Magicmakers Tarot and Samhain’s Fae By Beth Allen

“It’s the most wonderful time of the year …”

People in this community generally understand that to mean Samhain, along with all the anticipation, preparation, and excitement in the weeks leading up to it.

Samhain, or All Hallows Eve, is the third and last harvest of the year. Also called the Witches’ New Year, it marks both an end and a beginning as we head into the cold, dark months of the new year.

The farmers used to slaughter any livestock they didn’t think could last through the winter and they harvested the last of the crops. Believing the veil between the worlds of the dead and undead was thinning, they walked the rows of crops with lanterns made from gourds to ensure their harvests weren’t taken by spirits wandering through. It’s believed these gourd lanterns were the inspiration for our modern jack ‘o’ lanterns.

Samhain means so many different things to people. For some it’s a time to light candles in memory of our ancestors or call in spirits for guidance, for others it’s a time to pay close attention to dreams and the messages sent to us from behind the veil, perhaps it’s a time to explore past lives and what that means in our karmic contracts, and of course, it can simply be a time to dress up and have some fun.

Samhain also is the ideal time to bring in fae energy and to respectfully look for portals and openings into their world.

According to lore, Samhain is the time of the great Wild Hunt, when, led by the Faery King, fae folk and spirits ride out into the night sky amid storms, baying hounds, and howling winds.

Tarot is just one of the tools we can use to explore the wild magick of the fae that’s swirling all around us this time of year, and what better way to connect with that otherworld than with Paulina Fae’s new creation, the Magicmakers Tarot.

Fae, the artist formerly known as Paulina Cassidy, offers us the finely detailed illustrations we’ve come to know, but showcased in soft colors of lavenders, pale pinks, grays, and the lightest hues of oranges and peach, which come into view like a winter twilight.

The images are whirling circles and puffs of smoke that suddenly take form: trees that beckon us to them, animals that skillfully disguise their true wiles, and the hidden world of the fae that surrounds us.

Unlike her Joie de Vivre Tarot, with its focus on a colorful variety of magical beings and creatures, or her deck Paulina, which has a darker, dramatic vibe, this deck offers readers the more playful side of the fae.

Yet the art in Magicmakers remains uniquely hers; a fascinating balance between the whimsical and quirky with kick-you-in-the-butt messages — some would say like the fae themselves.

Any reader, new or seasoned, can dive into these cards and bring nuanced and layered meanings to the surface.

The 78-card deck follows the RWS system with the exception of the names of four Major Arcana cards (The Hierophant is The Mentor, The Lovers is Love, The Devil is The Djinn, and Judgment is Renewal).

The deck is published by U.S. Games Systems and comes with a small 83-page guidebook full of Fae’s wisdom and knowledge.

The cards are semi-gloss and a smidge shorter and a wee bit wider than a standard-size card, which makes it wonderfully easy to shuffle for young and old hands alike.

Fae has given readers some of the most beloved, and most widely used tarot decks. Her art is unusual yet accessible, friendly yet distant, with a delicate touch that offers readers her distinctive point of view and artistic sensibility along with traditional card meanings.

Samhain is a time to leave offerings, not just to the people who have passed, but to the fae folk who add their own mischievous, and beautiful, mystery to our lives.