Tarot decks

1JJ Swiss Tarot Cards

This deck is published in Switzerland by AGMuller and
distributed in the U.S. by U.S. Games Systems. It was first
published in 1831 by a predecessor firm of AGMuller and has
been somewhat modified over the years. It is of great
historical interest, as it is the first Tarot deck that U.S. Games
Systems sold, making it an important factor in the history of
the Tarot renaissance currently being experienced in this
country. Stuart Kaplan tells the story in his Encyclopedia of
Tarot, Volume I:"In mid-February, 1968, I visited the annual
Nuremberg Toy Fair in West Germany. On the last day of the
fair, I wandered into a small booth displaying playing cards
published by AGMuller & Cie...Edwin Nigg, export manager
for AGMuller & Cie, showed me an intriguing set of seventy-
eight colorful cards called the 1JJ Swiss Tarot deck. This was
the first time I had seen a tarot pack and I found the imagery
on the cards both compelling and puzzling.... At the close of
the Nuremberg Toy Fair, I returned to New York, and the
following week I showed the 1JJ Swiss Tarot deck to Henry
Levy. Levy was then a buyer at Brentano’s and placed a small
trial order for tarot decks with the admonishment to be certain
to include with each deck a booklet of instructions about the
origin and use of the cards. Thus began my initial research
into tarot; during the past nine years I have authored several
books and booklets about the history and development of tarot
cards and methods of divination."The cards themselves are
similar in concept to the Marseilles designs, although the
drawings are much finer. They remind me of Tenniel’s
illustrations for Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, which
was published about 30 years later. The pips are non-
illustrated and follow the Marseilles patterns, although they
are, again, much more finely drawn. The coloring also is
similar to present-day Marseilles decks, using flat areas of
blue, red, yellow, brown, green, and a flesh color, but the use
of these colors is much more attractive than in the Marseilles
decks, perhaps because of the better quality of the drawings.
The two J’s in the title refer to the Roman equivalents for the
Greek Zeus and Hera, who in this deck were substituted for
the Pope and Popess so as not to offend the Catholic Church.
The drawings for these two cards are not quite as fine as the
rest of the trumps. Junon appears in a regal pose with her
peacock, while Jupiter, in a rather strange pose, sits on a rock,
leaning his cheek on his fist, looking somewhat bored, while
an eagle at his feet flaps its wings, upstaging him. Readers
familiar with the Mythic Tarot will be somewhat puzzled at
the mythological attributions, but they seem appropriate if one
thinks of them simply as the rulers of the spiritual realm, as
opposed to the who rule the temporal realm.
Other mythological references are provided in which, like the
Mythic Tarot, shows Heracles (or Hercules) battling the
Nemean lion; and the Wheel of Fortune, which, perhaps
providing the inspiration for the Morgan-Greer card, shows
Fortuna spinning a wheel on which a couple cavort, while a
less fortunate person falls off the wheel and over a crevice. An
interesting detail on this card is the base of the wheel, which
grows roots which grip the rocky cliff.
In we have the usual scene, but instead of the dark-haired
woman we have a middle-aged man who grins somewhat
fiercely at the couple. Is he an avuncular parent, wishing them
well? Is he lusting after the girl (or the boy)? Is he like a
wicked stepfather in a fairly tale, wishing them ill? The
imagination can run rampant with this one.
Two of the Major cards are interesting from an artistic point
of view, in that they take elements of the traditional
Marseilles designs and deconstruct them so they appear
almost abstract. Both of these cards are cut in half into an
upper and a lower scene by a sort of ledge. In the chariot and
its driver are separated by this ledge into two wholly separate
pictures. In the upper picture shows a young man serenading
his lover, while the lower picture shows the customary
crayfish, except that the two lower claws of the crayfish have
actually separated from the body, so that a realistically drawn
crayfish seems to be metamorphosing into an abstract
design.Another interesting card is Unlike the traditional
design, this card features a seated woman with her head in her
hands, while a giant Devil, holding a pitchfork, stands looking
down at her. It’s an ambiguous picture, as the Devil, despite
his taloned fingers and cruel-looking pitchfork, doesn’t seem
to be particularly threatening (in fact he looks rather
attractive). The woman seems ashamed to have called him
into existence, yet he doesn’t seem particularly
blameworthy.Regrettably, the deck’s designers have chosen to
color this Devil a dark brown, leading to some unfortunate
racial implications. Because of this I cannot recommend this
deck to read with, but from a collector’s viewpoint I can
certainly recommend it for its artistic virtues and historical
significance.

Abyssal Tarot
This deck affects me on an emotional level--the art isn't just
beautiful, it evokes deep, inchoate responses. There are cards
that literally make me ache. There are also cards that just turn
me off. But there's no denying the artistry of Shelly Corbett--
her art is redolent with color, longing, life. And the five star
presentation--the gold-tipped borders, the variegated card
backs, the quality of the images--alerts you to the fact that this
is a very special and unique deck. The setting suits the images
and vice-versa.
The Fool is reminiscent of an elfin Frankie Addams or the
character of Willie in This Property is Condemned, a wild
young girl poised at the precipice of adolescence, with all its
frangible, tremulous, terrible promise. The red-draped
Magician is magical in his self-possession, or self-possessed
in his magic--I'm not quite sure which. A veil obscures the
face of the highly-charged High Priestess; she vibrates with
diaphanous power.The Empress is a bit creepy; with its
lipstick-ed child wrapped in bridal white gauze, a floral
wreath upon her hair, it conjures the uncomfortable memory
of Pretty Baby and JonBenet Ramsay. The Emperor isn't any
better--therein is a different kind of abuse suggested.
Note I said suggested. In some of the images I find disturbing,
the menace is not overt, but whispered. First you see it, then
you question yourself. And that's the scariest kind of menace
of all, I think.The Hierophant, on the other hand, is quite an
overt image--in it, a naked woman is about to receive
cunnilingus. Perhaps that is meant to symbolize the rites of
communion--again, I am not quite sure. The companion
booklet (which is neither white nor ludicrously little) states,
"The priest is in the act of unseating the old goddess or
enshrining the new. That it is his choice maintains the
balance. The mother deity is his most heralded creation, the
source of his spiritual power." Well, that's another
interpretation, I suppose.And so it goes, between lovely
images that take your breath away, like the Lovers, which is
an exquisite rendering of two naked bodies entwined and
photographed in such a way that their bodies meld and flow
into a whole. Then there are others that make you want to
look away. All of the cards are impactful. And all of them are
art.A card like another of the more overt images, expresses a
kind of choking bondage that causes you to begin to gasp for
air. It may disgust or repulse you, but it will move you.
reminds me of an Ingres painting, opulent and sensual.he
Minor Arcana are as poetic and evocative as the Majors, but
are often more cryptic. All of the Aces have an elemental
quality, possibly because they are centered primarily on one
image. The suits are traditional (Wands, Cups, Swords, and
Pentacles), the images are anything but. Still, sometimes they
work well on a traditional level. Often, "nostalgia" is a
keyword for the Six of Cups and it is beautifully embodied in
the image of a woman inhaling the evanescent aromas of a
fragile flower. The blue background evokes a past filled with
sadness and loss.Other cards are harder to interpret, though
the booklet is often helpful; it was written by Stephen
Ahlbom, who matched the photographs to the 78 cards, so we
better understand the intent behind the card. The Six of
Wands shows a glamorous warrior woman aiming a bow and
arrow towards the ground. This appears to me a hollow
victory, at best, but I am not much for warrior manqués.What
I do like about the Minors is that they make me really mull
over the images and see some of them in a new way. The
shows a burnished auburn-haired woman dressed in gold
contemplating a brown void. The booklet describes this as a
woman who "observes the staff about their household
functions ... Her house is in its place and her soul is happy and
content." I think that's projection, because, based on the
image, her staff looks like mine: non-existent.I spent
considerable time looking at the court cards, grouping them
by suit and then category. While the Swords Courts are all
sepia-toned, none of the other suits seem to be related by
color. The fiery Knight of Wands is--a naked female--in
shades of blue. All of the Pages are female and very young,
but the Page of Swords seems rather violent. In fact, all the
Swords Courts emanate an aura of terrorism. The is taken
from a photograph entitled, "Most dangerous of all the lies,"
and depicts an embrace that suggests that love's protection is a
vicious fantasy. I sensed this would be an excellent deck to
use for relationship readings, but was unsure if it could be
used in other capacities. I was right about the first, and
impressed by the reading I did using the layout in the booklet,
which is reminiscent of the Tree of Life spread. Several things
surprised me, though. The first was how just looking at these
cards in combination moved me. I felt these cards. The second
surprise was just how quickly and powerfully these cards cut
to the heart of the matter. My readings were both visceral and
straightforward.So--this is an art deck that actually succeeds
as a reading deck. And, as I mentioned before, the
presentation is superb, and includes such unique features as
that aren't the same for each card, but a changing percentage
of four elements: fiery foliage, water, sky, and sand. All of the
images were taken under water, which, while you might not
know this if you hadn't read it, gives the cards a fluidity that
packs an extra emotional punch. Even the companion booklet
is the ne plus ultra of such things--it is printed on glossy paper
and includes nice-sized images of each of the 78 cards. The
photographs themselves are reproduced beautifully. Each card
is an exquisite work of art, and fortunately the cards are large
enough to do the images justice.The only drawback to
purchasing this deck is its high price tag: $300 plus shipping
and handling.* While I imagine the costs of creating a deck
like this are prohibitive, the fact that the price is reasonable
doesn't make it any more affordable for most tarotists. This is
a fantastic deck, and I recommend it for collectors and those
whose love for innovative decks and quality photography
make it a must-have. However, as you will have noticed from
some of the images I include in the review, there are some
people who will reject the deck because of the violence and
nudity. Having said that, I have been labeled a prude, and, to
me, the artistry of the Abyssal Tarot transcends such concerns

Adrian Tarot Deck

The first thing one notices in this deck is that the art style
rather unique, even for computer generated art. The
combination of fantasy and reality is a bit disconcerting and
the overall feel of the deck is dream-like. Each Major Arcana
image has a large central figure. The figure is usually
superimposed on, or somehow combined with, an object or
objects. A linear design is superimposed on the person and
objects. The card name in German and English, along with the
card number and its corresponding letter from the Tree of
Life, complete the image. That was my first impression. If
you lay the Major Arcana out in two Tree of Life formations,
you will find that the backgrounds make up the images of the
man and woman in card. Any one card viewed by itself
appears to be on a hazy and muted background, but when laid
out in order, the backgrounds reveal another scene. The same
underlying theme occurs in the Minor Arcana. The art is
excellent. The images look like photographs of people, yet
closer examination reveals that if they are in fact photographs,
they have been heavily manipulated. They have a molded
plastic look, with undefined hands or feet in some cases. The
background colors are soft and muted. There are no defined
borders. are black with a linear design.

Tarot Affirmations for Positive Growth and Change

didn't obtain this deck for a long time, because it is my
opinion that the best affirmations, tarot-oriented or not, are the
ones we create for ourselves, using our own words. So I was
in no rush to get yet another version of the Universal Rider-
Waite-Smith, this one "desecrated" by words that could only
interfere with my personal meditations. Tarot Affirmations
seemed like it would have its uses for beginners and self-help
types, but wouldn't have much to offer an experienced reader
everal months ago, a friend of mine was diagnosed with
Chronic Myeloid Leukemia and I was shattered. I asked a few
tarot buddies who were experts on sending healing energy to
direct some her way, and one of those buddies did a reading
for my friend using the Tarot Affirmations deck. I was blown
away by the aptness of some of the affirmations. They were
words of wisdom that would not have occurred to me, and I
passed them on with gratitude and a new-found respect for
this once-derided deck.* didn't obtain this deck for a long
time, because it is my opinion that the best affirmations, tarot-
oriented or not, are the ones we create for ourselves, using our
own words. So I was in no rush to get yet another version of
the Universal Rider-Waite-Smith, this one "desecrated" by
words that could only interfere with my personal meditations.
Tarot Affirmations seemed like it would have its uses for
beginners and self-help types, but wouldn't have much to offer
an experienced reader.Having recently acquired Tarot
Affirmations, I still have some of my initial feelings towards
the set. Its target audience is not tarot journeymen (and
women)--it is as non-occult a deck as you could find, with the
possible exception of the Hello Kitty deck. Everything about
the deck is designed to lull the purchaser into thinking
"mainstream media." Deck size is similar to extra-large index
cards (approximately three and three-quarter inches by five
and a half inches). The cards are color-coded: Majors are
tinted a gentle lavender, Wands are pink, Cups,powder blue,
Swords a soft yellow, and Coins are light grey. And note that
Pentacles have been renamed Coins, to further simplify and
demystify the Tarot. Even the card images are diminished in
size so as to emphasize that the positive affirmations have the
leading role in this set. feature two images of the blonde-
tressed Angel Gabriel tootling a horn amongst the clouds, in a
design that allows for reversals...not that such a thing would
be relevant with this deck. Let's face it--Tarot Affirmations is
a set in which only Jerry Falwell could find something dark
and/or menacing.
This is not necessarily a bad thing. As I peruse the
affirmations, I have some other concerns. Our minds don't
hear the word "not" or negations, so in order to program
ourselves with positivity, effective affirmations only
use...affirmatives (that's what "affirmations" are derived
from). Hill occasionally includes an affirmation that ignores
that rule, i.e, "I have learned to cut through negative thoughts,
attitudes and beliefs that obscure my creative view and
expression." for the Knight of Swords. The mind hears
"negative thoughts..." and "obscure". Ironically, in the few
instructions that come with this deck, we are counseled to
individualize the affirmations and "take care to always write
them in a positive form."
More disturbing is that the phrasing of these affirmations is
often awkward or unconvincing, such as The Moon's "I am
inspiration; my reflection reveals, renews, and opens
pathways of creative energy." Hill has devised the card
statements by focusing on various interpretations of the cards
and rephrasing said interpretations into affirmations. On the
positive side, one of them is bound to be applicable in some
way. However, it also means that the likelihood of them all
being relevant to any given situation is miniscule.
These concerns forced me to really ponder what this deck had
to offer me on a day-to-day basis, especially since the decks I
use the most aren't RWS-clones. My ponderings led to the
following experiment: using one card each from three very
different (but frequently-used) decks, I explored three
questions. I then looked at the same cards in the Affirmations
deck to see if I could find words to motivate and/or inspire
me. I found that Hill's cards offered a nuance or approach that
I had overlooked in every single case. In fact, I was really
impressed with the possibilities offered for "growth and
change" that using this deck could engender. For real-depth
readings, our own take is always going to provide the greatest
empowerment, but using this deck as an addition, as opposed
to a replacement, is something I recommend to any tarotist in
the process of self-work. And I may just buy this deck for my
friend with Leukemia, as Tarot Affirmations is also perfect for
its target audience. The deck comes with a short guide for
"Reading the Cards", which offers methods to best imprint the
affirmations into your life, as well as a booklet that gives
some basic information about the tarot, as well as a "Seasonal
or Annual Use of Tarot Affirmations" spread, based on the
Celtic Cross layout, which is also provided. There is also a
brief tarot bibliography.

African Tarot
This deck is originally from South Africa and is entirely
populated with people of color. The scenes are obviously
based on Pamela Colman-Smith's work. The art is very
colorful, but the drawings look childish. The card titles are
done in a handwritten style reminiscent of grade school
penmanship. Overall the deck has a rather cartoonish look.
There is a strange mixture of costumes. Persons in the scenes
wear everything from business suits to grass skirts. The
Majors and Court Cards have the same names as their Waite-
Smith counterparts. The cards are rather small, measuring
only 2 1/4" X 3". They come in a corrugated cardboard box.
The title card provides the following description: "In this deck
of tarot cards, the imagery draws largely on the African
Experience and is depicted in naive art style. The artwork
reflects the level of consciousness in our present world with
emphasis not only on traditional tarot symbolism, but on the
invocation of childlike emotions. The imagery and portrayals
are intended to gently guide individuals

Tarot of the Ages

The deck comes with a booklet that provides some really
annoying faulty history, e.g. "One of the most significant
messages of knowledge for the Western world was and still is
represented by the Egyptian Tarot, the Book
of Thoth, the book of true science. It gives meanings for
upright and reversed cards, and "comments in prophetic form"
for each Major. Court cards have the alchemical symbols for
air , water fire and earth on center top and lower right and
left corner of the cards. Majors have a roman number center
top, hebrew letter in the left corner and either an astrological
sign or elemental symbol in the right corner. The astrological
attributions are quite puzzling oyous, extravert and playful
Leo for the Hermit?? Mars for the Empress?? Aries for the
Hierophant?) and frankly I fear they have been given totally
at random without the slightest idea of the principles behind
the astrological signs. Art >From an artistic point of view this
is a nice deck. The art is good with a ot of attention paid to
people's bodies. They're all finely drawn with a
lot of detail and soft but well-defined lines, bone- and muscle
structure. The artist must have a thourough knowledge and
also love for the human body and this shows throughout the
deck. Colours are vibrant but not too harsh. Major Arcana
Scenery and people from ancient Egypt make up the major
Arcana. Strength is XI, Justice is VIII. The booklet provides
us with "comments in prophetic form" for the major
Arcana cards. This actually proves to be some rather
pretentious rubbish:
"The eye of the vision brightens, the holy baboon discloses
the doors of the temple of knowledge and leads toward the
key of immortality. Blessed is the Lords' Anointed! Adam
Kadmon's feet again tread the desert. Nothing exists but the
Great Work" (page 7, about the Magician). Apart from the
egyptian setting, the pictures of the major Arcana offer like a
dancing indian to me. He's about to cross a small current of
water. A lynx is grabbing his leg, a crocodile awaiting him at
the other side of the creek. The High Priestess has nothing
mysterious or secretive at all. She looks like a woman with
too heavy make-up on, who is sitting down tired from
shopping. The Lovers card is highly traditional, with a young
man standing in the middle, a woman both on his left and
right side and even good ol' Cupid is hovering above his head
to shoot his arrow. Up till this deck I had not been aware that
the Egyptians also had Cupid amidst their gods. Maybe this
image is kind of a compromise. It gives the scene an
anachronistic feel that is distracting the attention from the
meaning of the card. The Hermit has nothing egyptian and is
accompanied by a snake. This image (with snake) is also
found in very old versions of the Tarot. Judgment shows - off
course - mummies rising up out of their tombs, the white
bandages rolling off. Court Cards The court cards have Kings,
Queens, Knights and Pages. Every suit in the minor Arcana in
this deck features a different civilization. Swords are
represented by Vikings, Batons by Africans, Cups by Aztecs
and East Indians people the coins cards. These cards are not
bad at all. Once again, the art is good and some of the
symbolism is well translated in the civilisation of the suit. The
Queen of Batons carries a burning stick and touches a leopard
behind
her. You have to get used to the image of a barely dressed,
tattooed woman from an african tribe represent the Queen of
Batons but it's an excellent exercise in cultural un-
conditioning if you want. The King of Swords is radiant with
masculine strength, authority and decisiveness. The winged
helmet he wears and the two eagles that accompany him add
to the atmosphere of this picture. He must be terribly cold
though like all the Swords-people; naked in the snow. Minor
Arcana he imagery on the minor Arcana is sometimes a
stylized version of Rider-Waite themes (i.e. the same picture,
only rendered in the style of the deck). In other instances, the
pictures have been changed radically to produce a new
perspective. In the case of the Swords this works out pretty
well. The booklet offers no help, because card descriptions do
not match the meanings. Example from the seven of Swords:
Description: "You waste yourself in futility. Blind, unstable
over frozen prostrusions, you miss every stroke and squander
time and energy in vanity and meanness. Clumsy you are
cutting blows, far away the targets, unreal
the prey. Your feet only get numbed" Meaning (upright):
"New plans. Wishes. Fortitude. Perseverance. Endeavor.
Hope. Confidence. Fantasy. Partial success." In other words:
Sort it out yourself. Personal evaluation I consider this deck as
a curiosity myself and like it because of the artistic quality. In
contrast to so many other decks, the minors are more
interesting than the major Arcana that offers in some instances
blank, empty images and shows a forced attempt in combining
ancient images with In the cases I have tried to work with this
deck, I personally find the biggest obstacle is the conflict
between 'familiar' and 'totally different' images on the minors.
I also notice that the five different civilizations don't really
blend into one deck, so it feels as if you're working with
five different sets of cards. This is certainly not one of my
favourite decks. And I will repeat - although I am certain this
message already came through - that the booklet
accompanying the Tarot of the Ages is by far the worst I have
ever read so far.

Der Akron-Tarot
From the very beginning, it is obvious that this pack is not just
an ordinary tarot pack. It is heavy (it will cost a lot to mail)
and the packaging is positively different from the plastic
standard boxes we are used to seeing from this publisher.
Attention has really been given to present this work in an
agreeable way. It is not often the book/box designer is
mentioned in my reviews, and if so, it is generally not for the
good. According to the colophon, the book/box designer was
Antje Hellmanzik and she did a very fine job. You can see
this in small details, such as beveling the edge of the slipcase,
which facilitates removing the box's contents. The contents
are a heavy book (395 pages), a oster printed on both sides
with diagrams for card spreads, and a likewise well-designed,
solid box that contains the tarot deck proper. No plastic
here.The concept for and the force behind this tarot is the
Swiss philosopher and author, Akron, whose civil name is
Charles F. Frey. He is not unknown in tarot circles; he is an
ardent tarot philosopher who was behind the profound
"Baphomet Tarot", based upon H.R.Giger’s futuristic
illustrations, published by Urania Verlag in 1992. With
Baphomet in mind comes my first and only objection to the
Akron-Tarot; the cards are much too small to do justice to the
many details. What at first sight appears to be just a
decorative pattern turns out (with the help of a magnifying
glass) to be tiny symbolic references. While the Baphomet
cards were a large size, the cards in the Akron Tarot are
standard sized, like the Waite-Smith tarot, and that is too
small in this case. The otherwise excellent illustrations are in
a surrealistic/symbolic style and are by the well-reputed
German artist S.O.Hüttengrund. "Der Akron-Tarot" is the
official name of the deck and is the result of teamwork. With
Akron as primus motor, main author, and editor, the text and
descriptions of the cards are discussed in detail and some are
partly delegated to Akron’s group of close devotees. Two
extra cards are added to bring various aspects of the "Devil"
into the deck. One of them, in upright position, is numbered
XV-I and called is a representation of the darker sides of the
female soul. Turned around, the card becomes XV-II, "The
Scarlet Anima", representing the hidden female forces in the
male nature. The second new card is titled It is the self-
destroying aspect of human behavior and is unnumbered. but
has an upside-down Ankh-cross where numbers normally are
placed. In the introductory pages, three members of the team
give their personal comments on these cards in particular. The
book in general focuses on the perplexities of the human soul
seen in a Jungian perspective. The major part of the book is,
of course, a going through of all 80 cards, discussing the
philosophical, psychological, historical, and mythological
terms. The text for most cards are split up in three, four, or
five sections under different headings, the last section always
dealing with the aspects of interpretation in different areas of
life: career, love, magic and spirituality. Akron himself states
that he doesn’t feel comfortable with writing interpretations,
so he delegated these to a member of the group only referred
to as "Michelle." In a section at the end of the book, it can be
seen to what extent others beside Akron have contributed or
written in the text concerning any one card. In particular, his
intention has been that many of the cards necessarily should
include comments seen from a female point of view.

