Review: Tarot of the Pirates

I’m a huge fan of pirates — even wrote a kids’ alphabet book about them — so when I saw that there was a pirate Tarot coming out a few years back, I had to have it. Tarot of the Pirates is just plain fun.

What do I like the most? Frankly, the artwork in this deck is really nifty, and not what you typically see in Tarot artwork. It’s sassy and brash, dark and dangerous, and the imagery is nicely matched to the Tarot card meanings.

The Pirate Tarot deck is one I use a lot when reading for male clients, or for women who are empowered, independent and strong. It’s got a lot of strong masculine energy to it. The artwork takes on a pirate theme that’s a bit campy but still clever and fun — suits are divided into Coins, Oars, Chalices and Swords. The pirates in this deck are not always sanitized or pretty, but down-and-dirty swashbucklers, male and female alike. Images of the moon, sea monsters, sharks, hidden coves and buried treasure abound.

Keep in mind that if you’re looking for historical accuracy, this isn’t the place you’re going to find it. Although most of the pirates are fairly grungy, they’re still representative of a fairly romanticized version of piracy on the high seas. Remember, real pirates were criminals and violent people who did a lot of horrible things to other people.

One thing I’d recommend is just not even bothering with the little white booklet that accompanies the deck. Some of the card meanings seemed sketchy at best, and it almost seemed as though the creators were deliberately trying to take even the more positive, upbeat cards and give them a negative slant, just to keep with the theme of piracy. Honestly, there’s no need for this – the artwork speaks for itself, and a reader will be able to tell from looking at the cards exactly what meaning is before them.

Another thing I really enjoyed about this deck is the level of activity. Characters don’t just sit around waiting for things to happen to them — no, they go out and get what they want, swing from the yardarms, dig up their own treasures, and stage rebellions when needed. It’s a very active rather than a passive sort of deck. In particular, the female characters depicted have a good deal of agency of their own – they’re sexual and sensual, but they’re also in complete control of their own destinies in most of the artwork. It’s a good reliable deck to use for strong, independent people of either gender.

A quick note: if you’re bothered by the sight of bare breasts in your Tarot, you may want to pass on this deck, because there is some mild nudity – not a lot, but some.

Also, keep in mind that with the Tarot of the Pirates, some of the artwork doesn’t translate exactly the way you might expect if you’re used to using Rider-Waite as your default set of meanings. With this deck, you’re probably going to get a better result, and a more accurate reading, if you read intuitively rather than based upon written interpretations.

My main complaint with this deck is that some of the cards are far too similar in appearance to other cards in the deck. You should be able to tell what card you’re looking at simply by looking at the image. If you have to check to make sure it’s This and Not That, that’s definitely a disadvantage to the deck. I won’t spoil it for you by telling you which cards are far too close in appearance, but if you’re a savvy reader, you’ll pick up on a couple of them, particularly in the Major Arcana.

On the whole, though, I do enjoy this deck, particularly because I’m a fan of the comic book style of artwork that’s used. While I definitely wouldn’t suggest it for a novice, if you’ve got some degree of experience in reading Tarot (and, of course, if you enjoy pirate lore), it’s definitely worth picking up and playing around with.