The Cosmic Slumber Tarot by American cartoonist, Tillie Walden is a lovely hand-drawn deck that will appeal to artists and creative types. Especially if you are a bit tired of overly refined, commercial style art and ai images. This deck is refreshingly simple and may inspire you to get creative as well.

This Tarot deck is very relatable. The images really remind me of the drawings I used to do in high school, and I mean that in a very good way. These cards give the impression of someone sitting quietly in their own space diligently pouring their heart out into each one of these illustrations.

This style is personal, and honest. While I love many of the mass produced decks available, the artwork often falls a bit flat, in a way that is sort of overly produced and plastic in its appearance.

These drawings feel, oh so very fresh, and real. Like a friend drew them…a classmate in art school…maybe I could have drawn them…

One of the first things I noticed was the way the drawings look like they have literally been colored with markers. Here’s a close-up:

The guidebook it comes with is absolutely adorable. Its a teeny-tiny, full color, hardcover book. It includes:

• Foreword

• Introduction

• Major Arcana

• Minor Arcana

• How to read the Tarot

• Tarot Spreads

• Bonus Cards

This deck is based on Rider Waite and includes the 22 Major Arcana, starting with The Fool and ending with The Universe. The Standard Minor Arcana are here too, Torches, Cup, Swords and Pentacles. The deck includes 2 bonus cards: The Morning & The Night.

The Major Arcana are all well represented here, with drawings that illustrate Tillie’s personal interpretation of the cards. This would be a good deck for a beginner Tarot reader, as the imagery lends itself to intuitive readings.

Plenty of emotion exudes from these illustrations. There is so much joy in the sun and sadness in the Moon.

The Archetypes have all been given personality. The Empress represented as a young mother, The High Priestess Lost in her own world of books, looking within. The Hierophant is drawn as a pompous and self-assured fellow.

Not surprising, the cards read a bit like a comic storybook if you lay them out in a line. Cups are delightful, whimsical drawings. I’m not sure What’s up with the King? Maybe he’s been drinking too much from his cup, but I just love this version of the suit, which is what cups are all about anyways. Love. You can really feel it here.

Honestly, the Swords scare me a bit. There is a lot of blood! The red color of this suit is very intense. And please, don’t mess with that Queen of swords. Not sure what she’s been up to, but I wouldn’t cross her. She REALLY appears ready to literally cut away the things not serving her!

Wands are called Torches in the Cosmic Slumber. This is a very helpful term for beginners, as wands represent fire and so the element of fire is present in most of the card images. Even the Ten of Torches, no fire is present, but I get the feeling the character is about to build one.

The Pentacles align very closely with Rider Waite meanings and illustrations. The themes of growth, building prosperity and sharing wealth flow in a positive way.

The packaging.

I know I’m not the only one out there who places great importance on the packaging of a Tarot deck. But if it has a great storage box, that is a huge bonus to me. This one does not disappoint. The sturdy main box has a trap door on the bottom that shuts with a magnetic closure. This contains an insert that slides out to reveal the deck and amazing tiny hardcover book. Yay!