A number of card spreads, "Legesysteme," as they are called

in German, follow after the descriptions of the cards; three of
them designed with special emphasis on the Goddess-aspect.
with quite an interesting and open-minded chapter about the
process of the deck's creation, which started back in 1990. The
chapter gives an insight into publication activities and
obstacles which otherwise do not become known to the
readers, regarded as being business secrets as they are by most
publishers. Besides Akron and the artist S.O.H, the various
members of Akron’s group: Arjun, Michelle, Lussia Rudgar
and merlYnn, are presented. "Der Akron Tarot" is a unique
publication among the endless stream of hastily-produced,
superficial mass media tarot decks that flood the market. It
offers a substantial text along with a pack of well-considered
cards. It was Akron’s wish that the price for this prestigious
package be kept to a reasonable level (which it is) and, at the
same time, be a deck of longer standing than most other decks
that survive for only one season. It is expected to be published
in an English edition, but the translation will probably take
some time; it is not easy reading either. We can only hope that
the easy way is not taken as was the case with Akron’s text to
the Baphomet Tarot, which in the English version was cut
down to almost nothing. It deserves better then that.

Alan Tarot Deck

This 78-card deck was produced in 1981 by Modiano of
Trieste, Italy. However it is actually a reprint of an earlier
deck, brought back to production by Mauro Boldi, AKA Alan,
who is described by this deck’s booklet as an astrologer, card-
reader and healer in Milan. Alan was not the artist behind this
deck, though it bears his name. There is another Modiano
deck which is called the Tarocchini di Alan, and is also
sometimes translated as the Tarot of Alan. But that is a 55-
card deck with different illustrations by an artist named E.
Gabbrielli.Argio Orell was the artist of our deck here. He was
recognized by the turn-of-the-century as one of Trieste’s
finest artists, and had achieved critical and popular success at
several exhibitions. His work was highly influenced by the
styles of Art Noveau, Art deco, and Japanese prints. Orell
designed this deck in 1910 as a commission from the
Austrian-Lloyd Steamship Lines. Because of the double-
ended designs there are essentially 44 different images on the
Trumps, and once this deck gets shuffled the only way to
determine whether the cards are up or upside-down would be
to refer to the little booklet, because the design on the card
backs are symmetrical! Some of the Trumps feature
steamships apparently owned by the ship line, the other
Trumps show scenes that might be encountered at various
ports of call. Stuart Kaplan includes some of these Trumps in
his Encyclopedia of Tarot Vol.I, on page 316 under the name
Exotic Tarot, which is the name by which the deck was sold
in America. He says that the deck was originally a 54-card
pack but was expanded to 78 cards for the reprint.The Alan
Tarot combines 22 highly detailed 16 equally elaborate court
cards and that, in contrast to the rest of the deck, show the
simple club, spade, heart and diamond patterns which any
Hoyle deck might have. The court cards feature people in
richly detailed costumes representative of four cultures: the
Orient for Clubs, Spanish for Spades, Arabian for Hearts and
Egyptian for Diamonds. The 48-page booklet is helpful
mostly for its details of the Trump illustrations. It gives
explanations of the ‘upright’ scenery, their interpretations, and
comments on the reversed scenes and their meaning. The
illustrations and the variety of cultures depicted are very
interesting in themselves, but reading the booklet really helps
to make some sense of what is happening in these miniature
stories. The scenes depicted, disparate as they appear, usually
bear a vague relationship to traditional Tarot Trump
meanings. Here are some excerpts from the booklet describing
a few of the cards below; for brevity I have edited out most of
the divinatory comments for each:IX. The Sanctuary: The
sanctuary, protected by a stretch of water and by houses close
together at the foot of a hill, dominates the quiet, deserted
scene. The pilgrim, who has come from afar, is afraid of
actually reaching the sanctuary - an unspoken challenge
keeping him on the shore due to a premonition of misfortune.
In fact, the sanctuary is empty. Reverse: To cross the stretch
of water to the sanctuary by whatever means available is a
temptation, but it is a dangerous one. Once the objective is
achieved, it would prove both disappointing and costly.
Advice: curb impetuosity.V. The Guardian Dragon: A dragon
with menacing aspect, with its mouth open and fangs ready to
bite, protects a garden and a house. There is no danger for the
people inside, however, for it is the people who approach
from the outside who must fear the dragon’s fury. Nobody
whose intentions are not friendly can enter, and whoever
enters secretly or in disguise shall be put to flight. Behind the
dragon safety reigns. Reverse: Being confident of a smooth
journey will prove ill-founded. In fact, everything rests on
water and there is no protection at the moment of sinking to
the bottom. Precautions are necessary and so look for
somebody who can give support and protection.

The Alchemical Tarot

This wonderful deck/book set was published in 1995 by
Thorsons, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers. Robert M.
Place designed the cards, and Rosemary Ellen Guiley co-
wrote the accompanying book. The suits are Staffs, Swords,
Coins and Vessels, and the Courts are King, Queen, Knight
and Lady.First off, let me state that although the cards were
adapted from alchemical illustrations from the Renaissance,
the concepts of alchemy do not overwhelm the deck. Many of
the cards do not appear explicitly alchemical at all (i.e.,
showing vials and retorts and ovens, or what most people
would associate with alchemy), although they are in keeping
with alchemical concepts. Other influences, such as classical
mythology, play a large part in the Majors. One could easily
use this deck as simply a Tarot deck without reference to
alchemy at all. I will admit that for myself, while I found the
discussions of alchemy in the book fascinating, when I read
with this deck I do not say to myself, "Oh, this card refers to
the albedo stage of the alchemical process." I think the value
of the alchemical material (besides its interest as a subject in
itself) is the background information it provides on how the
cards were designed and in the interesting correlations
between alchemy and modern psychological concepts, which
the deck illustrates excellently.The outstanding feature of this
deck is the artwork. There is a serene, uncluttered feeling to
these pictures, and they are done with great style. Rachel
Pollack in her introduction to the book calls them "elegant,"
which is the perfect word for them. The style is reminiscent of
the understated, cool stoicism of medical textbook
illustrations, which makes for a perfect contrast with the
vivid, dramatic content. In fact, despite the style, in content
these cards are some of the most vivid images I’ve seen in a
deck. The artist has done an excellent job of creating images
that could easily have been used by practitioners of the
classical Art of Memory in which, to quote from the book,
"the student create[d] memory images which could be
associated with each subject. It was specified that these
images should be striking and dramatic. They could be
unusual, vividly colored, ugly, frightening, or extremely
beautiful."They also have the iconic quality sometimes found
on coins. I have seen this quality on no other deck besides the
Waite-Smith.illustrates the mythological influence, as well as
the cards’ simplicity. It merely shows Hermes standing before
a landscape, with the four elements represented by the foliage-
covered hilltop, a stone which has burst into flames, a body of
water in the background, and sky and clouds above.One of the
most attractive cards is the which is featured on the box cover.
Here the artist’s simplicity works to its greatest effect. She
stands on her moon boat, with her finger to her lips, holding a
shut book, while a full moon shines in a dark blue sky. This
card is so beautiful and evocative that the Moon card suffers
by comparison, showing Diana with a flaming torch and two
dogs.Justice looks like one of those memory images, with the
top of her head sprouting flames. A note of cosmic
consciousness is introduced by the single eye peering out
from the flames. (The eye motif reappears in several cards.)is
a departure from the standard, and in fact kept me from using
this deck for a long time. Unlike the serene Hanged Man we
are used to, this one is in great distress, with coins falling
from his pockets on the ground. Here is a rare instance where
the alchemical theme intrudes; I suspect the change in the
card’s mood was made in order to fit the alchemical scheme,
leading to Death in the next card. It was easier for me to get
used to this card when I realized that a Minor card, the 9 of
Staffs, represents the qualities of self-sacrifice that are now
missing from the Hanged Man.
is a great card. Instead of the usual hairy monster, we see a
hermaphoditic creature. This entity is reminiscent of the
World card of the Mythic Tarot; however, in this card the
being seems imperfectly integrated; the two sexes are
obviously uncomfortable and at war with each other. The
being is chained to a rather forlorn-looking dragon, which
crouches on a black hole bearing bat-wings. This hole
represents the nigredo, the alchemical stage where the
substance is reduced to ash, killed, and blackened, but the
picture has a psychological power apart from its alchemical
roots.The Tower is the only Major card which explicitly
shows the physical alchemical process. The standard tower
has become an oven, at the top of which is a glass still.
Lightning has struck the still and cracked it, in keeping with
the standard Tarot Tower; but the negativity of the standard
picture is ameliorated by the red and yellow drops which
successfully emerge from the still and fall toward the waiting hands of
the alchemists kneeling below. Thus, although the still has been
cracked, the alchemical substance is successfully distilled. This is the
only Major card which represents a serious departure from the
standard sequence and may pose a difficulty for those used to the
standard picture suggesting cataclysmic, negative change.I have
reconciled myself to this image by seeing it as part of a sequence of
cards about change. In Death (a rather bleak card), only the negative
aspects are dealt with. In the Tower, negative things are happening
but positive changes are starting to emerge. In Judgement, the
negative has faded into the background (although still present with a
skull out of which grows a sheaf of grain), and change is shown as a
positive rebirth. This Judgement card is especially striking due to the
angel’s multicolored wings.also represents a departure, at least in
terms of the specific image. A mermaid with two tails holds her hands
to her breasts, from one of which emerges a stream of blood, while
from the other emerges a stream of milk, both falling into and
dissipating in the water in which she floats. When I first got this deck
this image disturbed me, but I’m getting used to it. For me this image
represents a concept often written about by Alan Watts, that the
picture we have of ourselves as being totally separate from our
environment is an illusion. The mermaid in this card has succeeded in
reaching a state of awareness in which she can draw energy from the
celestial bodies pictured above her, while giving part of herself back
to her environment.
Finally, the World is an extremely attractive card, showing a female
Hermes standing before a red heart, encircled by an ouroboros (a
snake swallowing its tail), with the four elements represented by four
small pictures surrounding the central figure; rocky earth, flames, a
wave in the ocean, and a sky with clouds. Red predominates in this
card because it represents the alchemical stage of rubedo, or
reddening.The Minors of this deck are strikingly original and a
welcome change from Waite-Smith inspired decks. Alchemical
concepts and illustrative devices are worked into the cards, but more
subtly than with the Majors. There are some cards that visually echo
Waite-Smith, for example the which shows a couple inside two glass
vessels placed end to end, or the 8 of Coins, in which a coin-maker is
stamping out identical coins. Some cards illustrate themes similar to
the Waite-Smith but are different visually, for example the n which a
man is burying his four coins in the earth. The same message is
conveyed, but there is added subtlety in the fact that he is piling the
dirt in the center of the hole, as if he wants to bury the coins but still
can’t bear to cover them up.Other cards are completely original,
such as the showing a hand whose five fingers have burst into
flame. This is a very vivid image which can be taken either
positively, illustrating an abundance of energy and motivation
for a project, or negatively, indicating that soon one will be
"burned out."Compared to the Waite-Smith, there are more
cards in this deck having to do with love and work. For
instance, the 4 of Staffs illustrates a mature, enduring
romance, rather than the Waite-Smith’s suggestions of hearth
and home; and the 8 of Vessels shows a potter at his wheel,
illustrating fulfilling work, rather than the Waite-Smith
picture which shows a figure walking away from
something.There are many animals in this deck, which are
used to great effect. In the an exceptionally beautiful card, a
heart floats in a glass vessel which rides on the back of a fish.
Out of the heart grows a grape vine. The is similar to the
Waite-Smith, but instead of a man stealing the swords, a fox
is shown with a sword in its mouth, bringing it to a pile it is
collecting. The fox looks appropriately sneaky. Finally, in an
especially evocative card, the 4 of Vessels, an elephant
balances atop four vessels. This is a wonderful image, because
one can identify with either the vessels, successfully
balancing a great weight, or with the elephant, perched
precariously.The Court cards in this deck are treated
somewhat differently than in other decks. Although the
current trend is to interpret them as distinct personalities,
representing either other people or parts of oneself, these
cards are basically treated like the other Minors, as particular
situations. While one could use the standard interpretations
for some of the cards, others, like the Queen of Staffs
(representing a choice between the crude and the
sophisticated) and the Queen of Swords (a choice between
positive or negative thoughts) seem designed to specifically
illustrate these concepts and would be difficult to reconcile
with the standard interpretations. Interestingly, in a previous
book, The Mystical Tarot, Guiley presents similarly simple,
although more traditional, Court card interpretations for the
Waite-Smith deck.For myself, I prefer these Court cards; I no
longer get a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach
whenever a Court card comes up in a reading. I encourage
people to try this system and see how it goes. To those who
might be outraged at the abandonment of the currently
popular method of interpreting courts, I would suggest that
complex and difficult is not necessarily better, particularly in
activities that involve exercising our creative and intuitive
faculties.

Alcohol Tarot
Never has a deck made me feel so old as the Alcohol Tarot
does. Some decks have elicited responses from me that have
indicated a certain stodginess and/or prudishness, but this was
worse. All I could do, when I examined this deck, was think,
"What a waste of money and talent." I practically clucked
with adult frustration. Such a response is bitter gall and
wormwood for someone like me, who has always prided
herself on being outrageously immature. Making the pun of
"bitter gall and wormwood" has been a small comfort.But not
Southern Comfort.Let us move on. The Alcohol Tarot is the
brainchild of "The Drunken Prophet" (aka "The Cult of the
Drunken Prophet") but three people are thanked in the pdf file
little white booklet (LWB)--Matthew Haddon-Brown, Daniel
North and Grant Taylor. I imagine they are the creative minds
behind this deck, which is, as the title states, an alcohol tarot.
The Majors express the archetypes through a Drunken Fool's
journey, which includes such stops as the toilet bowl (The
Hanged Man) and Last Call (Judgement).The Fool (at top) has
been renamed The Drunken Fool and depicts a red-eyed
Harpo Marx-like young man in a yogic position in which he
nibbles his own feet. While I am glad that he is so lithe (and it
isn't my feet he is nibbling!), there is a fearful quality to this
card that doesn't align with my understanding of this
archetype. But the little white book suggests differently:
"With his foot in his mouth, he represents the unbroken circle
and stands as a metaphor for infinite possibilities." The
Magician is, of course, a bartender--oops, I meant "lord of the
optics and prince of the pissed." The High Priestess and
Empress seem reversed in meaning--the High Priestess is a
buxom blonde who is eying fresh flowers as she fingers her
glass of red wine and the Empress, aka holds a crystal ball.
The is a young man wearing a medallion, flashing an inverted
peace sign beneath what looks like a d.j's station at a disco.
Since it also appears that he's wearing a white leisure suit, I
am not sure what the underlying message of the card truly is. I
suspect there's an inside joke here. I also suspect that, even if I
knew what it was, I wouldn't find it all that enlightening.The
Lovers show an embracing couple who have clearly tied more
than one on. I needed the LWB to explain the Chariot--it
depicts a man in the spotlight and I thought it was a
continuation of the dreaded disco theme. But no. The spotlight
is a mystical element--it depicts a group of young men
triumphantly returning home from theirtravels and the leader
of the group is "bathed in the light of spiritual intoxication."
Who knew? The Strength card depicts flaming absinthe...a
drink that brings Brian "Santo Briano" Williams to mind, so it
makes me smile. Less charming is the Hermit, cradling his
rum to his cheek as he stands on a beautiful beach. This is the
singularly most disgusting rendition of Card IX I have ever
seen. There are actually several sickening images that stand
out in this deck. I have already mentioned that the Hanged
Man shows someone making a deposit in the toilet bowl, but
that is not our last visit to the W.C. depicts a urinal filled with
a large skeletal head and bile--a sign that our visits to the
toilet will be ending sooner rather than later, even if we
mitigate our immediate problems with Temperance (water and
aspirin).But all is not gloom and doom. The Star offers hope
of winning a dart match and is practically a Budweiser
commercial for manly good times and bonding. The World is
a lighthearted version of the Anima Mundi, a party girl we
have all glimpsed at discos in our past.While these cards are
only nominally offensive, my real gripe is with the Minor
Arcana and the Courts. Spent after the stellar creative apexes
that constitute the Majors, the creators designed a more
simply illustrated Minor Arcana. Even in my sober state, I
can't symbolically differentiate between five wineglasses
arranged on a table or six wineglasses arranged on a table.
Granted, the LWB does that for me, but imagistically
speaking, I can't do much with these. The Court Cards show a
bit more thought. The bottle shapes and sizes often express
the rank--the bottle for the King of Beers is taller and less
curvy than the Queen. The Knight of Spirits is a hip flask and
the is an empty cut crystal decanter. You may decipher some
symbolism in the chosen vessels.You can download the 27
page LWB for this deck for free from the Beer Tarot website.
The beginning of the LWB reiterates what appears on one of
the printed cards--that both brewing and tarot have roots in
Egypt and this deck helps to regain the ancient link between
tarot and alcohol. Perhaps I am not the one to review this
deck, since I have never been drunk enough to buy such a
paralogism. But I will continue to carry on, regardless.There
is a discussion on how to read the cards, with an explanation
of dignified and ill-dignified cards, which seems ironic since
many of these cards lack something in the way of dignity. One
should be "free of distraction" when reading the cards, yet
one's alcoholic state is not addressed, which seems odd given
the nature of the deck's theme. I wonder if inebriation is
considered a distraction.
I bet not.In addition to the Past, Present, Future and Celtic
Cross spread, we are provided with a seven card Alcohol
Spread, which has such unique positions as The First Drink
("The first influx of alcohol into the system. This card points
to the beginning of the night and will have a direct effect on
cards that follow it.") and The Small Hours ("This card points
to after hour's (sic) activities when all the pubs, bars, and
clubs have closed."). There is even a position for hangovers
and other potential results of a night of carousing (The Next
Day). The remainder of the booklet addresses card meanings.
This is a deck of mixed messages. In many ways, it glorifies
drinking, yet the LWB offers the following pearls: "Hitting
the bottle may bring relief, but did drink bring you here in the
first place?" -- The Lovers; "Bliss is not found in a bottle" --
The Hermit. Death shows bile in the toilet, a sign that one has
truly wrecked one's liver, but the meaning includes the
lighthearted suggestion, "A change of drink or bar is in order."
I suppose the way to integrate these seemingly diametrically
opposed approaches is to have a drink or two and see what
develops. The independently published deck is printed by
Carta Mundi, so the printing quality is excellent (if the Minor
Arcana images are less than enthralling, they are certainly
clear). are black, with a silhouette of a hooded man holding a
drink in his hand against a backdrop of a full moon. They are
quite striking, and while the man in the picture is holding a
beer, one could, if one chose, imagine it was someone holding
a paper cup from Starbucks with a yellow-gold protective
handwrap. It's all a matter of perspective, as this deck
illustrates in a number of ways. Aces are "Shots," but
otherwise the numbers remain the same. The suits are Beers
(Wands), Wines (Cups), Spirits (Swords), and Lagers
(Pentacles). These choices are not explained, but I would
guess (from my limited alcoholic experience) that Beers, like
Wands, symbolize youthful exuberance, Wines, like Cups,
bespeak romantic interludes, Spirits and Swords are lethal,
and Lagers are the gold standard of ales. I am sure I am
simplifying these choices, but I also see no point in belaboring
them.

