exultation tarot: a feminist journey

The exultation tarot is a 78-card deck born from the vision of Amanda C Owens, a spiritual counselor and tarot reader, who sought to create a deck free from traditional patriarchal imagery. Launched in 2015, this project was a community effort, with 32 artists contributing to the illustrations. The deck reinterprets the classic tarot journey through the lives and experiences of influential women, both historical and fictional, chosen for their contributions to joy, empowerment, peace, healing, and guidance.

The deck maintains the 78-card structure, including 22 Major Arcana and 56 Minor Arcana, but introduces significant changes to suit and court card names. For instance, the suits are named Cups (Water), Pens (Air), Pentacles (Earth), and Swords (Fire), and court cards are Princess, Warrior, Queen, and Goddess. Some Major Arcana also receive new titles, such as The Oracle for The Emperor and The Shaman for The Hierophant. This re-gendering and renaming aims to make the deck more resonant for readers seeking a feminist and inclusive spiritual tool.

The project emphasizes diverse representation, featuring over 80 feminist icons such as bell hooks, Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Dolly Parton, Frida Kahlo, and Octavia Butler. Each card pairs a specific woman with a traditional tarot meaning, offering a fresh lens for interpretation. The collaborative artistic approach ensures a varied visual style across the deck, reflecting the diversity of the women celebrated and the artists involved. The deck was intended to be printed by a local woman-owned company in Chicago, aligning with its core values.

This deck is ideal for tarot readers who are specifically seeking a feminist and inclusive approach to their practice, particularly those who find traditional tarot imagery to be patriarchal or non-representative. It will appeal to individuals interested in social justice, women's history, and contemporary feminist thought. Experienced readers looking for a fresh perspective on traditional meanings, as well as beginners who want a deck that aligns with their values from the outset, will find this deck engaging. Collectors interested in unique, community-driven art projects will also appreciate its collaborative nature.

Amanda C Owens, a spiritual practitioner with a Masters in Social Work, developed the exultation tarot after noticing that traditional tarot imagery often alienated new readers due to its hierarchical and patriarchal themes. Inspired by feedback from her TAROT 101 workshops in Chicago, she envisioned a deck exclusively dedicated to the female experience. Owens began by compiling a list of feminist icons, expanding it with community input to ensure diverse representation across various backgrounds and identities. Realizing her own artistic limitations, she embraced a community-driven art approach, recruiting 32 artists to illustrate the 78 cards, each bringing their unique style to the project.