation as to how that sense of caretaking/motherhood came into her life. This child could have been adopted. It might not even be hers. She could be providing from a place of aunthood... This Empress still gets the essence across of nurturement without directly aligning it with the idea of pregnancy.

Three of Pentacles...  Here we see that the resources for this woman are slung upon her hips as an accessory. Not lost on me a womans middle is where she holds most of her power. Much like a carpenter's belt would be, she wields her assets/tools as she sees fit. Not being afraid to get dirty in order to bring what she wills to life; she builds through a lens focused in on what is truly important to her at the different junctures of her journey.  I especially love this card took a more creative & feminine flow, reminiscent of painting things into existence as an artist does instead of the more rigid 'building blocks' and blueprint energy it holds in traditional masculine tarot thought.

Nine of Pentacles... The Nine of Pentacles is often seen as the luxury card. In most tarot you'll see a woman in her garden with lush foliage around her and a blinded falcon in her hand...  It's symbolism, the discipline needed to achieve what you want to come to pass or acknowledging the discipline you've already been implementing. I praise the falcon being such a dominant part of her gown, highlighting how important that energy is to experience luxury in your life. Whether it be monetarily or more emotionally derived.

Things that don't quite resonate. 

I'll preface this part of my review in reminding us all of what a commentary is, ultimately a rhetoric filled personal opinion. Therefore, the lack of resonation is entirely a personal perspective. Some of what I say in this part of my reviews may highly contradict how you feel when you hold the deck and that is the wonderful part of connecting with our cards on an individual level... 

It's hard for me to actually find something about this deck that I don't cherish, but above I alluded to something being slightly problematic...  That's the cardstock chosen.... In subsequent decks she has still used a matte printing, however they don't have the rose petal finish... This rose petal finish makes the cards slightly stick together as you're shuffling which arguably I would prefer to super glossy decks. I'm less a fan of those. Either they slip and slide in your hands or overly prompt jumpers. So, I do prefer this over that.

Nevertheless, these cards smudge quite easily... Picking up fingerprints along the way, I find myself wiping the cards quite often to try to preserve the look of them...  While I do the majority of my readings through the Internet, without anybody else touching my decks, should I read in a public arena this is definitely not a deck I would take with me and have a host of other people touching. I feel metaphysically it would hold a lot of their energy until cleansed and in between clients I would feel compelled to go through each card wiping it of residue, taking up value time. The gods forbid somebody at the fair had just eaten a funnel cake! 

With all that said, I see this a moot point as its very much a collector's deck. Somebody who takes their card collection seriously is likely not going use this deck on an everyday basis except for personal use. I do highly recommend adding these to your collection should you come across an available!

Where you can purchase...

Being currently Out of Print the only way to precure a box is through secondhand sites and tarot exchange marketplaces. If you are interested in Ethony's other works you can find them on her Amazon Storefront or directly from ethony.com

The process of understanding the happenings of life alongside our psyche becomes a sacred form of divination when we invite in artistic expression to shine a light for us. To assist us in walking forward with more confidence than before we casted cards. And for that, a love of cartomancy will forever be a lifelong affair for me. Until next shuffle...

Blessings unto thee, and so it is.

Tiffany