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Title: Verdance Tarot
Creator: Stephanie Pui-Mun Law
Foreword by: Benebell Wen
Publisher: Llewellyn Publishing
Number of cards: 78
Card size: 4.75 x 2.75 in
Box size: 8.25 x 5.5 x 2.5 in approx
Guidebook pages: 320
Purchased or gifted?: Review copy provided by Llewellyn Books
Absolute favorite card: The Tower
Other favorites: (in order from most beloved): Death, The Star, The Devil, King of Cups, Two of Coins, Five of Cups
Notable detail: Large box
Season: Spring
Sabbat: Beltane
Sign: Taurus
Element: Water
Deck compliment: Forest of Enchantment Oracle
Collective Pull: The Fool

Indulge Yourself

First Impressions

This is another deck I wasn’t sure about reviewing. I like this creator’s work but I’ll admit I didn’t fully resonate with the style but also, I wasn’t sure you would either. It’s very colorful and quite “whispy” for lack of a better word. Upon seeing it, I do see that there is a lot to like about it. The guidebook is especially rich sitting at a stunning 320 pages which is pretty much double your normal guidebook or more in some cases. And the art is heartwarmingly comforting and bright. Every card feels sunny, even cards like The Tower and Death. My first real impression about this deck is that you can’t go wrong with it. Whether you’re new or a seasoned reader, this is about as solid of a deck as you can get. Let’s take a closer look at Verdance Tarot.

The Packaging

This is one of Llewellyn’s larger tarot boxes. Most of the decks I’ve gotten from them have been on the smaller side this past year but this is more like the boxes from about two years ago. It's the same size as the Bee Tarot and Witch Sister Tarot for reference.

It’s a full color print both inside and outside and features a magnetic book fold top. It’s decorated in a rich dark green with a vine-like motif featured in the background. The box is beautiful but there are no embellishments such as gold foil or gloss elements. There is a short poem inside the box lid.

If you have Llewellyn decks then the cardstock will be familiar to you. I’ll admit, it isn’t the heartiest cardstock on the market and many have complained about how thin Llewellyn’s cardstock is. Which I understand but I also don’t mind the thinner cardstock. 78 cards is a lot to hold and shuffle and thick cardstock just doesn’t shuffle as well. If you properly care for these cards, then the thinner cardstock won’t be an issue and for me, being able to shuffle well is more important than cards that feel like they should’ve been used as a greeting card more so than a tarot deck.

Sadly no gilding on the cards which is a disappointment since I have gotten a couple of Llewellyn decks recently that do have gilded edges. I was hoping this would be more of a norm for them moving forward but no such luck here. My vote? A really soft, pale watery blue or super soft green would’ve been stunning.

The Guidebook

This is what you call a guidebook. It is thick, lush and full of so many goodies. I’m like fangirling for reals over the expansive amount of information in this book and will be using this as inspiration for a very long time. Inside the guidebook you will find:

Foreword and introduction
A getting started section which is a must read
Meditations
A symbols key which is nearly 20 pages!
Four spreads with examples
A conversation with the artist

And each of these sections has so much to offer. There are plenty of subsections to dig into and learn from. And of course there are the card meanings as well. Each of the major arcana cards comes with a list of keywords or phrases, the meaning and then you get a really juicy bit of information about one animal for every majors card. The hermit has the snow leopard for example and temperance has dragonflies.

The book is of course printed in full color with full page images of the cards. That’s one thing I really love about Llewellyn decks, especially in these larger boxes. You get to see the full image in much more detail than just on the card. Sometimes the eye glosses over details when they’re too small but having a bigger image allows you to meditate or explore a card with more ease.

Theme

This is a nature inspired deck that incorporates plants, animals, the natural cycles of the seasons, and of course spirit. This entire deck is quite earthy but in a very whimsical, fairy like way. And you can clearly see the influence of all of the elements throughout the deck as well as mythical creatures in addition to everyday animals.

Having said that, while this deck is super solid and you obviously get a lot out of the guidebook, I can’t say you are getting anything new. Yes the artwork is beautiful of course and this is a very well done deck, don’t get me wrong. This is really just a general commentary of the tarot and oracle industry as a whole. So many decks come out now and I’ve been reviewing decks pretty consistently for the past two years. And what I’m seeing is mostly more of the same. The art is wide and varied but so rarely do I come across new teaching that really makes me stand up and pay attention.

