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Category: Tarot readings
Developer: Kris Waldherr
Requirements: iPhone 2.2.1 software
Compatibility: iPhone and iPod touch
File Size: 9.2 Mb
Version Reviewed: 1.0
Price: $3.99 (Lite version available for free)

I’m fascinated by the vast number of Tarot decks out there: Egyptian Tarot, Werewolf, Shakespeare (and multiples of each subject)—even one using 50s housewife kitsch as its central design concept—all with different artwork and ways of interpreting the cards, targeted towards a particular audience inside of a larger group. It’s an ecosystem of graphic design.

The Goddess Tarot is, as you might expect, focused on feminine mythology and empowerment, with richly illustrated cards depicting Goddesses on the major arcana and individualized scenes on the minor. The accompanying text features “updated” Tarot symbolism, to help you interpret the cards.

It’s a very friendly Tarot, there are no reversed cards, and the text is focused on empowering you, no matter the situation. The Tower, for example, which usually symbolizes catastrophe, is here presented as Oppression, with the text saying that the card symbolizes that “while the situation is painful and overwhelming, it will not last forever.”

The Goddess Tarot features four types of readings: One card, three (past-present-future), eight card (Goddess Circle), 10 card (Celtic Cross). After selecting the spread you want to use, you double-tap a virtual deck. The cards are laid out with numbers to let you know where to start reading, along with what their position represents in your question.

For every spread except the single, you can save your reading…as a screenshot, sent to your Photo library. The problem with this is that in the larger spreads, it can be difficult to make out what the cards are. An in-application “diary” format might work better, especially since taking a screenshot is something you can do yourself by hitting the power and menu buttons.

If you’d like to try the application out for yourself to see if the art and text are more to your liking, there is a lite version available for free. It features only the One card reading, but you can check out the illustrations and interpretations. The application is well-designed, if a bit touchy-feely for my tastes. For me the value of an Oracle is in how you interpret the symbols, and the app is a bit heavy-handed in how you interpret the cards.