Vision Quest Tarot - shamanic tarot built around the medicine wheel
The Vision Quest Tarot does not simply redress a classic deck in new imagery. It takes the familiar 78-card framework and rebuilds it from the ground up in a shamanic context, using the medicine wheel as its structural compass. That choice shapes everything from the suit names to the landscapes on every card.
The deck was first published in 1998 by AGM-Urania and created by Gayan Sylvie Winter and Jo Dosé, who also worked together on The Oracle of the Goddesses. The illustrations show archetypal figures and natural landscapes in a soft, detailed painted style.
New names for suits and court cards
The minor arcana drops the traditional suit names entirely. Fire is represented by Arrows and Wands, Water by Jars and Bowls, Air by Feathers and Birds, and Earth by Vegetables and Flowers. The court cards are named Daughter, Son, Mother and Father rather than the conventional Page, Knight, Queen and King.
Anyone familiar with a standard tarot deck will immediately notice the shift in visual language. No armoured knights or Gothic architecture here. The imagery centres on nature, animals and elemental forces, consistently throughout all 78 cards.
What the guidebook covers
The guidebook runs to 108 pages and is written in English. Both the cards and the guidebook are in English only. The shamanic approach is the foundation of the deck, not a surface layer added to an existing system.
About Gayan Sylvie Winter and Jo Dosé
Gayan Sylvie Winter and Jo Dosé previously collaborated on The Oracle of the Goddesses. The Vision Quest Tarot, released in 1998, is their best-known joint project. It was published by AGM-Urania, a Swiss publisher with a long track record in tarot and oracle card production.
If you are used to reading with traditional suit names and court titles, allow yourself a short adjustment period to connect the new names to the elements. Most readers find it becomes natural quickly.
Specifications
- Number of cards: 78
- Card size: 70 x 120 mm
- Guidebook: 108 pages
- Language: English
- Publisher: AGM-Urania
- ISBN: 9781572811973
- Authors: Gayan Sylvie Winter and Jo Dosé
Questions we often get
Are the card meanings comparable to a classic tarot deck?
The 78-card structure with major and minor arcana is the same. The suits and court cards carry different names, and the visual language is entirely shamanic. Those familiar with the classic Rider-Waite-Smith tradition will recognise the underlying framework, but the imagery asks for a reorientation.
What language are the cards and guidebook in?
Both the cards and the guidebook are in English. No other language edition of this deck is available.