Amber Tarot
When I first glimpsed some of the Amber Tarot cards on the
Internet, I went into immediate lust. I can still recall the leafy
greens and browns of the court cards that made me want to
join them in their peaceful, charmed forest.As soon as I heard
that there was someone I could buy the cards from in France, I
acted immediately. While I am not swimming in riches,
money was no object; when I am in the throes of tarot-lust,
"do what thou wilt" takes on a whole new meaning.As soon as
I ordered the deck, I decided it wouldn't be enough to just
review this deck. No, I had to read one of the books.
Otherwise, my review would be, in some terrible way,
lacking.But, wait. One might not be enough. So I ordered The
Great Book of Amber, by Roger Zelazny, which includes all
ten of the Amber novels. It is the size of War and Peace, but
the print seems smaller. Still, no sacrifice was too great to
make for an informed review...and a more meaningful grasp
of the deck. The book arrived before the deck...it sat on my
dining room table, looking weighty and daunting--appropriate
adjectives, I later discovered, for the nature of the Amber
series. And then--the deck arrived. The title card reminded me
that this was a Role-Playing Game (RPG) deck ("Le Jeu de
Role Sans de Ambre") and reminded me that this was never
going to be a deck I used regularly. Not that they are bad pips-
-they're pretty enough, as pips go. They're festooned with
lovely flowers, if you like that sort of thing. But they aren't
evocative, pictorial images that illustrate scenes and themes
from the book, which seems criminally negligent to me. If you
have all these great story moments that can exemplify card
meanings and add to the interpretations, why not use them?
When potential falls so short of grasp, I become, naturally,
disappointed. I don't know if it's better, when role-play
gaming, not to have anything telegraphed by imagery--so that
pips would be the decor of choice for RPG. I bought the deck
for tarot reading, which means my needs might not be in
accord with the deck's purpose.
But I digress. I began to read The Bastard of Amber and
became acquainted with some of the Court Cards: Corwin of
Amber is the He is trying to regain the throne of Amber, but
it's difficult; the bastard brother Eric, has seized power.
Neither is sure that the real monarch, their father, Oberon,
(aka the isn't alive and biding his time...or immured
somewhere by one of the would-be rulers of Amber.
It seems this family isn't much like the Cosbys--and their
"peaceful, charmed forest" is filled with corpses. Oberon's
children constantly jockey for power in ways overt and
oblique. They put the dis in dysfunctional, not hesitating to lie
or put one another in fatal harm's way if it means getting one
step closer to the throne. Sisters and brothers abound (Oberon
was not a poster king for Planned Parenthood), and each plots
against the other in rather vile ways. For example, Eric has
Corwin blinded while he is in chains with red hot pokers. It's
Eric's little way of celebrating his ascendance to the throne.
He does, however, eventually regret this act--because
Corwin's regenerative powers have him regaining his sight
and his freedom, and Eric wishes he had simply killed him
and gotten rid of him permanently. I ended up reading four of
the Amber books, getting to know most of the Court Cards
(though I still don't know who Swayvill is, besides the King of
Pentacles). And I learned something else: I will never read
four books just to write a great tarot deck review again. The
books are in the Sci-Fi/Fantasy genre and have lots of
interesting plot twists. But none of them seem to relate to the
Amber Tarot, except in a token manner. The Unicorn is the
"Patron Animal" of Amber; the show back-to-back unicorns.
The castle turrets enmeshed in mists of card could
conceivably depict the ones in Amber. Sly Fiona is the and
she is depicted characteristically, with her red hair and her
books of knowledge piled on the floor. But the assignment of
the Queen of Coins doesn't align in any way with the book's
plot. Most of the Court Cards are family members, but the is
the mad-but-brilliant artist, Dworkin. I can see the Swords
attribution, but why a Page, if Dworkin is a master of the
intellect? Things don't gel--for a lot of the assignments, which
seem random. And I couldn't help but mentally match certain
scenes in the book to some of the Minor Arcana. When
Corwin and Ganelon get drunk by Corwin's tomb (needless to
say, like Grant, Corwin isn't buried in Corwin's tomb), I
envisioned a kinky Four of Swords. Eric's death is a perfect
Ten of Swords. In one scene, Benedict reaches into another
dimension to rescue his brother. That could work as an Ace or
Four of Cups...beautifully. Scene after scene evoked Minor
Arcana cards--especially the suit of Swords--and the fact that
these opportunities seemed wasted almost made me forget
what a beautiful deck this is.
Ancient Egyptian Tarot
Though there are several Egyptian-themed decks available,
most of them leave me rather cold. Being a fan of all things
Egyptian, however, I never gave up looking for a great
Egyptian deck. A few years ago, my search finally ended
when I got my hands on Clive Barrett's "The Ancient
Egyptian Tarot." Over time it has become one of my favorite
decks to reach for when I am taking a vacation from my trusty
Thoth. Barrett's deck has flickered in and out of print several
times, and is currently quite hard to find. Happily, however, it
is scheduled to be reissued in February 2004. The edition I am
reviewing here is the previous edition of 1994, but the
advance information on the new edition indicates that only
thepackaging has been updated.he deck comes with a small
paperback book. The cards themselves are a bit wider than is
the norm; the book explains that the card size follows the
principles of Sacred Geometry (the 2:3 ratio of the Golden
Mean), and the various inner borders follow other more
detailed principles of Sacred Geometry which are also
explained. The hieroglyphics around the border of each card
are relevant passages from the Egyptian Book of the Dead.
The Trumps depict various deities of the Egyptian pantheon,
while the Minors are populated by mere mortals going about
their lives in Ancient Egypt.The art is top-notch, and appears
to be either colored pencil or conte crayon. The colors are
very vivid, and the pictures lean more towards naturalistic
than stylized (i.e., it's not just that two-dimensional profile
thing you get in most Egyptian decks). The pictures generally
convey the basic meaning of the Smith-Waite deck, even if
the particulars of the scene are different.
What truly makes this deck a standout for me, though, is how
easily it adapts to whatever one's particularinterpretative bent
is. I want to preface the following remarks by admitting that I
am strongly biased towards overtly Qabalistic decks such as
Thoth. I also enjoy the illustrated minors of the Smith-Waite
deck, but never resonated very strongly with the medieval
type imagery. The Ancient Egyptian Tarot comfortably
occupies a place between these two deck styles. The
illustrated minors are colorful, fresh, inventive, and very
evocative -- a practiced reader could happily work with this
deck and completely ignore Qabalah altogether, and a
beginner could make a great start at interpretations by merely
studying the pictures. I showed some of the minors to a
complete tarot novice, and she got most of the basic meanings
spot on. On the other hand, if you are coming from a more
intricate esoteric system such as one of the Golden
Dawn/Thelemic varieties, you will be richly rewarded by this
deck as well. Refreshingly, these aspects are not pounded
home again and again until the reader hollers Uncle Al; aside
from the standard few paragraphs of the Golden Dawn's
contribution to Tarot and a little diagram of the Tree of Life in
the back of the book, all Clive Barrett says about this is the
following: "Each card is fully illustrated, and so not only more
satisfying for both the reader and the subject but also readily
accessible to the beginner...the practiced user will find deeper
symbols contained within the illustrations." That's pretty low
key, but a close examination of this deck reveals this
statement to be an extreme understatement.For instance,
consider the Five of Swords. Four swords lay broken on the
floor of a dwelling. The man of the house stands dejected on
the balcony, head bowed. A woman in the foreground watches
him, and is loosely holding one remaining sword, presently
hidden from him. The book's cursory explanation ("a
humiliating defeat which must be accepted before progress is
made") certainly fits. But going beyond this book meaning
yields a stunning level of increasingly deeper esoteric
meaning. The planet ascribed to this card is Venus - the
woman is wearing a green dress in support of this. The sephira
is Geburah, underscored by the man's Martian-like red belt on
his tunic. Further, Venus energy evokes Netzach, and the
actual physical positions of the two characters alludes to the
positions of Geburah and Netzach on the Tree of Life. Going
still deeper, we are reminded that the energy of Venus is
really the watered-down energy of Binah, the highest female
principle of all, symbolized by the black tablecloth hiding this
last remaining sword from the view of the man on the
balcony. Whether interpreting the picture at face value, or
interpreting the Qabalistic symbolism, the message comes
through very clearly: only when the rational mind is
completely defeated can the more powerful intuitive mind
(represented here by male vs. female principles) come into its
full power. And that full power is hidden from us until we can
look beyond the failure of the rational and look behind the
veil of the unconscious. The unconscious, for its part, will
bide its time until then, keeping that sword in trust for us.This
interpretation of this single card is not even as detailed as it
could be. Tiny but significant details abound - there is a
pomegranate on the table the woman is leaning on, for
instance, evoking even more nifty things about the
unconscious. The great thing is that every card in the deck
rewards deep study in just this way. The more you look, the
more you see.One of the most genuinely cool things in this
deck is what I call the "secret stories" element. This isn't
mentioned in the book, but there are several recurring
characters appearing here and there in the deck in "Where's
Waldo?" fashion. For instance, there is a covert saga
involving a little bald Egyptian toddler, shown first and
prominently in the Five of Cups. He appears in several other
cards, though not in any kind of set order (he flits in and out
of the Cups, and makes a cameo on a Trump or two). Take the
time to find all the cards with him in them and lay them out in
a little story, and you'll get some really interesting insights on
how these cards relate to each other. Consider these card
sequences Qabalistically and -- you guessed it -- you'll come
away with some pretty sharp Tree of Life tidbits that might
not have occurred to you before. There are other "characters"
you can follow like this, and you can even track a journey that
the afore-mentioned Five of Swords' pomegranate takes
throughout the deck.I thought it was really nice that while
there are some nods to Thoth and Crowley is based on a
rather famous painting of Crowley, giving the Thelemically-
minded a little wink), it is definitely not overtly Thelemic or
really overtly any one thing. It can be if you wan t it to be, but
it's your choice. The book is more concerned with general
meanings, and is very well-written. Astrological attributes and
Golden Dawn keywords are given, along with afewparagraphs
of general interpretations to use as a springboard for working
with

Ancient Italian Tarots

This deck is a reproduction of an 1880 Italian deck. It is
similar to the Marseilles in style. It is much more finely
detailed than the woodcut Marseilles decks and much more
richly colored. The cards are slightly narrower than average at
2 5/16" X 4 1/2". The suits are Cups (Coppe), Coins (Danari),
Wands (Bastoni) and Swords (Spade). The Court consists of
King (Re), Queen (Regina), Knight (Cavale) and Page (
Fante). The Major Arcana are also named in Italian and the
scenes are also based on the Marseilles. The card number is
written in all four corners of the card and the card name is
written in the bottom border. Justice is XI and Strength is
VIII. The art is good. It appears to be engraving which has
been painted in. The scenes are very detailed and are
meticulously painted. The colors are varied and deep. The
scenes are on an off-white background. The backs are pink
with a diamond pattern.This deck does not come with a little
booklet. It does have nine additional cards which give very
sparse directions and meanings in Italian, German, English,
French and Spanish. The reading directions describe a variant
of the Three card spread which first divides the deck into
Major and Minor Arcana and then into suits. The reading is
done with the suit that applies to the question - Cups for Love,
Coins for Business, etc. The meanings consist of a few key
words. I would recommend this deck as a nice alternative to
the Marseilles. I would also recommend it to collectors. Lo
Scarabeo has several of these reproductions on the market
which are currently being distributed by US Games.

Angels Tarot
This deck/book set was published the same year as the
Alchemical Tarot, by the same authors. Unlike that highly-
regarded deck, I feel the Angels Tarot has not gotten nearly
the attention it deserves.In this deck, angels are not pictured as
hazy, ethereal, soft-focus creatures who are always beaming
pleasant thoughts at us, but rather as exciting, vivid and
strange messengers from the psyche (or from the spiritual
world, depending on how one sees these things). This may
have diminished the deck’s potential popularity among New
Age angelophiles, but it vastly enhances its use as a tool with
which to explore our inner world. I freely admit I have no real
knowledge or experience with angels, Christian or otherwise.
But I find that the evocative imagery and iconic appearance of
these figures makes them quite striking as Tarot cards,
regardless of their origin. The wings themselves can be taken
simply as symbols of the otherworldliness and spirituality of
the figures.The imagery is taken for the most part from
Christian angelology and iconography, but the authors stress
in the book that they regard angels, like the Tarot figures, as
archetypes of human experience, with correspondences and
parallels to many other religions. To illustrate this point, I’ve
scanned the The imagery is strikingly similar, despite the
obvious differences in Place’s and Pollack’s sources. While
the Abraxas image is quite different from the Magician we’re
accustomed to, its power and vividness alone make it a great
Magician card, quite apart from the book’s description of the
Magician-like qualities of Abraxas.Some of the Major Arcana
are quite traditional, for example which even includes the
triangle-within-a-square symbol from the Rider-Waite-Smith
deck. Others show interesting takes on the traditional pictures,
such as the Manu/Angel of Fate (Wheel of Fortune) card (all
the Majors have subtitles which help one recognize the
traditional Tarot title). On this card the angel scatters symbols
of fate: coins, dice, and playing cards. Another interesting
variation is the Theliel/Prince of Lovers (Lovers) card, which
shows only the Cupid figure usually seen hovering in the sky
on Marseilles and other antique Lovers cards. This has a
perhaps unintended consequence; there is no male-female
imagery in this deck, that is, no card on which a man and a
woman are shown together. This, combined with the
androgynous quality of many of the angels, might make this a
good deck for gays and lesbians, who usually have to struggle
to reconcile their own experience with the heterosexual
imagery which pervades most decks. Several cards are simply
beautiful, such as who is shown making and scattering
dreams, represented as multi-colored stars. Some have called
these Court cards plain, but I disagree. Their faces are
extremely expressive, and the artist has included many
elemental symbols on the Courts, such as the fish on the.
These are my favorite Court cards of any of Place’s decks. I
love the fact that the Minor cards use French playing-card
suits (Hearts, Spades, Diamonds, Clubs) rather than the
traditional Italian Tarot suits. Coincidentally, I have been
looking for some time for a Tarot deck with French suits, and
have been unable to find one until now. There are French
decks sold for game-playing which have French suits, but the
Majors of those decks are of the type used in Tarock decks, in
other words, purely decorative, with no relation to traditional
symbols or concepts. Then there is Raymond Buckland’s
Gypsy Fortune-Telling Tarot, which uses French suits, but the
Majors are, again, completely unrelated to standard Tarot
Majors. I believe the Angels Tarot is the only true Tarot deck
to use French suits. There are two obstacles that many people
would experience with this deck. First, the Devil and cards
are rather harsh. Abaddon/Angel of Death is a stark picture
showing a skeleton with a blood-tipped scythe. Both the
picture and the title are harsh; if reading for a squeamish
client, one might want to especially emphasize that the Death
card does not mean physical death. Actually, I find that the
stark quality of the skeleton is ameliorated by the large wings,
which suggest that there is more to death than simply decay.
Likewise, the choice of “Satan” as a title for the Devil card
was perhaps an unfortunate one, as for many people the name
“Satan” is even more emotionally loaded than the name
“Devil.” Fortunately, the picture is not particularly
frightening, and is in my opinion less frightening than the
Rider-Waite-Smith image. In the Angels deck, he appears
almost a figure of ridicule, puffed-up with self-importance.
The next obstacle is the fact that the pip cards (Ace through
10) are unillustrated; that is, like playing cards, they show the
requisite number of suit symbols and no scene. This obstacle
may be insurmountable. If you must have illustrated pip cards,
then this deck is not for you.
However, many people, especially in Europe, work with
unillustrated pip decks like the Marseilles, and doing so can
open one’s mind to different ways of working with the Tarot.
With such a deck, one can be creative in deciding how to
interpret the cards. One can simply call to mind the Rider-
Waite-Smith-type pictures, or one can use a number-plus-suit
system to develop one’s own interpretations. Tom Tadfor
Little will be publishing a book outlining his own newly-
invented system. Whatever system you use, you will find that,
although reading without scenes is in some ways challenging,
in other ways it’s liberating, since the intuition is not bound or
restricted by a picture. The authors present a system which
they claim is a number-plus-suit method, but actually most of
the card interpretations are derived from the Rider-Waite-
Smith deck, with a few exceptions. Actually, these
interpretations are the same as those used for the Alchemical
deck. Place’s pips are striking. The standard pip symbols are
formed by angels’ faces and wings, drawn in the shape ofthe
pip symbol, as for example in the 10 of Hearts. The pip cards
do not contain numbers, but the orientation of the cards,
unlike some Marseilles decks, can be easily determined by the
direction of the faces. I find that all those little faces have a
pleasant humanizing effect on the reading process, which one
can miss sometimes when working with a deck like the
Marseilles, which simply shows ten cups. And Place
incorporates the standard Italian suit symbols on at least one
card per suit, so there is still a design connection to the Tarot
suit symbols we know and love. The accompanying book by
Guiley and Place is very good as an introduction to angel lore.
I was fascinated to learn that Christian angelology has roots in
pagan and Judaic traditions, and this is something else which
makes the deck more palatable for non-Christians. My one
slight complaint is that Guiley has a tendency to shift without
warning from describing traditional ideas about angels to
laying out her own beliefs. I admit my mind did wander a bit
whireading about the complex cosmologies and hierarchies of
angels, although I’m sure the authors only touched the surface
of this intimidating topic.
Animal Tarot
Playful and deceptively profound, this collage deck is utterly
charming. If you're not an animal lover, this is not the deck for
you, but if you are even lukewarm on the subject, you will
find the Animal Tarot by Paula Gibby irresistible. There are
several cat tarots, a dog tarot, and even a 78-card Animal
Tarot by Menegazzi, but all of these decks seem to simply
interchange animals for people. By that, I mean the animals
are put in human positions. Sometimes, you get a sense of the
animal as well, but mostly the animal is almost a prop. A
gummi bear would do (and has, in Gibby has really
considered the behavior of each animal, and created her
images accordingly. Cats are natural predators--you can see
that hunter's gleam in the eyes of the feline leaning over the
fishbowl in the Death card. card displays affectionate pandas
in the midst of a pre-mating ritual, a heart-shaped candy box
between them. Remarkable as it seems, there is a bird that sits
safely in the mouth of crocodiles. This isn't a Kipling "Just-
So" story--it's an observable fact. It seems that the bird
eliminates bacteria from the crocodile's mouth, so the
crocodile protects it for reasons of survival. Theard viscerally
shows this power of gentility over brawn through the behavior
of the animal kingdom.The cards themselves are often
beautiful, unless good looks are sacrificed for a good laugh.
bats ammy Faye Baker eyelashes and sports flashy earrings, a
suave baboon smokes a cigarette as a pair of jackasses mug
obediently for the camera in the Devil card. While the blue
martini glass makes for nice staging, the man trying to escape
the sticky spider web adds another dimension to this card, so
it's not "just another funny face."In fact, many of the cards are
quite complex and offer open-ended interpretations. I found I
was able to give an excellent . This says something positive
indeed about the quality of the cards and the thought behind
them.Despite not being marked with the requisite number of
suit symbols, these cards are easily recognizable if you are
familiar with their Rider-Waite-Smith counterparts. On the
most simple level, the key color of a suit predominates the
cards. The Wands are red-orange in hue, most of the Cups are
blue-toned, Swords are bluish-white, and the Pentacles
contain a lot of greens and browns.More than that, the images
themselves are eloquently identifiable. The horse in the is a
noble victor; the depicts the most graceful, gentle group of
celebrants I've ever seen. This is a circle I long to join!If
youBunnies have replaced Fred and Ginger, giving new
meaning to the expression "going at it like rabbits." On the
other paw, the actually displays two swords--but who needs
them? The ape's pose fluently expresses the quintessential
dilemma of that card.Pentacles are normally my least favorite
suit, but not in this deck! Has there ever been a more adorable
If all the cards were this cute, the deck would buckle under
the heavy weight of over-sweetening, but the occasional note
of whimsy does not come amiss in a deck that deals
unflinchingly with the more challenging cards. Check out the
I could select several more cards to lavish with praise, but I
must move on to the court cards. The Animal Tarot contains
some of my favorite court cards ever. When I was dealing
with a particularly difficult situation, I chose cards from the
Animal Tarot to "program" confidence. One reason for this
was the , a card I often use as my significator. In the Animal
Tarot, she is not just supremely confident, she is also
protective and protected, two qualities I really needed to
absorb at the time. This Queen of Wands is one of my
favorites ever.But I love them all! The has such a flamboyant
sweetness! The is an utterly innocent sensualist, whereas the
is a calculating, verbal strategist-in-training (notice he's only
formed a four letter word!).I feel very lucky that I host this
deck, if for no other reason than I can use tons of images to
illustrate this review. But of course, the cards are more than
reason enough.The deck comes in an exuberant jungle print-
fabric bag, lined with a bright red flowered pattern. A comes
with the deck that shows the animal print, complete with
zebras, giraffes, and lions. Cards are unnumbered, and
measure three and a half by five inches (the same size as the
Blue Rose Tarot). The deck is self-published, and is
manufactured by Soul Guidance, the team of Carol Herzer and
Dirk Gillabel, who also sell many decks of their own. The
cards themselves are hand-made, and consist of high-quality
color copies, backed with contact paper. I recommend this
wonderful deck for collage fan enthusiasts, animal lovers, and
anyone who is looking for a beautifully-constructed deck. If
you know your RWS, you should have no problem reading
with this deck. I consider it one of the prizes of my collection.

