Review of the Luna Sol Tarot
The Luna Sol Tarot
Creators: Darren Shill & Kay Medaglia
Publisher: Liminal 11
The Luna Sol Tarot is a soothing deck that uses pastel colours and diverse characters to create scenes that are easy to read intuitively. A high quality mass market deck, The Luna Sol Tarot is a great choice for anyone seeking a deck with layers of symbolism but with softer and simpler artwork than traditional Rider-Waite-Smith (RWS) decks.
Ace of Disks. Please note I have trimmed off the white borders in this deck.
The Cardstock
I really like the cardstock in this deck. It’s matte and has the right amount of thickness so you can riffle shuffle it easily without worrying about bending the cards too much. I’ve also trimmed the white borders off my copy of this deck, making it the perfect size for smaller hands.
The Artwork
The soft, pastel colour palette of this deck gives it a gentler and more approachable feel than traditional RWS decks, but without losing the layers of symbolism and meaning that offer depth to a reading. Refreshingly, it is also a very inclusive deck, reflecting people of different body shapes, skin tones, ages and genders. The artwork follows the general RWS meanings, and the scenes depicted are very intuitive to read regardless of reading experience. The backs are not reversible, a fact that never thrills me, but they look good. My biggest issue with the artwork in this deck, which is certainly not a deal breaker, is the borders. I’m generally not a fan of borders and I found that the white borders in this deck suffocated the artwork. I did struggle to connect with this deck until I cut the borders off, but once I did, it changed the whole feel of the deck for me. To me, reading with this deck is like having a relaxed conversation with a good friend, and sometimes that is exactly what you need from the Tarot.
Three of Wands. Please note I have trimmed off the white borders in this deck.
The System
The artwork of The Luna Sol Tarot follows the RWS, but it uses the Marseille numbering system, which is why Strength appears as card X1 and Justice appears as VIII. I personally don’t like when different reading systems are merged within one deck. If you are following the RWS system, I don’t see the value in switching Strength and Justice around when the rest of the deck isn’t following the Marseille meanings or style of reading. It’s not uncommon for a deck to make this switch, but it’s not my favourite approach.
The Guidebook
The guidebook for The Luna Sol Tarot is full colour with a hard-back cover. For the major Arcana you get a picture of the card, a quote and a couple of short paragraphs which explain the cards quite well in my opinion, although no reversed meanings are included. In comparison, the minor Arcana are given a few sentences each and I don’t find them to be particularly insightful. I also think the descriptions of the court cards are disappointing given that these are arguably the most difficult cards in the deck to grasp the meanings of. There are a few traditional spreads included, plus one spread that was specifically created for the deck. Overall, I think the guidebook is okay. It has some good information for the major Arcana, and it is physically well made, but it isn’t a guidebook that is going to be a great resource for a beginner. That said, the artwork for each card can be read intuitively without the need for the guidebook, so beginners could still easily work with this deck.
The Box
Liminal 11’s distinct two-piece, slide-out style box gets mixed reviews across the Tarot community. On the one hand, there is no doubting its superb quality. The box is a work of art in itself, with imagery from the cards featuring on every surface inside and out. It fits the cards and guidebook snugly and allows for easy storage. It is a box inside a box, which means your cards will always be protected. However, whilst gorgeous and durable, I find this style of box to be highly inconvenient. I have multiple decks from Liminal 11, and I don’t keep any of them in their boxes. Call me lazy, but if there are too many steps before I get to the cards then I will reach for a different deck. Hence why all of my Liminal 11 decks live in tarot bags while their boxes are stored away. But that’s just my personal preference, many people have said this is their favourite type of box. Either way, the box quality cannot be denied.
Availability
The Luna Sol Tarot is a mass market deck that is still in print, so it is both available and affordable. This deck can be purchased through most mass market Tarot deck retailers. For anyone located in Australia, you can purchase this deck through my shop.
Summary
So, what do I reckon?
Not bad. 3/5 stars.
I love the character diversity in this deck. The soft colour palette is warming, and the energy of the deck is friendly and approachable. The scenes in the cards can easily be read intuitively, which makes this deck compatible with any level of reading experience. However, I do think the guidebook could be better, especially in relation to the court card meanings. I also don’t love that Strength and Justice are numbered in line with the Marseille Tarot system when the deck follows the RWS artwork and meanings. And as much as I think the quality of Liminal 11’s boxes are superb, I find the two-piece, slide-out style to be impractical. Don’t get me wrong, I love this deck and I use it frequently, but there are just a few things that, in my opinion, hold it back from being amazing. That said, I think this deck does a great job of depicting the card meanings simply but still including layers of symbolism to add depth. If you are looking for a softer and inclusive alternative to the traditional RWS artwork without losing the symbolism, I think The Luna Sol Tarot is an excellent choice.
