WAY OF THE PANDA TAROT
current edition: wonder edition
a splash of Zen, a brush of Tao, a touch of whimsy, and tons of furry adorableness: a deck for tarot & panda lovers in dreamy watercolor
created & concepted by Kimberly M. Tsan
illustrated & hand-painted in watercolor by Celia Libelle
Way of the Panda Tarot is 4 years old!
Back in April 4, 2020 - the first edition of Way of the Panda Tarot made a little splash on Kickstarter. Funded in less than 1 week and with the campaign ending at $39,258CAD - 458 generous souls and their contribution allowed me to self-publish for the very first time. When the campaign was funded, I had a dream the very same night where I was brought to the delivery room to push out a panda baby. Nope, I’m not kidding!😂🐼
When I first set out to create this deck, I had a clear vision of what it was going to look like: splashes of vibrant watercolor, naturalistic (not human caricatures - I was adamant about that!) looking pandas with the occasional scarf or wizard hat, a sense of peace and dreaming, and unparalleled cuteness. I wanted to create something that one’s intuition can relax into and easily latch onto the fluid and uncomplicated motifs on the cards. A clear white background, lots of breathing room, clearly delineated elemental attributes in each suit…
Through weeks and months of playful exploration and interaction with the deck concept, I created a universe populated by magical pandas, a world built upon the traditional systems of tarot, borrowing its symbolic structures and reimagining it through the playful and affectionate personality of the panda animal spirit as well as lighthearted whimsy.
I also took the opportunity to reinvent the public image of the panda in the deck community. As an Asian deck creator, I noticed that pandas are often associated with Eastern philosophies like Zen Buddhism or Taoism, and are synonymous with meditation and quiet contemplation. Um, excuse me? Have you seen them!?!? I know pandas sleep, eat and poop a lot - but they are also playful creatures, full of energy, joy and mischief. (That one video clip of a panda pushing his bear-sibling into a ditch just for funsies still have me LOL-ing!)
And yes, while Way of the Panda has inspirations and roots in Buddhist and Taoist ideas (since I was raised in a Buddhist and Toaist family), it is mostly a whimsical, imaginative and lighthearted take on the Rider-Waite Smith Tarot. Way of the Panda Tarot is sensitive, deeply feeling and quite introverted. It’s also touched by the carefree nature of the inner child (I’m convinced that pandas are basically our inner children in amimal form anyway.)
Pandas in the Wild
Don’t just take my word for it, obviously. Way of the Panda Tarot has had many adventures and found a home in many people’s uh, actual homes and in their hearts! Many who “adopted” or purchased Way of the Panda Tarot and traversed the Panda Kingdom has expressed that pandas are both gentle and caring - the perfect rainy day deck or “hug” deck. Some have also reported the pandas sometimes “sass” them with their cute attitude and unabashed “kiddish” wisdom.😂 (Don’t be surprised you get lightly roasted by these adorable furballs!) 🐼
Here are some “live footages” of the naughty pandas conquering hearts, sharing love & spreading paw-sitivity 👇
From Benebell’s Deck Review: “I knew that the Way of the Panda Tarot would be cute and cuddly, but I was not prepared for its depth of wisdom or its exploration into a unique philosophy of life. In the same way kids say the darndest things, pandas do, too.” Click here to read more!
Walkthrough + Book Review from Lisa / Supportive Tarot! She also talks about her experiences with my Kickstarter campaign - so happy to hear from her! (She also has another video up on her channel detailing her experiences of working the deck for a whole week. Don’t forget to check that one out too if you’re wondering what it’s like to work with these furballs)
An unboxing + walkthrough video from my personal tarot goddess & chaos witch unicorn, Kelly-Ann Maddox - whose videos literally inspired me to embark on a tarot journey in the first place! It felt super special to send this deck to her for a very special unboxing 💖💖💖
From the tarot bad bitch and boss witch herself - check out Ethony’s Unboxing + First Impressions of Way of the Panda Tarot! She loved Jack Parrow - the pirate panda from 7 of Swords!
Carrie Mallon’s Unboxing + Walkthrough! Her Spacious Tarot reads really well with Way of the Panda, so you should totally get both of our decks. :P
From Larch Tarot: “It reminds me of the Bad Bitches Tarot in a way, it's as if all these little furry creatures become your friends, helping you connect with your intuition, giving you advice and guidance. So they're not just cute and cuddly, this deck is a very effective Tarot tool.” Click here to read more!
Pandas & Bad Bitches - cute pandas be bad!! 😂😂😂
Meet the Artist
Meet the incredibly talented Celia - she’s the one who helped me manifest my panda ideas into gorgeous + hand-painted watercolor!
I'm Celia, and I'm an illustrator from Barcelona. Since I was a child, my passion has been art. I spent most of my time drawing, even in the school, I drew everywhere (even when I didn't have a paper or notebook, I drew on the table).
I studied Fine Arts at UB (Barcelona University), majoring on illustration, and at the last course I realized that I didn't know what to do when I graduated. Finally I decided to continue studying... bakery! (that was just a hobby, but I thought, hey! why not?)
After spending two years of my life studying bakery, I had a revelation: I should have never left art! I discovered that art is and always will be my true passion, so I started drawing again, and little by little I think (and I hope) that I can make a living out of what I love the most: creating beauty.