Baphomet The Tarot of the Underworld

This is a large deck, 4 1/4” X 6 6/8”, rendered mostly in tones
of silver and gray, with a bit of brown occurring here and
there. The edges are gilded with silver and it is sold as a
deck/book set in a slip-sleeve case for the hefty price of
$60.00, though I have seen it advertised on alt.tarot for
$48.00. The deck is Majors only and the art has been gleaned
from the existing body of work by artist H.R. Geiger. Geiger
won an Oscar for his work in Alien, and if you saw the movie
and got a good look at the alien, you have an idea of what this
deck looks like. Although none of the creatures depicted in
this deck has two rows of metal teeth, dripping saliva, most
have a nightmarish quality about them. Some human body
parts are incorporated into the work, but even they have thin,
silvery skin, which allows you to see traces of the veins and
underlying muscle structure. The art is in no way related to
the traditional imagery of the Tarot and was not drawn with
the Tarot in mind. Apparently someone went through Geiger’s
work and decided which pictures would make an interesting
deck. Here are a few descriptions to give you an idea of what I
am talking about:The Fool - A bald creature with some type
of apparatus on his head (it resembles a set of head phones), is
seated in profile and either smoking a pipe or playing some
type of wind instrument ( I have since been told that the object
is a shotgun). He looks more like he is smoking to me and
appears to have smoked a bit too much, as his face has a
weary and foggy expression. The bottom half of a woman
kneels before him, with one leg on each of his hips, such that
her buttocks are a few inches from his face. He seems highly
unimpressed. He appears human-like, having eyes, a
prominent nose, a mouth, arms and hands, but he also has
what appear to be scales or striated lines on his head and
chest. His skin is dark gray in shadow, and lighter gray in
light. Behind them is a set of stairs going up to the sky,
similar to those built by the Aztecs, only very dark.Justice - A
horned creature, reminiscent of the Devil, is holding what
appears to be the body of the Crucified Christ in one hand.
The Christ figure is not on the crucifix, though he has the
same pose he would have if he were on it. An elastic or rubber
band is attached to his outstretched arms and the horned
creature is pulling it back like a sling-shot, while aiming with
one eye closed. There are various worm-like appendages
growing from the creature’s body, some of which have heads.
The heads have skull-like faces and one has flowing hair,
arranged as if it had stuck it’s finger in a light socket, while
another is wearing a shiny black top hat. There are daggers
floating in the background.There are many female body parts
in the pictures, usually the lower half, including legs, thighs,
buttocks and pelvis. Some are semi-clothed, usually in leather,
metal or machinery, and some are not clothed at all. Generally
speaking, the female creatures and body parts are shown in
some type of submissive posture, either being penetrated by
some object, or about to be penetrated, or shown as adoring
acolytes hanging on the sides of some other creature. Two of
the card names have been changed: The Hanged Man has
become The Hanged Witch. Again only her lower 1/2 is
shown, legs splayed with some type of apparatus attached to
her genitals. Temperance has become Alchemy, though the
central creature in this card looks more like it should be in
The Devil.... Well what do you know, it is in the Devil card as
well. The book that comes with the deck, does not explain the
symbology, though it does list the paintings the cards were
taken from. Perhaps some research into what the artist has to
say about those paintings would be helpful, but I doubt it, as
the paintings were not done with a Tarot deck in mind. The
book begins by describing the history of Baphomet and how
he is seen in various cultures and guises. It then goes on to
give "Some Fundamental Reflections", starting with Carl
Jung’s Model of Synchronicity and going on to describe the
Tarot’s use in exploring our inner and outer realities
Barnes & Noble Tarot Deck
It seems to me the artist, Shirley Barker, who I would guess is
unknowledgeable about Tarot, had in front of her three decks
-- the Waite-Smith, the Crowley-Harris Thoth, and the
Marseilles -- and then simply threw them together in a random
way.This approach doesn’t work too badly in the Major
Arcana. The art style is somewhat suggestive of woodblock
prints, and is rather crude and simple, with bright primary
colors. I find it fairly attractive. Each figure is placed before a
solid, flat, deep color background, a different color for each
card, which makes for a colorful effect when laid out. The
images are simplified. Each card contains just a few symbols,
haphazardly chosen from the tree above-mentioned decks. For
example, the Chariot reflects the Marseilles, but with the
addition of the spinning sphere on the charioteer’s abdomen
from the Thoth deck.If these Major cards were accompanied
with Minors that were attractive or at least internally
consistent, then I would not hesitate to recommend this deck
as a nice gift set. Unfortunately, the artist (or designer) makes
some truly bizarre choices. The Court cards are mostly ugly
copies of the Waite-Smith Court cards, and not always the
corresponding cards; the Queen of Wands is copied from the
Waite 9 of Pentacles. The number cards are neither all pips or
all scenes but a mishmash of both. The suit of Wands has
scenes. The 4, 5 and 6 of Wands have more or less Waite-type
scenes, with the 5 of Wands the only number card in the deck
with a human figure, although it seems to be copied from the
Waite-Smith 10 of Wands. The 2, 3, 7, 8, 9 and 10 of Wands
show an arrangement of wands suggestive of the cards’
meanings.The suit of Cups contain only non-suggestive pips.
Swords contain arrangements, some of which are suggestive
of meaning and some not. The ones that are suggestive are
copied from the Thoth deck. Pentacles are non-suggestive,
except the 8 of Pentacles, which is a direct copy from the
Thoth deck.The only good thing to be said about the Minors is
that the flat color background is the same throughout each suit
(dark purple for Swords, blue for Cups, ugly yellow for
Pentacles and ugly orange for Wands) which might make it
easier for beginners to distinguish them quickly in a
layout.The book which comes with the deck is hardbound and
small (64 pages). The author (Jonathan Dee) lists three Sasha
Fenton books at the back for further reading and thanks
"Sasha" in the acknowledgments, leading me to assume he is
perhaps a former student of hers, and the meanings given
seem to follow Fenton’s friendly, fortune-telling-style
approach to the cards. The information is fairly well
presented, with keywords, upright and reversed meanings, and
six spreads (but not the Celtic Cross), as well as a chapter
covering card combinations (i.e., two 8’s means surprises,
three 8’s means good news about relationships, and four 8’s
means journeys and news).The Minors of this deck are so
poorly conceived and so mediocre in execution that I cannot
recommend this deck at all as a gift set, which it was
obviously intended to be. I think a much nicer gift for a
beginner would be the Waite-Smith or Universal Waite-Smith
along with Mary Greer’s book, Tarot For Your Self. I would
only recommend this deck to collectors who would be
interested in owning a somewhat unusual set of Majors and
who can’t resist the $9.98 price (as I couldn’t). As an
afterthought, the image on the backs of the cards is copied
from the Marseilles 6 of Swords and is quite nicely done. The
artist would have been better off doing all the pip cards this
way.Warning: The cards inside the outer packaging are
packaged in a cardboard box which fits the cards snugly, as
there is no little booklet. When you replace the cards in this
box, be careful -- closing the lid may bend the top card.
Blue Moon Tarot
For one thing the corners are rounded which gives the deck a
more useable feel. While the cardstock is thinner, it’s more
flexible and really quite sturdy, though you probably wouldn’t
want to bend and shuffle the deck as rigorously as you could
with Julie’s Ancestral Path Tarot which was published and
printed by US Games. What really POPS with this edition
(because we know it’s not the corners!) is the color and light.
The printer Julie chose did a wonderful job of bringing her
original artwork to life. As I continue to look at each card
from both decks side by side, I see new elements rise to the
surface of the new cards. Being a visually oriented person,
this thrills me to no end!I’ve picked three cards from the deck
to compare for you here, the first is the Chariot. The
difference in this card caught my eye immediately without
even looking at the two cards together. The sky is brighter and
the bridge of light spans the card with incandescent beauty.
You see more detail of the rocky plateau, with better
definition of the foliage in the foreground as well as the subtle
mist which hides behind the card title. But the thing that I love
most is the sharpness of the Moon traveling across the sky
through it’s various phases. In the original printing these
Moons were rather fuzzy and the smaller crescents were
nearly lost in the clouds - but the new version is as if I cleaned
the smudges from my glasses and joined Carly Simon in
singing “I Can See Clearly Now”...it gives new strength and
resonance to the interpretation of this card.Speaking of what
an awesome image of power this card brings to the table! The
new card again glows with a more focused light. Look at that
wonderful burst by the lioness’ head. You can now see that
the man is holding this energy, perhaps even channeling it
from his leonine counterpart. The lighting across is body is
also softer and more lifelike. The celestial lemniscate seen on
the original card is no longer visible, but the background of
evening sky undulates with shadows and stars and a soft glow
of light peeks out from behind this curtain like the first flicker
of morning before the sun turns up the volume to a new
day.Finally, for this comparative look, we have Justice. The
main difference between the two printings here is the central
image, the Goddess Maat. There is little change to the
background, although the black pillar on the left is cropped
out a bit more in the new deck, the brightness of the starkly lit
background is perhaps a bit softer and the detail in the
feathers of her wings is quite similar. But her skin is much
more vibrant as it casts its many tones through the light and
shadow. Not that she was in need of an ‘Extreme Makeover’
by any means, but now she literally shines in all of her glory.
Not only for this card, but the new printing of the Blue Moon
Tarot really does these cards Justice!While Julie Cuccia-Watts
has had 1000 copies of the deck printed, I wouldn’t put off
purchasing them if you are thinking of adding them to your
collection. The price is $50, which includes First Class
postage in a securely packed mailing box. They are signed
and numbered by the artist and besides being a collectible
Tarot deck, they are a beautiful and powerful tool for reading
or meditation. I sincerely recommend them to anyone who
would like to enrich their spiritual connection to the Wheel of
the Year through the artist’s thoughtful and expressive
painting.

Cachet Tarot
This deck-and-book set is another in a long line of
inexpensive sets designed to be a gift item, and like most of
the others of its kind, it has only pip symbols on the numbered
Minor Arcana cards (Ace through 10) rather than full pictorial
scenes. I assume that the reason these decks’ pip cards are
non-illustrated is so the publishers can save the money they
would have had to pay the artist to create scenes for 40 more
cards. It’s a shame, because it means it will be unlikely that
their intended audience, i.e. beginners, will ever get much use
out of them, since illustrated-pip decks are generally
(although not universally) considered to be much easier and
more appropriate for beginners. Also, the publishers have
been somewhat disingenuous by not showing any of the pip
cards on the box illustrations, so one wouldn’t know that the
pip cards lack scenes until the set was purchased and
opened.For those who are not beginners, however, this is a
very nice deck, with some surprises. The first surprise is that,
unlike other decks of this ilk, these cards are large (4-7/8 by
3-3/8 inches), and are well-printed, with bright colors on good
card stock. In fact the card stock is better than that used in
some sets which cost more than twice as much. The
publishers did a bit of economizing, though, on the card
backs, which are printed in black and white.The second
surprise is the artwork, which is quite a pleasant departure
from the norm. It’s creative, appealing, and different. Colin
Howard is an illustrator who has done several book and video
covers for the Doctor Who series and covers for video games,
and these cards are basically in the style of fantasy novel book
covers. To me, the style is reminiscent of that of the who
achieved much fame in the 1970's with their Tolkien-related
products (although Howard’s illustrations aren’t as detailed as
the Hildebrants’). As a result, themany adventures set in an
other-worldly landscape. It turns out that this fantasy-novel
sensibility serves the tarot archetypes very well.These
qualities can be seen on Strength and although the former also
exhibits the single drawback of the artwork, which is that the
women’s bodies are presented rather unrealistically. The
Wheel of Fortune’s title is misspelt as “The Wheel of
Fourtune.” The High Priestess, Empress, Emperor, and
Chariot are shown as Egyptian characters, although the rest of
the cards show more generic medieval fantasy characters.The
qualities of the Major Arcana cards are also evident in the
Courts. The is appealingly masculine, and the Knight of Cups
brings in a mythic resonance.The pip cards, while lacking
scenes, are nevertheless very pleasant. Each suit bears a sunny
landscape (the same for each card in that suit), and the pip
symbols float in the air against that landscape, as in the Eight
of Pentacles.All the cards bear an elaborate border, which
contains gems which are differently colored according to the
suit (Majors are purple, Wands are green, Cups are redand
Swords are blue).The book included with the set is nothing to
write home about. It’s hardcover, but it’s only 48 small pages.
The only nice thing I can find to say about it is that the card
illustrations in the book are printed in full color. Rider-Waite-
Smith-type meanings are provided for the pip cards. Reversed
meanings are provided for the Major Arcana but not the
Minor. When I first saw the Knight of Cups card, I
immediately went to the book to see if the text for that card
acknowledged the mythic overtones, but no, it dryly informs
us that “The Knight of Cups represents balanced objectivity
and outlook, sincerity, harmony, and equilibrium.” In fact,
this makes me wonder if the author wrote the book without
having seen the cards.Two spreads are provided at the end, the
Celtic Cross and a seven-card Star Spread.On a more
mundane level, when I was trying to open the set, I found it
harder to break into than Fort Knox. On the outside of the box
there’s a sleeve to hold the book, which fits in so tightly, you
might need a pair of pliers to pull it out. Then, once you open
the box, the deck sits in a plastic well which is covered by a
second piece of plastic. These two pieces of plastic are taped
together with clear plastic tape on both sides, so you’ll need a
scissors to cut the tape. On the plus side, the deck itself is
contained in its own tuck box, a nice feature which, again, you
won’t find in some sets which cost more than twice as much.
Celtic Wisdom Tarot
For me this deck was an exercise in frustration. The artwork
by Olivia Rayner is of such high quality that I would rank it as
one of the top three or four decks ever in terms of art. The
author, Caitlin Matthews, has obviously expended much effort
in creating a complex and self-consistent system that is
faithful to her theme. This deck is so attractive that as I looked
through the cards I felt that this would immediately become
my favorite deck. However, after studying the deck and book
carefully, I must regretfully report that what I see as missteps
have occurred in various phases of production. Some are
minor irritants, but some are so grave that they endanger the
usability of the deck.
To begin with the merely irritating, the package states on the
front, "The Celtic Wisdom Tarot," and underneath that is the
author’s name, Caitlin Matthews. That’s it. One is certainly
led by this to infer that Ms. Matthews has not only written the
book but painted the cards as well. However, if you turn the
package over and go to the bottom, there on the left hand side
we find, in little itty-bitty letters, "Illustrations by Olivia
Rayner." And this is below a line reading "Cover design by
Peri Champine"! Readers of my other reviews will know that
this is a pet peeve of mine, but this is by far the worst
offender. This must be the smallest credit a Tarot artist has
ever received in the history of mankind, except perhaps
Pamela Colman Smith on the original edition of the Waite-
Smith deck. I cannot imagine what the reason is for this
Scrooge-like behavior on the part of the publishers, especially
given the beauty of the art. In fact, for me the quality of the
artwork provides the greatest incentive for buying this set.The
next frustrating thing also concerns the art. Many of the
pictures on the cards have been cropped, which is evident
from comparing the cards themselves to the pictures of the
cards in the book. The worst offender is (Temperance). This
card is used on the front of the package, and deservedly so. It
shows a woman sitting in an archway, holding a vessel.
Beside her is a giant pocket-watch shaped object, above which
is pictured two alder leaves. However, the card itself has
about a quarter of the image lopped off on the left side. Only
half of the pocket-watch shaped thingy is now visible, and the
alder leaves are almost entirely gone, which is rather strange,
since each Major card has been assigned a particular tree
which is important to the card’s symbolism. Also missing
from the card is the rushing water on the bottom. The entire
image can be seen in book at the corresponding page for that
card.Another minor irritant is what I found to be a slightly
cavalier attitude on the part of the author toward violence. For
example, in the text for The Empowerer (Strength) Matthews
writes, "The taking of heads in battle was not out of love of
slaughter, but because the Celts venerated the head as the seat
of the soul and as the link with ancestral wisdom." This seems
to me a rather superficial justification of the bloody side of
Celtic history. I’m sure all peoples have had their bloodthirsty
moments, but I don’t think it serves any purpose to idealize
war and violence or to pretend that the taking of heads in
battle indicated a search for ancestral wisdom rather than
simply a desire to do the utmost damage to the enemy. Also,
as someone who likes animals, I was taken aback by the (4 of
Swords) card, which shows a smiling young man calmly
bringing a sort of hockey-stick down upon the head of a dog
who obviously expires. The text talks of a hero wrestling with
a fierce hound, but the pooch pictured on the card doesn’t
look very fierce. I don’t know what this picture could really
symbolize other than careless cruelty. It certainly does not
look like "rest or respite," which is the divinatory meaning
given in the book. This brings up the next and most serious
frustration, which concerns all the numbered Minor cards. I’m
not sure where the fault lies, but the end result is that the
pictures on the cards simply do not match the divinatory
meanings given. Matthews has assigned to each card a
different myth out of Celtic mythology, and the cards do
illustrate those myths, but there are two problems. One is that
although the pictures are wonderful illustrations, they are not
very intuitive, because they often illustrate complicated scenes
or focus in on particular details, which makes it difficult to
make out what is going on in the picture without reading the
book. I think the ideal for illustrated Minor cards is that one
should be able to get something from looking at the pictures
even before one has studied the accompanying text.As an
example, for the (9 of Wands) card we are told a story about a
man who falls in love with a woman made of flowers. To rid
herself of him she asked how he was fated to die. He replied
that he could be killed "only when he stood with one foot on
the edge of the riverside, and with the other on the back of a
goat." She conspired to reproduce these circumstances, but the
man changed into an eagle at the crucial moment to
escape.But when one looks at the card, one sees a smiling,
pretty woman with flowers in her hair, facing a man with his
back to us as he raises his feathered arms. That’s all. If one
had not read the text one would have no idea that the man is in
danger or that the woman has betrayed him.A worse problem
is the fact that although the myths chosen, as well as the
pictures themselves, are quite far removed from the Waite-
Smith deck, the divinatory meanings listed in the book are
quite traditional, which leads to a rather severe disconnect
between the meanings and the pictures. In many cases there is
a connection, but one must expend a certain mental effort to
grasp the connection, and in some cases the divinatory
meaning is completely contradicted by the picture. For
example, the meaning given for the Elopement of Art (8 of
Cups) card is "Abandonment of plans. Disenchantment with
the run of your life. Emotional ambivalence. Turning away
from a relationship." But the picture illustrates a story of a
couple who have found a beautiful golden bowl hanging in a
castle, and touching it, they become stuck to the bowl. So
while the divinatory meaning talks of abandonment and
turning away, the picture shows people stuck in a
situation.Another example is the (7 of Wands) card. The book
tells the story of a man who uses a clever strategy to outwit an
army of mice which is eating his grain. But the card shows a
very attractive picture of a smiling mouse sitting on a stalk of
wheat. I suppose there are several possible meanings that a
picture of a happy, solitary mouse could suggest, but
"overcoming obstacles" isn’t one of them, especially when in
the story the mouse represents the obstacle. The picture seems
to suggest the mouse triumphs.On the positive side, many of
the Majors are extremely evocative, with some being almost
visionary. They are certainly not the standard Tarot images,
but they illustrate the themes in new and fascinating ways.
(The Star) shows a tree at night, at the top of which sits a two-
headed Janus figure. The roots reach into the earth, and a hole
in the tree leads to a faint, mysterious spiral. Likewise, (The
Moon) shows an empty boat under the moon, while a human
figure rides a headless fish in the water. (The Fool) shows a
man sleeping at night in a field, while his dreaming self walks
away from his sleeping self. Stars and spirals blow through a
moon carved on a tombstone. These pictures are absolutely
lovely.I also like the way Matthews has assigned a title to
each numbered Minor card; that is, Augury for Aces,
Dialogue for Twos, Courtship for Threes, etc. The full title of
the Knowledge (Pentacles) cards thus becomes Augury of
Knowledge, Dialogue of Knowledge, Courtship of
Knowledge, etc. However, I found some of the titles obscure,
such as Elopement, described in the text as "the realization of
what is yet lacking, of the need for wholeness." The book is
very well produced, with all the cards illustrated in beautiful
color (as are the cards themselves), and, unusual for
deck/book sets, the book is hardbound.I am stymied as to
what use one could make of this deck once having bought it.
The pictures are too gorgeous to simply put it away, and yet
the dichotomy between picture and meaning make the Minors
a real challenge to work with. Perhaps the deck would be best
used by putting aside the numbered cards and just working
with the beautiful Majors, the Courts, and the Auguries
(Aces). Or perhaps one could look at the numbered cards and
come up with one’s own interpretations for them, ignoring the
traditional meanings given in the text. However, one would
also have to frequently ignore even the stories that the cards
illustrate

