TAROT CARDS! Tamaraw House is releasing two new decks!

The Dwende Tarot and Trixter Tarot are two distinct 78-card decks from Tamaraw House, created by artist Juan Vincent. These decks are presented as offsprings of an earlier Tamaraw Tarot Deck, all drawing inspiration from the Rider-Waite system while offering unique cultural and energetic interpretations. The Dwende Tarot is rooted in Filipino folklore, featuring 'dwende' elementals, which are akin to European faeries. It renames the four elemental suits to Tagalog terms: Lupa (earth), Ibon (air), Apoy (fire), and Tubig (water).

The Trixter Tarot, described as the Dwende's 'darker, more raw sibling,' explores mischievous energies from various mystical traditions across Africa, Europe, and the Americas. This deck uses alchemical operations for its elemental suits: Coagulatio (earth), Sublimatio (air), Calcinatio (fire), and Solutio (water). Both decks are designed to encourage personal interpretation and a deeper connection to one's spirit energies, reflecting the creator's journey of fusing magical training with art.

Each deck includes a reference booklet with sample divination methods tailored to its specific themes. The cards are standard tarot size (70mm x 120mm), featuring 100% original, custom digital art. The project aimed to fund the printing of these decks and establish a booth at the Pistahan Festival in San Francisco, promoting the creator's work to a wider community.

The artwork for both decks is digitally created, exhibiting a distinct, somewhat abstract and surreal style. The Trixter Tarot card shown features a realistic tarantula, a woven circular motif, and an intricate knot symbol against a stark black background, framed by what appears to be distressed metal corners. This suggests a darker, more grounded aesthetic for the Trixter deck, aligning with its theme of 'shadow and mischief.' The Dwende Tarot card, in contrast, displays a pale, featureless humanoid figure with elongated limbs, set against a textured, mottled blue background with a red, circular, worm-like motif. This card, labeled "0 Ground," evokes a more ethereal, perhaps unsettling, yet spiritual quality, consistent with the concept of elementals and faeries. Both decks utilize bold, contrasting elements and a somewhat raw, unpolished digital aesthetic.

These decks are designed for experienced tarot readers and collectors interested in culturally specific or thematically unique interpretations of the Rider-Waite-Smith system. Readers who appreciate a blend of folklore, metaphysics, and a raw, intuitive art style will find these appealing. Those seeking decks that encourage deep personal reflection and connection to spiritual energies, rather than strictly traditional readings, would also be a good fit. The decks cater to individuals open to non-traditional suit names and a more abstract visual language.

Juan Vincent is an artist who translates energy into sculptures and crafts, with a lifelong fascination for nature and the supernatural. He has been working with energy on a metaphysical level since elementary school. His artistic journey fuses magical training with art, leading to the creation of the Tamaraw House Tarot Decks. The Dwende Tarot and Trixter Tarot are inspired by his personal interpretations of the Rider-Waite system, aiming to tell his story of learning energy and inspiring others to find their own meanings.