Combining cartoons and cartomancy, the, soon to be released, Desney Pocket Tarot will be the third instalment of Deckstiny’s Desney Tarot Collection.
Designed and created by Deckstiny alongside artist Eugene Long, the Desney Tarot Collection was recently launched as a Kickstarter campaign. Based upon World popular Disney animations, the Desney Tarot is a modern twist upon the traditional Rider Waite Smith Tarot utilising the long-standing figures, suits, and setup of the RWS.
Who Are Deckstiny?
Based in Thailand, Deckstiny first came about in 2020 when they released their first indy Tarot Deck – The Shuffle Tarot A & B. Formerly known as ‘Shuffle Tarot’, Deckstiny is a team collaboration of Mate Horonumber, Oomsin Phumphat, and a number of other artists and contributors including BigSho.
Over time Deckstiny, alongside their contributing artists, has designed and produced a wide selection of divination decks, all of which are available to purchase Worldwide via their Etsy shop.
Presentation & Packaging
The Desney Pocket Tarot is presented in a small, sturdy, and stylishly designed cardboard silver box decorated with subtle imagery from the deck. Ideal for Tarot readers who may wish to store or display their decks in boxes rather than pouches, the Desney Pocket Tarot fits neatly into a handbag ideal for travel purposes.
What, No Guidebook?
Though Deckstiny has included the odd guidebook with their decks from time to time, there aren’t many of their publications that have done so. The Desney Tarot collection comes without a guidebook thus beginner readers may wish to consider this.
The Cards
Featuring stunning silver-glitter-style card edging and symmetrical silver backs with Cinderella-style pumpkin pictures, the Desney Pocket Tarot is printed on high-quality, 310 GSM Arts card paper with matt finishing making for super smooth shuffling.
Measuring 60mm x 103mm, these pocket-size cards are so much sweeter than the original deck due to their smaller size. This deck seems to suit being smaller as it reflects the imagery of that from childhood films and stories from which the Desney deck originally derived.
Additional Cards
The Desney Pocket Tarot comes with three additional cards, two of which are art cards and the other is a certification card proving the decks’ authenticity and issue number. Each and every Deckstiny deck is limited in print and arrives with a certification card, this is a lovely touch for collectors.
The Desney Tarot Collection
The Desney Collection now consists of three decks; the Desney Kickstarter Exclusive (standard-sized) Tarot, the Pamela Commemorative Collection, and now the Desney Pocket Tarot.
The Desney Pocket Deck VS Desney Standard (Kickstarter Exclusive) Deck
There are a number of differences (other than size) between the standard-sized and pocket-sized editions of the Desney Tarot.
Firstly, the dark grey and gold packaging which housed the original Kickstarter (standard-sized) edition of the Desney Tarot has been switched to stunning silver/ grey packaging for the pocket edition of the deck. Deckstiny have been careful to ensure that the individual cards match the packaging in styling.
Though the imagery on the card backs is similar in shape (featuring a compass-style circle) the actual decor, detail, and backing colours are completely different. The original Kickstarter (standard-sized) deck has dark grey card backs with bright yellow and purple floral artwork, whereas the newer pocket-sized deck features pale grey/ silver card backs with Cinderella-style pumpkins mirrored at the top and bottom of each card. Both decks are symmetrical in design thus ideal for upright and reversed readings.
Whilst the original deck features glitzy gold foil decorative, shiny detailing upon the card backs and titling upon the fronts, the pocket edition has plain matt card backs.
The card edging also differs between the standard-sized and pocket-sized deck in that the Kickstarter edition of the deck features glitzy, gold edging to match the glitzy-gold foil detailing, whereas the pocket-sized edition of the deck has stunning silver edging to match the grey/ silver card backs.
Whilst the original Kickstarter (standard sized) Desney Tarot featured gold-glitter titling and numbering, the pocket-sized edition of the deck has switched to a simple, more child-like font without the gold shiny detailing. I personally feel this suits the deck far more than the original release.
Deckstiny has also added fancy bordering on each of the corners of the cards in the pocket edition, and whilst this looks ok, I personally think that the cards would be better borderless.
The Major Arcana
Whilst the packaging, card size, titling, edging and card backs may differ between the Desney Kickstarter Exclusive Tarot and the Desney Pocket Tarot, the cute, cartoon, dreamy Disney-style imagery is exactly the same. The Desney Tarot combines the magic of Disney with that of divination and the result is quite simply stunning.
Though the Desney Tarot is a modern Tarot deck, it continues to utilise and use the setup of the traditional Rider Waite Smith including the minor arcana suits, major arcana figures, and general titling throughout the deck.
The Minor Arcana
Much like the major arcana in art style, the minor arcana features a range of familiar Disney-style characters which have been casually but cleverly popped into the Tarot’s traditional imagery. The Desney Tarot has made use of the traditional suits (wands, cups, swords, and pentacles) alongside the traditional court card figures; Pages, Knights, Queens, and Kings.
The Suit of Wands
The Suit of Cups
The Suit of Swords
The Suit of Pentacles
Delving Into The Desney Tarot Collection
I have put together a short video-walkthrough guide outlining and further explaining the Desney Collection.
Reading and Working With The Desney Pocket Tarot
Having found the Desney Kickstarter Exclusive Tarot a little disappointing as it didn’t feel quite ‘Disney’ enough for my liking, I’ve got to say, I have much preferred working and reading with the Desney Pocket Tarot. Though the imagery is identical to that of the original deck, the smaller size cards seem to suit the child-based, cartoon-style imagery far more.
Tarot readings can at times feel oppressive and for some, scary. This is certainly not the case for the Desney Pocket Tarot as the images are bright, cheery, colourful, and carry a sense of kindness.
The dreamy, Disney-style images are bold, bright, and really easy to interpret, thus this is an ideal deck for all levels and abilities of readers.
Purchasing and Pricing Information
Whilst the Desney Pocket Tarot is yet to be released, I’m assuming pricing will be between £40 – £80 for the deck as the Desney Kickstarter Exclusive (standard-sized) Tarot currently retails for £92.44 and its companion deck, the Pamela Commemorative Tarot (featuring major arcana cards only) retails at a whopping £48.94
It is certainly worth taking into consideration that due to Deckstiny’s high shipping fees (£35.35) it is well worth ordering not just one but a few of their decks to reduce the overall shipping costs.
Each and every Deckstiny Tarot and divination deck is available to purchase online via their Etsy page.
To Summarise
Cute, colourful, and friendly for readers and clients, the Desney Pocket Tarot is a smaller, sweeter, and much cuter version of the original Desney Kickstarter Exclusive Tarot.
Ideal for readers of all ages and abilities, this beautiful bright and bold Tarot deck is perfect in pocket size as it can be easily slipped into a handbag or back pocket for readings on the go.
For further information on the Desney Tarot Collection or alternative Deckstiny publications visit www.etsy.com/uk/shop/ShuffleTarot
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Product Rating
Disclosure: I was sent the above product for the purpose of this post however all opinions are my own.