Tarot of the Crone

remember when this deck was just a soul in limbo, awaiting
creation. Tarot-l was its birthplace. Ellen Lorenzi-Prince
wrote something to the effect that she could create an entire
crone tarot deck and, when dared to do so, met the
challenge.The Tarot of the Crone is different from any other
Tarot deck I've known, yet is still Tarot. How can that be?
Part of it is the sturdy construction of the deck, which is truly
Tarot, though not the Golden Dawn's Tarot. It is as if the
Crone, through Ellen, consumed the Golden Dawn structure,
spit out what She didn't like, and digested and synthesized the
rest, with the brutal effectiveness of nature.The deck follows
the traditional, 78 card tarot structure. The four suits are
Wands, Cups, Swords, and Disks (Thoth is Lorenzi-Prince's
mental deck, not Rider-Waite-Smith). Only four of the Majors
have been renamed: The Hierophant becomes "Tradition," the
Lovers is "Crossroads," The Hanged Man is transformed into
"Sacrifice" and Judgment becomes "Calling." None of these
new titles hint at the revolutionary nature of the deck. The
CourtCards, do, however--Prince, Princess, Queen, and
Knight (remember: this deck follows the Thoth model)
become Beast, Witch, Grandmother, and Shadow. Ellen refers
to these as "Face Cards," different "Faces of the Crone." In
this deck, the Knight/King has been toppled from his throne
of ultimate authority--the Shadow is the "element's overdone,
destructive and transformative powers."In the suit of Wands,
the fire colors of red and bright yellow predominate. Cups
tend to combine red and purple, Swords, yellow and blue, and
Disks, green and brown. Learning these combinations helps a
lot in determining what, exactly, these cards are, because the
titles aren't provided on the card and the images are not just
different from a more traditional deck, their meanings often
contain Ellen's slant, which isn't often the obvious one. In
addition, the colors are very meaningful, and understanding
the cards through them (as well as the images themselves) is a
method that helps you tap into the Crone's ways.For example,
the predominant colors in the Disks are Brown and Green.
Brown is "The life of the body. Life in the flesh. Earth.
Animals. Home." Green is "The life force as Growth. Life
path. Connection between living beings." Put these two
together and the suit of Disks becomes more palpable, more
vital, more real. For those, like me, who are used to seeing
Cups in terms of blue, you understand why it isn't used in the
Crone's Cups--blue is "The life force as Thought. Spirit.
Wisdom. Peace."knees or lift you to the stars. The Majors in
the Tarot of the Crone are truly major, big, sweeping themes
that soar and/or shatter, sometimes simultaneously. The Fool
is majestic as void made tangible. The Magician is a fanged
trickster, a shapeshifter with bite. Even though I am not fond
of chartreuse and it didn't originally resonate for me in the
High Priestess, because I have integrated Ellen's color system,
I know it's right for her as seen through the eyes of the Crone.
I could go through each card, as each is a portal to a world
we've not seen in the Tarot up until now, but time constraints
demand I focus on just a few. (numbered VIII, as in Thoth and
Marseilles) is a web spun by a lunar spider. The message of
this card is about creating your own system of justice,
intricate and formed within all four elements. The Hermit is a
bag lady or just an ignored, elderly woman, whose wisdom is
disguised but very present. came to me at a time in my life
when I needed it most--I was in a mordant purgatory and this
card gave me the push to move beyond its slow, torturous
limbo. I didn't want to stay with this grinning card a minute
longer--and it knew that. The Star (at top) is the Queen of
Heaven, promising hope and magic within the folds of her
twinkling embrace. The Star card I found easy to love from
the get-go--I should have recognized the deck from her
promise alone. But I didn't really "get" the artwork until I saw
it in person.The Minors are not the ones I knew, but each has
been a profound gift to me, not only in understanding this
deckbut in being able to bring this facet to each card in my
mental deck. I now have a Crone's eye view, in addition to my
own, when I look at the attention-seeking Five of Wands or
the hard-won but impermeable emotional victories of the Nine
of Cups. The book contains charts on the Crone meanings for
Numbers, Colors, and Elements, as well as a stunning poem
for each card. The words were my guide into the cards,
because I first found many of the images impenetrable. Now
that I have colors, too, I feel I am finally grasping this deck.
But it took me a few months to get here.This deck makes me
ask the questions behind the questions..."What can I do to
maximize my career today" became "What can I do to
maximize the person I want to become?" when I pulled the
Eight of Swords (Teaching) reversed. This included my career
issues, but enlarged them, making them more part of my soul
and not my external side. A traditional version of this card
would have told me I was trapped, but wouldn't have given
me the deeper messages I received from the Crone.The
thought behind everything in this deck makes it cohesive and
potent. Lorenzi-Prince has packaged the set beautifully, with a
spiral-bound black booklet, a black bag lined in muted purple,
and a magic crone wand made by Arnell Ando. It comes
wrapped in ribbon the color of wine and blood, elegance and
pain fused to make even decoration a work of art. Unlike
many self-published decks, this one isn't laminated--this
sealant would have been antithetical to the feel of this deck.
Unfortunately, this also makes the cards more vulnerable,
though they're made of sturdy cardstock. I am very careful
with this deck--I don't really shuffle it and I wash my hands
before I use it. are plain black; again, how else would the
Crone dress? The cards are the size of index cards (three by
five inches) and are hand-cut. You can not truly appreciate
this deck until you see it in person, really see it, as we must
see the disguised Hermit
Curious Tarot
just got a wicked COOL deck called the Curious Tarot. I was
so blown away by this unusual art deck that I had to let my
other work slide while I share my enthusiasm. First of all, I
was quite impressed with the presentation and packaging. The
deck comes in a that brings to mind Asian lacquer…very
classy. The colorful Curious Tarot trademark sits in the center
of all this darkness and draws the eye in. As I open the box, a
Tarot bag in shimmery, deep red translucent fabric teases with
just a hint of the top card peeking through. The artist,
Michelle Cohen has a great sense of drama and aesthetic
arousal. Curious Tarot indeed…this is one of the most unusual
decks I’ve ever seen and I’m one that’s always on the lookout
for unique Tarot decks so that’s saying something! This deck
is also unusual in that it has the 22 Major Arcana and 16
Court Cards but no Pips. The Court cards are traditionally
named: Page, Knight, Queen and King with familiar suits of
Wands, Cups, Swords and Pentacles. The Majors have
traditional names as well (card II is High Priestess and V is
High Priest and the Justice and Strength are cards VIII and XI
respectively). But that’s where the traditional depiction ends,
but more on the art itself a little later. Continuing with my
discussion of presentation, I must share that I was also very
impressed with the quality of the cards themselves. Michelle
has taken hand-producing cards to another level. Having made
my share of laminated, handmade decks, painstakingly
laboring over each card, I am quite in awe of Michelle’s
technique and am considering changing my method for future
projects. If you’ve been fortunate enough to have seen or
obtained any of FrankJensen’s wonderful Mail Art decks,
you’ve got an idea of the process used by Michelle, although
where Frank’s card backs tend to be one solid color, Michelle
has her colorful logo featured on of hers. The card stock is
nice and sturdy with a soft sheen to it. Michelle explains that
the backs and fronts are color copied onto card stock and
glued together, and the corners are rounded, with one of the
final touches being a few coats of protective finishing spray.
The fronts have a black background with a lovely dark red
patterned border.Now a bit about the art on the cards
themselves. It’s difficult to come up with the right adjective to
describe this deck but it’s very surreal, in the sense that it’s
abstract and yet familiar to one’s wild imagination at the same
time. The imagery is quite bizarre while also rekindling some
memories of childhood imagination and that skewed
perception of reality. Did you ever have one of those books
when you were a kid that was cut into three sections and you
could play with mixing and matching body parts and
costumes? Well, put a Tarot spin on this concept and a keen
eye for the strangely sublime and you’ve got some idea of this
deck! I’m going to share some of my favorites with you, (the
cards I most relate and connect with in this deck) starting off
with card. I love this image of the Fool dressed in vest and
Scottish tartan (or is that a Catholic school skirt?) dancing
wildly, despite the big fat head perched on this otherwise
nimble figure. Class clown comes to mind but I wonder why
the expression on the mask looks so worried or frightened?
card depicts a bride with bouquet in hand standing on a nest of
eggs. It’s an interesting twist and fits the Empress archetype
for me. card evokes feelings of childhood crushes with the
opposite sex and these two characters couldn’t be more
‘opposite’ and yet there is an innocent intimacy conveyed in
this image.The Chariot has the body of an older gentleman,
seated in a rickety chair with hands resting on a crutch and yet
his youthful face makes me think that he is actively reliving
stories of younger days to a captive audience. This is a new
view of the Chariot card for me, but it works. The card is
pretty spooky and 'alien' looking and I think it darkly depicts
the fear of the unknown. I’ve scanned the for comparison
because for me they somehow go together. Strength looks to
me like the archetypal Mother from the 50’s, standing tall
with hands firmly on hips. She is powerful and not about to
back down to the demands of a child. And the Devil looks like
Father from the same era, clad in a plaid bathrobe and sandals
with glasses held dramatically in hand as he makes his point.
Angry and explosive, he yells with red eyes bulging and fangs
protruding from his twisted, ugly scowl. Thinking
back…what was more frightening than Dad when he got
really MAD? For me, anyway, a parent’s bad temper was as
close to a monster or Devil that I ever experienced as a little
kid. A lot of Michelle’s cards just ‘click’ on some
unconscious level that is hard to analyze or explain in mere
words.Moving on to happier cards, the Star is utterly joyful. It
has this big, round moonish grin and a tanned male
bodywearing swim trunks. And as he bangs the sand off his
shoes you can almost visualize little stars falling… In this
deck, the card is male and the Sun card, female. The Sun card
has the plump, round figure of a girl wearing a bright yellow
bathing suit. But the Asian headdress contradicts this childish
playfulness with the graceful wisdom of an ancient god/dess.
The card evokes in me the feeling of being sent to the corner
to ‘think about what you just did’ while also wearing a ‘riot
shield’ looking mask. I get a sense of one needing a ‘time out’
after loosing control. I adore these images because they toy
with my uncensored imagination, while at the same time they
are very potent and evocative. The court cards as a whole are
just as deliciously deranged. Here are a few of my favorites of
the .
Dance of Life Tarot
Those of you who know me understand that, tarot-wise, I'm a
married woman. Yes. I'm wedded to Transformational Tarot.
We've been together for several years. I enjoy my interaction
with other decks, but I spend the majority of time with my
spouse, simply because I communicate better with
Transformational than I do any other decks. It's not just the
duration of our union, either--we're just in synch.So, often my
reviews are of decks I spend just enough time with to provide
an informative and thorough analysis for my readers. My
spouse doesn't get jealous and I don't get cranky missing my
beloved Transformational. While my marriage is safe, the
Dance of Life Tarot has meant more to me than other new
decks, which is why it's taken me several months to write the
review. I get so much out of working with this deck that I
relish the time spent together--in fact, I frequently find myself
doing readings with Transformational, adding the self-
published Dance of Life Tarot using the Comparative Tarot
methodology. I seemed to think that, once I completed the
review, I'd have to leave the Dance of Life behind to dance
with other decks...so I wanted to make our dance last as long
as I possibly could. What is particularly odd about this is that
I am not drawn to decks that fall too far from the Rider-Waite-
Smith or Thoth modalities. And Audrey Savage's Dance of
Life Tarot is, in many ways, not a deck in either mode.This
deck has 78 cards, with 22 Major Arcana and a four-suited, 56
card Minor Arcana. Most of the Majorshave been renamed.
Savage has turned the Fool into the , the High Priestess is the
Emperor is now the Patriarch. These changes aren't
significant, really, and several cards [Death, The Lovers, The
Star of Hope, Radiance (Sun)] haven't changed much or at all.
But several of the Majors have undergone at least minor
renovations; The Chariot has become The Man of Intention;
Justice is The Mirror of Reflection; The Hanged Man is The
Visionary Spirit; The Tower has become Destruction; The
Moon is The Underworld; and The World is Integrity. These
changes are minor, indeed, though, compared to the Minor
Arcana. The suits are renamed and one is completely
reconfigured. Wands is now the suit of Self, symbolized by an
eye (a homonym for "I"--get it?). Cups has been revisioned as
the Suit of Relationships; the symbol is a heart consisting of
two faces gazing at one another, linked at the pointy base. The
Swords suit has gone through the most significant
transformation--it is the Suit of Health, , sash included,
radiating waves of energy. Finally, Pentacles have gone
through a currency converter--they are now Money or the
Material World. The symbol is one of two intersecting
triangles making a six-pointed star, with a cross at the center.
Savage explained that she wanted symbolism that was steeped
in the real world, and felt that these changes brought the tarot
into the everyday. While this does offer a novice specific
mundane imagery (wands and swords aren't as down-home as
self and health), I think it can also be more limiting. Pentacles
don't just signify money--or even the deeper psychological
implications regarding money. I think that in making the deck
more literal, Savage has occasionally lost the breadth and
universality of the traditional tarot. Specificity isn't always a
virtue.Savage is so taken with her symbols that they appear in
several cards. The Wheel is a Ring that sports the four suit
symbols as individual gems. Destruction shows the lightning
attacking (or charging) the symbols, which are neatly
arranged in a square grid, radiating their individual energies.
(Free Child) juggles the symbols and appears charmed by
them. Even the depict the symbols. Some of the Minors are
easily compared to the more traditional Rider-Waite-Smith
images. The keyword is Greed (all the Minors have
keywords). It's easy enough to think of the more familiar man
holding onto his disks as being somewhat selfish or
materialistic. Nostalgia is a keyword I've seen frequently used
for the Six of Cups, but the with its sub-title "Mirror of Self"
speaks to a more pyschologically-oriented way of looking
towards the past. The shows someone who is as drained as the
figure who lies on the bier in the R-W-S Four of Swords. The
with its keywords of "Negative Emotions," bears some
relation to the physical squabbling we see in the R-W-S
card...though it's a bit of a stretch. Other cards are much
harder to relate to more traditional meanings. The Ten of
Wands often shows a person struggling with a burden.
Savage's Ten of Self offers a very different image, with its
keyword of "Fulfillment" and a scene depicting a woman in a
state of delight, sitting among verdant grasses as she soaks up
the mellow rays of the moon. The is a bit different from the
eight wands a-flying (sounds like the 12 Days of Christmas--
'tis the season, you know), and is one of my favorite cards. I
love the subtle humor of one fish going in the opposite
direction of its school. I can relate (I often tried to go in a
different direction than school). The entire suit of Health often
diverges from the traditional. This works very well if you read
with a psychological approach, which I enjoy, particularly
when reading for myself. If you are looking for Kabbalistic
symbolism, or a R-W-S clone, I think you need to be looking
at a different deck. The Minor Arcana have also been
reconfigured. Page, Knight, Queen, and King are now Muse,
Dancer,Lover, and Sage. I like this approach, even if I have to
re-adjust my views of the court cards. I particularly like the
Dancer as Knight; the sense of movement remains intact. If
memory serves, Savage said that the artist used her (Savage)
as the figure of the Dancer of Life (aka The Empress). Look:
there go those four suit symbols again. The artist, Paula Scott
Frantz, ensconced herself in the role of The Intuitive. I like
that personalization, and I also like the fact that the deck
includes people of color. The artwork appeals to me, too; it
isn't fine art, necessarily, but it's evocative and the colors are
rich and warm. My impressions of Audrey Savage were of an
intelligent, empathetic and sensitive woman, and the cards
reflect those qualities. The book includes lengthy descriptions
of each card, along with a section on symbolic meaning (this
has to do with the symbolism of the card, as opposed to the
artistic symbolism), and its shadow meaning (often akin to a
reversal). There is also a Meditation, Contemplation and
Conversation section, which gives an exercise relating to one
of these areas to develop self-knowledge congruent with the
card. In order to "Deepen Your Understanding," Savage offers
a list of things linked to the card, such as "My feminine...,"
"My masculine...," "My passion..." and many others for the
Dancer of Life Card. You are to draw a card for each of these
items and relate the card to the directed word. This is a time-
consuming, but rewarding, activity, and I have always gotten
something out of it.
The text is, in general, written with depth and clarity.
Occasionally, Savage is redundant in her prose and
descriptions, but they often contain some interesting insights.
In her descriptions of the suits, however, she has brought a
unique character or characters into each one. The suit of Self
has a Guide called The Great I Am. The suit of Health's guide
is the Healing Goddess. I can live with both of these.
Unfortunately, the suit of Relationships is infested with two
whimsically-named creatures, the Love Leprechaun and the
Foul Fairy, and we get to see their conflicts played out
through the entire set of suit descriptions. I would much rather
not. Ditto the Money Mogul and the Bully Boogie, who
illustrate the suit of Money and Material World. The
appearance of these creatures is not just annoying; it seems
condescending, and doesn't fit into the tone of the 300+ book.
As in the case of many self-published books, there are more
typos than you'd expect in a book published professionally.
The cards are oversized, both in height and width. The artist's
style seems to demand this, because these are not tiny, finely
drawn images. For a small-handed person like myself, though,
this is a drawback. Even so, this deck has enriched my
readings and considerably stretched me with its non-
traditional suits and powerful psychological depth. I remain a
married woman, but this deck has become a treasured friend,
one I will dance with again and again. I recommend it
wholeheartedly to those who are looking for a non-traditional
deck that is psychological in nature. I also recommend it to
those who find Swords, Cups, Disks, and Wands alienating,
and prefer more familiar terminology. This is an excellent
reading deck.

Dante Tarot
Evaluating a deck that is a visual representation of one of
civilization’s greatest literary works is a daunting task indeed.
How exactly, does one attempt to encapsulate in a tarot deck
review the epic depth and spiritual/religious drama of Dante’s
masterpiece, The Divine Comedy? Then, to that great work,
add the Convivio, Dante’s philosophical treatise, an
unfinished work predating the Commedia. A work that, like
the Commedia, introduced an important concept in
philosophical writings…for they were the first such works of
this genre to be written - not in Latin - but in the vernacular of
Dante’s homeland.If this deck were less than what it claimed
to be (a deck based upon two of the great works of Dante), a
review would actually be quite easy. And very short, because
I don’t waste my time writing lengthy reviews about decks
that don’t merit the time spent. Anyone who collects the tarot
has encountered problems and frustrations with what many of
us call "theme decks". You read about a new deck claiming to
be based upon some book, concept, philosophy, religion,
folklore, etc. It may encompass a particular subject matter for
which you feel great enthusiasm. So, you run out, buy the
deck, open it excitedly – only to find out that the cards are, in
actuality, only a very superficial treatment of that subject. OR
even worse, you find that the artist/author had no real
knowledge at all of the subject matter with which they
claimed to be familiar and what you have in front of you is a
hodgepodge of themes and ideas that are fraught with errors,
misconceptions and are painfully evident of a poorly
researched subject. In essence, something created especially
to relieve you of your hard-earned money and nothing
more.But with the Dante Tarot, we have something very
different – and very impressive. For it is NOT less than what
it has claimed to be. In fact, it is exactly what it says it is – a
deck based upon two definitive works penned by Dante. For
within these 78 cards is an impressive recapturing of the
structure, imagery, events and characters populating the
Convivio and Commedia. Not only are larger concepts
portrayed and rendered, but also the oh-so-splendid details.
But before we launch ourselves enthusiastically into the cards
and their meanings, let’s take some time to step back and look
at the overall deck…its presentation, packaging, artwork and
detailing.The first impression this deck makes upon the
viewer lies in the incredible artwork. In fact, even if you have
noother interest in the tarot except as collector, you will be
ecstatic because the work of Serio is so alluring and exotic. It
has such an organic feel to it, as if each image lives and
breathes. There is a constant sense of motion in these cards –
not an easy thing to maintain through 78 images.
The choice of artist was actually quite innovative and
inspired. It would have been easy and tempting to render the
Dante Tarot in the artistic style of the period, along the lines
of Giotto, for example. This would have been a logical choice
and is a visual concept that has already been presented in the
only other Dante Tarot I am aware of…the large, opulent (and
very rare) I Tarocchi di Dante e dei Fedeli d’Amore,
Produzioni Editoriali D’Ami, Milano, Italy
(1983).Interestingly enough, Lo Scarabeo issued a Giotto
Tarot around the same time the Dante Tarot came out, so
obviously they had an artistic resource that could have
rendered the Dante Tarot in a more medieval style.I’m glad
Lo Scarabeo resisted this temptation and instead chose an
artist who has gifted us with a much more contemporary
representation of Dante’s work. It reinforces the message that
the Commedia is timeless, a work that can be appreciated
(both artistically and by actual reading) in our time just as
easily as 700 years ago. The art is more inviting and
accessible, enticing the viewer to find out more about the
meanings lying behind these liquid, exotic images.Like any
rare and beautiful jewel, such beautiful artwork deserves a
worthy setting. Lo Scarabeo has done an excellent job of
showcasing the art. My interest in the tarot is multi-faceted
and one of these interests is as a collector. Wearing that "hat",
I have high regard and appreciation for decks that are
presented well. From the box, to the art, to the cards
themselves, on an aesthetic level, this deck delivers and does
not disappoint. Lo Scarabeo is to be congratulated in
producing such a lovely deck, somehow managing to avoid
that "mass-produced" aura that accompanies so many of the
decks published today.As I said, Serio’s work is quite lovely
and Lo Scarabeo has chosen to offset the luminous, flowing
art with card borders of solid black. This lends a
contemporary sophistication to the cards and really brings
attention to the art. Too often, card borders (usually in that
unattractive, stark white) lead the eye away from the art. In
the Dante Tarot, the black borders frame the images and draw
the eye immediately to their hypnotic beauty.Card titles are
rendered in yellow. Again, this is a relief from all the white
that one sees nowadays on cards. And it mitigates (to some
extent) a continuing gripe I have – all those translations of the
card names. Even though I understand that publishers want
everyone to know exactly what the title of a card is without
having to scramble for the little white booklet (LWB), I still
think it is unattractive and visually distracting. In fact, I don’t
really like anything that takes away from what I think is the
most important part of the card – the imagery itself.Maybe my
problem is that, every time I see large white borders and lots
of printed type, I inevitably think of those business cards that
everyone seems so fond of handing out these days. Name,
work address, job title, phone number, fax number, email
address.When I look at tarot cards, I want to focus on the art
without the distraction of the "business" side of the card
(border, card title identification, etc.). Besides, if the art is
doing its job, then I shouldn’t have to constantly refer to the
card title to identify which card I’m looking at. In other
words, I want the information, but I want it to be more
aesthetically presented…and much more unobtrusive. I don’t
want it to be the first thing I notice and I don’t want to
continually have to move my eye away from it. In the Dante
Tarot, Lo Scarabeo has managed to present all of this
information as pleasingly as is possible. I just happen to think
less is more as far as card titles go.The Dante Tarot comes in
one of those standard, flip-top card boxes, but again, Lo
Scarabeo has gone beyond attending just to the functional.
The Dante Tarot box is in itself a luscious work of art. Serio’s
evocative images seem to envelop the box, flowing from side
to side to side. It’s just lovely.So, all in all, for a standard,
non-collector’s edition, Lo Scarabeo has done an outstanding
job in the presentation of this deck. Fans of contemporary
tarot decks will want it. Those tarotists who will never be able
to own the first Dante Tarot, but who love the idea of a visual
portrayal of Dante’s work, will want it. And collectors will
find the deck aesthetically pleasing and artistically interesting
enough to collect it on those merits alone.Now let’s move
along and discuss how the deck is structured.I have read the
Commedia several times, so when I first heard that Lo
Scarabeo intended to publish a Dante Tarot, my first thought
was how the major arcana were going to be portrayed. Major
arcana are "big theme" cards and big themes (themes
tantalizingly syncretic with many of the major arcana cards)
abound in the Commedia. The difficulty lies in attempting to
apply the thematic concepts in the Commedia to the major
arcana in a consistent manner.You can’t – that is, not
completely.Because, at the very beginning of the Commedia,
we find that Dante, the "pilgrim" of this hero’s journey, enters
the story at the very mid-point of his life. Like all of us Fools,
he entered this world, enthusiastic and impetuous - and the
world has given him quite a ride. We are first introduced to
Dante as, jaded and weary, he begins to experience those
thoughts and feelings that can be the portent of a significant
spiritual awakening.
"Midway this way of life we’re bound upon,
I woke to find myself in a dark wood,
Where the right road was wholly lost and gone.
If you read the first cantos carefully and get a clear idea of
what is happening, you find that Dante is the Hanged
Man…precariously dangling upon the poetic tip of the abyss.
And fall he will, for the Dark Wood is a metaphorical gateway
- the threshold of Death. A threshold that, in this great poem,
he will cross, meet his guide (Temperance as personified by
the great Virgil) and descend into the depths of Hell,
ultimately encountering the dark lord himself – the Devil.
The similarities and ties to the ideas intrinsic to the major
arcana continue, for what is the Commedia but another
beautiful story of what many people refer to as the Hero’s
Journey? A search for the holy grail or any other
spiritual/magical ideal - a search for perfection and
redemption.As you can see, it would be quite tantalizing to
base the major arcana upon the Commedia, except that then
you would only have 10 major arcana cards (Hanged Man
through World). The problem then becomes, what about the
other 12?So you can see why my curiosity was piqued even
before the deck was published.Instead, Serio and Berti have
wisely turned to the Convivio and used it as the thematic
foundation for the 22 Major Arcana. This decision works
exceedingly well, for the Convivio is nothing less than a
treatise (albeit unfinished) reflecting Dante’s philosophical,
religious and political ideas. Penned shortly after his exile
from his beloved Florence, Dante wrote the Convivio to
defend his reputation as a philosopher of note. Although, up
until this time, "serious" philosophical essays and treatises
were written in Latin, Dante deliberately chose to record his
ideas in Italian. He wanted it to be a document that all his
countrymen could understand.It became the forum for the
articulation of all of his ideas and views up until that point in
time - ideas encompassing philosophy, government, religion,
wisdom and truth. It does not have the lyric magic of the
Commedia; rather it is a painstaking, carefully thought out
description and justification of Dante’s major philosophical
ideas. In the vernacular of our times, the Convivio is in
essence a doctoral thesis. It presents each idea, provides
supporting "documentation" for those ideas and summarizes
(several times) each of those ideas. For those of us who can
only read the translated work, it can be rather dry, repetitive
and certainly pedantic. But it is an important work because it
is the brick and mortar upon which the lovely and lyrical
Commedia is built.So, to recap, in the Convivio, we find big
ideas and themes carefully explored in both poetry and prose.
It is a perfect resource to turn to for the major arcana without
the constriction of adhering to a particular storyline. We have
reason to thank Giordano Berti for avoiding the pitfalls of
attempting some awkward correspondences between the tarot
majors and the Commedia - instead using the major arcana as
the vehicle to present the breadth of Dante’s ideas.

