Festive Fortune Telling With The X’mas Elf Red & Green Edition Tarot

We may well be months away from the festive period but it’s never too early to talk about Christmas, right? Though I’ve collected a number of seasonal divination decks, up until now I’ve been without a specifically Christmas-themed Tarot deck. That was until Deckstiny sent me a copy of their latest festive fortune-telling fancies – the X’mas Elf Red Edition and the X’mas Elf Green Edition Tarot decks.

Deckstiny is well-known for their cutesy, cartoon-style cartomancy Tarot decks including the likes of the SmithTiny Tarot, Autumn Miss, Tarot, Winter Magic Tarot, Cookie Story Tarot, Porcelain Tarot, and their ever-popular Desney Tarot. The X’mas Elf Tarot is the latest Deckstiny cartoon cutesy cartomancy creation based on the traditional Rider Waite Smith Tarot only featuring a range of mawkish, modern, mellifluous festive figures.

Deckstiny

Based in Thailand, Deckstiny is a team collaboration of Mate Horonumber, Oomsin Phumphat, and a number of other artists and contributors including Jujiir.

Over the past few years Deckstiny, alongside their contributing artists, has designed, developed, and produced a range of modern, cutesy, divination decks, all of which are available to purchase Worldwide via their Etsy shop.

Packaging & Presentation

Both the X’mas Elf Green and Red Edition Tarot arrive neatly packaged in stylish, sturdy, cardboard boxes ideal for storage and display purposes. Each of the colourfully Christmas-themed boxes features bold, bright, festive decor and thumb slots for easy access.

Deckstiny Don’t Do Guidebooks

It is worth noting that Deckstiny does not provide a guidebook with the majority of their divination decks, this includes the Golden Journey Tarot. For beginner/ amateur readers it may, therefore, be worthwhile purchasing a separate guide to the traditional Rider Waite Smith Tarot in order to gain an understanding of the possible spreads, and the individual card meanings.

Festive Freebies

Alongside the red/ green edition of the X’mas Elf Tarot customers will also receive a gorgeous green/ red elf shoe/ stocking ideal for either storing your deck or using for display purposes during the festive period.

The Cards

Both the X’mas Elf Red and Green Edition Tarot cards are printed on 330 GSM matt-coated card stock with red/ green glitter holographic edging. Measuring 120 x 70mm the X’mas Elf Tarot is a standard-sized Tarot deck first published in 2022.

The only real difference between the two decks in terms of card design is the red/green nordic, symmetrical-style card backs and the colour of the edging.

Limited Luxuries & Certification

Deckstiny prints a limited number of each of their Tarot decks, certification of precisely which number deck you have received is usually always included on a signed certification card, as well as being printed/stamped on the side of the packaging.

Bonus Cards

Both decks arrive with a number of bonus cards, these include the certification card (as mentioned above), two art/ packaging cards, a festive notelet card, and what would usually be labeled as the Happy Squirrel card which in the green edition of the X’mas Elf Tarot is the Happy Narwhal, whereas in the red edition of the deck is ‘Mrs Claus’.

Given that the only differences between the two decks are the colour of the card backs, edging and bonus card included, I believe it is entirely down to personal preference as to which option you may desire.

I personally rather like the red deck as I associate the Christmas season with rich reds and golds. I do however prefer the Happy Narwhal card to the Mrs Claus card and thus would find the decision between the two decks next to impossible.

Given that I’m lucky to have a copy of each edition of the X’mas Elf Tarot I have toyed with the idea of combining both decks to make a mixed red/ green festive mismatch including both bonus cards. Whether I can settle with the idea of mixing card colours is yet to be seen…

The Major Arcana

Both the red and green editions of the X’mas Elf Tarot share identical major and minor arcana imagery thus I’ve only photographed one copy of the deck.

The major arcana follows the traditional RWS titling and labeling of the cards and figures. The artwork however features bright, bold, cutesy cartoon characters that are feverishly festive. Whether it’s candy canes, Christmas wreaths, elves, or Santa himself – there’s something seasonal for every reader within this deck.

The Minor Arcana

Following the traditional suits of Wands, Cups, Swords, and Pentacles, along with the RWS classic court cards, the X’mas Elf Tarot minor arcana continues to be cutesy and care-free featuring fantastic festive imagery very obviously following the traditional RWS imagery with a modern twist.

Delving Deeper into the X’Mas Elf Red & Green Edition Tarot

In order to further illustrate and explain both the X’mas green edition and red edition Tarot I have put together a full walkthrough and comparison of the two decks.

Reading & Working With The X’mas Elf Tarot

I’ve spent the past week or so working and reading with both the green and red editions of the X’mas Elf Tarot. The simplistic, stylish, fun, and festive imagery is super easy to interpret and thus ideal for readers of all ages and abilities.

I love how Deckstiny has brought Christmas to the Tarot table with these two decks though I’d personally struggle to choose between the two if I were to personally purchase either one.

Readings are clear, concise, and fun for both the reader and the client. This is a great deck to pull out with a few mince pies and perhaps a glass or two of bubbly or perhaps cocoa over the Christmas period – I’ll certainly be saving this deck for the occasion!

Purchasing & Pricing Information

Both the red and green editions of the X’Mas Elf Tarot are available to purchase directly via Deckstiny’s Etsy Store. They each currently retail at £59.85, though it is worth noting that as Deckstiny is based in Thailand, shipping can be quite pricey thus it’s always worth purchasing a bundle or batch of decks to save on the pennies in the long run.

To Summarise

Ideal for readers of all ages and abilities, both the green and red editions of the X’Mas Elf Tarot are fantastic festive Tarot decks featuring cute, colourful, adorable characters. Though a little pricy to acquire, the X’mas Elf Tarot is the perfect addition to any fortunetellers festive spread.

For further information on the X’mas Elf green/ red edition Tarot or alternative Deckstiny publications visit www.etsy.com/uk/shop/ShuffleTarot

Disclosure: I was sent the above product for the purpose of this post however all opinions are my own.