Deck Review: The Spacious Tarot by Carrie Mallon & Annie Ruygt

I feel the spirit of our ancient Earth in this deck, and a deep love and respect for the ecological interconnectedness of the environments and systems we all share. It's a good deck to use when you need a reminder to remain grounded in your senses; it encourages mindfulness in a way that centers your sensory experiences. Each card really draws you in to the natural world that inspired the deck, lending itself to easily-intuited interpretations and meanings without resorting to rote memorization. It feels like you are meant to draw at least as much from your own experiences as from authors' intent for reading meaning.

I used this deck almost exclusively during my first year as a parent. It had room for me, when my relationship with my other go-to decks felt murky and uncertain as I adjusted to what I now understand was a fundamental change in my energy. For that, I'm forever grateful to the creators. That said, I don't use this deck every day, and as usual I disagree with some of the artistic choices and how they pertain to conventional interpretations. The elements that I most appreciate about it--an invitation to think about Earth on its own timescale, natural forces that create change on their own, all orders of magnitude beyond what humans can perceive--are why I find it a little overwhelming to use too frequently. My life at present is consumed by minutiae, all of it immediate and necessary. While a wider perspective is important to keep in mind, it doesn't always help to be reminded that the details don't matter, in the grand scheme of things. A stream of water may grow into a river that carves a canyon from solid rock, but the kids need to eat today. However, this deck is excellent to use for making the conscious choice to reconnect with the sacred space within yourself, to remind yourself to truly claim the time and space you occupy.

Even if I didn't vibe with this deck at all I'd keep it solely on artistic merit. Each card feels full without being too busy or cluttered, the imagery feels deliberate without completely aping older tarot conventions, and the colors are vivid, allowing for quick identification during readings. Somehow, in almost 20 years of reading tarot, this is my first time with a borderless deck; the landscape of each card goes all the way to the edge, creating a more immersive environment and adding to the richness of the interpretation. Another thing to appreciate is the intentionality behind renaming the court cards to Child, Explorer, Guardian, and Elder to reflect a less rigid binary divide along gender lines.

I like this deck better for smaller spreads, 3-5 cards; the layers of meaning can be overwhelming in larger spreads. This deck also has an "expansion pack": an extra 20 cards that act together as a brief oracle deck that emphasize the four classical elements, the twelve zodiac signs, and a handful of abstract concepts that easily invite a deeper meditation and discussion to understand.

I think outdoor enthusiasts--hikers, campers, roadtrippers, even backyard meditators--may especially appreciate this deck, and the creators' choice to depict natural spaces absent any human figures (or indeed almost any sign of people at all). Beginners, on the other hand, may find this deck a little on the abstract side, if they're not at least conversant in some of the RWS conventions the art disregards.

All in all, I enjoy my experiences with this deck, and would recommend it to other practitioners. I turn to it when I need to remind myself to be present, both within myself and in my environment. And, as the name might imply, it always has space for me.

This post was not endorsed or solicited by the creators. This post was written without the use of generative AI.