Tarot cards are seriously en vogue right now. Used by many to help increase personal insight, provide behavioral direction, or use simply as a meditative thought starter, the 78-card deck is assuredly having a moment. And now, there’s a new deck of dog tarot cards created to specifically benefit service animals, as reported by BuzzFeed.
The artist behind Barkana cards are Arien and Bael Smith, two people living with dissociative identity disorder in one body. Each one of the so-called alters, according to Smith, have individual personalities as well as their own artistic skills. But the duo teamed up to design a dog tarot deck that will help raise money to train service dogs that will aid people living with invisible disabilities. Although the art is pretty incredible, the name of the deck is arguably the best part: The Major Barkana, a nod to the Major Arcana cards in every tarot deck.
What’s more, the 72 different real dogs featured on the 72 cards in the Major Barkana are “a mix of It’s a mix of service, emotional support, therapy, and pet dogs,” Smith told BuzzFeed. “We openly invite anyone to commission a spot for their dog. The first dog was a pup we personally knew, but after that they were all community-submitted pups!”