THE FULL-SIZE DECK
Next World Tarot by Cristy C. Road
A 78-card, 4 × 6 inch deck and guidebook published by Silver Sprocket. The black holographic box holds Road’s vivid, inclusive vision of tarot as a tool for surviving the present and imagining what comes next.
THE CARD GALLERY
Explore the Next World Tarot Cards.
Browse 77 individually identified exact-deck images in a clear reference order. The archive uses the highest practical evidence recovered from the publisher, creator-hosted pages, the assigned collection, and the exact-deck walkthrough; some surviving images show borderless or prototype artwork rather than a final printed front. The Five of Wands remains omitted because no defensible isolated source was recovered.
Showing all 77 recovered cards.
Aurica’s Quick Take
Next World Tarot feels alive in the present tense. Its people work, rest, protest, grieve, create, and protect one another in scenes that feel recognizably human rather than distant or ceremonial. I love how its bright colour can hold anger and tenderness in the same breath.
I reach for it when a question is personal but not only private—when love, work, money, identity, safety, or belonging is shaped by the world around us. I begin with the person in the image: what are they doing, what pressure surrounds them, and where does their agency live? Then I let the neighbouring cards show whether the moment needs rest, resistance, help, or one brave next move. The Sun feels like the relief of being seen clearly; beside Revolution or Temperance, that hope becomes practical—change the structure, tend the body, and keep what makes a fuller life possible.
This is not a neutral deck, and that honesty is part of its strength. If you want tarot that can hold tenderness and injustice in one spread, Next World Tarot can feel like a brave companion reminding you that your choices, care, and imagination still help shape the world ahead.
What makes Next World Tarot different?
Next World Tarot is a 78-card deck written and illustrated by Cuban-American artist and musician Cristy C. Road and published by Silver Sprocket. It keeps the familiar tarot structure while placing it in contemporary streets, bedrooms, workplaces, kitchens, transit systems, and collective spaces. The result is direct, political, tender, and unusually attentive to whose lives appear inside spiritual imagery.
Road’s people are not decorative archetypes. They have bodies, histories, needs, and communities. Traditional cards are renamed where the inherited hierarchy no longer fits: The Emperor becomes The Teacher, The Hierophant becomes The Messenger, The Hanged Man becomes Suspension, and The Tower becomes Revolution. Those changes are not cosmetic; they ask how power is taught, carried, resisted, and rebuilt.
CARD STUDY · THE CHARIOT
Direction is more than speed
The Chariot stands amid a bright, futuristic city with two alert dogs at her side. Her poised stance feels deliberate: movement begins with knowing what deserves your energy.
In a reading, this card can point to chosen direction, boundaries, and visible confidence. Ask what you are steering toward—and whether your pace still belongs to you.
How Next World Tarot reads in practice
This deck reads through action and context. Instead of isolating a figure from their surroundings, it shows the systems, relationships, and material conditions around them. That makes it especially strong for questions about work, money, burnout, identity, creative purpose, mutual care, and the line between coping and changing what hurts.
Begin with three observations: what the person is doing, what surrounds them, and where the scene holds tension or relief. Then connect that evidence to the traditional function of the card. This keeps the reading intuitive without flattening Road’s social language into a list of keywords.
FOUR-CARD MOMENT
Choosing a direction without leaving yourself behind
The Fool opens a threshold, Strength keeps courage embodied, Justice names the wider stakes, and The Sun asks what becomes possible when you can be fully visible.
Is Next World Tarot beginner-friendly?
It can be a generous first deck for someone who wants recognizable modern scenes and is comfortable with tarot having a clear political voice. The people and situations offer immediate entry points, while the guidebook helps connect Road’s renamings and elemental correspondences to the larger tarot system.
Readers looking for a traditional historical deck may prefer to learn core conventions alongside it. Readers who need to see more kinds of bodies, identities, labor, and community in tarot may feel at home immediately.
CARD STUDY · REVOLUTION
When change must reach the structure
Road’s Revolution replaces the familiar Tower. Burning oil infrastructure, protest, grief, and care share one field, turning sudden change into a collective question rather than a private punishment.
In a spread, Revolution asks what can no longer be repaired by personal adjustment alone. The next card often shows the resource, ally, or practice that helps change become rebuilding rather than collapse.
Art, bodies, and symbolic language
Road’s watercolor-and-ink world is saturated with pink, orange, yellow, blue, and violet, but the color never makes the subjects weightless. The deck includes fat bodies, queer and trans people, disabled people, people of color, elders, workers, artists, lovers, friends, and organizers. Representation is not tucked into the background; it is part of how each card makes meaning.
The suit keywords and astrological or elemental notes on many printed cards create a second reading layer. Use them as a conversation with the scene, not a command. The body, setting, and action often tell you how that energy is being lived.
