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Tarot Card Deck

This tarot deck was created by artists residing inside San Quentin State Prison. It is the first known tarot deck produced by people who are incarcerated in the United States.

Each card reimagines traditional tarot archetypes through lived experience, reflection, and creative practice shaped within prison walls. Together, the artists bring personal meaning, symbolism, and insight to a shared visual language rooted in both tradition and transformation.

The inspiration for this project comes from a tarot deck created inside a women’s prison in Mexico City. We gratefully acknowledge and credit its creator, Karla Saval, whose work helped make this project possible.

Randy Thompson

Project Coordinator & Artist

Randy is a staff writer and layout designer for San Quentin News. As a result of beginning his incarceration at the age of 16, he feels his growth as a human being was stunted. Now he focuses on developing the personal character to be his true self: a good man.

Michael Moore

Project Coordinator

Michael Moore is a member of the inside team at Humans of San Quentin and a member of the Humans of San Quentin Board of Directors and a key collaborator on this tarot deck. He supported coordination, communication, and artistic cohesion throughout the project, helping bring together many voices into a shared creative vision.

Kings

Leadership forged through time and accountability. The King represents authority that comes from restraint, not force. He is steady, watchful, and deliberate, sometimes rigid, but shaped by consequence. Like an elder bird on the wire, he knows when to act and when to remain still.

His power lies in responsibility, protection, and the hard-won confidence of someone who has survived and learned.

King of Cups

Emotional mastery and compassionate leadership. The swallow faces away from the prison wall, focused instead on the water he protects. Seated with steadiness and care, his crown reflects leadership earned through connection and responsibility.

King of Swords

The King stands in clear authority, ruling the mind with discipline and truth. His sword is sharpened by experience, not impulse. Though clouds gather behind him, his gaze remains steady. This card speaks to clarity, responsibility, and leadership that cuts through confusion without cruelty.

King of Wands

Visionary leadership and grounded courage. The King of Wands represents confidence rooted in experience, the ability to guide others through inspiration rather than control. Here, the seagull stands alert and adaptable, reminding us that true authority comes from perspective, resilience, and the willingness to lead boldly even within constrained environments.

King of Pentacles

Grounded authority and earned wisdom. The owl symbolizes insight gained through patience, watchfulness, and lived experience, seeing clearly in both light and shadow. This card reflects steady leadership, long-term vision, and the power that comes from discipline, discernment, and knowing when to act—and when to wait.

Queens

Power expressed through awareness and creativity. The Queen leads by seeing clearly herself others and the space she holds. She is flexible without losing strength and open without being naïve. Like a bird tending a nest in an unforgiving place she creates meaning beauty and connection where none were promised.

Her authority comes from emotional truth presence and the ability to hold complexity.

Queen of Cups

Emotional wisdom and steady compassion. The swan represents grace, intuition, and strength held quietly beneath the surface. This card speaks to deep feeling balanced by boundaries, offering care without losing oneself.

Queen of Swords

The feminine energy is breaking free in our world today. The seagull breaks from the old dry world, leaving behind the inherited idea of power symbolized by the sword, and chooses flight instead. This reflects the Queen of Swords’ truth seeking clarity discernment and independence of mind. The rain reminds us that no clear choice comes without risk. The cracks in the wall show that honesty and insight create an opening even in the most rigid structures.

Queen of Wands

Confident warmth and creative authority. This card reflects self assurance, magnetism, and the ability to lead through presence rather than force. The crowned bird embodies a grounded power that nurtures growth around it, reminding us that true confidence inspires others while staying rooted in instinct and care.

Queen of Pentacles

Grounded authority and earned wisdom. The owl symbolizes insight gained through patience, watchfulness, and lived experience, seeing clearly in both light and shadow. This card reflects steady leadership, long-term vision, and the power that comes from discipline, discernment, and knowing when to act—and when to wait.

Knights

Driven by movement curiosity and momentum. The Knight engages the world directly learning through action risk and experience. Headstrong at times and fueled by urgency this energy can rush ahead before fully seeing the consequences.

Like a bird testing its wings the Knight represents bravery growth and the willingness to move even without certainty.

Knight of Cups

Emotional movement and devotion. This card reflects following the heart with intention, carrying feeling forward through imagination, empathy, and quiet courage. It speaks to acting on emotion without losing care or integrity.

Seagull of Swords

The seagull moves fast and without hesitation, wings spread wide above the fence that once marked the edge of possibility. This card speaks to swift action bold speech and the drive to break through barriers with urgency and conviction. The Knight of Swords charges forward on instinct and intellect, reminding us that momentum can bring freedom, but clarity is needed so speed does not become recklessness.

