tarot grove

More about mari…

Mari’s creations have been embraced by individuals, counseling professionals, and community centers in 56 countries and retail partners in 14 countries, with over 24,000 Gentle Tarot decks and guidebooks having been sold worldwide. This colorful dream would not be what it is today without the incredible love and support of Patreon members as well as Kickstarter backers from around the world who raised over $316,000 over the course of three campaigns.

The Gentle Tarot is Mari’s first large-scale project, a hand-drawn tarot deck inspired by decolonizing the practice of tarot, compassion for mental health, and connection to our natural environment as a source of support and meaningful relation. Mari’s indigenous roots are Chichimeca and Wixárika from Zacatecas, Central México. She is an Anchorage Museum Residency Fellow and a Rasmuson Foundation grant recipient. Her art has been featured by the Alaska Humanities Forum. She is currently based in Homer, Alaska and Mexico City, México. 

The art in the Gentle Tarot and My Friend Fire was created on and inspired by the lands of indigenous nations in three regions of Alaska: the lands of the Unangax̂ in Iluulux̂ (Unalaska) in the Aleutian Islands, the lands of the Sugpiaq on Kodiak Island; and the Dena’ina, and the Ninilchik Village Tribe between the Kenai peninsula and Anchorage. Mari had the intimate opportunity of becoming familiar with these remote regions of Alaska over the course of eight years, while working for the Qawalangin Tribe of Unalaska island and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game in Kodiak, Sand Point, and Dutch Harbor. She plans to eventually release a completely new Gentle Tarot influenced by México, her homeland. 

All of Mari’s creations are independently published through her publishing house Mari in the Sky. She has turned down several offers from large publishing houses whose terms and conditions feel like an echo of colonization. Despite the challenges of running a small business, Mari is determined that the Gentle Tarot remain independent so that she can maintain control of her creations while also keeping her donation program running and paying her staff a living wage. Mari in the Sky has donated $20,055 to environmental advocacy and protection causes since 2020. Our retail partners are everything to us and what makes this small business thrive. If you’d like to join our growing international community, please use our contact form or sign up for our wholesale newsletter. The Gentle Tarot is a labor of love created through resilience and hope. Thank you for supporting independent, queer art and shopping small!