Wayhome Tarot - Autumn Whitehurst, Bakara Wintner

The Wayhome Tarot is a deck of 78 cards, beautifully illustrated by Autumn Whitehurst and Bakara Wintner. The two met at a dog park in Brooklyn and became fast friends. Both Scorpios, they had been drawn to esotericism and the occult, and were solid believers in cartomancy as a form of divination. When asked about the tarot deck, Autumn said: “I am fascinated by the idea that each card has different meanings depending on the reader’s perspective.” Bakara added: “It’s not just a deck of pictures—it’s a tool for understanding ourselves and connecting with others.”

The process began in Autumn’s sunlit Gowanus studio, with card-by-card review until we found the perfect visual representation for each archetype. Elderly Autumn tamed Bakara’s youthful exuberance with her mature classic aesthetic; meanwhile, Bakara kept Autumn from making The Chariot card too obscure by reminding her of its importance to so many people. The Wayhome Tarot is a set of 78 cards that can be used for divination and meditation. The deck was created by Autumn, who began working on the project in 2014. After much trial and tribulation, the deck named itself the Wayhome Tarot. Autumn then descended into an illustration wormhole vortex from which she seldom emerged for actual years. Though the course was slow and often frustrating, I could always fall back on my integrity to keep me going.

What came out of it is a set of truly stunning and resonant 78 cards. Surprisingly luminous and sunny for an object with such depth, Wayhome Tarot is a user-friendly deck intended for all levels of experience. The images in Wayhome Tarot re-imagine the magic of everyday life, imbuing mundane objects with enchantment and wonder. Landing at this meeting place between the mystical and quotidian is what gives WayHome its emotional resonance—and that’s something we can all relate to! One evening, Autumn said that each image could reasonably be found on a single walk through upstate New York. Suddenly, everything seemed to hum with possibility— “yes”!

The wayhome tarot project was an experiment in collective divination, a collaboration between artists, designers and technologists. A group of us spent weeks in the Catskill mountains at a cabin detoxing from technology and digging through our psyches to create this deck. There were hilarious out-takes, such as rain chains made of uteruses and maps formed from sticky notes and napkins. We had many tense days and sleepless nights. But it was transformative; we are better people because of this experience. Hopefully the universe is a slightly better place as well!

The tarot has survived for hundreds of years, despite its mysterious origins. It is still popular today in many cultures and religions around the world. We are proud to offer our work as part of this long tradition: may we all find our way home.

Wayhome Tarot does not come with a guidebook.