Tarot of the Dead

It is said that the Gods envy us humans because we are
mortal. Our mortality--the inevitability of our inescapable
death--is the reason we often do so much in life, and it makes
life taste sweeter. After all, if you know something will one
day come to an end, you take time to enjoy it more. And
herein lies the wisdom of the Death card, numbered 13 in the
Major Arcana. Death, or the unavoidable ending of life, is a
catalyst for change in life. It gives us a constant kick up the
backside and gets us working towards our goals in life.
But how many of us look at the Death card and see that? How
many of us can honestly and fearlessly admit that the Death
card does sometimes indicate not just metaphorical, symbolic
death, but physical, rigor-mortis, breath-taking death? How
many see the Death card and see an old friend waving at
them?Death is a part of life, for each necessitate the existence
of the other, and we all die. Everything dies. Our current
scientific paradigm states that even our universe will die.So, it
makes sense to have physical death in the tarot, just as it
makes sense to include other aspects of life, such as birth,
creation, love, and dispute. This is the principle that the Tarot
of the Dead by Monica Knighton works on and expresses: a
joyous, humorous, and very true celebration of life and death
through the carnival atmosphere of the Mexican Day of the
Dead (Dia de los Muertos). Knighton’s Tarot of the Dead
began life as a small-press deck, and over the years it became
that magical thing, ‘HTF’- Hard to find. I know of many
collectors who spent a lot of time and money acquiring the
deck in its original incarnation. You will be pleased to know
then that Llewellyn has now mass-produced the deck, this
bringing it into the wider availability of the tarot masses. Did
they do us a favor? Hell, yes! The first thing that strikes you
about this deck is that it really is fun. You’d expect a deck
called the Tarot ofhe Dead to be quite a dark, monochromic,
drab deck with lots of Gothic architecture and nihilistic
philosophies. But this deck is entirely the opposite, simply
because it includes the carnival mood of the Mexican Day of
the Dead. It laughs at death in a good-natured way. It pokes
fun at itself. It presents to you humorous, tongue-in-cheek,
and often touching and evocative images, and still has the
atmosphere of Mardi Gras or Carnival Night. Having said
this, I must say that this deck would be perfect for any
devotees of the Voodoo deity Baron Samedi- a loa who not
only rules over death, but sexual pleasure and laughter too.
Baron Samedi is dead, so he cannot feel any sexual pleasure
or pain; instead, he laughs at it. Not in a derogatory, nasty
way, but in a good-natured, philosophical way. And that’s
exactly what the Tarot of the Dead reminds me of.
The deck itself is based on the Rider-Waite-Smith (RWS),
though the Minor Arcana are more in the style of the
Marseilles (they are pip cards) The deck retains the traditional
meanings of the cards, and the order of the Major Arcana
stays the same. Often the images are very traditional as well,
so you can easily recognize which card is supposed to be
which, but they are slightly changed. Firstly, all the figures in
the cards are skeletons (with one exception, which we will
come to later.) These skeletons are often set in a more modern
surrounding than the RWS figures- they decorate their lawns
with plastic pink flamingos, they call their friends on their
office phone, they direct films, they write scripts, and they
hitchhike on the highway, just like the living do. And what’s
more, these modern additions also provide extra meanings for
the cards. The Emperor, for instance, isn’t just sitting on a fur-
covered throne, with sceptre, cape, and crown. This skeletal
businessman sits in his office chair before his computer, doing
a business deal over the phone. On his desk is a vase of corn
sheaths- a direct reference to his counterpart The Empress,
who sits in a field holding a bunch of flowers and corn. In
places, much of the RWS or traditional tarot symbolism is
kept, though used in a different way. A great example of this
is the card, where the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge
from the Garden of Eden still feature, but the arrow usually
about to be fired by the angel (in some decks- not in the
RWS) is now found embedded in the chests of the two
skeletons that embrace in the center of the scene. This image
is both humorous and tragic, while at the same time being
meaningful and very easy to read. The Magician card is
another wonderful one, and one of my favorites- he sits at the
table that is loaded with the Magician’s tools (as in the RWS),
these tools being Coffins, Pistols, Pens, and Film Reels
instead of Cups, Swords, Wands, and Coins. He is using the
Pen to write, bringing his chaotic thoughts into manifestation
through the Pen (which is, after all, this deck’s Wand.) Even
better, there’s a small, skeletal puppet dangling from the
corner of the table. Now, we come to the Death card. The card
that exemplifies this deck’s philosophy. It’s great--I love it.
But if I took off the card titles and showed it to you, I can
guarantee that you’d say it was the Empress card.You see, this
card is the only one that does not have a skeletal figure in it.
Instead, we see a heavily pregnant woman, wearing blue,
seated in a room. And here I was, expecting (and kind of
hoping) to see some sort of Baron Samedi/Lord of the Dead
image, but I was pleasantly surprised instead. This Death card
is paradoxical and evocative, and with some thought given to
it, yields up some amazing insights. Which just goes to show
that this deck is more than just a fun, pretty deck. Look
deeper, take some time to play around with the cards and
think about the images, and you’ll find there’s more to it than
immediately meets the eye. The artwork in the deck is nice--
quite cartoony, but attractive and colorful, with great attention
to detail. It fits in with the carnival atmosphere of the deck
and the light humor. The Minor Arcana though, at least for
me, were a disappointment. I’m one of those readers who
prefers illustrated Minors, not the Marseilles-style pips, and
this deck has just that. Personally, I find them very difficult to
read, but I understand that many people prefer unillustrated
Minor Arcana. As mentioned earlier, the suits have been
changed in this deck: Cups have become Coffins (a vessel for
the human essence), Wands have become Pens (the creative
tool), Swords have become Pistols, and Coins have become
Film Reels. At first Ididn’t like the last two changes--Pistols
and Film Reels seemed a little shallow to me, but then I read
Knighton’s justification of it in the Little White Book, and
was converted. Once again, there’s more to this deck than
immediately meets the eye. The Court Cards are brilliant.
Taking its cue from modern playing cards, the Tarot of the
Dead has two images on each of its Courts: one upright, and
the other upside down, each taking up half the card. The
images are different, each showing a different side to that
depending on whether it is pulled upright or reversed, so this
is a great boon for those who use reversals. As with the Major
Arcana, a lot of thought has been put into the images and
symbolism of these cards, and they are really easy to read,
even for beginners. of the cards are wonderful as well.
Colorful beyond compare, I fell in love with them straight
away! They are a checkerboard of color, with two skulls (one
upright, one upside down) in white laid over them. They are
also reversible, and create a beautiful rainbow when shuffled.

Dragons Tarot
pretty pictures, and goes straight back to myths, legends, and
beliefs about dragons, using them to not only illustrate these
lush and evocative cards, but also to convey the card
meanings.Take a look at the Major Arcana, for instance, and
you’ll not only find Tiamet, Kur, and Tepheus (all mythical
beasts with their own stories and meanings), but also other
characters who mingled into the stories of these dragons--
Merlin, Sigurd, Uther Pendragon, and St. George. In two of
the Majors we also see events from myths involving dragons:
the Scourge of Beowulf and the disappearance of the
dinosaurs. What’s moreis these cards are multicultural--we
have Chinese dragons, Celtic stories, Norse ideas, Christian
legends, Greek beasts, and more. This diversity really
emphasizes the powerful realization that dragons are almost a
primal force in the human psyche, an ongoing and repeating
saga that is narrated in every culture. A powerful and apt
symbol indeed, for use in the tarot. Throughout the Major
Arcana, the images are striking and symbolic. Some of them
retain imagery from the Rider-Waite-Smith (RWS) Tarot, but
many also change the traditional imagery completely,
depicting instead an image of relevance to the dragon or myth
in that card. Even when this is done howeThere are only a few
‘dragon decks’ in existence that I can think of and most of
them I've found disappointing in one way or another. I have a
friend who is obsessed with dragons, and he has also found
the dragon decks he has seen lacking something- either
something Tarot-y or dragon-y.Now, this lack of decent
dragon-themed tarot decks is a great disservice, considering
how popular dragons have become--especially amongst neo-
Pagans.So you can maybe understand why I am so thankful
that the new Dragons Tarot, published by Lo Scarabeo, is
here. It’s an excellent dragon deck - not too dragon-y to take
away from the tarot part of it, yet not sacrificing the essential
aspects of the wide-ranging mythology and folklore
surrounding these epic, mythical beasts. All the other dragon
decks I have come across so far have just used dragons as art,
often drawing fantastical creatures that popped straight out of
the artist’s imagination, and using them to adorn the cards
(such as Peter Pracownik’s Dragon Tarot). There is certainly
nothing wrong with this if you like artwork with dragons in it,
but what about somebody looking for something more, a deck
that sees the history and mythology in dragons? Well, the
Dragons Tarot would be perfect for them--it goes beyond
mere art andver, the card is still recognizable and easy to read
and interpret. Every now and again there are references to
traditional tarot symbolism in an otherwise completely
untraditional image: the ram’s head carved into a mountain in
the Emperor card, the almost un-noticeable Cerberus in the
Hermit card, the camel in the High Priestess card, and the
trumpeting angel in Judgement. I am particularly fond of the
Tower card in this deck, where we see a huge dragon, his tail
nailed to the ground whilst forked lightning crackles around
him, and a golden angel with a red-hot sword looks on,
triumphantly. The text in the little white book reads:“The
great dragon of Hebrew legends boasted to have created the
heavens and earth and was thrust into the ground by the Lord
and made to keep watch until the day of judgement arrives.
The limits of one power affect the power of others. Limits –
Haughtiness – Collapse of mistaken convictions –
Punishment.” ~ To me, this card and its small description in
the accompanying book exemplify how deep this deck really
is, though because the descriptions of each card are so small, I
don’t doubt that a bit of research would help the prospective
user of the Dragons Tarot. The Minor Arcana are also
multicultural, though this time they use one culture for each
suit. We see Chinese dragons in the Chalices (Cups) suit,
Aztec dragons in the Pentacles suit, European dragons for the
Swords suit, and African ‘dragons’ in the Wands suit. Whilst
in some places these cards stick to RWS imagery, in other
places, the images are very culturally based, and it takes a
perusal of the accompanying booklet to fully understand their
relevance to the traditional interpretations of the cards. For
instance, the Five of Pentacles shows an exiled Aztec priest
having a vision of the future of his people- a particularly
haunting vision of a man clad in Spanish armour, bearded,
clutching at one of the five gold discs in the card. I must admit
that I am not entirely happy with the Wands suit- to my
knowledge, there is not much evidence of dragons featuring
heavily in African belief, but we are told in the accompanying
book that these dragons “...embody the great force of nature”,
so I suppose they are justified in some way. (However, I am
still a little concerned by how similar to dinosaurs these
African dragons look- the fact that they are co-existing in
these cards with humans jars the nerves slightly.) The Court
Cards are fairly traditional, with the only title change being
from Page to ‘Infanta’. Once again, it helps to read the
accompanying booklet to get more of a sense of what the
images in these cards are supposed to represent, as many of
them refer to actual people or legendary figures (such as the
King of Swords who is ‘perhaps King Arthur’.) One thing I
find appealing about the Court Cards in the Dragons Tarot
however, is the Knights- each one is a ‘future warrior’ or
‘future King’- whichever is appropriate forthat suit. So for
instance, the Knight of Chalices is the future Emperor of
China, the Knight of Wands is a future warrior, (the Wands
suit is based around warrior figures) and the Knight of Swords
a young King. To me, this relates directly back to the Thoth
deck, in which the Knights (or Princes) are destined to depose
the Kings (or Knights) of their suits. The artwork in this deck
is very beautiful--sleek, colourful, and detailed, allowing for
symbolism to creep through. However, I find the red borders
and the Aztec-looking backs very uninspiring, even bordering
on ugly and garish. As with most Lo Scarabeo decks, the card
titles are given unobtrusively in six different languages in the
top and bottom borders of the cards. Overall, this deck is
probably one of the best dragon-themed decks around, at least
if you’re looking for a deck that’s more than just a pretty face.
The Dragons Tarot has depth beyond the fantasy artwork that
seems so prevalent today, though in places it would be
worthwhile to do a little bit of research about the myths and
figures depicted in the cards. I would highly recommend this
deck to any serious dragon enthusiast, and even those looking
for a fantasy art deck would find this deck quite appealing.
Beginners may, however, find it a little hard-going at first,
since it is quite different from traditional decks

Tarot of Dreams
The Tarot of Dreams arrived in a 5.25 by six inch box which,
when opened, contained a black sheer bag with the deck and a
CD in a paper slipcase. There are 80 cards in the bag. The first
is numbered and signed by the artist and there is another card
included which has a color glyph of the Tree of Life. This is a
deck for my growing collection rather than a working deck, so
I choose to have it made up on rigid card stock. The cards are
large, larger than the original Thoth deck; this may be due to
the graphics on the cardface, which are exquisite and extend
to the border around the cards where the Kabbalistic
associations Lee Bursten, guidebook author and collaborator,
are placed. The backs are wheels with a motif of element
signs on their borders that makes them fully reversible. In the
Major Arcana, is card number eight and Justice occupies the
11th position. There is no physical little white booklet (LWB),
but a CD is included, which I put into my computer drive to
access the guidebook. I was not successful with this so I
followed the instructions and saved the CD to a file on my
computer, where it opened just fine in PDF format. Lee
Bursten acted as text author and content advisor and also
devised the layout for this deck which he calls “The Story
Spread”.The interactive musical CD has many features other
than the guidebook. These include a Marseilles style set of
pips, wallpapers, screensavers, letterheads for writing up
readings and a link to a tarot shareware program set up with
the Tarot of Dreams. I honestly have not accessed the
shareware program of the CD, but immediately installed one
of the marvelous screensavers. I chose the one with the Major
Arcana. My deck was ritually opened on the Wednesday
evening of its arrival. This deck, in my opinion, has the most
beautiful artwork of any I have ever seen. In the Majors, one
finds a predominance of orbs, circles, and rims. The wheel of
the zodiac is the structural frame of this deck and it is found
along with the stars, moon and sun as markers to represent the
terrain of space time, the realm of the astral plane. The Fool
is, in a sense, the dreamer of this deck and his unseen
influence is felt in some degree in the tableau of each
cardface. All of the cards are extremely vivid in their detail
and exude such an opulence of color that the images become
surreal, giving each one the feel of a lucid dream scene. My
favorite image in the Majors is the beautifully rendered
Justice, while I found the sparse imagery on Judgement and
the Lovers trumps the least engaging.The court cards in the
deck are masterfully done portraits. At times, one feels as if
one is viewing mythic beings or deities. Each personification
is well defined with an unique aura of self assurance. The
masked woman in red, the Queen of Wands, is absolutely
breathtaking. If called upon, she looks as if she is ready to
step out into our three dimensional world. The realm of the
minors in this fully illustrated deck is an interpretation of the
classic Rider-Waite-Smith (RWS) style deck that offers new
insights the more it departs from that standard. Images that
left an immediate impression include the which has a gothic,
nightmarish horror movie feel to it, the Four of Wands, which
shows an open door to another dimension, and the Six of
Swords, which conjures up the feel of sword and sorcery
which occurs frequently in this deck’s suit. I found the
Swords to be the most attractive suit as I wandered through
the inside corridors of the Minor Arcana.
After each image was reviewed, the 78 cards were mixed and
one card was selected as the purpose of the deck in my world.
The deck spoke to me with the voice of the Six of Coins. I
then placed the deck next to my pillow and went to sleep. I
must report that the Tarot of Dreams' gift to me was one of the
clearest and most refreshing lucid dreams of recent memory.
There is a bit of magic that arrives with this simply bellisima
deck!

Tarot of Dürer
I admit it: I can be a sucker for a new tarot deck from any one
of a number of perspectives. Images provided on a website
can intrigue me by their beauty or detail, their imagination,
overall vision or unfamiliar imagery. My intuition or aesthetic
sense leads me to purchases. (I use the same method when
traveling overseas. My logical wife has long since given up on
following routes outlined in tour books.) At times, this
produces great results, as with the Elemental and Kazanlar
tarot decks. Occasionally, my failure is crowned with jackass
ears. Then, there are moments where the results don’t justify
either a dance around the candles or a wry shrug. The Tarot of
Dürer fits into that grey middle ground, for me.If you aren’t
familiar with Albrecht Dürer, save as a name in Renaissance
art books, bear in mind that there’s nothing unusually mystical
about his work. Contrary to remarks on the box and the brief
booklet enclosed with this new tarot deck, the images Dürer
used and the way they were arranged in his works were part of
the common property of urban Christian culture across the
Europe of his day. One can find the same symbols everywhere
in artists and artisans of the Renaissance, good and
indifferent, celebrated and minor, using metals, paint,
tapestries, stone, clothing and ceramics—even in popular folk
song and literature, opera and architecture. This could well be
an “esoteric” deck as the enclosed notes indicate, but if so, the
knowledge was secretly shared with every member of
Christian European society throughout a period of several
hundred years.What we actually have in this Dürer tarot is
another Waite/Smith variant. The artwork isn’t by Dürer, but
drawn from the imagination of Giacinto Gaudenzi and based
(we are told) on Dürer’s environment. Gaudenzi has done
several past tarot decks for Lo Scarabeo, including the majors-
only I Tarocchi dell’Alba Dorata (1990) and the Celtic Tarot
(2000). He seems to have a penchant for heavily x-rated decks
with only the most tenuous of tarot connections, as evinced by
his Il Tarocchi delle Mille e una Notte (1994) and again in his
Decameron Tarot (2002). He also revisits and expands his
themes: that recent Decameron Tarot was originally majors-
only in 1993, while Gaudenzi issued a majors-only, black-
and-white Dürer Tarot in 1990.The two Gaudenzi Dürer decks
of 1990 and 2002, however, have no cards in common. At
their closest, a fewcards treat identical concepts from slightly
different perspectives, as in the satyr and human seen in The
Lovers card. I find myself universally preferring the new set’s
images in any case, as more boldly conceived. For example,
the 1990 skeletal Death has a cloak and a farmer’s worn,
broad-brimmed hat; he glances down at his hoe, with which
he industriously tills a field containing weaponry, a mitre, a
crown and jewels. It’s an attractive conceit, Death-as-a-tiller
(and one encountered several times in Renaissance literature
and art) that nonetheless pales before the same card in the
2002 deck. There, Death still wears a wind-whipped cloak,
but his head is uncapped, and strands of long white hair blow
wildly behind him. He is turned away from the viewer, and
doesn’t look down, but back at you, over his shoulder, as
though first noticing an intruder. It is more vivid, and far more
personal. Just as change, implied in the Death card, is. From a
communicative point of view, it is one of the most effective
card in the majors.The Tarof of Dürer cards measure 4 3/5th”
by slightly over 2 ½”, or large enough to offer a good field for
illustration without becoming too cumbersome to shuffle. All
sides are bordered, with the left border containing the card
number, along with its name in English, Italian, French,
German and Spanish. Each of the Dürer deck majors also
bears a motto in Latin. Some are appropriate, such as Seneca’s
Vivere tota vita discendum est, “We must during our whole
lives learn to live,” quoted beneath Temperance. (Though in
fairness to Seneca—not that he really cares any longer, but
still—his quote doesn’t end there. It continues: “…and what
may astonish you more, we must during our whole lives learn
to die.”) Others don’t quite cut it. On The Sun tarot, the
anthropomorphized face of the golden orb gazes down,
smiling fondly at a pair of cherubs floating over the
landscape, but In Hoc signo vinces, “In this sign you will
conquer,” seems at odds with the bucolic imagery. It’s even
more discordant if you realize the motto was made famous
because it was chosen personally for his armies by the militant
and militantly Christian Roman Emperor Constantine.
Perhaps those cherubs are hiding Kalashnikov AK-74s under
the armfuls of ripened fruit they carry. You think?There’s
evidence that Gaudenzi also intended each of the majors to
display an animal associated during the European Renaissance
with a specific human trait, despite the absence of any animal
on four of the later cards in the series. The lion on the
Strength card is self-evident (that tarot is also among the most
few truly Dürer-like images of the deck), but a greyhound
(symbolizing swiftness) lies sleeping around Justice’s feet; a
jackal shares Death’s field; a crow caws from a tree near the
Fool, who bares his buttocks at us. Other animals appear less
suitable, or even satirical, like the spider monkey imitating the
Empress’ self-conscious posture, and the fox, slyest of
creatures in the French Renaissance fabliaux, that glances up
at a slightly befuddled looking, elderly Hierophant. I admit
this bothers me just a bit. It’s always an intuitive shock to see
the subjects of a few cards being pre-judged by their
illustrator and presented negatively, to grind a personal axe.
(The Emperor in Martin’s Quest Tarot affects me the same
way. Instead of being the masculine equivalent of the
Empress’ all-embracing femininity, his meaning is given as
The Establishment. A supernal ideal is degraded into a
negative sexual stereotype.) And it is Gaudenzi’s views that
we are looking at, here, not Dürer’s; the latter befriended and
worked for members of the clergy and aristocracy, though he
favored Luther’s then-new reforms. It doesn’t help that the
illustrator’s treatment of the major arcana is thematically
inconsistent. Judgment and the World are provided with
supernatural representations, but the Magician has been
reduced to a tinker offering a gambling game to passersby;
and the Chariot is rendered as a slowly ambling donkey with a
farmer holding the lax reins, a wisp of straw between his
teeth. The card’s traditional image—an object of transport,
with a man directing animals—has been maintained, while the
meaning has been effectively inverted. Waite’s reference to
the narrow and limited triumph of the mind has instead
become the success of complacency and inertia (though no
hint of this appears in the accompanying booklet). Artistically,
there’s no question that Gaudenzi has done a masterful job.
Insight is open to question.The minor arcana are another
matter. This is one of the few decks I’ve seen whose minors
affect me far more than most of their majors. Image after
image impresses not just the eye, but the spirit, with their
thematic simplicity and originality: the chick hatching in a
circle, its four quarters marked with four cups; eight staves,
skewering a lion skin to a door. Often-revisited images have a
striking freshness—like the five swords that impale the earth
as troops move off in the background, under a blood-rust
colored sky that almost drips as it fades towards the
horizon.Gaudenzi sets himself a difficult task in not only
displaying the suit emblem in appropriate quantities on each
card itself, but by linking an animal (again) to each suit. The
enclosed notes are specific on this: a dove for cups, an eagle
for coins, a lion for wands, and a fox for swords. The overall
appropriateness of each choice can be argued; I’ve never
thought of eagles as symbolically representative of the earth
element. But their use is managed ingeniously in nearly all the
minors. My favorite is probably the where in the background,
a perched eagle with one of its legs chained conveys so well
the ambivalence of this card’s material success.Not all the
minors are illustrated on this same level of inspiration, of
course. The King of Cups sits on a wonderful alabaster throne
that literally rises out of the waters, but he looks as grim as a
biblical patriarch, which he resembles. Then, there’s the
Queen of Pentacles. Baring her breasts I could understand
(very Earth Mother), but why is she sticking out her tongue at
us, and wearing that cross expression you’d expect to find on
a five-year-old? There’s also the matter of cards that
contradict their supposed meanings. Take the Two of Swords,
on which a fox tries unsuccessfully to clamber over a barrier
to get at an oblivious chicken. “Attraction of opposites,” the
booklet informs us. The same cynicism that informed seems
to be operating here, and in a few other cards. There’s
certainly no evidence of it in Dürer—but then, this deck is
really no more about that artist than the Decameron deck was
about its supposed inspiration, Giovanni
Boccacio.Aesthetically, there’s no question about the quality
of the work involved throughout. Gaudenzi is an excellent
draughtsman, one of the best involved in creating tarot decks,
with a fine eye for line and detail. His choice of colors is
effective and often dramatic, and he knows exactly how to
position figures for maximum results. If the entire Tarot of
Dürer had lived up the promise afforded by its best cards, the
deck would be among my favorites for readings. But though
it’s a beautiful deck in its own right, I find myself too often
admiring the artist’s ingenuity or chuckling at what could only
be described as extremely refined cartoons. The tarot itself is
lost in the blaze of Gaudenzi’s cleverness and attitude. Others
may disagree, but for me, the Tarot of Dürer falls wide of its
mark.

