Behind The Deck: The Gentle Tarot
Dive into hidden stories, meet the creators, and get an intimate look at a deck that’s so much deeper than just a review.
I first saw Mariza Tovar, the creator of The Gentle Tarot, on my friend Jackie’s Tarot Talk Tuesday live on Instagram and was really captivated by what I saw. So when Jackie kindly gifted me the deck, I had a chance to experience it myself and was in awe. The Gentle Tarot deck creates joy and hope inside of me.
This deck, designed by a self-taught Indigenous artist, is soft and matte to the touch with subtle gilded edges. Each card also has a coloured border that corresponds to each suit, making it a great deck for beginners as well. In this deck, you’ll find that there are some adaptations from a “traditional” deck, like swords becoming thunder and pentacle becoming stones.
Mari was inspired by the animals and nature in Alaska, illustrations of which lovingly adorn each card. Since Alaska neighbours my home province of B.C., I felt an instant connection to the animals in this deck — just like I did with the Great Bear Oracle deck, too. So this is an incredible deck to share with a friend who’s environmentally conscious, who could use some healing medicine and inspiration from nature, or who needs to be reminded of their own gentleness.
I asked Mariza to tell me more so I could go behind the deck and glean even more magical meanings from the deck:
“Through the innocence and strength of the animals I portray I attempt to spark familiarity, respect, and humility. I believe we are one big family...”
Can you tell me a bit about why you started this project and what The Gentle Tarot is all about?
The Gentle Tarot surfaced as a response to not finding the art and energy that I most wanted from a tarot deck. My tarot guide/friend has always been a very warm, feminine energy, grounded in nature and a source of unconditional love and patience. I also believe that our mental health is directly influenced by our connection or lack of connection, and the love found in our natural environment has always filled that gap for me. It is my hope that The Gentle Tarot offers a sacred space to individuals of all backgrounds to remember this connection for support and guidance.
The headline for the deck is, "Heal Your Self, Heal the Earth." In remembering our connection to nature and allowing ourselves to return to wholeness, I would like to believe that this in turn reminds us of our responsibility to be stewards of the Earth and reciprocate this unconditional love. One big, full circle of love.
Did you come to any realizations about yourself, spirituality, or nature as you were creating the deck?
The process of creating this deck has definitely blessed me with many internal/spiritual gifts. This deck incubated for so long, very much held up by fear and lack of faith, and after illustrating the first card - The Moon - it immediately filled me with the feeling that this project was already complete in another realm and all I had to do was allow it.
The outflow of energy from then on, and the deck was illustrated in three months, really pushed away all fear that had stopped me before. Although this was a fear based around sharing intimate parts of my creative spirit publicly, the lesson of abandoning fear has spread into other aspects of my life and I am very thankful for this.
The creative process for The Gentle Tarot also was a constant meditation to feel and follow my intuition for the illustration and writing of each card. I feel as though I had never trusted myself so much as during this process. And although I was nervous about sharing my interpretation and my written voice.
“I see now how following your intuition is like a muscle: it takes practice and it really does respond to the time and opportunity that you give it to grow. Let fear step aside and trust yourself.”
I used to say that anything is possible and that our potential is infinite, but I think it took this stepping stone to really believe it. I still struggle with accepting its success and owning/fully embracing the love that the beautiful tarot community has given me, there is still work to do. I am hoping that the companion oracle deck I am currently working on will allow me to dig deeper and explore the next layer of growth.
Can you tell me about what’s behind the “opening intention?”
The Opening Intention came about pretty organically. I wasn't sure if other decks offered this or not, but it just felt right. This opening intention is an attempt to provide an approachable way to give yourself a moment before beginning and to create a loving space for your dear heart.
Tarot and delving deeper into troubles or situations that have been bothering us can be a very emotional, triggering space. The opening intention is a suggestion for creating a safe space. I left some parts blank so the reader can fill the blank and make the intention more their own. I believe there is a lot of power in intention setting. Acknowledging our desires is the first step in them becoming reality.
Read More: Behind The Deck: Homebound Tarot
Is there something about “nature” you want people to know, or some misconception that they might be getting wrong?
The Gentle Tarot does not overtly press any beliefs upon the reader, but maybe via the imagery and some of the questions in the guidebook, I do hope that we can break down the binary of us versus nature and truly remember that those boundaries are choices. I firmly believe that our mind/body/spirit health benefits from this type of communion. Something to spark this recognition can be as simple as being barefoot in the grass on a sunny day.
If The Gentle Tarot could tell us one thing, what do you think it would want us to know?
You have everything that you need to blossom and bloom already within you, just listen to your heart and trust. You are fully supported.
Much thanks and gratitude to Mariza not only for bringing us this moving deck, but also for sharing so openly.
Find out more about The Gentle Tarot
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Note, this interview has been edited and condensed for clarity and brevity.
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