Illustrator: Lisa Sterle

Writer: Lisa Sterle

Publisher: Sterling Ethos (Hachette)

TL;DR: The deck has great diversity in the women it represents, and it’s heavily influenced by the Rider-Waite-Smith deck.

This femme-focused deck replaces the classic Rider-Waite-Smith iconography with scenes from modern life. Sterle really portrays a breadth of activity throughout the deck, from caring for indoor houseplants to riding a motorcycle…all things a modern witch might do.

The level of detail contained in each image is fairly minimal, which presents a slight barrier to intuitive reading. After all, the more symbolism is in the background, the more you can infer from the card. This is the primary reason I rate it 4 gems.

Aside from that, it’s got a strong palette of primary colors, which makes it bold and attention-snagging. That’s good for an ADHDer like me.

Also, some of the imagery is just weird and not at all scenes from modern life. Unless you’re tripping…

I don’t actually have the guidebook for this one. Did you know you can buy just a deck, sized like playing cards, without the whole kit-n-kaboodle? Neither did I, until I mistakenly bought this one. Whoops!

So, I can’t say much about how Sterle interprets the meaning of each card. The overall vibe of the deck, though, is approachable, unique, and somewhat elementary. It’d be a good starter deck, in place of the classic R-W-S deck.

I do appreciate the bonus card, though!