01-023 Glory to Ukraine Tarot

01-023
Glory to Ukraine Tarot

Earlier this week, I received a package from Zaporizhzhia. No, I have no friends living there. It is a mail order, a tarot deck made in Ukraine. I found the deck on Etsy. Payment was made on the 24th Oct and the package arrived at my desk on 9th Nov. The parcel was delivered by UkrPoshta, Ukraine’s national post. Despite the current situation in Ukraine, mail tracking was available along the way.

Glory to Ukraine Tarot

I think I am not the only one who have not heard of Zaporizhzhia, at least not until the outbreak of Russo-Ukrainian War. Or to be more precise, not until when the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant was being attacked.

Postmark of Zaporizhzhia

Although our Beijing government seems to be tending more to Putin’s side, the majority of Hongkongers are not. We stand with Ukraine. But at the same time, Ukraine is a faraway country to us. Our knowledge in Ukraine is more or less bounded to Chernobyl. Other things like their history, the reason of the conflicts, the mindsets of Ukrainians, the relationship between the civilians of both countries, we don’t know much.

But one thing we are sure of, prayers are important but not always enough. Physical support to the Ukrainians is needed. No, we did not fly there to join force with them. We make donations. But again, Ukraine is too far from us, and the compassion faded very soon. I personally did not donate any money to support Ukraine. And just like many others living in this busy city, Ukraine did not always come up in my mind for months. Not until recently when we heard from news that Putin is now threatening to use nuclear bomb, as well as the nationwide power shortage that is happening now. Things seemed to be getting worse. “Something needed to be done,” I told myself.

Instead of donating money through those big charitable organizations, I decided to pay directly to their local small businesses. I googled Ukrainian products, and the page led me to Etsy. Inside are plenty of Ukrainian art and craft products. Most of them are from small businesses or local artists. They are all very attractive to me. However, I don’t want to just purchase something that are attracting my eyes but will end up as another dust collector in my tiny little house. I wanted to purchase something that I will actually use. After struggling for a few weeks, I decided to go for this very special tarot deck.

Price of a tarot deck varies. If I turn to China, I can get a pack there from as low as 5 US, with fair quality. A decent pack of tarot can cost from 30 to 60 US dollars. This pack is within this price range. I did not know its quality and could not comment if it is decently made or not. But if talking about supporting Ukraine, I can spare this amount for the pack. And the seller is so kind that she gave me 10% discount. I put a link below if you are also interested. Reminder, the price includes shipment.

Glory to Ukraine Tarot, 78 Cards Tarot Deck
https://www.etsy.com/hk-en/listing/1293997139/glory-to-ukraine-tarot-78-cards-tarot

My struggle is not because of the price but of my religion. As a Christian myself, I am not supposed to purchase anything that are dedicated for cartomancy. Yes, I mentioned in my previous post that tarot is originally designed for games. And even up to today, there are still some card printers producing designated tarot decks for gaming, like Tarot Bourgeois and Tarocco Piemontese. However, the majority of tarot decks available nowadays are mainly for cartomancy. Their larger in size and lacking corner pips makes gaming with them difficult. They are designed for being laid out on the table for divination.

Luckily, these articles that helped me out. Using a Rider-Waite tarot deck for gaming? How interesting! As a way to support Ukraine, as a way to understand more on Ukrainian culture, and as a way to try some “exotic” card games, I took out my credit card and now the deck is on my desk. 

HOW TO PLAY CARD GAMES WITH RIDER-WAITE TAROT CARDS
https://sageslanterntarot.com/how-to-play-card-games-with-rider-waite-tarot-cards/

Can you play poker with tarot cards?
https://pokerfortress.com/can-you-play-poker-with-tarot-cards/

About the deck

So, how about the deck? To me, it is really nice. The 78 cards came in a very nice and though cardboard box, together with a bilingual instruction booklet for beginners. The slogan “Glory to Ukraine” is clearly written on all 6 sides of the box. The bottom of the box explains what does “Glory to Ukraine” mean. It is an old Ukrainian greeting.

This tarot deck was created in Kyiv bomb shelters in March 2022, during the shelling by Russian troops. Cards are colourful with unique theme, printed on thick cardboard. Size of the cards is 67 mm x 118 mm, with round corners. The only minor drawback is that they are not plastic coated. Sorry, I know I am spoiled by Mattel.

All cards bear unique artworks. It follows the Rider-Waite pattern. Some of the Major Arcana cards do not have numbers on them, these include the “Joker”, “The Magician”, “The Empress”, “The Hermit”, “Justice”, “The Death”, “Temperance” & “The Devil”. I am not sure if this is because of the card design or just their numbers were forgotten. But this is rather hard for a beginner, like me, to pick up.

Due to copyright issue, I cannot show you the whole deck. I picked several samples which I think they are “meaningful”. The instruction booklet explains the meaning of the artwork chosen for each card. This pack is not only a tarot. From it, you can also learn a lot on Ukrainian culture.

From left to right

• 0. Joker (The Fool) – The picture shows Anonymous hackers who declared a cyber war on Russia over its attack on Ukraine.
• XII. The Hanged Man – The picture shows a scarecrow shaped like Putin in Odessa.
• XIV. Temperance – The picture shows a cloud in the shape of angel over Kyiv.

