Divination Of Brotherly Love

The Philly Tarot Deck - Second Edition
James Boyle and Gina Tomaine (2023)
I've severely cut back on buying things in the new year for two reasons:  we are paying off a new roof on our house, and we've pretty much run out of room for things to keep underneath that roof.  Still, these were too cool to resist.

They were on the counter at the Reads & Company Bookshop in Phoenixville, and this was the last deck that they had in stock.

Full disclaimer: I'm not at all a religious or spiritual person, but I'm also not disrespectful of anyone's beliefs as long as those beliefs don't infringe on the rights of others.  I'm interested in learning about different beliefs and understanding where other people are coming from, but it would take a pretty profound personal experience for me to cross the line into becoming a believer.  I don't say this out of stubbornness or spite... I simply just don't have faith of any kind in anything, and I have enough respect for those who do have that faith not to fake it or to belittle them for having something that I do not.

I bought this deck purely because I love the city of Philadelphia and I thought that it was neat.  It's not something I ever plan to pursue any further than that, but hey, if that ever changes, I guess I've already got one of the tools of the trade... even if it does come with more pictures of cheesesteaks than the average tarot deck.

Here are some of my favorite cards from the deck, along with their description from the little booklet that came with them.

Any of The Cups cheesesteak cards would be a tempting idea for a tattoo.

If you want a deck of your own, check out phillytarotdeck.com.  They've also got t-shirts, stickers, and other merchandise featuring James Boyle's artwork from the cards.