Diversity in Tarot Decks

Taya

I'm not sure if someone has already brought this up before, but is anyone else frustrated by the lack of diversity in all the various decks out there? I'm seeing so many gorgeous decks coming out and they seem to only feature white people. To me it makes tarot seem exclusionary. And I'm white, so I can only imagine the frustration of people who aren't.

Does anybody have favorite decks that are diverse or don't feature people at all? Of course the Wild Unknown looks amazing and there are some animal decks that look decent. Also Christy C. Roads is in the process of creating the Next World Tarot which features queer people and people of color.

For people of color, is this an issue for you? Does anybody else have thoughts about other kinds of diversity they wish to see in future decks?
 

Shade

The World Spirit has always seemed to me to be the ultimate in terms of Tarot diversity. Looking forward to getting a copy of the new, updated edition.
 

Le Fanu

I think there are many decks that try to be diverse - whether they succeed or not, it's not up to me to decide. As a white male, I guess I'm out of the debate somewhat - but there are decks that take diversity into account. Shade mentions the World Spirit, but there's also the Gay Tarot, which depicts mixed races, as does the Silver Witchcraft and the Fire Tarot and I suspect The Gaian does too. There are actually quite a few if you look closely.

You refer to diversity, I assume you are referring to mixed race depictions since you mention that in your post. There is also the issue of trans and gay depictions but I honestly think that in 2016, many tarot creators are aware of diversity and do try.

I used to wish for more gayness in tarot decks but to be honest - I have a way of looking at archetypes which doesn't feel the need for specifics, but that's just how I work. I can live without gay Lovers cards and have dispensed with two male Significators in Lenormand so I don't personally feel I'm not "represented".

Of course one way of overcoming this is to do animal decks. I think the demand for diversity and the increase in animal decks - like the Wild Unknown, Cat decks, Raven's Prophecy etc - might be connected.
 

Aeric

I'm biracial, but I understand the prevalence of white Tarot decks. In my opinion, it's due to two major influences: the vast majority of the New Age consumer market has been white, and the vast majority of deck creators have also been white. It sets up a visual standard against which much of Tarot is judged in advance. But many creators have opted to diversify the characters.

Much of it depends on what kind of representation the author wants to achieve for their theme. Sometimes it can be as literal as a culture-specific deck like Native American decks, African, Chinese, etc. Sometimes they are "global myth" decks that draw on the foklore and myth from diverse cultures and have corresponding people representing their characters.

I find that the most diverse decks are done by authors who want to create a contemporary "unified world" environment in their cards, more about principles that unite the human race and transcend culture.

As for my favourite decks:

The Gay Tarot offers a nice diverse crowd of guys. The Lovers are an interracial couple. Its female counterparts, Motherpeace and Daughters of the Moon, feature diverse women.

The Cosmic Tribe features mostly white people but several minorities including a hermaphroditic person for Balance (Justice) and three pairs of Lovers: M-F, M-M, F-F.

The Wheel of Change is a mostly female but diverse race deck.

The Gaian Tarot features a broad range of races, body types, and ages.

Tarot of the Silicon Dawn is a great boundary smasher with extra suits, cis and trans people, and diverse races.
 

Dee Ell

My guess (and of course I could be totally wrong) is that since so many users of tarot would be Wiccan and Heathen - both Northern European in origin - a lot of decks are made by or for those populations. When you're thinking of old world England, Wales, Ireland, Denmark, Norway, etc - the Celts and the Vikings - there wasn't much racial diversity. So unless it's a modern deck, I'm guessing a lot of artistic decisions are made on imagining people from those ancient cultures.

That being said, there are more than just a few diverse culture-specific decks for different regions of the world: Asia, Persia, Africa, the Caribbean, Polynesia, South America etc... You just have to search for them in that manner: geographically. There are also a few voodoo/vudu tarot featuring culturally accurate populations...

There is actually a decks section here on AT to find them geographically/thematically...

ETA: http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/themes.shtml
 

reall

imo DV have diversity in her decks!:)) and my fav are Guardian Angels and Fairy Tarot Cards!^^:)) and my other fav is manga Tarot?:)
btw main reason for *lack of diversity in Tarot art is because Tarot become popular in medieval Europe so tradition was not *multicultural but popular iconographic artx,x ;)
 

Barleywine

To me, it really makes no difference; I see people in the tarot as largely symbolic of the forces being portrayed. As long as I can recognize them as what they're supposed to represent, the imagery is a matter of artistic choice. The "stick people" tarots that are out there seem to dodge the whole issue. Of course, I wouldn't want to own one, but their people can be imagined as whatever you want them to be.
 

Shade

The upcoming Modern Spellcaster Tarot is rather on the diverse side as well, the 2 of cups is a pair of gents and all sorts of cultures are depicted.
 
Tinycog Tarot Dream Interpretation Deck