The Somnia Tarot
I had this on preorder, and being familiar with the photography of Nicolas Bruno, I was excited to see what he would do with a tarot deck. His photography sprang from ideas he formed from dealing with sleep paralysis. Many of his images were intense, and whilst surreal, they were generally full of symbolism. In short, I really did have high hopes for The Somnia Tarot, possibly unreasonably high. The deck itself is well made, and the box is sturdy. The cards are slightly larger than an average deck, but they're not difficult to handle. A couple of nice additional touches included a postcard-sized image of Temperance containing a handwritten thank you message on the back. It does have a tiny little white booklet, although each card is only given a handful of keywords. But still, at least he took the time to include one.
Diving straight in on a downer, some images were so dark that details were obscured to the point I felt I was missing something. Starting with the major arcana, The Fool was one such card that I struggled to see clearly. A man is dragging a bed through an open window. There looks to be an anchor underneath the bed. I understand Nicolas wanted to focus on the open window, but I wanted to see the rest of the card. Symbolically, there is the hint of shifting from darkness into light, indoor to outdoor. I don't see these shifts as representing the traditional new beginnings or leap of faith inherent in The Fool, but I don't doubt they could represent the state of being for many who would draw this card in a reading. The Empress is slightly problematic for different reasons — I just don't see her embodying nature and nurture. Is she sewing something? Again, the lighting is an issue because it obscures necessary detail to aid with interpretation. Following straight on is The Emperor, who sits with an anvil over his head. I can see how the anvil might indicate the weight of responsibility hanging over him, but he doesn't look like the traditional strong leader type. If anything, he seems like he's in a pretty vulnerable position. I liked The Chariot. Half-submerged black and white shrouded people going in opposite directions was a great idea and links nicely with the card's watery element linked to the astrological sign of Cancer. The Hermit is another that hits the mark with the solitary figure standing on the water looking out towards the ocean's vastness. Nicolas sticks to similar interpretations for some cards, and in The Devil, we see two people loosely bound by rope with a dark hooded figure standing over them. Others veer off entirely, and The Sun doesn't give off anything remotely sun-like.
Some of the minor arcana have been given more attention than others. The Knight of Wands is incredibly dark, but traditionally we would expect this character to bring light. One card I was particularly fond of is the Page of Cups. I like surrealist artwork that uses the deep-sea diver, and for this card, it was a great choice. I've often seen the Page of Cups as symbolic of the appearance of someone new who lights the inner emotional fire — this usually involves deep unconscious feelings being triggered. The bottle floating in the water at the forefront implies the communication of surface-level emotions, but the diver suggests there will be more depth to follow.
The Three of Swords is one of my go-to cards for assessing the weight of a deck, and in The Somnia Tarot, there is little to express the level of psychological pain a person can experience when this card is drawn. On the other hand, the person sits in shallow water, and I can't help but wonder if this somehow implies the pain is surface level only. Swords represent air, after all, and air is the realm of the mind. I found the suit of coins to be the most uninspiring, and many of the minors had little expressive imagery.
I can't help feeling disappointed overall. The vibe of the deck is best described as grim. I don't doubt this has much to do with the overall lighting and the perpetually gloomy skies. This may well have been a deliberate choice for the artist — and being a professional, I find it hard to imagine it's an accidental result. Does it work as a dark deck? I'm not so sure. I'm glad I've done the review because it has at least made me more willing to give it a little time before dismissing it altogether. I genuinely think Nicolas would've done better producing an oracle deck and have half a hope he may one day do just that. Creating a tarot deck is a mammoth project; most decks have weak points. I feel a bit of a knob for being such a negative Nelly. I just don't think I'd use this all that often. If you're in a weird emotional rut, The Somnia Tarot could work well for you, but I don't think it's a good deck for beginners, and even professionals would struggle to put it to everyday use. Structurally, it would be perfect for daily reads because it's solid quality without being rigid, and you can just tell it can cope well with heavy usage without getting tattered. I think part of my problem is that some of his artwork in previous years has been so symbolic for me that I had the idea a tarot deck of his would be like one punch to the face or gut after another. This simply wasn't the case. The Somnia Tarot is pretty tame, but I do get the sense that spending time with the cards could reveal insights not readily visible in regular decks. There is something in the deck; I'm just not sure exactly what it is — and this is why I say it needs time. This one ain't gonna be revealing any secrets after a couple of flick-throughs — maybe it needs sleeping on?
