The Vedic Tarot: East Meets West, by Dwina Murphy-Gibb
RedFeather, 978-0764368202, 288 pages, 81 cards, September 2024

Dwina Murphy-Gibb has created a masterful tarot deck with influences from the Vedic, Irish, Qabbalistic, and Rider-Waite-Smith traditions in The Vedic Tarot: East Meets West. From the brightly colored illustrations to the wealth of information presented in the guidebook, this deck is a feast for the eyes and wisdom for the soul.

Born and raised in Northern Ireland, Dwina Murphy-Gibb was educated at Hornsey Art College in England. Her published works include three books of poetry, three novels, and numerous short stories. In addition to two plays, she has also produced a few independent films. You can learn more about Murphy-Gibb on her website.

What interested me most about this deck was the reference to “East Meets West.”  Murphy-Gibb shares that her first deck of cards was a deck of playing cards. This was due to her grandmother’s disdain for tarot cards. Her first tarot deck was a Rider-Waite-Smith (RWS) deck, followed by the Etteilla and Aquarian decks, among others. The symbolism of the Rider-Waite-Smith deck shines through in this deck, although some of the names and symbols of the cards have been changed.

Murphy-Gibb changes The Fool to The First Traveler, and Death to Changes, among others. She also adds three cards to the major arcana: Oogenesis, Arbor Vitae, and Supreme Soul. So that she doesn’t interrupt the traditional numbers of the major arcana, Murphy-Gibb gives these three cards special numbers.

For the minor arcana, she utilizes the suits of Cups, Wands and Swords, but transforms Pentacles into Shields. In an example of how the RWS symbology is seen, the Five of Shields in this deck features a couple huddled outside of a building with stained-glass windows. The shields on most of the cards are round, much like pentacles in other suits.

Each card features the name of the card, a symbolic drawing, the Hebrew letter, the Sanskrit name, the Ogham tree/symbol, and the musical instrument applicable to the card. In the guidebook, Murphy-Gibb gives detailed information regarding each of these correspondences. There are also two charts in the guidebook that present tables of the information from all of the correspondences for the major arcana. Here are just a few of the correspondences that she assigns to The Lovers card in one of the charts:

Musical note:  D-natural
Hertz:  587.33
Chakra: Sacral1

Murphy-Gibb begins the guidebook with the story of how The Vedic Tarot was created:

“This Tarot is really an illustrative book that explores secrets of four ancient languages: Vedic Sanskrit, Irish Ogham Tree Alphabet, and Hebrew, as well as English and the influence of sound or music in the spheres and in the chakras of the body.”2

Next, she explains how each of these play a role in the story of man and tarot. She divides the major arcana into three sections of archetypes, powers, and the Eight-Fold Path.

After the extensive guidance and wisdom provided for both major and minor arcana cards, Murphy-Gibb presents Part 2. This section includes how to work with the cards, correspondence tables, and several spreads, including one she learned from a Gypsy Queen in her youth. This spread includes “the making of a mandala by interlocking the cards,”3 and makes use of only six cards.

Next, Murphy-Gibb presents glossaries for Sanskrit, Hebrew/Qabbalah, and Ogham terms.  She also includes resources for further reading, including online sources.   

I decided to test drive the deck by drawing three cards, keeping in mind Murphy-Gibb’s advice:

“The querent does not need to ask a question, because the answer will be apparent to them during the reading, or the subconscious question they have not dared to ask will be answered.”4

I drew these cards: Three of Swords, Knight of Swords and Knight of Cups. The information in the guidebook is so rich and multi-layered and it is easy to become overwhelmed. I decided to scan the pages for each card and came up with these three bits of guidance:

  1. “I am not lost, but rather replace it with the wonder of being somewhere else.”5
  2. “I may choose to challenge laws without breaking them.”6
  3. “There is joy in “the finding of a direction, not the seeking of it.””7 

This guidance helps me greatly with a situation in my life. I am also going to look up music with violins, C-sharp notes, and/or music that soothes the heart chakra, in keeping with Murphy-Gibb’s guidance. 

This deck is presented in a large, sturdy box, printed in rich colors of scarlet, gold, and black.  It features a magnetic flap that secures the box and opens to reveal space for the guidebook and two deep wells for the cards. These cards are printed on nice cardstock, which is so heavy that the box requires you to cut the deck in half to store it.  The cards have a black matte edging, and the back of the card is a unique design, which Murphy-Gibb describes as: “a combination of the Trishula, Shiva’s weapon, the Damru, his drum and the lyre.”8 She also accents the image with a sun, a snake and three worms across a moon, because she finished the artwork for the back of the cards on a Worm Moon. 

My favorite card in this deck is the Arbor Vitae.  This card is numbered 0-8 and comes before the Justice card in the major arcana for this deck. The visual is a tree with a feminine face, a small tree in her heart and curling roots. The musical instrument for this card is the bell. It is so calming and beautiful. I plan to keep it on my altar for a few days and drink in its powerful love vibes. The last line of the guidance says it all:

“Everyone wants to feel useful, and taking care of the little things is a service to the Great Mother and our own fulfillment. Undoing the wrongs by taking right action is the greatest medicine of all.”9

The Vedic Tarot would probably be best for a seasoned tarot reader or tarot scholar.  The rich layers of guidance, the multiple correspondences and the combination of Vedic, Sanskrit, Hebrew, and Irish myth and lore might be too difficult for a novice to take in. 

However, if beginners wanted to initially focus on the Divination section and then build up to adding the information in the other portions, this would be a great addition to their tarot collection. I plan to keep it on hand for personal readings and utilize the guidebook for additional information for client readings.

With this deck, we can continue our quest for knowledge and, as Murphy-Gibb says:

“We can begin remembrance of who we really are and start learning to fly.”10