Elemental Tarot
By-passing the double-trouble of air/wands
fire/swordscontroversy, The ElementalTarot represents the
fire suit witha triangle, water with a bowl-oriented cup, air
with a circle, earth with a square, and trumps, the suit ofSpirit,
with an egg. Thesuits are also color-coded: orange- I will;
lavender-I feel; turquoise-I think;green- I have; blue for the
majors.From the small red hard-cover book, In 1945, near the
Egyptian town of Nag Hamadi, ajar was found containing
ancient papyruses which proved top be a series of
Gnostictexts written and collected by early Christians. Among
the texts is a strange andbeautiful poem spoken through the
mouth of the divine feminine power Sophia.Entitled, The
Thunder, Perfect Mind, it is in its fusing of opposites most apt
withrespect to the meaning of the Major Arcana of the Tarot.
On each of the twenty-twocards, a line from the poem, printed
on the left and right margins, reflectssomething of the essence
of that particular card.Each card is given a quality.
Enamoured with the tone, I named each of the 22
chapters of my novel, The Tarot Gypsy Trips, by these names:
Potential, Confidence,Receptivity, Mother, Father, Belief,
Passion, Ambition, Health, Will, Change, System,
Sacrifice, Transformation, Peace, Desire, Survival, Hope,
Illusion, Awareness,
Forgiveness and Synthesis.Each minor is characterized by
gods and goddess, psychological archetypes from
pastcivilizations. The pictures are remarkable. Bright.
Original. Simple. Eloquent.The numbers describe a cyclical
sequence, each number anticipating the next, withmeanings
related in the form of a growing story: beginning / opposition
successfulresultsecuritychallengemovingocommitmentcontent
mentdisintegrationAccordingly, the fire pips are named
Lightning, Flame, Beacon, Hearth, Furnace,Torch, Meteor,
Volcano, Radiance, and Flare. The water pips are Fountain,
Spring,Spa, Moat, Sudden Rain, Oasis, Ocean, Well, Lake,
and Coastal Water. The air pipsare Breath, Zephyr, Breeze,
Ozone, Storm, Open Air, Wind, Cloud, Thunder, andCyclone.
The earth pips are Seed, Plant, Fruits, Clay, Quake,
HarvestAvalancheMountain, Forest, and Desert. For further
mnemonic stimulation, each card isassigned Egyptian
symbols.The card which wants to speak to you now from this
deck is the Eight of Earth: Anadrogynous figure stands inside
the double cube of earth. Raised hands receivecreative energy
from above. The collar has the dual meaning of
power/servitude.Thelegs are rooted in a posture of security.
Eight orderly golden coins are themanifestation of material
success and achievement. The double cube is built into asolid

The Enchanted Tarot

This deck is published in two versions: The Enchanted Tarot,
a large deck packaged with a 184-page hardcover book
published by St. Martin’s Press, and The Zerner/Farber Tarot
Deck, which is a smaller deck published by U.S. Games
Systems. Both decks are photographs of the same set of fabric
collages by Amy Zerner.The Major titles are all true to Waite.
The suits are the standard Wands, Swords, and Pentacles, but
in this deck Hearts replaces Cups. The Court cards are Prince,
Princess, Queen, and King. The Minors are illustrated with
scenes, many of which seem at first to be original, but they
turn out to be mostly derived from the concepts of the
corresponding Waite/Smith cards, which makes them easy to
read.The collages are a feast for the eyes. Zerner is wildly
imaginative in her use of textures and patterns. She has
reimagined the Tarot in light of her own artistic vision. One
should not assume from the Moon card shown on the front of
the box and from the text on the back of the box that this is a
whimsical, fairy-tale, childish treatment. Its opulent style
aside, it’s a well-thought-out, deeply felt deck, which,
although some of the standard symbols are present, largely
foregoes symbology in favor of creating an overall mood with
each card. I find that the evocative atmosphere of the cards
makes the deck ideal for reading, and it more than makes up
for the relative lack of specific symbols.Although many
patterns are used on each card, they don’t seem cluttered or
confusing, partly because of Zerner’s expertise but also
because of a device she uses throughout to delineate the
different parts of the deck. The Majors all have a sunburst
pattern of leaves at the top, which changes colors with each
card. Each of the Minors are drawn against a large identifying
shape according to the corresponding playing card suit, i.e. the
Wands cards show a club shape, the Swords a spade, the
Pentacles a diamond, and Hearts a heart.The Majors and
Minors are further delineated by style. The Minors show
people in mostly Victorian dress, with some excursions to
medieval Europe and ancient Greece. The Majors seem
vaguely Turkish, the rationale perhaps being that this is what
would seem exotic to the Victorians.Some of the Majors stay
close to tradition, for example shows a woman with a lion,
and the woman even has a small Waite/Smith infinity sign
above her head. The Emperor and Empress are seated on
outdoor thrones and are almost completely lacking in
symbology, except for some flowers for the Empress and a
mountain for the Emperor. The Magician is a striking card -
he stands in the foreground with his arm outstretched, and a
flame of energy rises out of the ground towards his hand. In
the background an unreal-looking city looms, and a butterfly
for mental energy graces the top of the card. One could
imagine that the Magician is walking around the countryside,
summoning cities to grow from the ground. The only
concessions to standard symbolism are the suit symbols
hanging from his belt.The most radical departure from
tradition is the which shows a female warrior astride a
reindeer. This card doesn’t bother me as much as I would
have thought, as I still get the same general "Chariot feeling"
when I look at it.The Moon also departs from tradition. A
little girl, with a dog by her side, gazes up at a smiling,
weeping moon, while a castle stands beyond a river. The
accompanying book tells a silly story about the moon crying
because the girl had mistakenly thought her a witch. I much
prefer to see this as a strange, moody, contradictory, evocative
image, perfectly appropriate for a Moon card.There are many
intriguing details in the deck, such as the clock that floats in
the sky like a sun in the Temperance card, symbolizing
patience; or the foliage on the tree in the Prince of Pentacles,
which is composed of a single giant leaf; or the surreal cracks
in the clothes of the farmer on the 7 of Pentacles.This deck
doesn’t avoid negativity. The is a rather gloomy picture
showing a woman cradling a dead or unconscious child who
has just been struck by lightning. In most of the other negative
cards, however, the negativity is suggested by overall mood
rather than showing something horrible happening, which
would perhaps make it a good deck to use with someone who
might be sensitive to the more depressing cards in some other
decks.The 6 of Wands stands out as a truly exuberant card. A
vaguely American Indian-looking rider sits atop a horse who
is leaping over pink flames, while a shooting star hangs in the
sky above. A card like this has an emotional impact which
needs no descriptive text to explain its meaning. However,
several of the Minor cards, although conceptually derived
from Waite, are not so clear, and someone unfamiliar with the
Waite deck would never be able to guess their meanings
without the book. For example, the 8 of Pentacles shows a
woman standing with a small brick wall at her feet. The text
informs us that she has built the wall, but nothing in the
picture suggests this.I’m very impressed with the card stock,
which seems thicker and stiffer than any other deck I’ve seen.
Although the cards are large, they could be even larger in my
opinion, to better show the detail in the artwork. Fortunately
the book contains full-page color pictures of each card, which
really shows the artwork to its advantage. Although the
Zerner/Farber deck is smaller, the size of the figure on each
card is roughly the same size. The elaborate fabric borders on
the Enchanted cards were mostly cut out, as well as a colored
border and a white border. The designs on the Zerner/Farber
cards actually go the edges like the Morgan-Greer deck. The
deck is about playing-card size, although a little smaller in
width. A colored banner was added to the bottom of each card
which contains the card title.I actually prefer working with the
smaller deck. It’s easier to shuffle and lay out, and the lack of
borders draws you into the image on the card. The elaborate
borders on the Enchanted cards are beautiful, but the human
figures tend to get a little lost in them. There are only a few
places where something important is lacking in the smaller
deck. For example, the 8 of Pentacles, which was not a very
clear card to begin with, becomes even more obscure when
the small brick wall at the woman’s feet is mostly covered by
the card-title banner.Overall, I would highly recommend this
deck in either version. It has quickly become one of my very
favorite decks.As a final word, I would like to address a bias I
have noticed towards decks that appear to some to be cutesy
or feminine or directed toward teenage girls. Regarding this
deck in particular, I feel those criticisms are particularly
unfair. Some of the cards show people in Victorian costume,
but I don’t see why this makes it feminine. After all, there
were men in the Victorian era as well as women. The addition
of lace to cards like the Ace of Swords seems to me a
perfectly valid illustration of the intricacies of the suit’s
mental qualities. As a man, I feel fully comfortable with this
deck, especially as there is certainly nothing "cutesy" about it.
hope that Tarot enthusiasts will keep open minds and not be
misled into thinking that a deck is only valid if it is deadly
serious and earnest and glum. There’s room in Tarot for many
different artists’ perspectives. Even decks which I do find
overly cutesy in some cards, like the Hanson-Roberts or the
Tarot of a Moon Garden, have many things to recommend
them, including some beautiful images

Tarot Erotica
Beltane hit me with full force this year – I celebrated on top of
Glastonbury Tor until the wee hours of the morning;
everything around me screamed “sex!”; my friends were
going stir crazy with lust after some man or woman; and I
finally got my hands on a copy of the beautiful Tarot Erotica
by Lori Walls. At first glance, this beautifully rendered deck
strikes many people as pornography, plain and simple – more
so than Manara’s Erotic Tarot, which is often subtle in its
eroticism. The Tarot Erotica is far from subtle, with phalluses,
breasts, and vaginas hanging out all over the place on every
card and the subject of almost all the cards being sex. Some
people would be less inclined to call it ‘erotica’ because of
this lack of subtlety and many may find some of the images
disturbing – such as the Three or 10 of Swords. But this is no
mere pornographic slideshow. Nor is it one of those decks
where the artwork hasn’t been created specifically for each
card (such as the Manara Erotic Tarot, where a lot of
Manara’s art has been taken from elsewhere and made into a
deck). It also isn’t a deck that says all of life comes down, at
its bare bones, to sex. It is simply a deck that interprets the
traditional card images in a sexual manner. What amazed me
about the Tarot Erotica was that it’s not just a pretty face with
lots of rude bits – it would also function as a very workable
deck, because it contains a lot of symbolism and references to
esoteric systems such as Kabbalah, so much so in fact that I
have found when reading with it I forget about the nudity and
sexual situations on the cards and focus instead on what the
card images are trying to convey.
The Magician, for instance, stands in a stern and focused
manner, surrounded by the tools of his trade, and looking as
though he is conjuring the elements into appearance. Behind
him is the Tree of Life and other metaphysical symbols
(partially hidden by his huge afro – which I cringe at all the
time!) The Empress is heavily pregnant, resplendent in
colours, and is knitting – her wool falling onto a couple
having sex beneath her throne. She is clearly the creatrix and
sustainer of life. is an extremely striking card that portrays a
green, decaying death crone giving birth to a fully grown man
in a desolate wasteland – a wonderful image that conveys both
the terror of endings, the prospect of new beginnings, and the
pain that can be involved in bringing about these new
beginnings. The Major Arcana are traditional in their
interpretations, the only significant difference being the
swapping around of the Universe and Judgement; Judgement
becomes XXI whilst the Universe becomes XX. I am not sure
why this was done, and it is not explained in the book, though
maybe it has its origins in the Christian idea of Judgement
coming after everything else. (Though why that might have a
place in this kind ofdeck is a notion beyond my
understanding!)The Minor Arcana are fully illustrated like the
Majors, though they contain more sexual acts in their images:
the Two of Rods depicts two naked men holding each other
and the Ten of Cups shows us a joyful orgy, for instance. But
they also contain some very poignant and clever
interpretations of the cards: the (Pentacles) shows a red-
headed, somewhat fake-looking woman in a shop window
waiting to be bought; the Seven of Cups portrays a naked
young woman in a stream, letting the water run over her
whilst she dreams; the Four of Rods depicts a young couple
cuddled up together in a seat held up by four poles, whilst the
dove of peace hovers over them; and the King of Rods
appears to be fending off his enamoured servants! As you may
have guessed by now, the suits of the deck are: Cups, Swords,
Rods (Wands), and Stars (Pentacles). The only difficulty this
might create for somebody experienced with more traditional
decks is that the suit of Stars takes on a very spacy and
ethereal quality – quite the opposite of the usual earthy,
business-like Pentacles we’re used to! The Court Cards
continue the theme of the deck – they are very sexual and
erotic, but also readable. The symbols and creatures
surrounding the figures in the Courts help to convey meaning,
and the actions the figures are engaging in also give the reader
a clue to their personality. I must also add here that the King
of Rods/Wands in this deck is, in my opinion, one of the more
sexy Kings I have come across in the tarot world. (And his
Queen’s not too bad herself!) The entire deck has a very
Thoth-like feel to it, especially since it makes the symbols of
the suits quite important in the Minor Arcana – to the extent
that often we find tiny scenes being enacted beneath large
patterns of Stars or Cups. Like the Thoth deck, the symbols
are not standardized either – they are different depending on
the card (and sometimes within the same card). No two Cups
are alike, and the Rods can be staffs, spears, arrows,
phalluses, or scaffolding. This often adds an extra layer of
meaning to the cards, and avoids the ‘sameness’ that often
pervades many Rider Waite style decks. The card size is quite
small compared to most decks, and the card images are
contained within a white border that displays the card’s title in
three different languages – English, French, and German. The
backs of the cards are beautiful and reversible – two lily-like
pink flowers connected to each other at the stems, which
possibly hold a reference to the female genitalia. They are on
a very dark, blackish-blueish-purplish background, and if one
looks closely, one can see the faint outline of the same flower
pattern, superimposed in very faint green-blue in the opposite
direction. The deck comes in a box with a little white book
that has a tendency to interpret every card as a person – an
approach I personally dislike, but I don’t use little white
books at all anyway. This deck is, as one might guess, a very
brash, open, and up-front deck with a beautiful presentation
and some very striking and poignant images. It is also a bit
different, which is always a plus in my book (I dislike Rider
Waite clones!) It often takes a different route than other
decks, and depicts cards in an original and well-thought out
manner which gives an experienced reader food for thought,
but allows the deck to remain accessible to beginners. It is
not, obviously, a deck for children or anybody who is
offended by nudity and/or sexual situations, homosexuality, or
the precarious positioning of Swords. I wouldn’t recommend
it as a public reading deck, but think it is a wonderful deck for
private readings or for readings for close friends, and one that
lends itself well to those well-versed in the Thoth Tarot. It
would also be ideal for tarot deck collectors, since it is not
another clone and it is quite hard to find at the moment. Its
beauty, its depth, its readability, and its King of Wands make
the Tarot Erotica one of the jewels of my collection.

Eternal Dream
was immediately spellbound by the intricate, detailed
depictions of the cards, each one more captivating then the
next. This is a 22 card deck of Majors with no titles or
numbers depicted. The artist has his own perception of which
Tarot archetypes are represented on each card, but leaves it up
to you to decide which cards best represents your own
understanding of the meanings. The cards do come arranged
in an order that seems to fit well with my own choices for
card placement; however, I may switch a card or two around
the more I study and work with this deck. The quality of the
printing is excellent, each card is stark black and white; crisp
and dramatic. They are sealed in protective lamination
trimmed close to the edges. The cards measure 4 1/2" x 3
1/4". There are no borders on the cards, save for a narrow
black edging, giving them maximum visual impact. The are
an attractive B&W design and reversible.I should probably
reiterate that the artist purposely doesn't divulge the meanings
of his cards, so the following interpretations are my own
perceptions. My first impression is that this is a very deep,
introspective artist, who dwells in the dark and wildly
imaginative recesses of his brilliant mind, where shadow and
light create powerful worlds of illusion and extremes. His
attention to detail and shading is impactful and invites us to
delve deeper within our own soul. Take, for example, what I
consider to be the High Priestess card in this deck. A naked
woman, holding something close to her heart, stands calf-deep
in murky waters of the unconscious. There appears to be an
entrance to a castle, and the two traditional pillars of the High
Priestess are present, if a little cracked and worn from age and
a rocky history we can only imagine. The crescent moon is
illuminated against a brick wall behind her, casting a
triangular light (often associated with the female gender, the
pyramids and other such mysterious things). Ascending stairs
invite us deeper inside the card. Two gargoyle-like masks top
the pillars, keeping those who are not ready or brave enough
at bay. This card is both stark and welcoming at the same
instant.Another favorite of mine is what I deem the Empress
card. Her eyes closed in serene contemplation, she gently rubs
her round belly. In direct contrast to this peaceful image, note
her long, sharp, pointy fingernails and the elaborate tattoo of a
tree across her stomach and breasts. It seems to be growing
even as I look at it. These cards are all so powerful that it's
difficult to choose only a few to share in this review.The is
weathered and old. His weary eyes tell of much sorrow and
pain, yet his face is somehow gentle and kindly. His pursed
lips seem to be mouthing a quiet chant. His wisdom has been
at great cost to his spirit.The card I think of as the depicts a
large clock with a Sun/Moon dial and astrological symbols
where the numbers are usually displayed. A naked man hangs
from the pendulum, swinging back and forth, from one
extreme to another: pleasure, pain, love, hate, creation,
destruction...throughout eternity.This next card makes for a
very unusual depiction of the card. Two strangers share a
sidewalk of some cluttered industrial city. One is a homeless
person, set up for camp and resting against a building, while
the other creates beautiful graffiti art on that same wall,
breathing life into a tired, dismal, overburdened city.
Temperance is a card often abstract and difficult to define for
many, but here, instead of a naked woman, urn in hand, with
one foot on earth and the other in pools of the unconscious
pouring, mixing the elements, we have an artist mixing liquid
colors and imagery and creating a new alchemy to evoke the
guardian spirits and inspire all that pass by. card is utterly
blissful. Large, lazy starfish attached to craggy rocks for
shelter and scraps of food, living a seemingly peaceful
existence at the depths of the ocean.For what appears to be the
Moon card, a woman sits on top of the world. She cradles the
Moon lovingly in her arms. She looks sad and alone, her long
hair flowing in the starlit sky. This card evokes in me my own
dual feelings of existing on this planet with all its beauty and
blatant destruction and mad chaos

Fae Tarot
This is a beautiful deck which is self-published by the
artist/author, Greg Hoose, who has studied art internationally
and whose influences include Celtic Fairies, Sumi (Chinese)
art, and Christian elements, as well as Tarot. He creates all his
images digitally.The primary theme of the deck is, of course,
Fairies. Although the signature card included with the deck, as
well as the , speaks of a Fairy tradition, I’m not sure what
specific tradition is being referred to. Some of the characters
on the cards are winged, with different types of wings;
butterfly wings, dragonfly wings, and feathered wings, as well
as more abstract, unidentifiable wings. Pointed ears are visible
on many of the figures. The bird-winged figures make me
think more of angels than fairies. Anyone who feels drawn to
the various angel or fairy non-tarot decks currently on the
market should certainly consider this deck.The pictures are
done in a colorful, impressionistic style. One thing that’s
important to understand about them right away is that they
don’t contain the sharp outlines of most Tarot art. In fact, they
are rather gauzy, or one might even say fuzzy. I don’t think
this is due to poor reproduction; I just think this is the artist’s
style. Many of the elements in the pictures are done with a
wonderful marbling effect, so that they look like rivers of
molten metal. When I first saw the physical cards I was a bit
taken aback by the lack of definition, but I soon got used to
it.Unlike many self-published decks, these cards are
refreshingly small at four by two and three-eighth inches. In
fact, I think they’re the perfect size, easy to shuffle and lay
out. The corners are rounded, and the scenes go all the way to
the borders. The suits are Wands, Bowls, Darts (Swords) and
Stars (Pentacles). The court cards are Page, Knight, Queen
and King. The cards are identifiable by an icon for each suit
placed in the lower left corner of the card, with a number or
letter designation superimposed over it. The Majors also have
a card title in small white letters at the top of the cardMany of
these images are quite arresting. Elements from the Rider-
Waite-Smith deck makereg Hoose, unlike many Tarot artists,
understands the power of a simple iconic image. quite
striking, a masculine, authoritative figure with butterfly
wings. The Magician and the examining a ball of glowing
light. And the one of the most beautiful Star cards I’ve ever
seen, demonstrates the artist’s facility with light
effects.Perhaps the most notable feature of the Majors is that
just about every element that could be construed to be
negative has been expurgated from the cards. The Strength
card, instead of showing a woman with a lion, instead shows a
woman reaching out to the viewer, suggesting that the viewer
is him- or herself the lion, but without actually showing a lion
(the Cosmic Tarot has a similar Strength card, in which the
woman holds a cloth up to the viewer, which reflects a lion).
The three "negative" Majors, i.e. Death, the Devil, and the
Tower, have been renamed and re-imagined into more
positive, although still related, concepts. The Tower has
become the Tree. Death has become Night, with a picture of a
unicorn walking through a nighttime scene while the sun
begins to rise. And, most alarmingly, the Devil has become
the Heart, although, interestingly, the picture is set up the
same way as the R-W-S Devil card, with a man and a woman
in the foreground and a flower-heart shape occupying the
Devil’s usual position. Other Major cards are renamed but are
more identifiable as traditional Tarot archetypes, like
thChariot, now named Nobility, which shows a figure
reminiscent of the R-W-S charioteer, but without the chariot.I
imagine there are many Tarot traditionalists out there whose
blood pressure will start to rise on reading of the lack of
negative imagery. However, to be fair, this is not an entirely
positive deck; several Minor cards have negative images or
elements. The Three of Darts (Swords) shows the good old
familiar punctured heart, and the course, be interpreted
exactly as the Death card usually is; that is, a walk through
darkness, and the sun will shine on a different day. Even the
Heart card can be linked conceptually to the Devil, if one
interprets the Devil as one’s inner, selfish desires. Since the
heart-flower entity is looming over the humans on the card,
perhaps they are in its thrall.The Minors utilize different sorts
of techniques to achieve their effects. Although they mostly
reflect the standard R-W-S meanings, there are a few which
strike off in new directions, for example the , which shows a
person kneeling in prayer rather than the usual victorious man
on horseback. Some of the heretofore negative Minors are
given a more positive (or a less negative) spin. The (Swords)
shows a person aiming an arrow at a shooting star, which
might well illustrate either futility and defeat, as in the
corresponding R-W-S card, or else willingness to take a long
shot.Scale is used to great effect on some cards, like the Two
of Stars (Pentacles), which shows the serenity which one can
find even in a changing situation. And on the (Swords), the
Knight, who floats in midair, is actually quite small in the
picture, as he or she aims an arrow against the wind. As an
aside, the indistinctness of the figures is an advantage in one
way, which is that they can be seen as either gender according
to the context of the reading.There are times when the pictures
approach the truly visionary, as in the (Pentacles), which
simply shows the Queen’s throne occupied by a ball of light,
and the who aims a wand and shoots a grey beam at a huge,
monolithic golden figure, perhaps the essence of wand-ness,
who is perhaps prefigured by the wand shown in the
Ace.Although the Swords suit is named Darts, it actually
shows arrows. The Star suit may seem a strange substitute for
Pentacles-Disks-Coins, but when you think about it, all the
matter on a planet, including its inhabitants, originates from
stars, so perhaps it’s appropriate after all.Religious or
Christian elements can be seen in the aforementioned Six of
Wands, and in the Hanged Man card, which has been renamed
to Inspiration and shows a woman with pointed ears and a
halo, raising her arms and her face to the sky. However, these
elements are not overwhelmingI would like to say a few
words about the whole issue of positive versus negative decks.
Some take the position that a deck which has no (or few)
negative images on it will not accurately reflect reality. I think
this is a rather unsophisticated view. After all, many Tarot
readers, including myself, feel that any card in any deck may
be interpreted positively or negatively, according to the
context. If this is so, then the fact that a deck’s images may
trend more towards the positive than the standard R-W-S-
derived deck shouldn’t affect the positivity or negativity of
the reading, since, again, positive or negative images can
suggest either a positive or negative interpretation.Also, even
if you find yourself limited in interpretation to the positivity
or negativity of the image, you also have the option of
reversals. If you take reversals to mean the opposite of the
upright card, as many readers do, then even a deck which has
all positive images will still be entirely balanced, because you
will have 78 positive (upright) cards and 78 negative
(reversed) ones.I think how one feels about positivity or
negativity in Tarot images has more to do with one’s own
personality than anything else. "Realists" have contempt for
what they perceive as "fluffy" decks which have no bite to
them. However, it seems to me that those "realists" could
themselves be criticized for having an unrealistic view of life;
for example, just as life is not always a bed of roses, so also
could one say that not every situation has stress or anxiety or
hopelessness as a factor. I don’t think there’s anything wrong
with a deck having more gentle images, as long as the reader
maintains a flexible attitude toward developing negative as
well as positive interpretations. One way to ensure that you
are not inadvertently overlooking the negative in life would be
to use a layout that contains at least one card position which
forces you to interpret even a positive image negatively, such
as "What I am doing wrong in this situation" or "What’s the
worst that could happen."As noted above, however, this is not
a deck which is entirely positive. Although the Majors have
been changed to seem entirely positive, there are still some
negative elements in the Minors. I will also note that although
some Majors have been renamed and re-imagined, these
Majors are more faithful to the traditional Tarot structure than,
say, the Sacred Circle Tarot.The deck does not come with a
Little White Booklet, merely two cards which contain a short
explanation for why the deck was created and a reference to
the artist’s website for links that may be explored if one wants
to learn about reading the cards (these are links to other Tarot
websites, not material written by Hoose). One of these cards
mentions poetry that Hoose has written to accompany each
card, which is also not included with the deck, but you can
read it at the website. Since it’s not actually included in the
deck, and since I don’t know much about poetry, I’ll forbear
to review it, except to say that in my opinion it doesn’t
provide much insight into how to interpret some of the images
which are different than the R-W-S standard. For this reason, I
don’t know that I’d recommend this deck to a beginner, since
you’re pretty much on your own in creating interpretations for
those cards that contain non-standard imagery.

