Pistis Sophia: The Goddess Tarot

wildchilde said:

I have to agree with AJ. Although I like the premise of this deck, every "goddess" looking exactly the same in the face no matter what the cultural/ethnic background and looking 18 even if they are shown with gray hair. It just makes no sense. This should be called the "Maidens Deck" or the "Sophia Deck" as there are no true Mothers or Crones, and certainly no "Pistis Sophias", represented.

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You can now see all the cards online at http://pistissophiatarot.com

The Goddesses and figures we have chosen to represent in the cards are depicted largely as they are in the original texts or worship. And it just so happens that mythology has far more younger Goddesses and female heroines, folkloric figures, saints etc., than older ones. However, some of the older Goddesses in the deck include:

The Fates (Wheel of Fortune): http://pistissophiatarot.com/major-arcana/x-the-wheel-of-fortune-the-fates/
Hsi Wang Mu (Seven of Coins): http://pistissophiatarot.com/minor-arcana/coins/seven-hsi-wang-mu/
Demeter (Five of Cups): http://pistissophiatarot.com/minor-arcana/cups/five-demeter/
Baubo (Nine of Cups) http://pistissophiatarot.com/minor-arcana/cups/nine-baubo/
La Befana (Ten of Wands): http://pistissophiatarot.com/minor-arcana/wands/ten-la-befana/
Grandmother Spider (Adept - King - of Cups): http://pistissophiatarot.com/court-cards/cups/adept-grandmother-spider/

We have also tried our best to depict Goddesses with facial features that fit their ethnicities, and the reason why the deck is called "Pistis Sophia" can be found here http://pistissophiatarot.com/about/the-title/ (also, Sophia herself is our High Priestess card.)

As for "true Mothers", there are plenty of Goddesses in this deck that are mothers, some depicted as such, including Xochiquetzal (Empress) and Erzulie Dantor (Seven of Wands). What we wanted to avoid, however, was having Goddesses in the deck that were dictated by their biology, and we tried to choose the Goddesses for the card based on their myths and worship. And it's actually amazing how many Goddesses weren't worshipped for being Mothers.

Anyway, I personally hope that this deck is at least a step in the right direction to bringing some academic soundness to studies of the Divine Feminine, as opposed to decks such as the Universal Goddess Tarot, which I feel commits the crimes mentioned above to a far greater extent than the Pistis Sophia

Kiama, thanks for the link. I was interested in the deck as soon as I heard it was in the works. The site confirms the promise I saw in the Flickr account.

And I do believe the artist has progressed, as you said, although part of what drew me into the first deck (Sol Invictus) was the very fact that that the art was not conventionally polished and slick and "pretty."

Kiama said:

What we wanted to avoid, however, was having Goddesses in the deck that were dictated by their biology, and we tried to choose the Goddesses for the card based on their myths and worship. And it's actually amazing how many Goddesses weren't worshipped for being Mothers.

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This is what I find really interesting about this deck. I particularly love the depiction of Demeter and the link with the 5 of Cups.

Kiama said:

You can now see all the cards online at http://pistissophiatarot.com
...
Anyway, I personally hope that this deck is at least a step in the right direction to bringing some academic soundness to studies of the Divine Feminine, as opposed to decks such as the Universal Goddess Tarot, which I feel commits the crimes mentioned above to a far greater extent than the Pistis Sophia

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Kiama, thanks for taking the time to post the links and information. I apologize to you and Nic if I was offensive in my hasty comment. I had only taken a cursory look at the pics on a small screen and had not read anything regarding the background of your deck. So, my bad for speaking before thinking! After perusing much of your site, I can say that I do very much agree with your research and I am absolutely sure there will be many people who are quite interested in both the art and the symbolism contained in your deck. Personally, I am still not completely sold on the art, however that is just me and I can't even draw a stick figure so there ya go! Perhaps in time I will be ready for what you are offering...it took me many years to get into the Thoth and for the artwork to work itself into my being and I think this deck will be of the same level for most people who pick it up. And although I am not familiar with the artwork of the Sol Invictus deck I do love Rodney's thought to combine the decks for some very powerful readings. Much success to you with this new deck!

Sol Invinctus is one of my favorites and the Pistis Sophia tarot captured me as soon as I saw it (before even realizing that is the 'sister' deck of Sol Invinctus). Someone proposed (sorry I can't recall who) that it would be nice if this deck would be of the same size as the Sol Invinctus. Wow, that would be great indeed!

Anyway, I can't wait for the Pistis Sophia tarot to reach the market. Any idea when would that be?

The deck is nice, but I find the title misleading. I was expecting a deck based on Gnosticism, not Goddesses. The Pistis Sophia is a Gnostic text that was written in the early days of Christianity.

It's kinda like this: if someone does a deck called the Happy Sphinx Tarot, I would expect it to be based on Egyptology, rather than on cultural relics from all over the world.

Any news on this deck? Anyone heard anything?

the site link has not been kept up, it is just a generic landing page now.

Kiama was on AT in February, so maybe she'll see this and update for us.

is this deck published??

Don't think so