FOUR-CARD MOMENT
From desire to practical agency
The Ace of Wands lights the impulse, Two of Cups tests whether connection is mutual, Ace of Swords names the necessary truth, and Ace of Pentacles asks what can be made tangible.
A four-card reading for shared power
Use this spread when a decision affects more than one person, or when a private choice is tangled with work, money, care, access, or community.
- The pressure: What condition is shaping this situation?
- My agency: What can I choose or refuse now?
- Our resources: What support, skill, or relationship changes the field?
- The next world: What small action makes a fairer outcome more real?
Read the four images as one story before separating their meanings. Notice who has room to move, what is being carried, and whether the final card expands choice. For a contrasting dark visual voice, See Gothic Tarot Deck on Amazon.
FOUR-CARD SPREAD
The shared-power spread
Five of Cups names the grief, Eight of Cups identifies what must be left, Seven of Swords tests strategy, and Four of Pentacles asks what needs protection without becoming a prison.
CARD STUDY · TEMPERANCE
Care as an active practice
Temperance sits amid bottles, remedies, wings, and a bright field of color. Balance here is not sterile moderation; it looks like tending a body and making a workable mixture from what is available.
In a reading, Temperance can ask for pacing, adaptation, and compassionate maintenance. It is especially useful beside cards of labor or conflict, where sustainability matters as much as intention.
Who will connect with this deck?
Next World Tarot is a strong match for readers who want contemporary scenes, inclusive bodies, queer and trans representation, social awareness, and images that connect inner life with material reality. It works beautifully for journaling, community-care questions, creative practice, career reflection, and readings about boundaries or belonging.
It may not suit readers who prefer a politically neutral tone, ornate occult symbolism, or perfectly uniform historical archetypes. Some archive images in the gallery survive only as borderless or prototype art; the physical full-size deck itself has consistent rounded printed cards.
Buying guidance and deck details
The full-size Silver Sprocket edition contains 78 cards measuring about 4 × 6 inches and includes a guidebook by Cristy C. Road. The edition reviewed here is ISBN 978-1-945509-29-2. A pocket edition and a separate hardcover art collection also exist, so check the format before ordering if you want the large working deck shown on this page.
The full-size box is black with holographic silver lettering and a barbed-wire flower emblem. The card backs use the same flower motif. The direct Amazon link points to the exact first full-size edition, ASIN 1945509295, with redirect locking enabled; the publisher link points to Silver Sprocket’s verified full-size product page.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Inclusive contemporary people and situations | A clear political perspective will not suit every reader |
| Strong for work, identity, care, and community questions | Large 4 × 6 inch cards may be difficult for small hands |
| Creator-written guidebook deepens the renamed archetypes | Some symbolic choices differ from traditional study decks |
FOUR-CARD MOMENT
Courage that can survive the week
Nine of Wands protects resilience, Six of Cups remembers belonging, Knight of Swords chooses a plan, and Nine of Pentacles makes sustainable practice visible.
A golden rule for reading this deck
Do not remove the person from their world. Look at the body, the setting, the work, the obstacle, and the available community before reaching for an abstract keyword. Next World Tarot becomes clearest when personal feeling and social context are allowed to speak together.
Final thoughts
Next World Tarot is vivid because it believes another future can be imagined without pretending the present is simple. Its cards can be funny, furious, affectionate, exhausted, and hopeful—sometimes all in the same spread.
For readers who want tarot to include real bodies and real pressures while still making room for beauty, this deck offers a rare combination of honesty and companionship. It does not promise escape from the world. It asks how we might meet it with more courage, care, and shared power.
QUESTIONS, ANSWERED
Next World Tarot FAQ
Who created Next World Tarot?
Cristy C. Road wrote and illustrated the deck. Silver Sprocket publishes the full-size edition reviewed here.
How many cards are in Next World Tarot?
The physical deck contains 78 cards. This page displays 77 defensible exact-deck images; the Five of Wands remains omitted because no isolated source met the evidence standard.
Why are some Major Arcana names different?
Road renames four inherited archetypes: The Teacher, The Messenger, Suspension, and Revolution replace the Emperor, Hierophant, Hanged Man, and Tower positions.
Is Next World Tarot beginner-friendly?
Yes for beginners drawn to contemporary scenes and inclusive representation. Keeping a traditional reference nearby can help when comparing Road’s deliberate renamings with standard tarot structures.
What size is the full deck?
The full-size cards are approximately 4 × 6 inches. A smaller pocket edition also exists, so check the product format before ordering.
What readings suit this deck best?
It is especially strong for work, identity, relationships, boundaries, creativity, burnout, community care, and choices shaped by social or material conditions.
