The Sweeney Tarot
This is the online directory of information regarding The Sweeney Tarot. This includes the guidebook, sorted by suit. Find The Sweeey Tarot for sale here: https://www.thegamecrafter.com/games/the-sweeney-tarot
In case you didn’t hear, The Sweeney Tarot: A Comprehensive Guide By The Artist is now available on Amazon! Its long overdue, but we made it there. This guide not only goes over the meanings of each individual card, but also offers a look into how I do readings, talks about symbolism, and has a section on the recurring characters in the deck!
The Sweeney Tarot is a colorful and diverse deck, intended to make cartomancy more accessible and inclusive. The characters in each card each have their own stories that come alive when read, and the interpretations work both as a learning tool for novices and to help seasoned readers see the cards in a new light!
The deck can be purchased through The Game Crafters
If you would like to pre-view the deck, t.here is an online guide on tumblr with full-color images.
The Guidebook is available on Amazon as a print book and a Kindle version is available!
Check out all the other stuff the artist is doing on their art tumblr!
THE SWEENEY TAROT IS TEN YEARS OLD!!
And how are we celebrating this anniversary?
By fixing all of its problems!
When I first made The Sweeney Tarot, it was intended just for myself and I never saw it taking off the way it did. Because of this, I didnt pay attention to certain things, such as format uniformity or sturdy packaging.
But after ten years of reading with it and also talking to collectors and other readers, it’s been made clear to me that these aspects can impair the enjoyment of a deck for some people.
So I spent all summer fixing them!
The original edition came in a folding tuck box. The 10th anniversary edition comes in a sturdier box with an insert- more water resistant and fits like a glove.
The other issue was that the originals were not uniformly bordered, and I spent the summer fixing this:
See the light edge around the first one? Not present in all cards. Fine for me, distracting for others. Fixed in the new edition.
The Tenth Edition is available on The Gamecrafter right now.
The new edition is a little bit more expensive and I understand this. If you dont mind the flaws in the first edition, it is still available at the lower price.
Thank you for all your suggestions and interest!
zombiequeer asked: I just bought your deck today and oh my goodness, your art is absolutely gorgeous. The style just feels so perfect to me. The borders are wonderful; the way they frame the art without getting in the way is perfect. And i really appreciate the diversity. Im like really excited to to get to work with it.
Thank you so much- I’m so glad you like it. I hope they work well with you! Best wishes in all your divinatory endeavors!
Paid reading, posted publicly with permission:
The layout: Conquest, Love reversed, Victory reversed, Valor reversed, Wealth reversed
The first thing that I see here is that the reading is 4/5 reversals, which yes- you are definitely blocked. With the only upright card being Conquest, there is no doubt that this is the goal.
It seems odd that all these positive qualities (love, wealth, victory, valor) would all be obstacles, but here’s the second part to it.
We have two wand (yellow) cards: Victory and Valor. These two sit side by side and this tells me that they are related.
I interpret the Valor card reversed as fear. The Victory card reversed as failure. The Love card reversed can indicate a potential loss of friendship. Wealth reversed is the loss of money.
Here is the thing about moving forward: stagnancy, for all its awfulness, sometimes becomes comfortable. An easy thought is ‘this is my lot in life. This is where I belong. If I move too much in one direction, I lose the few things that I have.'
No one really blames anyone for thinking this. I think most of us have been through this before.
Some people get out of this space with positive thinking or with creative stock exchanges or calling in favors from friends. In your specific case, the cards are encouraging you to work past your fear of failure, fear of losing the things that you do have, and start taking more risks.
Just applying to that slightly better job won’t hurt you. The worst that can happen is they can say 'no.’ Submit something to that paying anthology you came across the other day. The worst that can happen is they don’t like it. Accept and move on.
Looking at this from the other side, though- success is a by-product of living your life well. When we laser-focus on the goal only, that’s where things can easily fall apart. Nurture the parts of your life that you do love and they won’t escape you when you move your way up.
The summation: Take a risk now and then, even if it’s just to test yourself. The things that are important to you will still be there when you fall.
Worth noting: The cards are arranged in a way that makes a little rainbow and I think that’s neat.
A quick summary of some unkind tarot readings I have given:
“You know that… thing… where you keep replaying conversations over and over in your head and thinking about where you went wrong? Stop that.”
“…. daddy issues.”
“Have you considered the possibility that… maybe you’re the one at fault here?”
“You’re about to listen to some awful advice.”
“Stop talking to your ex.”
“I….strongly suggest you stop listening to your aunt.”
About a month ago, I did a spread of no particular structure:
Strength- Hermit Reversed-Hanged Man
Hindsight-Craftsmanship- Servant Reversed.
On New Years, I randomly decided to pull a card and I got Strength. I thought…. ‘be strong, the hard part isn’t over but it isn’t about losing.’
Some nights ago, you might remember, I applied for a promotion and didn’t get it. While going to get some food to take it off my mind, I pulled Hindsight. ‘You didn’t see this coming?’
I’m starting to see a pattern.
I just wonder what it means that my Servant is hanging by his shoes.
I decided to check up on this today, no real occasion other than that I’m putting off things I should be doing for the next show. Single card pull-
Many Projects.
For those of you not following my personal life, I recently went through a position change at work. It’s not the same as a promotion, but I am getting paid more, they’ve taken me off the registers, and I’m basically running my own department. I still have to answer to my boss, but there is more room for me to make mistakes now that I’m not constantly on the sales floor.
The hours have changed as well- now I’m out at 12:30 instead of whenever they decide I’m done.
This gives me time to work on projects.
Many projects.
The fact that I’m kind of using tarot to goof off when I should very well be working on things for the show this weekend is a special variety of sass, but I think that there’s an underlying message here.
I don’t feel like my servant is reversed and I certainly don’t feel like a craftsman.
But this is a slow progress and quantity in time develops quality. And in the meantime when I am working on these millions of things, eventually I may actually be safe to leave the paycheck behind.
About a month ago, I did a spread of no particular structure:
Strength- Hermit Reversed-Hanged Man
Hindsight-Craftsmanship- Servant Reversed.
On New Years, I randomly decided to pull a card and I got Strength. I thought…. ‘be strong, the hard part isn’t over but it isn’t about losing.’
Some nights ago, you might remember, I applied for a promotion and didn’t get it. While going to get some food to take it off my mind, I pulled Hindsight. ‘You didn’t see this coming?’
I’m starting to see a pattern.
I just wonder what it means that my Servant is hanging by his shoes.
My reading for today was the Wheel of Fortune, Aid reversed, and Temperance.
Things are changing and they are changing big. And it will be alright, you’ll get through it. But you can’t rely entirely on other people. For it to be okay, you have to make it okay.
I’ve now had the tarot deck for a number of months. It’s my first deck, and I believe I chose extremely well.
Each card is exquisite–absolutely gorgeous, really. The images online do not do it justice.
The deck is queer/trans/disability/race inclusive, which makes me happy, and I think that the diversity in characters gives the deck some flexibility and worldliness in its …spirit, I guess.
The deck may be more *intended* for interpersonal human relationships and other mundane matters, but after working with the deck for a while, I’ve found that it has grown to be more versatile.
Everyone says that the readings I give are very accurate, and I definitely feel that the deck has a great and unique personality.