V. H. King's Ink

believing, healing, being

About My Decks…

a trunk full of colorful tarot and oracle decks and guidebooks
there’s always room for one more deck…

When I first began collecting decks, I was intrigued by monochromatic designs. There was something about black-and-white imagery; it conveyed the basic concepts while letting my mind’s eye fill in the lines with vivid scenes.

As my relationship with tarot readings shifted and I interrogated my own spiritual practices, I looked for decks that reflected the bold determination with which I hoped to face each day–especially in the face of my physical exhaustion, cognitive burnout, and the overall emotional marathon I struggled through. I was drawn to the deck inspired by Welcome to Night Vale and the Bonefire Tarot Deck for their surrealism, vibrant absurdism, and a reflection of what is both endearing and enduring about humankind.

The Rust Belt Arcana holds a special place for me, as it speaks to the connections between industry and the environment. The deck itself, as well as other publications from Belt Publishing, gave me ways to consider my own relationship with urbanization, (dis)placement, and the natural world. Themes of ownership, ancestry, and identity started to shape my relationship to the cards around the same time another wave of (highly publicized) political tensions flooded conversations and continents.

Along the way, I’ve confronted my assumptions and insecurities and anxieties about how my Blackness is perceived by myself and others. I’ve had to do this a lot, and in multiple ways. There’s plenty I could write about that unlearning and relearning, but I don’t have the words yet.

For now, I leave you with the (current) list of decks I keep in rotation for my readings. Items with an asterisk are decks reserved for closed portions of my practice. Where possible, I’ve linked to the deck creator’s site or small businesses. These aren’t affiliate links, by the way, so I don’t receive any sort of compensation if you click on them. They’re simply there for further reading, for anyone who’s interested.