This is another deck I used when reading with my Tarot group. The Symbolic Soul Tarot by Elisa Seitzinger is a unique, beautiful and challenging black and white deck with gold foil accents. Each card in this deck has several symbolic details that allow you to pull meanings out of it when doing readings.

Notice the non-traditional details on the two cards below, for example. One thing that pops out at me is the Charioteer’s closed eyes. The Symbolic Soul guidebook, written by the fabulous Barbara Moore, comes with the deck and provides insight (pun intended). It explains, “To achieve lofty goals, here are some of the Charioteer’s secrets: Spiritual strength is essential. Sacrifice and renunciation are required. After all, if it were easy, everyone would win. Most importantly, the Charioteer realizes that he doesn’t know what he doesn’t know. True wisdom, indeed. His heart opens to the sky infinite possibilities rather than focusing on a specific goal. He allows the sphinxes to navigate, trusting in unseen but trusted guidance. Balancing will and faith keeps the Chariot running smoothly as it races toward triumph.”

The mummified figure in the Eight of Swords jumps out to me, so I checked the guidebook. Keywords are offered: precarious situation, limited options, feeling helpless. Each card has a little paragraph with guidance for reading the card. For the Eight of Swords the guidebook says: “We spend a lot of time and energy avoiding death. Yet many people metaphorically bury themselves, numbing themselves from within and separating themselves from others and from life. They act lifeless and feel helpless as life flows through and around them. Better to do something, anything, than play dead. Unwrap, burst the coffin, remove the swords. Engage.”

The companion booklet includes a few notes about some of the inspiration behind the symbols on some of the cards. For the Hierophant card, symbols were taken from three monotheistic religions: a beard from a Mesopotamian deity, a blessing hand is a mudra with an eye, and the crosier symbolizes an Egyptian staff (the guidebook says “hekat”, but I believe it should be “heka”). No mention is made of the Pharrell Williams hats, however.

Benebell Wen did a great review of this by using her actual brain (and not AI). You can find the link here.

The deck was released in 2022 and is still readily available. You can find it on Amazon or Llewellyn.