Hi everyone it's Katey, and welcome to another deck review. And today I wanted
to talk about the incredible Monstarot or Little Monsters Tarot by Joanna
Nelson. Now this is such a gorgeous little deck that I've had for a couple
of months now, I bought it secondhand, which I'm very
happy about because the shipping to Australia was not cheap, but I am so, so
very glad that I do have it because I've fallen in love. Everything about this
deck just makes me happy and I've just really enjoyed working with it. So it
comes in this lovely two-part box which just has these really cute little
doodles on it as well as our Monstarot logo here. It's a two-part box,
it's very solid and sturdy, opens up like this, and in mine came this cute little
origami boat which features quite a lot in this deck you can see it on the front
of the box the book and in the deck as well. Then we get the little white book,
which we will talk about later, and of course the cards. The backing is
super cute, it is reversible and again we have these little origami boats that
come up so often in this deck with these little swirls and doodles. which I
just love. The card is slightly larger than a traditional size but they're
still very easy to manage and hold in the hands, the card stock is this lovely
not glossy but shiny slick cardstock and they're bendy without being flimsy. I
really really like this card stock I think it's very easy to shuffle, it
doesn't feel like it's going to fall apart in your hands, it's just- it's
sturdy, it's solid but flexible and easy to shuffle. The cards are borderless
which is just beautiful and these colours are just stunning. So we have this large
borderless card with just at the bottom simple white strip with the title of the
card making them very easy to read, the titles are very unobtrusive, I like it.
This deck is just adorable, in some ways it reminds me a little bit of the Hezicos
Tarot, has a similar feel similar sort of colour, palette that kind of soft
pretty pastels, although these are a little bit more vibrant and you know the
Hezicos is a fae world, a different world, and this deck would be little
monsters, these strange little creatures, it does feel a little otherworldly as
well although being very rooted in the Rider Waite Smith system there's
something very familiar about it as well. It's colourful, forthright, direct, and a
little bit cheeky at times, too, and quite playful I've found. With these
colours and these creatures the deck just feels really alive to me and that's part
of why it's so much fun to work with. Each of the little monsters, each of the
creatures they have their own distinct personalities you know there are all
different colours, different shapes, they have different smiles and little teeth
going on, and they all appear to be doing different things. But the deck still
feels very cohesive, I think Joanna has managed to create a
little world full of all these different monsters that have their own
personalities that are very individual but they come together to form a world
into which you can step and to experience. This deck has a sweet smile
but also has some teeth. I've found it to be very caring and tender when it needs to
be and quite encouraging too but I feel like it'll still give you a little nip
you know if you're kind of engaging in too much bullshit, if you're bullshitting
yourself this deck will kind of give you a little nip and push you in the right
direction. I've also found this deck to kind of really want to achieve win-win
scenarios and like it's not so much about you know just telling you how
difficult things are or what's going wrong, it's quite proactive, it wants to
you know find some solutions to your problems but it wants to do it in a
really positive way, not in a fluffy way, but just in a way that is very
productive and healthy. It wants to find a solution that is beneficial to all
parties and is most useful and most successful most satisfying to everybody,
which I think is a really cool thing, it's a very holistic deck, it has a way
of kind of helping me see the bigger picture and refocusing in on what's
important. Another thing I've noticed about this deck that I really really
like is the fact that in so many of them we have kind of one or two main monsters
but then we also have kind of a couple of other little companion monsters, it's
the best way I can think to describe them. It's very rare that we see a
monster or character all on its own in this deck, almost all of the cards have
multiple little creatures and they're often engaging with each other in really
kind of tender ways. They seem to be supporting each other, there is a
connection between each of the characters it feels like each of the
cards depict a symbiotic relationship of these harmonious relationships, as I said
this win-win approach, it feels like they demonstrating that in these images where
the monsters you know they want everybody to live in harmony they want
everybody to feel fulfilled they want you to reach your best potential but
they also want to reach it themselves. It basically feels like each of these
characters is working together and wants to work with you as well to create a
really beautiful world in which people can feel fulfilled, in which people can
all reach their potential. I know that sounds a little bit corny but that's
what it feels like with me working with this deck.
It feels really optimistic, uplifting, encouraging - it doesn't feel fluffy, if
anything it's the opposite, it's just very idealistic and it's not gonna
settle for second-best. Even though I was so drawn into this imagery when I first
saw it online when the deck was released I was a little concerned that it would
be a bit too much of a novelty, that it would be a bit too cheesy or kitschy,
basically that it wouldn't be a very solid reader, that it wouldn't really
kind of provide useful productive readings, that it might be a little bit
too fluffy or surface-level, but my experience has been almost exactly the
opposite, it's been a really really useful deck and it's become one that I
go to a lot. It's a very versatile deck for me and I find it brings a kind of
light to the situation without you know creating a fluffy narrative to it.
Interestingly this deck also makes me think of culture and how you know they
say that culture is to us like water is to a fish, it's all around us and yet
it's entirely invisible, it impacts so much of how we experience our world and
especially how we frame and understand it, and I feel like this deck is almost
an alien race, a benevolent alien race, who you know comes to earth and can
solve so many of our problems because you know they witnessed our our history
and our experiences but they're also you know removed and detached from you know
the heat of our experience and the weight of our history and so they can
you know provide solutions, whether that's you know to international
conflict or climate change in global warming, whatever it is you know having
that detachment allows them to just kind of see how something can be resolved in
a way that perhaps we aren't able to see, or we're not willing to.
