I stumbled across an old Tarot Journal from August 2021 and opened it at random on a page with a deck interview of Lacey Bryant’s The Slow Tarot. In terms of artwork, I think that this has got to be one of my all-time favourite decks. I can remember hardly being able to wait for it to arrive from the States – it was a bit of an investment.
There’s only one other deck whose arrival has caused me so much excitement and anticipation and that was the Spacious Tarot by Carrie Mallon and Annie Rugyt.
I couldn’t do without either of these decks… for quite different reasons.
The ‘interview’, if I remember rightly, was inspired by Little Red Tarot’s Deck Interview Spread with some adaptation of my own.
Anyway, enough preamble, here’s the ‘interview’ from my journal.
What is the most important thing that I need to know about this deck?
What is the overriding characteristic? What energy will The Slow Tarot bring?
The Hermit IX
The Slow Tarot is a deck for quiet contemplation. A deck for myself, to withdraw with and probably not for reading for others (not to start off with anyway). For soul-searching and finding the answers within.
This deck has the potential to light the way and guide me through some of life’s big questions, perhaps the dark times when things do not seem clear.
This deck brings a serious energy and is perhaps not for life’s more mundane matters.
Observation in hindsight
This has turned out to be quite true. I certainly don’t approach The Slow Tarot with any issues or questions that I’m not prepared to hear the truth about. I don’t tend to use it for daily readings, but rather for a different perspective or for illumination on cards that I pull from other decks.
It’s also true that I don’t use it to read for others. Some of the images are challenging (disturbing even) and unorthodox.
What is the most important thing that this deck will teach me over time?
I was doing a Google image search for the 5 of Swords when I first came across The Slow Tarot. That card called me so strongly to track down and invest in this deck, I know it holds important lessons for me.
8 of Cups
The Slow Tarot will help me to recognise when things are not working and to know when it is time to walk away. When to take a new path. When to surrender and let go of outcomes I’d become emotionally attached to. And to be humble and grateful for the lessons I learn on the way.
Observation in hindsight
A work in progress. Because I do like to hang on to the bitter end – either out of eternal optimism or mental/emotional paralysis. I’ve learned in the past the hard way the consequences of ‘staying too long at the fair’.
Interesting that the 8 of Cups is associated with Saturn in Pisces. Saturn is the taskmaster, the disciplinarian, and the bringer of hard but necessary lessons in life.
Another thought that I have in hindsight is that The Slow Tarot is an important part of my Tarot journey – it can be a guide for me on this path.
What is this deck’s greatest strength?
If this deck had a gift or a talent what would that be?
The High Priestess II
This is a strongly intuitive deck that will work with me on a subconscious level.
Some of the art in The Slow Tarot tells (to me) a very different story to the traditional cards of the RWS.
The strength of this deck is that it will allow me to develop my intuition and explore my own wisdom through these extraordinary images.
Observation in hindsight
The High Priestess seems to reinforce the thought that this deck for me is one for personal intuitive development and not one for reading for others. I have used it a lot on this site to illustrate my own personal meanings for the Tarot cards which in turn has been a journey of discovery for me by allowing me to express my own ‘knowing’ about the cards and the wisdom they hold.
What are the limitations of this deck?
What is this deck not for?
8 of Coins
Mastery and transformation will take time, dedication and patience*. To get the benefits from this deck it will not be a quick study. And it is not for light-hearted, everyday readings.
Observation in hindsight
* I would also add humility and surrender to that list.
If I don’t immediately get the message from this deck, I need to trust the process, my inner voice, and trust the words that come.
The Sun in Virgo also suggests that the more attention I give this deck to more I will experience of its strength rather than its limits.
What do I bring to this collaboration?
How should I turn up and how can I learn best from studying and reading The Slow Tarot?
5 of Swords
THIS WAS THE CARD! As mentioned above, I bought the deck for this card. I saw it and I knew I had to see the rest. I loved this version of the 5 of Swords so much because it seemed to switch up the usual dynamic of victim/s and perpetrator that we see in traditional decks.
For me, this is the card of ‘do not trespass’. It is a card about boundaries. I need to know my limits and boundaries with this deck and also to use it when I feel my boundaries are in question.
Observation in hindsight
Looking back on this I suspect that I meant that I shouldn’t be trivial or frivolous in my consultations with The Slow Tarot. Show restraint and respect. It seems to reiterate the idea that I should only ask for the truth when I can handle the truth.
This has definitely come to represent a ‘don’t f*uck with me’ card since I started working with this deck.
Where will it take me?
What is the potential in this relationship?
6 of Swords
The potential is to travel through hard times to more peaceful shores. The Slow Tarot is a deck to turn to when life is hard; when I need to face darkness (within or without). This deck offers safe passage through stormy waters if I’m prepared to take the trip.
The Slow Tarot will not sugar-coat the truth.
Observation in hindsight
There is definitely a journey to be taken with The Slow Tarot if I put in the work and allow the time for that path to unfold.
Mercury in Aquarius suggests this deck may push my mental boundaries, a journey to expand my mind and consciousness.
A serious deck for serious questions and intentions. It will challenge me mentally while taking me on a path of intuitive development and self-discovery.
Update
The long-awaited fourth printing of The Slow Tarot deck by @laceybryantart is now available from the Modern Eden Gallery The deck includes two versions of The World in addition to the Atonement card, back by popular demand.
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