Perfect in pink, The Sakura Spring Tarot is a brand new Japanese-cherry blossom-themed Tarot deck from Deckstiny. Japan is a country rich in Buddhist and Shinto legends and mythology regarding nature. Trees- cherry trees in particular- have a special significance. Sakura (also known as Cherry Blossoms) represent the impermanent nature of life, not only is the beauty of the flowers short-lived but the trees themselves also have very short lives.
Who Is Deckstiny?
Deckstiny, formerly named ‘Shuffle Tarot’ is a Thailand-based company that has created numerous popular Tarot and divination decks that are available to purchase Worldwide. Deckstiny is a team collaboration of author Mate Horonumber, illustrator JUJIIR & Petpodpot Pettoonza and artist Oomsin Phumphat.
Perfectly Packaged In Pink
The Sakura Spring Tarot is neatly packaged in a perfect, pink cardboard tuck-box. Both the cards and the packaging are initially wrapped in a protective layer of cellophane and whilst I understand that this is to protect the cards, I personally feel that the plastic needs to be replaced with an environmentally friendly alternative.
What, No Guidebook?
Though Destiny has included the odd guidebook with their decks from time to time, there aren’t many of their publications that have done so. The Sakura Spring Tarot is one of Destiny’s many decks that comes without a guidebook.
The Cards
The Sakura Spring Tarot features seventy-nine high quality, matt-coated, standard-Tarot-sized (120 x 70mm), 360 GSM Japanese quality cards with a linen texture. The Sakura Spring Tarot features a range of bold, bright colours though the deck is very pink in tone, especially the card backs which feature symmetrical, pink-toned scenery with Japanese fonts and a plain white border.
Certification Cards
The Sakura Spring Tarot arrives with three additional cards: two art cards, and a certification card identifying the unique copy number of the deck (Deckstiny prints only a limited amount of each of their decks, and each particular deck is stamped and certified with a unique number).
The Sakura Spring Tarot
First published in 2021, the Sakura Spring Tarot has been designed around the concept of the four seasons, with spring (the time of the Sakura Cherry Blossom) being the main focus.
The Sakura Spring Tarot uses the titling and figures from the traditional Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot setup, this is a modern take upon the traditional Tarot deck.
The Major Arcana
The Sakura Spring Tarot uses a varied colour palette throughout the deck, the major arcana is a prime example of this as the tones vary from pale pink to deep purple and rich blue. The imagery and artwork feature Japanese-anime-style figures to represent those from the more traditional RWS Tarot.
Deckstiny often includes bonus cards throughout their decks, including the Sakura Spring Tarot where they have added a ‘Happy Squirrel’ card.
The Minor Arcana
The minor arcana within the Sakura Spring Tarot uses the traditional RWS suits of Cups, Wands, Swords and Pentacles as well as the traditional court card figures (Pages, Knights, Queens, and Kings).
Shuffling Through The Sakura Spring Tarot
In order to further illustrate and explain The Sakura Spring Tarot, I have put together a detailed walkthrough of each of the cards within the deck.
Reading and Working with The Sakura Spring Tarot
I’ve spent the past week or so working and reading with The Sakura Spring Tarot and I must say, I rather like this deck. The cards feel thick, luxurious, and super smooth to shuffle.
Though I appreciate the use of Japanese-style fonts throughout this deck, I personally find the titling a little difficult to read and would have preferred it if Deckstiny had stuck to one area of each card for the alignment of the titling rather than it being randomly placed from card to card.
Whilst I’m not the biggest fan of anime-style artwork, the Sakura Tarot is really easy to interpret and read and thus is suitable for readers of all ages and abilities.
Purchasing and Pricing Information
The Sakura Spring Tarot is available to purchase online via Deckstiny’s Etsy Shop, where it is currently priced at £48.64, although postage and packaging will set you back a further £32.93 (taking the total of this deck to £81.57 which I understand is quite expensive for a Tarot deck but if you are willing to purchase a number of Deckstiny’s titles simultaneously then you may make an overall saving on the postage and packaging).
To Summarise
Though I’m not the biggest fan of Japanese anime cartoons, I understand and relate to the Sakura Spring Tarot as I appreciate and respect that life is short, much like the life span of the cherry blossom tree (The Sakura). This modern, luxurious, high-quality Tarot deck is ideal for readers of all ages and abilities, especially those young at heart with a lust for life.
For further information on the Sakura Spring Tarot 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.