And even though I'm talking big-scale here I think that's also applicable to
our own you know personal lives, on a personal level. These little monsters in
this Monstarot have a way about them that is kind and considerate and validating
but also detached. When they're helping me personally they're not weighed down
by my baggage, even though they're able to witness me and validate me, they're
not consumed by the experience of my past traumas, even if they can appreciate
my past in my history, they're not consumed by them or blinded by them.
They're not weighed down by my history and they also don't allow themselves to
be burdened by my baggage. And in that way I think they're almost the greatest
ally you could have, someone who can appreciate where you're coming from
without buying into your own shit and calling your own your own shit,
supporting you in a really productive way and pushing you to be the best you
can be without invalidating your pushing you too far. There's just kind of a
really neutral, balanced approach that this deck brings to readings, I think. It
just kind of presents things as they are, it shines a light on things so that we
can see them in their entirety and to then approach them in a way that you
know is uplifting, in a way that is productive and proactive, it has a very
bouncy sort of an energy to it that encourages the same from us. Given that
it's so very similar to the Rider Waite Smith as well it's very very easy to
read, if you know the Rider Waite Smith this deck is you know will be an easy
jump for you even if you're a beginner I think you can definitely learn with this
deck as well. It's perhaps not a symbol heavy as the Rider Waite Smith but
plenty of the symbols are still included, just in clever little ways. We do have
the artist signature in every card although it's kind of included in the
imagery and it doesn't bother me at all, I know that might be a bit of a bother
to some people but it's very unobtrusive, it just kind of looks like a little
extra detail in the card rather than you know an obtrusive signature. In some of
the cards even just like the plant life is alive all the rocks and we have a few
cards where mushrooms are anthropomorphised or trees even if they
don't have faces you know their branches look like hands they're doing things
with their hands, their branches. Sp even if there isn't directly another
monster in the card more often than not the plant life around it forms another
character. The images are quite simple in many ways I mean they're not completely
sparse but the backgrounds for example aren't overly detailed, which is
something I really really appreciate I don't have the greatest eyes and
sometimes cards that get too busy - the Shadowscapes is a very obvious example,
an extreme example - but sometimes I just struggle to make out different
details, whereas with these cards the monsters
are you know front and center we can really see what's going on with them and
what they're doing you know their facial expressions and body language all of that
sort of stuff without kind of those little background things getting in the
way and you know confusing the situation. In that way the deck becomes very clear
and easy to read as well. The little white book is perhaps one of my favourite
little white books I've ever read, it would be up there with the Fountain
Tarot for me and that is because I really like what is included. The writing
is quite small so that may be a little bit challenging for some people but that
is because there's so much included in here, it is still a little white book but
I think if this was published by Llewellyn they would pack in a bunch of
white space and note pages and make it a full-size guide book. Each card gets half
a page of information and we have very clearly at the top in bold the name of
the card and then we get three key words for every card making it you know easy
if you just want to have a quick look, a bit of a jog of the memory, and then we
have the artist's interpretation, so the artist explains what the art actually
includes which is part of why I like this so much, it actually describes
what's going on in the card which gives you some insight into why this
particular artwork was chosen. Then we have the card meaning which kind of just
expands on what this card actually means if it comes up in a reading, the
divinatory meaning, it's very direct language that is used as well which
makes it very very easy to read and to apply to your reading and to your life.
We do have one extra card or bonus card in this deck and it is the Illuminator,
which is such a pretty card, I love this colour, the colours that are used and how
you know it really lights up you can see the light in this darkness. The
Illuminator is a special wild card the guidebook says and will be exclusive to
the first edition, so any reprints of the deck won't
include this bonus card. And for the Illuminator the keywords that were given:
illumination, energy, shining the light of truth, and the artist's interpretation,
'The Illuminator stands tall on a mountain beneath the dark sky. He extends
out his hands to the sides and like magic, bursts of light appear and dance
into the form of an arch over him, shedding a bright glow and illuminating
his surroundings. Even in the darkest times, there exists within you, and inner
strength that can bring you hope when you need it. You are a magical being, able
to withstand intense trials and travel arduous journeys, in order to succeed. You
are more than enough. The energy within you will power you when all around you
falls away.' So a cute little bonus card that you can either choose to include in
your readings, either with that specific message that is provided in the little
white book, you might even choose to use it as the significator, or of course you
can leave it out of your readings entirely. So this is just, ultimately, a
very charming, darling little deck that I have had so much fun working with, I
think it's adorable, it's sweet, it's so pretty,
it's beautiful, but it's also just been a really good deck to read with, to work
with. I've done plenty of readings myself with this deck that have all been very
clear, easy to interpret, which can be sometimes a challenge when I'm reading
for myself, not always but every now and then you're tempted to kind of read what
you want rather than you know what the cards are really providing, with this
deck I find it very easy to just be somewhat detached and just get the
message that these little monsters are trying to give to me. When reading for
clients, I found this deck great as well again because it's quite forthright and
clear but there is this level of detachment, not so much because the
little monsters don't care, but more just because they're aware of this bigger
picture and so even though they honor the emotional experience that you're
having right now they're also able to you know detach from the hot emotions
that are too specific to this current moment and to kind of just draw you back
out to regain perspective a little. That's been how I've experienced this
deck anyway and it's been an absolute delight. So I do, I love this little deck
and I'm so very glad I decided to take the plunge and pick it up when it came
up for resale here in Australia on the Facebook group. I think this is a
fabulous Rider Waite alternative, just has such a fun presence and a great
personality, and it's just ultimately a very useable deck. So if you have this
deck I would love to hear what you think in the comments below, or of course if
you have any further questions that I haven't answered in this review please
feel free to ask and I would do my best to get back to you, and until next time
so much love, bye!
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