Tarot of the Abyss by Ann Tourian

Short description:

Tarot of the Abyss by Ann Tourian

Description:

Quick Specs

• Artist: Ana Tourian
• Publisher: U.S. Games Systems
• Cards: 80-card deck (78 standard plus two alternate cards)
• Includes: 148-page guidebook
• Best for: Practitioners ready for shadow work, psychological depth readings, and introspective practice beyond daily card pulls

The Abyss as Mirror: Shadow Work and the Void Between Worlds

Ana Tourian's Tarot of the Abyss takes its title seriously. In Kabbalistic cosmology, the Abyss refers to Da'ath, the hidden non-sephira that sits in the gap between the supernal triad and the lower Tree of Life, a formless void through which the adept must pass to reach higher understanding. In Jungian psychology, the equivalent territory is the shadow, the unexamined material of the unconscious that shapes behavior precisely because it remains unacknowledged. Tourian's deck is built for this territory: the imagery moves through darkness, primordial void, and the dissolution of form before arriving at structure and light. This is not a deck for confirming what you already know; it is built to surface what you have been avoiding.

The art is executed in surrealist black and white with dense, detailed line work that rewards sustained examination. Tourian drew influence from the Rider-Waite-Smith system but deliberately modified several key cards, most notably the Hermit, reframed as a figure shedding an old self rather than simply holding a lantern. The suit of Swords is placed within what Tourian calls the maze of the mind, with page, knight, queen, and king all engaged in a shared quest for a central orb of light, representing different modes of intellectual engagement with the same essential question. This kind of internal coherence across the pip cards is rare in independently illustrated decks. Explore more in my tarot decks and divination collection.

The 80-Card Structure and the Alternate Cards

The deck includes 80 cards rather than the standard 78. The two additional cards are alternate versions of the Three of Swords and the Ten of Swords, the two most psychologically intense cards in the suit associated with grief, betrayal, and mental suffering. Tourian's decision to offer alternate versions of exactly these cards reflects a thoughtful understanding of how working practitioners use shadow decks: the originals may be too raw for certain readings or certain clients, while the alternates provide a slightly different entry point into the same difficult territory. This is not padding; it is a practitioner-specific design choice.

The 148-page guidebook is detailed and clearly written, covering standard upright and reversed meanings alongside Tourian's specific modifications and the thematic framework underpinning her card choices. The guidebook includes an original spread called The Abyss Spread, a six-card layout designed to map the journey from unconscious chaos to conscious understanding, which aligns directly with the deck's core metaphor. Reviewers across the tarot community have noted that the guidebook reads as a genuine companion to the art rather than a generic keyword list, which is particularly important for a deck with enough departures from the RWS standard that some guidance is genuinely useful.

How to Use the Tarot of the Abyss

The Tarot Fellow Standard

I carry the Tarot of the Abyss because it is a rigorously designed shadow-work deck rather than simply a dark-aesthetic deck. The distinction matters: many decks use dark imagery as style, while Tourian built hers from a coherent philosophical framework about the journey from chaos to understanding. The modified court card structures, the alternate Swords cards, and the original Abyss Spread all reflect a practitioner who thought carefully about what the deck is actually for. U.S. Games Systems' production quality is reliable, the guidebook is genuinely worth reading, and the black-and-white art rewards the slow, sustained looking that shadow work requires. For practitioners who want to extend this depth work into study, browse my tarot and divination books.

Frequently Asked Questions