Do I think you’ll get a particularly new perspective while working with this deck, perhaps not but if that’s not something you’re looking for, then you truly cannot go wrong with this deck. It is a beautiful and masterful expression of the traditional Rider-Waite. And the guidebook has so much additional information beyond the meanings that you could still learn so much from this, especially if you don’t have a solid text to work from.

The Artwork

The art is very classically Stephanie Pui-Man Law. If you're familiar with Shadowscapes Tarot then this will definitely feel familiar to you. It's the same except the colors are more soft greens and yellows. There’s purples and blues as well but overall, the deck is quite warm.

The art is also very whimsical and soft. I call it wispy in the sense that it has a really soft flow to it. You don’t see harsh or rigid lines and many elements look as though they’re dissolving into the background. It creates a really soothing atmosphere that feels gentle and nurturing, even when looking at the more dramatic cards like the three of swords.

My favorite card is the Tower. I probably shouldn’t admit this but I don’t like choosing the more “negative” cards for my favorite. By the way, I have an entire article on why it’s important to look at your favorite cards first in my member portal so if you’re a member, check it out here.

“Verdance is imbued with a sense of gently restorative life force, reflecting an intention to create a deck that serves as a touchstone for those seeking connection with nature, to live in harmony with its rhythm and cycles.”

I think the cards that are your favorites in a deck say a lot about where your energy is so saying the Tower is my favorite card out of this deck felt scary at first but the truth is, I love this card. It features a castle that is being washed away by a gigantic wave and potentially an octopus. You can see the destruction happening and yet somehow, it still looks peaceful. If you weren’t paying attention, you might think this is just a really nice underwater scene.

Then you look closer and you can see fish in the air, a ship riding the top of the wave right on the edge of the image and the castle’s tower is ripped from the foundation with debris blowing everywhere. It feels deceptive in a way, almost as though denial is built right into the image. And I love that for the Tower because I think this card does come with a bit of denial. No one wants to pull this card. No one wants to believe something is crumbling when they do pull the card. We all try to lean on the positive as much as possible when working with it rather than just letting it be the destruction that it is.

I’m quite fond of the Star card as well. I almost went right past it but something caught my eye and now I’m in love with it. There’s a dove using its claws to pull night away from the village below, allowing sunlight to return. I mean how beautiful if that? We talk about the star as the light at the end of the tunnel and what says that better than night giving way to day? The sun is also a star so I think portraying it this way is one of the more powerful versions of this card I’ve ever seen. It’s got me rethinking the Star card in Seasons of the Witch: Summer Tarot. And PS, I’m not saying Summer Tarot is next. I’m working on all four at once so you’ll just have to stay tuned for the next one or join my email list to get notifications.

Own Verdance Tarot

Reading With this Deck

I have found my readings with this deck to be quite balanced. I’ve pulled a fair amount of cards from both the major and minor arcana as well as all of the suits. Which convinces me more that this is just a solid, all around deck. It’s the kind of deck that you can work with everyday for a long time. It doesn’t take all of your energy to work with nor is it so light and soft that you don’t feel like you’re getting something out of it. I would call it a new classic. It’s reliable, easy to work with and pretty neutral in tone. With the exception of the art, it feels just like working with the Rider-Waite deck.

And that’s what I mean when I say this isn’t a radical deck. It doesn’t feel like it's going to blow your mind but it will feel like instant comfort, especially if you’re very familiar with the Rider-Waite meanings.

Collective Pull

I pulled The Fool for you. The Fool arrives in the moment of a sacred beginning. It’s easy to view this card as a moment of recklessness but its truth is a moment of a sacred beginning. A reminder that all true transformation begins with a leap into the unknown, no matter how foolish it might appear to those on the outside. We often romanticize the idea of new starts, but the Fool’s lesson is far deeper than naïve optimism. It’s the courage to unclench your grip on what you think you know, to meet life without pretense, and to trust that the unseen path will rise to meet you when you step forward.

