Sun and Moon Tarot Deck — Vanessa Decort Thoth-Based 78-Card Deck

Short description:

Sun and Moon Tarot deck — a visually striking 78-card deck by artist Vanessa Decort that draws on Thoth Tarot structure while presenting imagery through a bold, modern aesthetic. The Sun and Moon symbolism runs through the deck, balancing solar and lunar, active and receptive energies. The art features diverse, expressive figures in rich, saturated colours. Suitable for both Thoth-based reading practice and readers drawn to the deck’s strong visual identity. A popular choice for readers who want something off the beaten track while retaining esoteric depth.

Description:

Quick Specs

• Deck: Sun and Moon Tarot
• Artist/Creator: Vanessa Decort
• Publisher: U.S. Games Systems
• System: Thoth-based (Crowley structure)
• Cards: 78
• Best for: Thoth learners, intuitive readers, collectors, readers wanting accessible esoteric imagery

Thoth Symbolism Through an Accessible Lens

Vanessa Decort created the Sun and Moon Tarot as a personal study project, drawing on her background as a children's book illustrator and book cover designer to translate the Thoth Tarot's dense esoteric symbolism into a cleaner, more approachable visual language. The deck follows the Thoth Tarot structure faithfully, using Crowley's Major Arcana titles (Art for Temperance, Adjustment for Justice, the Universe for the World), Thoth court card names (Knights, Queens, Princes, Princesses), and Crowley's key words printed at the top of each Minor Arcana card. This structural fidelity means the Sun and Moon Tarot is a genuine Thoth-system deck, not simply a decoratively inspired one.

What makes this deck unusual within the Thoth tradition is Decort's decision to strip away visual complexity rather than add to it. Where Harris's original Thoth paintings are saturated with projective geometry, astrological symbols, and dense layered imagery, the Sun and Moon Tarot reduces each card to its most essential visual elements. The figures throughout the deck have no facial features, a deliberate choice that removes the interpretive shortcut of reading facial expressions and instead asks the reader to engage with posture, color palette, and symbolic placement. The effect, noted by reviewers consistently, is that readings become more intuitive and less formula-driven. Browse my tarot decks collection to explore the full range of Thoth-influenced and other esoteric decks.

Art, Symbolism, and Practical Considerations

The deck's color palette is warm and deliberate: each suit is associated with a dominant color family, which makes it easy to identify suit distribution in a spread at a glance. Decort incorporates symbols from astrology, alchemy, the I Ching, Kabbalism, yoga, Egyptian and Greek mythology, and the runes throughout the Major Arcana, most prominently. The Majors carry Hebrew letters as the Thoth system requires, and astrological symbols appear throughout. The result is a deck that carries genuine esoteric depth without the visual density that makes the original Thoth deck intimidating for many readers.

This is not a recommended first deck for someone with no tarot background. The Thoth court card structure (Princes and Princesses replacing Knights and Pages), the renamed Majors, and the key word system on the Minors all require a different interpretive framework than Rider-Waite-Smith decks. For practitioners who already know one system and want to expand into the Thoth tradition, the Sun and Moon Tarot is consistently described as the most accessible entry point available, more approachable than Harris's original while remaining true to Crowley's structure.

How to Use the Sun and Moon Tarot

The Tarot Fellow Standard

I carry the Sun and Moon Tarot because it fills a genuine gap: a Thoth-based deck that is visually approachable enough for readers who are not already steeped in ceremonial magic or Qabalistic study. Decort's children's book background gave her an economy of visual storytelling that translates exceptionally well to tarot. The faceless figures, which seem like a limitation at first, turn out to free the reading in ways that more detailed decks do not. For practitioners interested in this deck's celestial and lunar themes, browse my sun and stars collection for complementary pieces.

Frequently Asked Questions