I was looking to expand my tarot card collection with a deck that’ll be easy to carry around for whenever I’m suddenly in the mood for a reading. I came across the Everyday Witch Tarot mini deck on the publisher website, and as you can see in the photo, it’s small enough to fit perfectly in my hand. The size does make it a bit of a challenge to shuffle the cards — to be fair, this is the first mini deck I’ve tried, so I can’t compare — but the convenience is well worth it.

I absolutely love Elisabeth Alba’s artwork. The deck does not come with a guidebook, so heads up for folks who are new to tarot, but the images themselves are so beautifully evocative that you can almost come up with a full reading even without being familiar with tarot interpretations. (That being said, I find that looking up the various meanings of each card does help deepen the reading, and I personally love the Biddy Tarot website for that.)

The cards feature illustrations of witches, and the images do indeed convey a sense of magic, but overall, I also found the images very grounded in reality. While there is the presence of the esoteric, Alba’s illustrations depict the magic of everyday life, with the witches enjoying non-magical activities like doing yoga or enjoying a day at the beach. This enhanced my emotional connection to the cards, and help make the spreads come to life for me. 

Below, I display some of my personal favourites from the deck: 

First, as a cat lover, how gorgeous is the back of these cards (middle image in the above)?! The black cat is adorable, the witch hat and broomstick heightens the magical mood, and starry night sky in the background adds a lovely touch of whimsy.

Vibrant Emotions

The Three of Cups and The World caught my eye because of the sheer exuberance in the illustrations. I love that the Three of Cups features a trio of older women celebrating life and friendship. And The World conveys such a feeling of peace and joy. I love how the witch welcomes the breeze as the wind lifts the hat off her head; her billowing hair and carefree smile reflect pure joy, maybe even triumph, as she takes a moment for herself on the sandy shore.

Animal Companions

I love that all the cards feature cats joining the witches. There’s a gorgeous card where a witch and her cat are both surrounded by enemies wielding wands, and the image just emphasizes how much these cats aren’t just animals randomly in the shots, but also the witches’ familiars.

I selected these four cards (Judgement, Page of Wands, Eight of Cups, and Strength) in particular because of how they depict that witch-familiar bond. In Judgement, a witch plays a jaunty tune while the cat beside her happily chases a butterfly. In Page of Wands, an orange cat beckons the witch to follow them down a winding path. In Eight of Cups, a witch walks away from a table stacked with cups, and her cat faithfully follows by her side. And how beautiful is the image depicting strength? A witch has clearly gained a lion’s trust and affection — he calmly licks her hand while a black cat watches with pride.

Choices and Possibilities

And finally, how gorgeous are these cards for The Fool and Seven of Cups?! I love all the possibilities illustrated amongst the cups in the Seven of Cups card, and this sense that the witch is exploring all the options before her. And The Fool is just hilariously awesome, of course. With her eyes closed, she seems blissfully oblivious as she steps off the edge of a cliff. Yet you see the broom between her legs, and know she’s not about to fall; rather, she’s going to take a wild flight into the unknown.

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Thank you to Thomas Allen for a copy of this tarot deck in exchange for an honest review.