Collectively, this card calls you to loosen your attachment to certainty. The world is shifting, and many of us are being asked to start over — in identity, in purpose, or in belief. The Fool invites you to see this not as a loss, but as liberation. To walk forward with open eyes and a soft heart, even if your knees are trembling with fear.

This is an initiation into trust — not blind faith, but embodied wonder. It’s the willingness to let curiosity lead again, to rediscover the magic in things that no longer dazzled you, and to risk being changed by what you find. The Fool reminds you that wisdom is not born from caution, but from movement. Will you step forward? Don’t wait to have the map. Be the mapmaker.

Season, Sign, Element and Sabbat

I chose spring for the season. I mean really, what else would be more fitting. Spring is like a mini summer. It's bright and lush but still in a muted or subdued way. Recently, Tijana, the illustrator for Seasons of the Witch was telling me someone wrote a review about the Ostara deck and it not being bright enough or that it didn’t have enough flowers. Here’s the thing though, early spring isn’t bright nor is it packed with flowers. For many people, it's still raining or even snowing. The trees are just starting to burst with life. It’s not like the spring equinox hits and suddenly the earth is a flower garden.

Spring is still muted and even though it's poised for growth, we don’t see that until later on in the season. This deck reminds me of early spring and Ostara where it’s clearly warmer than it's been but it hasn’t reached peak brightness yet. Things are soft and gentle and on their way to being at max energy. I think this would be a lovely deck to use from Ostara to Beltane. And Beltane might even be a better match than Ostara if I’m honest. It’s right on the cusp of when things really start to warm up and be more energetic.

I chose Taurus for the zodiac sign. I think we tend to view Taurus as really structured and aggressive because we associate it with a bull and there is some truth to that but Taurus is really quite soft. Taurus people are also quite vulnerable if you really pay attention. They’re not quite formed if that makes sense. They have some idea of what they want but can get lost in their stubbornness which is where we see that bull influence. But ultimately, their energy is not unlike this artwork. It’s vibrant but also gentle. It’s lush but some of it sort of dissolves at the edges like a thought that never truly came together. It’s also very feminine and expressive like Taurus’s planet Venus.

Finally, I went with water for the element mostly because of the soft watercolor nature of the art. There is a lot of flow and ease and free movement here that emulates water quite well. Parts of me want to say air but that didn’t feel heavy enough for the energy of this deck.

Who is this deck for?

Verdance Tarot is made for you if you crave reliability. If you’re someone who values a grounded, nature-soaked aesthetic but doesn’t need every deck to reinvent the wheel to feel worthwhile, this will slide into your practice like it’s always belonged there.

Verdance gives you structure, symbolism, context, examples, and full-color imagery that helps you see the cards rather than just memorize them. It’s the kind of guidebook that can become your training ground.

It’s also for the seasoned reader who knows the value of a dependable classic. If you’ve read with Rider-Waite for years and want something that stays faithful to the tradition while offering a softer, gentler visual environment, this deck is an easy yes. It won’t shock you with radical reinterpretations — but it will support you with clarity, consistency, and genuinely beautiful storytelling.

This deck is not for the reader seeking something edgy, provocative, or genre-breaking. Verdance isn’t trying to be revolutionary; it’s trying to be steady. Comforting. Luminous in an understated way.

If you’re looking for:

a reliable everyday reader
lush imagery that softens without sugarcoating
an expansive, genuinely useful guidebook
a deck that honors nature without being heavy-handed
a gentle companion for spring-energy seasons of renewal

…then Verdance Tarot will meet you exactly where you are and carry you forward with ease.

Deck Companion

I chose Forest of Enchantment Oracle for the companion which aesthetically is much brighter but it still has that same soft, watercolor style that matches quite well with Verdance Tarot. And they’re both very earthy and whimsical and gentle. It was really important to me to choose a deck that would carry this same soft elegance. I can’t see myself using this deck with something that has too much harshness to it. When I put them together which you can see in the photos, it almost looks like the same artist just in two different eras of their artwork.

You can see my review of the Forest of Enchantment Oracle here.

Buy Forest of Enchantment Oracle

Thanks for reading. If you're ready to move beyond collecting decks and into actual seasonal practice - the kind that changes how you move through your days, not just how your altar looks - The Unfolding is where that work happens.

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