The Fool's Journey: Leaving Shangri-L.A.'s Favorite Tarot Decks

Dayna's recent post inspired me to share one of my favorite divinations-slash-artforms with you. Ever since I first read The Hanged Man, I've been drawn to Tarot cards as an art form, from their mystic symbolism to the Fool's Journal that processes through the Major Arcana. Because of its mutable, archetypical nature, the Tarot lends itself to whatever other artistic passions you could ever want to pair it with, from curious big-eyed forest creatures to elegant animal-headed people to ethereal mermaids to sinister lunatic moons. I would like to share my five favorite decks with you.

The Tarot of a Moon Garden is set in a gentle, night-time world that is something of a jungle, something of a circus, and something otherworldly entirely. Trembling lianas and twisting vines are home to fairies, fireflies, and dragons, this deck is wonderful for dreamy-eyed fantasy lovers.

Pay no attention to what is behind the curtain, she told me, but I could smell pomegranates and sea air. One day I would be ready for her wisdom.

A surreal romp awaits you in the Phantasmagoric Theater Tarot. Strange cartoonish images exist in their own Burtonesque dimensions. At times childlike, at others quirkily adult, it will definitely appeal to the indie-comics-loving pop surrealist.

"The history book on the shelf is always repeating itself," he warbled before he sped off. Wonderful, my classmate was right all along: ABBA really is the answer to all of life's mysteries.

The Motherpeace Tarot appeals to the side of me that would have burned my bra and road tripped to Womyn's Festivals around the country, if she had the ovaries to do it. Motherpeace is a colorful, primitive dance through time and myth, perfect for earth mamas and soul sisters.

"You'll need some guidance along your journey," I had been rebuked. I wasn't expecting the menagerie, but they certainly made for conversation pieces whenever I cartwheeled into town.

The Fey Tarot is whimsical with a dark edge, just like the Fey themselves. Modern, anime-influenced art blends with creative details (like a world of toys, pet mice, and star showers) for a playful deck that speaks to inner children and urban fae.

After squabbling forever, we soon came up with rules of our own devising and set about creating a pocket universe, beautiful but temporary.

Dori Midnight's Dirty Tarot is a hand-drawn love letter to kitsch, lowbrow tastes, reclaiming them to celebrate their "beauty, meaning, and essence." With cards for Pretty Ponies, Road Trips, and Snow Globes, pop-culture goddesses will have a divine time with this deck.

There was music and dancing, a inside-out, glittering, transformative world she had never imagined. All she had to do was join the dance.