So I finally got my hands on the As Above So Below tarot deck this week. I’d been seeing it all over the place and everyone was talking about how different it is. My old Rider-Waite deck is great, but sometimes you just want to try something new, you know?
First Impressions and Just Looking
I opened the box and the first thing I noticed was the artwork. It’s not like the classic tarot images at all. The colors are brighter, and the symbols are way more modern. I just spread all the cards out on my table and started flipping through them one by one. I wasn’t trying to read them yet, just getting a feel for the vibe. Some of the cards made sense right away, but others were totally confusing.
My Shuffle Test Run
After looking at all the cards, I decided to do a simple three-card pull. I shuffled them for a good five minutes. The cardstock is a bit slippery, so a couple of cards flew out onto the floor. I took that as a sign to stop shuffling. I laid out three cards face down: one for past, one for present, one for future.
- The first card (Past): I turned it over and it was the Seven of Wands. But it looked totally different! Instead of a guy fighting on a hill, it showed these overlapping energy fields. I had to really stare at it to connect it to the traditional meaning of defense and perseverance.
- The second card (Present): This one was The High Priestess. In this deck, she’s shown as this deep, reflective pool with a moon above. It felt less like a person and more like a concept. It clicked for me that it’s about trusting my intuition right now.
- The third card (Future): The Ten of Pentacles. It usually means family wealth, but here it was these interconnected nodes, like a network. It made me think less about money and more about building a solid support system.
Figuring Out What It All Meant
The reading actually made a weird kind of sense for my week. The big thing I learned is that you can’t rely on your memory of the Rider-Waite meanings. You have to look at the picture in front of you and see what story it tells. It’s more intuitive. I spent like twenty minutes just journaling about those three cards, writing down what I saw and how it felt.
I think the “as above, so below” idea is about how the big picture (above) connects to the everyday details (below). This deck really pushes you to make those connections yourself instead of handing you a fixed meaning. It’s a workout for your intuition.
My Final Takeaway
It’s a cool deck, but it’s not for beginners. If you’re new to tarot, it might be frustrating. But if you’ve been reading for a while and feel stuck in a rut, this deck will definitely shake things up. I’m gonna keep using it for my morning draws this month to see what else I discover. It already made me look at the Seven of Wands in a whole new way.