First row, from left to right

• XV. The Devil – The picture shows Putin riding a tank.
• XVI. The Tower – The picture shows the building of Russia Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a symbol of evil and war.
• Ten of Cups – The picture shows bottles of incendiary mixture used by Ukrainian guerrillas.

Second row, from left to right

• Five of Pentacles – The picture shows refugees from Mariupol, the city destroyed by Russian invaders.
• VIII. Strength – The picture shows a sunflower, the symbol of Ukraine, which is stronger on its own land than the bear, the symbol of Russia.
• Eight of Swords – The picture shows windows sealed with the scotch tape when the Ukrainian cities are shelled. 

Apart from political topics, other cards are about Ukrainian culture.

From left to right

• VI. The Lovers – The picture shows Ukrainians’ wedding traditions presented in a collage of paintings by famous artist Maria Pryimachenko.
• Seven of Cups – The picture shows “Menorah”, the world’s largest Jewish cultural center situated in the city of Dnieper.
• Ten of Pentacles – The picture shows a traditional Ukrainian house.

Buying experience from this shop is technically the same as from any other mail orders. The seller speaks English. I paid by credit card through an international recognized website. Price is in EURO. Package is nicely wrapped, with computer printed labels and barcodes on top. Mail tracking is available all the way through, and I got constant mail update from Etsy. And most importantly, my item arrived in less than 3 weeks and in good shape. I just could not imagine it was sending out from a war-torn country.

If you are standing with Ukraine, if you like card game, this pack is highly recommended. It’s worth.

General Information

Player	1
Playing Time	10 mins
Age	8+
Year Released	2022
Designer	?
Publisher	Pentagram Tarot Studio
Family	Divination
Score	5 stars (Etsy)

Specifications

Card size	67mm x 118mm, 2.64" x 4.65"
Deck size	78 cards
# of suits	5 – Wands, Cups, Swords, Pentacles & Trumps
Details	The deck follows the theme of Rider-Waite Tarot, which includes 22 Major Arcana cards and 56 Minor Arcana cards in 4 suits. The deck shows us Ukraine through the eyes of the artists, it touches upon the long history, culture and traditions of the Ukrainian people, it shows famous places, and of course, talks about the present, about the events and participants in the war of independence. There are 2 blank cards and an instruction booklet.

Game Play

Below is a video showing how to play card game using a divination tarot deck.

Where to buy? 

Etsy.

About the war 

I wanted to spare a little corner of this post to talk about the war. As a Chinese myself and the position of our government, how do I think about the Russo-Ukrainian War? Let me first show you some photos that I found on the internet. 

Andrei Balobanov (22)

Photo of Andrei Balobanov is probably the most eye-catching image that shows up when searching “Dead Russian Soldier” on google. Andrei was in his 22. Just look at his face. He looks very smart and handsome. Was he dead? We don’t know. The photo was taken some 8 years ago, much earlier than the recent conflict. He was sent to Crimea back in 2014 and was soon captured by the Ukrainian force. Since then, he gone missing. Nothing was heard of him ever. We still don’t know if he is alive or not. 

Yegor Pochkaenko (19)

If Andrei, at his 22, was too young to deserve death, then how about Yegor Pochkaenko? Look at his face. He still looked like a kid. He was only 19, being recruited in the army earlier this year, deployed to Ukraine and weeks later, he died. 19 years old. All finished!

Russia always gives outsider an image of a powerful nation. Let us look into something more muscular. 

Yanosh Leonov

Here we have a strong and smart looking Russian solider, standing in front of us, holding his rifle on hand. Anyone dare to walk close to him? In just less than a second, he could have pulled the trigger and shot anyone walking nearby. But I tell you, I dare. I even dare to walk close to him together with my 4 years old daughter. Why? Because I know he will never shoot me. He won’t shoot anyone either. He simply can’t.

A tiny little bullet has entered Yanosh Leonov’s brain earlier this year. Do you know how big a bullet is? A bullet may look big but most of its part is gunpowder. The portion that really hurts is technically less than 10mm in diameter. Yes, it is just a tiny little metal ball, even smaller than a marble. But when a strong Russian soldier stand in front of this tiny little metal ball, all his powerful muscles just couldn’t help. Yanosh can just accept his fate, kneel down, surrender everything that he has in his whole life, and quietly gave out his last breath.

Anton Petukhov (21)

The final photo is the most touching one to me. I also have a son. He just won a golden trophy in his school’s sports day. No, his trophy is not made by real gold. It is just a cheap, plastic, made in China trophy painted in golden colour. I am pretty sure you can get one of this from your place for less than 10 USD. But I treasure it so much because it is the first trophy that my son won in his life. I don’t think Anton Petukhov will bring his trophy to the battlefield. He was 21, deployed to Ukraine and confirmed dead in April. I really could not imagine how his parents feel when seeing the trophy in his empty bedroom.

I wrote all these is not to say Russia is also suffering a great loss and please show some sympathy to the Russians, no. They carried their guns to the battlefield and there is a price they need to pay. This is what I read from the Bible.

 “Put your sword back in its place,” Jesus said to him, “for all who draw the sword will die by the sword.” (Matthew 26:52, NIV)

This is what Jesus said. I believe most Russians are Christians and they should have read this. What I want to bring out is, whenever there is a war, it is always the people who suffer. I remembered the time when I was watching Saving Private Ryan in a cinema some 20 years ago. I got excited to see the soldiers’ heads being popped one after the other. I was holding a cup of popcorn on my hands.

War is not movie. It is life.

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