Is Grateful Dead Tarot a limited edition product?

Yes.

We have less than 25% of the edition left.

What’s the story behind your manufacturing choices?

The Grateful Dead Tarot box set was conceptualized by Erin to be a luxury item utilizing top industry vendors and the highest quality materials to do justice to the history and significance of both the esoteric tarot and the Grateful Dead. Erin has both a BFA in Illustration, Printmaking, and Book Arts as well as over a 25 year career working with manufacturers both in the states and abroad. She spent months researching top of the line card manufacturers who also had publishing capabilities, so that the whole product (cards, boxes, & book) would be consistent in quality and manufacturing standards. Made in the USA and locality are principles Erin believes in and so she started there. Unfortunately, there are no top quality card manufacturing plants in the United States. Bicycle has a factory here but does not make tarot sized cards, only playing card sized cards. Additionally, they have no publishing.

Erin finally located Expert Playing Card, who has only dabbled in tarot manufacturing and after numerous encounters with tarot “hopefuls” and their general lack of expertise in product design and publishing/printmaking standards, has decided to only work tarot with Erin and Uusi. Their main gig is high end poker collectables and cards for magicians such as David Blaine.

Expert Playing Card is an American company whose cards are manufactured in Taiwan, a very sophisticated democratic country with a very high standard of living. The cards themselves are created from a specialized paper stock for poker cards. This stock has a core that increases both flexibility and “snap back”. The card stock is not remotely like what any other factories are using to make this kind of card. It's made in a sustainable way by Koehler in Germany and imported to the Taiwan factory at great expense. It's without doubt the finest in the world. Additionally, we had a water resistant finish with uncommon texture put on the surface of the cards.

The book and box were created in PRC (The Peoples Republic of China) and are marked as such. This was not to be misleading but actually required for international clarification since the cards were manufactured in a separate country that falls under the ROC (Republic of China) classification. It would have been considered “deceptive”, as well as incorrect, to mark the book with a generic “Made in China”. Working in multiple countries on the product was costly and increased time and shipping, but when looking at top global manufacturing plants, we decided it was necessary.

Erin left a lucrative position in fashion to pursue more sustainable and ethical creative work. Factory standards and certifications are high on her ethic and priority lists. Casting all of South East Asia or China as consisting of ONLY unethical work environments is simplistic. There are manufacturing plants all over the world that submit to international oversight and standards for workers rights, and safety, including in China. Both the card and publishing factories employed by Expert have been visited onsite . they each are certified to manufacture for Disney as well as others and meet the strictest standards regarding workers rights.

Here is a quote from our New York NY based manufacturing partner, Expert Playing Card, “To be sure you have one of the finest products, in all ways, that can be made today. No corners were cut and no slave labor was used at any point”.

What am I getting with Grateful Dead Tarot box set?

The Grateful Dead Tarot box set is a 78 card tarot deck on premium stock paper with full color illustrations and gold metallic ink. The image on each card was lovingly researched and hand inked to offer the highest combination of esoteric symbolism and Grateful Dead mythology by psychedelic artist, life long tarot aficionado, and dead head, Erin Cadigan. Included in the set is a 250 page hard cover, sewn bound guidebook that breaks down the meaning behind each card. Author and Astrologer, Elizabeth Jezorski, (also a deadhead) really pulled the collective consciousness of the occult and our scene to create one of the most beautiful books on the ancient spirit the imbibes both Grateful Dead and traditional Tarot. The set comes encased in a custom designed box with more art by Erin and the use of speciality gold foil and embossing processes.

What does the Grateful Dead have to do with Tarot?

Everything actually. The Grateful Dead plays original songs written by masterful lyricists who relied heavily on myth, factual stories, and archetypical characters and events. Additionally they chose to cover many songs from the genres of spiritual, folk, and blues. Genres that rely on the same devices to tell a story. This is why so many people relate to their music. The esoteric Tarot is based on the same human constructs and subconscious messages to tell a story to the reader. An archetype is a pattern that connects the people of the world across time and culture. They are characters or symbols that are recognizable irrespective of their place or time of origin. This is why the catalogue of Grateful Dead music and the Tarot are so relatable.

So can I get this art on a t-shirt or as a print?

We don’t have that answer right now. This is a major body of work in both art and authorship, a year and a half to bring it to this point. Our main focus has been providing the best, most meaningful, and genuine divination tool that is authentic to both Tarot and The Dead. We want to make sure this is birthed into the world in the most professional way possible, in service of our fellow occultists and Deadheads. But also, yes, we’d like to do more creativity around this situation….

Can I cancel or return my order?

You may cancel an order at anytime up to the day it ships from our warehouse. You will receive an email when the order ships.

Because of the complex nature of this product, (many parts, pages, cards) we are only providing an exchange on product if the item is damaged in shipping.

There will be a 24 hour window to notify us of damages after the item is marked as delivered to the location provided by customer. To that end , please make sure the address you provide is at a safe, secure, dry location for a medium sized box. We can not accept responsibility for items that go missing after marked delivered to the address provided on sales order.

What are your shipping policies?

We have a helpful page for that! Please click on SHIPPING POLICIES