Knight of Wands

Bold momentum and fearless action. This card reflects passion in motion, risk taking, and the urge to act before certainty arrives. The dove suggests an authority rooted in apparent meekness, asking whether true power can be carried through humility as it steps forward to claim the wand and all it represents.

Knight of Pentacles

Steady commitment and disciplined effort. This card represents patience, reliability, and the quiet power of showing up day after day. It reminds us that lasting progress is built through consistency, responsibility, and devotion to the long path rather than quick reward.

Pages

The Page represents youth new beginnings messages and potential. They appear at the start of a journey bringing curiosity openness and a willingness to learn. Often connected to a new idea opportunity or lesson tied to their suit the Page reflects the rookie stage where experience is still forming.

Like a young bird carrying its first message this card invites open hearted exploration. Reversed it can point to immaturity missed lessons or early disappointment.

Page of Cups

Emotional curiosity and openness. This card reflects gentle beginnings, creative feeling, and messages of the heart. It invites imagination, sensitivity, and the courage to remain open to wonder.

Page of Swords

This young bird takes flight with curiosity rather than certainty. The sword is not yet a weapon but a question, carried lightly as the Page learns how to think, speak, and observe. The sky is open, though clouds remain. This card speaks to new ideas, watchfulness, and the early awareness that freedom begins with perception.

Page of Wands

Curiosity and raw energy. This card marks the moment when inspiration first takes flight, even if the path ahead is unclear. It encourages exploration, courage, and learning through action, reminding us that growth begins with a willingness to try and imagine beyond current limits.

Page of Pentacles

Grounded curiosity and steady beginnings. This card reflects a willingness to learn, invest effort, and nurture something tangible from the ground up. It invites patience, responsibility, and trust that small, consistent steps can grow into lasting value.

Meet Our Artists

Erick

Erick was born in Indio, CA. In 2016, he received his BS in Nursing degree from CS San Bernardino-Palm Desert. Maciel has been included in various exhibitions such as “The View From Here” at Paradigm Gallery in Philadelphia. Currently, he is exhibiting artwork in “Requisitioning Freedom: Indigenous Artists of the Americas” in Eureka, CA.

George

Mesro the Human Sun is an emcee and graffiti artist who writes all manner of strange tales, some in iambic pentameter. When not tutoring students or working on projects, you can find him gaming with friends. His 1st book, Triumph, was published by Capital Gaines LLC. Mesro also has the privilege to write for The Beat Within and Humans of San Quentin.

Peter

Peter Thao has been an artist since the age of five and was born and raised in San Diego, California. After incarceration, he developed and refined his artistic practice in prison, focusing on illustration, portraits, human figures, and landscapes.

He began painting in late 2022 at San Quentin Prison and now uses art as a way to give back to the community and support human rights and youth.

Justin

Justin loves to spend time outdoors and will play any sport. He also enjoys a good science fiction book or movie. Justin also has two kids that he lives for, as well as a wife and dog he loves very much.

Mark

Art is a creative medication for Mark. To give form to a concept through his artwork is an expression of life. As long as he has the tools to liberate his creativity, he is free. Mark began drawing around the age of four or five. He’s self-taught. His artwork has evolved and expanded over the years to different mediums, techniques, and subjects.

Tony

Tony is a San Francisco native and a student of life. After having been incarcerated since 2014, he has spent his time cultivating a positive personal transformation. He enjoys reading, music of many kinds, and anything esoteric. He loves his family and is grateful for any time spent in good company.

Michael

Michael is an artist who uses creative expression as both a personal passion and an important tool for navigating the stress of incarceration. In a high pressure environment, art has become a grounding practice and a meaningful part of his rehabilitation. For Michael, creating is a way to process experience, build resilience, and maintain a sense of purpose. He is grateful for opportunities to share his work and hopes his art reflects the power of creativity in growth and transformation.

Greg

Greg’s work is rooted in purpose and generosity, created as an expression of his belief in the mission of Humans of San Quentin and his desire to give back in a meaningful way. Through his art, Greg hopes to support this work while also offering something that can be experienced simply and freely, inviting those who encounter it to pause, reflect, and enjoy.

Mark

Mark Stanley sends his warm greetings and appreciation to everyone at Humans of San Quentin. He’s grateful for the chance to share his art with the Humans of San Quentin community and is excited about contributing more in the future. Mark has expressed interest in being interviewed and featured in upcoming HoSQ projects and would love to be part of any promotional pieces.

He also shared his tarot card artwork with us, created on a very tight deadline. Even with only a few hours to work, he put his heart into the piece and is thankful to know it was well received. Mark hopes it served its purpose and is looking forward to creating more art that supports the mission and spirit of Humans of San Quentin.

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