Maree Bento is an artist and practitioner of the mystical & healing arts with 20 years experience. She’s a tarot reader and the creator of five divination decks, including the Lua Tarot, Lua Lenormand, Divine Muses Oracle, Antiquarian Tarot, and Antiquarian Lenormand. She is a first generation Luso-American living in the Pacific NW with her beloved, David, and their huggable hound, Dante.  

---

About Me

​I'm Maree (muhREE), an intuitive, collage artist, reader, and independent publisher of divination decks. I strive to create working decks for modern readers, healers, and mystics like me, who are drawn to antique imagery for use in archetypal self-reflection, spiritual, and ancestral work.

My tarot cards are The Empress (soul card), The World (life purpose card), and The Hanged One (teacher card). I'm a 3rd House Sagittarius, Libra Ascendent and Capricorn Moon conjunct Pallas Athena. I've been deepening my astrology studies the last few years, after a years-long hobby interest in the subject. 

I love traveling and spending time with family, connecting with friends, and talking about finding balance and living creatively with courage in the world. 

---

A Deeper Look

​I created my first deck for personal use in 2012.  I adore working with divination decks and I've been reading and studying them for about twenty years now. I'm an eternal student of astrology and use it in my readings. I've been journeying more deeply in recent years, finding it indispensable for getting the overall picture in my clients' readings. 

I'm a licensed bodyworker of 18 years, but currently not practicing. My background in the healing arts inspires my present approach to tarot, creativity, ritual, and divination. My career as a healing professional focused on massage therapy, energy work, and yoga philosophy—holistic mediums for body, mind, and spiritual well-being & connection. 

I enjoy studying depth psychology and Jungian topics on the collective unconscious, Individuation, alchemy, and archetypes. 

The archetypes I'm currently working with, in no particular order, are the artist, the diviner, magical child, rebel, seeker, witch, wounded healer, and eternal student.
​

How I Came to Tarot

My curiosity with divination and the mystical arts was piqued as a teenager in the mid-nineties during the second major tarot explosion. I think it really began with an antiquarian book that I bought for 10 cents at a library sale, called Palmistry or Scientific Cheiromancy by Mrs. Edwin Symmes. The simple hand-drawn illustrations and astrology connections that I found in my hands captured my heart. It is a relic that I still own and treasure. Around that time, I acquired a book on cartomancy, and that was my earliest introduction to reading—by connecting with a pack of playing cards! A few years later, I picked up my first tarot deck. 
​

My First Deck

Some readers like to ask what your first deck was, so I'll share mine. It was the Karma Tarot by the Danish artist Birgit Boline Erfurt. Its dream-like artwork captivated me. It had a mysterious personality and was an expressive deck that I used for several years. Even though it was not the best deck to learn the basics, I still adored it.

​My next deck was the Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot. I bought Rachel Pollack's Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom, and I was set. That was my tarot bible for a while, as I know it was for many tarotists. Another favorite reference was Tarot for Yourself​ by Mary K. Greer. Looking at my collection now, it's funny to think that at one time I had just a couple decks and books. I have enjoyed collecting them over the years—they're like mini art exhibits! I love reading all the perspectives on tarot this way. 
​

---

Tarot Studies & Evolution

​I have studied and completed coursework on Western mystical tradition of the Sacred Tarot, Hermetic magical practice, astrology, depth psychology, and mediumship—and continue to attend workshops & conferences on these topics. I also work with various oracles, including the Lenormand, and have taught workshops on the subject.

As an artist, I had always wanted to create a deck for myself. This is an impulse for many readers. As tarot initiates, it's an ideal way to progress on one's tarot and magickal journey. The Golden Dawn required its members to create their own deck in order to be initiated into the next level.

​I started with a Lenormand deck in 2012. Upon the completion of those 36 cards, and the lovely support from my community, I had the confidence to double that to create my first 78-card tarot deck. After the Antiquarian Tarot's release (2014), I spent the following year or so writing the guidebook for it, which was released in 2016. A few years later, I released the Divine Muses Oracle set (2019) with a companion book. I didn't expect to become a deck creator, but the Muses inspirited me to make another, then another...Lua Tarot (2020) and Lua Lenormand ​(2020).
​

Divine Muses Gratitude

I'm so grateful for my allies and guides, and the teachers who have shared their knowledge and wisdom. The manifestation of my current work could not have been possible without the masters, writers, healers, and artists who danced with their Muses. 
​

Synergy of Healing & Mysticism

It is my hope that the synthesis of my studies in the healing and mystical arts will help to deliver a comprehensive holistic experience for my clients & customers through my deck creations and card readings.
​
Thank you for visiting and for taking the time to read about me!
​​

​If you'd like to book a session please contact me. I am also taking appointments for deck creator consultations!
​
​

Ms. Maree's readings are pure magic. She is not only deeply informed on the subject matter of tarot interpretation, symbolism & archetypal meaning, but she is well versed in being a channel for her own powerful intuition. She is always right-on with her readings, getting right to the heart of the matter, offering inspired insights & helpful guidance. Getting a reading from Maree is a true treat; fun, informative, meaningful and life-affirming. –Tai Woodville, Portland, Ore.

---

Features, Reviews, & Nominations

​► Prioritize You Retreat: featured speaker "Getting Clarity with Tarot and Oracle Cards" April 26, 2022
► Lua Tarot nominated for 2021 CARTA Awards: Best Tarot, Best Self-published Tarot, & Outstanding Artistic Achievement
► Lua Lenormand nominated for 2021 CARTA Awards: Best Oracle Deck
► Lua Tarot nominated for WDA 2021 Awards: Best Indie Deck
► Lua Tarot featured in Parq Magazine article "Tarot Today" June 2021
► Mellissae Lucia's Deep Play 2021: Art & Oracles, featured speaker "Power of Paradox" June 2021
► Lua Tarot Video Review by Tarot Map Jan. 2021
► Lua Tarot Review by Benebell Wen Dec. 2020
► NW Tarot Symposium Lenormand presenter, Le Grand Tableau, March 2020
► Divine Muses Oracle nominated for 2020 CARTA Awards: Outstanding Artistic Achievement
► Lua Tarot walkthrough video Old Soul Mermaid
► Cartomancer Magazine: Winter 2020 (Lua Tarot & Lenormand article)
► Cartomancer Magazine: Spring 2020 (Divine Muses Oracle featured)
► Tarot Map's review of the Divine Muses Oracle ​  
► Benebell Wen Review Divine Muses Oracle '19
► Tarot Map Inspired Tarot Series, Dec. 11, 2019
► Balance Shared Podcast Dec. 11th, 2019
► Power Archetypes for High-Vibe Women in Business "Tapping the Solar Feminine (and Other Archetypal Forces) to Make the Vision Real, Oct. 4, 2019
► Biddy Tarot Podcast Aug. 2017
► Tarot Visions Podcast: Nov. 2017
► NW Tarot Symposium Lenormand presenter, Le Petit Tableau, March 2017
► Cartomancer: Vol. 2, Issue 3 2016 (Antiquarian Tarot featured)
​► Lenormand Lovers Calendar: Sept. 2014 (Antiquarian Lenormand featured)