The Botan Tarot

About the Botan Tarot: by Addi Miyako

"In 2017, I was at a crossroads with my art career and asked a friend to do a tarot reading for me - I had never done one before, but I figured I was already getting nowhere with journaling and Pros vs Cons lists. I was stunned at the cards' power to help me look inwardly and sort through my fears and anxieties.

Months later, I turned back to the tarot cards, this time painting the cards that brought sense and peace whenever it felt like my world was out of sorts. Especially in times like these, the project became a way for me to unplug from the newsfeed, find healing, and send that healing back out.

In 2020 I launched the completed 78-card tarot deck with illustrations that pay tribute to my Japanese-American heritage, Art Nouveau, and the traditional folk stories I grew up with. This completed deck is named the Botan Tarot. "Botan" in Japanese (written 牡丹) means "peony", which is the flower prominently featured on the back design of the tarot deck as well as on several cards. In Japanese flower language, peonies represent bravery. Botan is also a play on the word "botanical", as I use Japanese flower language and other plant imagery throughout the deck.

Lastly, Botan is a tribute to the space and memory in which I painted this deck - there is an old-fashioned Japanese candy called Botan Rice Candy, which I remember my grandmother giving to me as a child. The deck was painted entirely in the dining room of my grandmother's home, and the Minor Arcana specifically draws inspiration from the Japanese children's stories that she used to read to me.

NOTE: The descriptions I've included are predominantly the "upright" interpretations of the Major Arcana. They have nuanced meanings when presented upside-down, so I recommend find a website that has interpretations for both directs that speak to you if you'd like to learn more."

This edition in now out of print.

Card size: 7 x 12 cm. Accompanying book has 156 pages.