Feng Shui Tarot

As soon as I saw this deck, the published by AGMuller,
immediately came to mind. Artistically, they evoke one
another. It is not simply that both decks are Asian in affect,
but the artistic style and use of color is very similar, although
the Golden Dragon deck is, perhaps, more delicately drawn.
Both decks even have a similar emotional feel to them, not to
mention black borders. Designed by the mother-son duo that
brought you the Connolly Tarot, the Feng Shui Tarot is quite a
departure from that Waite-Smith-derived deck. The Minor
Arcana, in particular, seem to follow no traditional tarot deck
of which I am aware. The Feng Shui Tarot is far more
appealing aesthetically than the Connolly --clearly, Peter Paul
Connolly loves Asian art and it loves him right back. My
favorite card is The Moon--it combines an almost
photographic realism within the structure of the more
traditional artwork. This is the only card in which this
combination occurs, and I wonder if it's a statement on the
Moon's illusory nature.Based on the erratic symbolism of the
other cards, I somewhat doubt it. The Fool is a pretty little
lady standing on a winding, but not remotely precarious, path.
Her essence is one of peace and stillness--she even has one
foot balanced in the water, much like the traditional
Temperance card. Talk about your mixed metaphors! Thethe
equivalent of the Ace of Wands, shows a large turtle
clambering from icy waters to the snowy bank above. Brrrrrr.
Not my usual inherent response to the Ace of Wands. The
(Eight of Swords) shows a tiger crouching beneath a porch-
like structure, but he doesn't look trapped in any way.This
brings me to the unusual construction of the deck. The Majors
are mostly unchanged, although the Death card has been
renamed "Transition" (in the Connolly deck, it is
euphemistically entitled "Transformation"). The Devil
becomes (as it is also called in the Connolly deck). But the
Minors are where the rubber no longer meets the road.The
suits are based on the . Wands have been changed to the suit
of the Black Tortoise; Cups, the Red Phoenix; Swords, the
White Tiger, and Pentacles are the suit of the Green Dragon.
While green is an earthy enough color, Dragons and Pentacles
are not as one in my mind. White Tigers and Swords do work
in tandem for me, especially with the icy blue eyes Connolly
gives those sinewy tigers. But the Black Tortoise, surrounded
often by snowy mountains, seems like a "Polar" opposite to
the fiery Wands, and the Red Phoenix imagery for Cups is
about as contrary a choice as I've come across. The is cocky
and transcendent--not usual adjectives for the Four of
CupsThe deck's little white booklet (LWB) states that the
Feng Shui Tarot "is not meant to give the reader a "Feng
Shui" reading, but a Tarot reading with the meanings of the
cards illuminated by visual examples of Feng Shui...The
principles of the Form school Feng Shui are used as a vehicle
to create dynamic scenes of harmony or discord in defining
the individual expression and meaning of each card."
Unfortunately, very little information about Feng Shui is
provided in the LWB, leaving many questions unanswered.
What do each of the Four Celestial Animals have to do with
the suits the Connollys have slotted for them? (The LWB
doesn't even mention that there are Four Celestial Animals.)
In what way is Feng Shui used with the cards, besides setting
up the question of harmony and discord--aren't those just
synonyms for upright and reversSince I've been assailing the
LWB, I may as put all my grievances out there. Another card I
really love in this deck is the Hanged Man; it conveys the
spirituality and serenity of this card with unusual subtlety and
quiet force. Yet the LWB doesn't address the numinous aspect
of this card at all. The card is allusive and thought-provoking,
yet the card description simplistically advises the querent to
"Heave a sigh of relief!" The card has nuances the text doesn't
hint at--and since the imagery is so unique, the novice reader
is short-changed. The good news is that US Games will be
publishing a companion book to the deck by Eileen Connolly,
which will probably be available to the public in October. I
hope/expect that it will offer more substantial information on
Feng Shui, how it pertains to this deck, and more in-depth
interpretations that offer the finer shades of meaning that
some of the cards seem to deserve.I say "seem to" because,
while this is a beautiful deck, it's hard to determine its degree
of substance (or lack thereof) because it is so untraditional. is
surrounded by the Four Celestial Animals, instead of the four
traditional suits. Since I don't understand how these animals
relate to the suits and my research failed to make those links
for me (and the LWB doesn't even attempt to do so), all I can
observe about the Magician is he's pointing down, not up. If
there's a Feng Shui reason for this, I'm all for discovering
what it is. If not, I question whether this deck is just another
pretty face (sounds like a bad date, doesn't it?).Two cards that
I think offer a counterpoint to the "pretty face" theory are the
and the Empress. The High Priestess sits between two
ornately designed urns, her face a study in inscrutability.
Mysterious smoke wafts from a small cauldron that sits on her
lap. This is a woman who knows those "ancient Chinese
secrets" we've heard so much about (if we watch too much
television). A white wall rises on an angle behind her, a wall
that doesn't quite blot out the outside world. I'd love to know
the meaning of each of these symbols, if the artist usedthem
with intent. Needless to say, the LWB doesn't offer a clue.
The Empress' ornate elegance does not detract from her very
female essence. Since women are often "pear-shaped", the
ripe fruit that adorns this card has at least that connotation--
and, I suspect, others as well. Ditto the butterflies that flutter
about, with one landing on the Empress' covered hands. These
cards are truly lovely renderings of the High Priestess and the
Empress.Some of the Minor Arcana really leave me shaking
my head in bemused wonderment, though. The Black Tortoise
Eight looks just like the Eight of Cups...too bad the Black
Tortoise represents Wands. The Red Phoenix Two shows its
Celestial Animal looking outward towards the sunny horizon-
-all alone. Yet the ever-helpful LWB describes this card thus:
"A special tie between two souls helps create the perfect
situation." Is that perfect situation seeking private time to
devote to self-love? Sounds like that Phoenix has been
reading too many self-help books! The court cards seem like
characters created without any thought of the elements. The
dips his hand in a pond with floating lily pads. Lovely, but not
earthy--and the Green Dragon suit is supposed to correlate to
earth, not water. It is very hard to make sense of some of these
cards, which makes reading with this deck seem like...bad
Feng Shui!t's a pretty deck, though.Each card is rimmed with
a black border, and on the right hand side is another border--
beige, this time--inset with the card number and title, with a
trigram on the bottom. The artist's initials are encased in the
carnelian-colored ink that brings an individualized Chinese
name stamp to mind. The are reversible and very elegant. My
first glimpse of the Golden Dragon Tarot induced serious
acquisition lust. Seeing it triggered a quest--I had to obtain it
and so I did, from Alida. Once I looked closely at the deck in
the less emotionally-heated and time-constrained atmosphere
of my home, I realized it was not a kindred spirit, not one with
which I could work, despite my attraction to its external
beauty (We're back in bad date Hell again!). This assessment
of ultimate elusiveness applies to the Feng Shui Tarot, as well,
though a truly great companion book could change my mind.I
recommend this deck to fans of Asian art. While I have read
several books on Feng Shui, they have merely demonstrated
to me that the topic is not one for dabblers. I am unconvinced
that this deck has any real relation to the art of Feng Shui, so I
hesitate to commend it to Feng Shui practitioners or
enthusiasts. Because this deck doesn't follow Golden Dawn or
other traditional imagery, there would be a steep learning
curve for most readers

Flash Card Tarot

The Flash Card Tarot (also referred to as the Spontaneous
Wisdom Tarot™), with its bright, splashy colors and less-
than-refined style, suggests that I embrace those limitations
instead, as Linda Nadeau, the artist, clearly has. The artwork
in this deck is quite primitive, yet it has a brash style that is
miles from being apologetic. It shimmers with a self-assured
vibrancy, much like a flashily-dressed, overweight woman
ordering a third slice of cake...a la mode.It is also a deck
beginners can use immediately. The backs are definitely not
reversible; they offer a keyphrase, a paragraph listing the
"traditional meaning," another paragraph entitled "Knowing
Your Authentic Self," and then offers self-evaluating
questions. You can see a sample of the Three of Swords, front
and back Because the card title is on the back in bolded, in
bright red, I recommend shuffling with your eyes
closed.Occasionally, Nadeau's"traditional meaning" isn't all
that traditional. "The Hanged Man tells you to watch for
theunexpected"--sometimes, not always. One of Nadeau's
definitions for the Four of Cups is "manifesting, making real,
laying foundations through physical effort..." Which card
would you say "represents your fondest wish coming true"?
According to the Flash Card Tarot, it's the Ten of Cups. The
Seven of Pentacles "brings celebration, stretching, seeking
variety, and unbounded possibilities." I think she has this card
confused with the Eight; Nadeau claims, "Traditional images
show a workman taking action to achieve financial success
and growth." Additionally, the descriptions, especially the
court cards, tend to be all light with almost no shadow. I
understand this is a feel-good tarot, but if we are really going
to transform in the alchemical beaker of Temperance, we need
at least a little nigredo.The Wheel of Fortune shows a heart in
eight various states--whole, broken, shot with (and pierced by)
the arrow of love, and so forth. It's an interesting take, though
kind of limiting--fortune is not a solely emotional experience.
However, the Celtic knotwork in the center of the card might
symbolize that all things are intertwined and inter-
connected.Maybe it's because I am not overfond of bright
colors, one of my favorite cards in this deck is . Its high-
definition in black and white (especially in comparison to the
other cards) shows headless body. Actually, there is a head--
it's just in the figure's midsection! This image illustrates
mental transformation with--pardon the pun--surgical
precision. Another almost black-and-white image is the . The
imagery is very shamanistic, even though the back doesn't
address that aspect of the card. In one of the more homespun
depictions, the Six of Cups shows a picnic blanket laid with
symbols of security (Mom's pocketbook, a basket with six
cups) and pleasure (slices of chocolate cake). The bluish-
purplish tone of the along with the imagery makes me think of
Swords, especially as the card meaning speaks more to the
mental and internal aspect of competition and chaos than a
fiery free-for-all. The Nine of Swords is another of my
favorite cards--it shows a deer caught in oversized headlights
with a terrified driver at the wheel. Talk about a nightmare
image that indicates fear and anxiety! Purists will be pleased
to note that the artist has included the numbered suit emblem
on each card (the aforementioned nine swords are cleverly
placed in the car's grille, and they strongly resemble pointy,
terrifying teeth).
The deck includes two extra cards. One is entitled
"Understanding the Celtic Cross Spread"; one side shows the
layout, the other some clues on how to use it. The other is a
"Note from the Artist" that promotes her workshops and her
book, Soul Sister Speaks: Intuition, Creativity, and the Tarot.
The 115-page companion book is spiral-bound and reflects the
personal, touchy-feely qualities of the deck. More than half
the book is devoted to poems Nadeau wrote for each of the
cards (see excerpt below). These poems are often quite
personal and not necessarily meaningful to readers other than
the author. There is no set length--some of the Major Arcana
poems are but a few lines and some of the Minor Arcana over
a page long. The author uses a rather large font, so this isn't
quite as excessive as it sounds. Again, the quality and
personal nature of the poetry might encourage others to create
their own responses to the cards, which can only be a good
thing, and something the author encourages later, in her
section on "Working with Archetypal Energy", which lists 12
"Learning Paths" to increase the reader's ability to use the
cards. These are all tarot-specific, as opposed to the eight
methods Nadeau lists first on accessing intuition. There are
also chapters on General Information and Card Care and
Spreads. In the first, Nadeau puts forth several "rules" with
which I don't necessarily agree. One is never allowing anyone
to touch your cards because it will disturb the vibrations;
ironically, she says later that she has the querent cut the deck
with his/her non-dominant hand, which means those vibes are
ever-pulsating. Nadeau also writes, "Red letter words such as
cancer or death are absolutely unacceptable," because they are
distressing. While I agree it is never good to frighten a
querent, my reason for not saying these things is because I
recognize I have no way of knowing with certainty that cancer
or death is imminent, not because the words have inherent
power. However, if the querent brings up either issue, saying,
"I have cancer and have been given two months to live,"
telling him or her that we can't use the cards for illumination
and guidance seems wrong. I really think I am quibbling with
the wording and not Nadeau's intent, as I certainly agree it
would be unethical and immoral to unnecessarily scare the
person for whom I am reading. There are three spreads
offered: the Celtic Cross, the Horoscope Spread, and the Tree
of Life Spread. I really like the way Nadeau breaks down the
last--she makes the layout very accessible for someone who
has no clue what Chesed is, by removing the Hebrew
terminology. She also states that "Cards falling on the pillar of
severity must be read with severity," and that the ones on the
pillar of mercy be read with compassion, which makes a great
deal of sense. Throughout the book, Nadeau consistently
urges the reader to find his or her own path, a sentiment with
which I heartily concur. A 16 page little white booklet also
comes with the deck--mostly, it speaks of how to get in touch
with your intuitive side, though some basic tarot definitions
are offered. It does not include individual card interpretations
(after all, the card backs do that!), but the same "Note from
the Artist" appears on the last page.While I am less than
impressed with Nadeau's artwork (her renderings of the male
form are particularly and painfully amateurish), the deck has
an unmistakable voluptuousness that melds with the deck
creator's free-flowing, inner-child-loving approach . The cards
are larger than average, which enhances its Venusian flow,
lush and excessive. And, as I wrote earlier, the Flash Card
Tarot will make the average tarotist feel too, can create his or
her own deck. On the other hand, perhaps these new decks
should remain personal and not emerge on the tarot market!
This deck will not have universal appeal, because it is so
subjective. I consider it to be a self-help tool imposed upon a
tarot structure, rather than a true tarot deck

Flowers of Life Tarot

This past summer, she spent two weeks with me and many of
our wonderful talks included sharing her experiences working
with autistic and Downs Syndrome children in one of Utah's
elementary schools. I listened to her, fascinated by her as she
spoke. Gone were the recitations and memorized statements
of the philosophies and opinions of others. She was a
thinking, reasoning adult, assimilating a myriad of data...but
then drawing her own very erudite conclusions and applying
them to her daily activities.Thinking, reasoning, independent
thought and action. What more can a parent hope for?And I
was filled with an almost painful pride as I gazed upon her
fresh, young face.What does this have to do with a tarot
review, you ask?Well, this brief capsule of information will
help you understand my initial reaction when I first opened
Cerrithwen Genetti's Flowers of Life Tarot.My initial,
consuming reaction was that Alexandra Genetti must be filled
with that same sort of overwhelming pride and love.And so
she should be, because Miss Genetti's Flowers of Life is an
impressive contribution to the world of tarot.Ponder upon this.
A young, high school student decides to create a tarot deck for
a class assignment. Ah, you think that sounds simple? Well,
think again, because how many of us have been tinkering
about with the very same idea...that of creating our own set of
images? And how many of those sets have been completed? If
you promise not to ask me, I promise not to ask you.In her
youth and innocence, Miss Genetti took on a task that has
daunted many a seasoned tarot aficionado and/or artist. And,
as so many times happens, the result of that young, vibrant
energy has achieved surprising and impressive results.As
stated previously, the Flowers of Life Tarot was conceived
and created for a high-school project. The fruit of that
assignment resulted in a handmade set of tarot majors
accompanied by a lovely little handmade book. The entire
presentation is colorful and eye-catching, with meticulous
attention paid to each tiny detail.The set arrives in a beautiful,
handmade, foldover tarot bag. I don’t know if the same fabric
is used for each bag, but I can tell you that the fabric selected
for my copy is exquisite and would be appealing to either
gender, as well as any age and/or taste. The foldover flap is
strengthened by a length of black ribbon stitched along its
perimeter.Speaking just from my own personal taste, I much
prefer this type of bag structure to the drawstring type. The
books and cards lay flat – neat and tidy – in their very
attractive case. The foldover flap allows easy access to the
cards. Since the flap extends the entire length of the bag itself,
there is no need for a fastener. The cards are in no danger of
sliding out. In addition, the rectangular structure of the bag
and the precise measurement of it prevents the cards from
sliding around. The bag proportions have been carefully
calculated to fit the accompanying book with just the right
amount of leeway. As a quilter, I appreciate the high quality
production of this little tote.Before we get to the cards, let's
spend a little time with the beautifully produced book. Not
being an artist or a bookbinder, I can't provide a lot of detail
regarding the assembly of the book. However, the quality and
durability is apparent at first glance. The book is a hardcover
affair covered with a lovely paper which has a faintly Asian
flavor to it. Again, the choice of the decorative paper would
be appealing to most clientele and it coordinates well with the
accompanying tarot bag and with the cards themselves. The
printing is easy to read against its background of soft
lavender.The book provides all the information that I,
personally, crave the most. Miss Genetti obviously devoted
some serious time and attention to writing her little book. Not
only does it provide the overall meaning and interpretation of
each card, but it also goes into a great deal of detail with
regard to the individual symbols used, why they were chosen,
as well as Miss Genetti's own personal set of astrological
correspondences. It is a very satisfying read.Astrology is a
fairly closed book to me, which could be an advantage when
using this deck, because Miss Genetti's attributions stray from
what are considered to be some of the more "traditional"
assignments.And why not? Why not take two systems that
you understand and derive a great deal of satisfaction from
and marry them together in a form that provides the most
ideal set of interpretations for your own individual
purposes?While her attributions may cause raised eyebrows in
some circles, I applaud her initiative and creativity in creating
a set of correspondences to which she can relate and which
make just as much sense as any others I have seen. At times,
the correspondences can seem a little forced, but that is the
inevitable difficulty which arises whenever you attempt to
combine astrology or (as in other decks) the Hebrew alphabet
with the tarot. What usually happens is that you proceed along
quite well and then you run out of the most logical and clear-
cut attributions, thus falling into those rather murky waters
where the correspondences begin to seem a bit contrived.So,
all I can say is "bravo, Miss Genetti". Your system works just
as well as any other. I understand your selections and can
follow them. And, if I can, anyone can. Well done.One other
thing I want to mention about the book. As you read it, you
are immediately aware that these are the writings of a young
person, someone who has not yet fully honed her writing
skills. The clarity of thought is absolutely there; however, the
more mature, polished phrases have not yet been developed.
The seeds are definitely there, though.But you know what? I
find the prose to be utterly charming. It may not have polish
or sophistication, but it is forthright, clear and absolutely
devoid of the pompous and ponderous language that weights
down so many other tarot "tomes". The book is a delicate
breath of fresh air flowing through an overcrowded room.As I
read and reread the book, I mentally applauded Alexandra
Genetti for the distance she must have kept from her
daughter's project. The words and phrases of that book are
clearly Miss Genetti's alone. Keeping this distance is very
difficult for a mother to do, and I take my hat off to both
mother and daughter.Let’s now move on to the cards
themselves. If you are fortunate enough to own the
Jumbledance Tarot, Hero’s Journey Tarot, Mansions of the
Moon or Sheba’s Tarot, then you will be very familiar with
the process. These are laminated cards that have been
carefully and precisely cut, with smooth rounded corners and
marbled backs chosen in a lovely shade of soft gray. The
laminating materials used are of high quality, making for
sturdy cards that can truly be used over and over.And you will
want to use these cards because they are marvelous.The art
form is collage, which, as many of you already know, can
easily result in a messy, conflicted or just plain uninteresting
set of images. However, in the hands of a sensitive and
imaginative individual, it can also result in a set of images that
are stimulating and beautiful, with all the small "pieces"
flowing together to make an insightful and memorable
"whole". Miss Genetti’s images leave you in no doubt. They
are all these positive adjectives and more.First, the quality of
the collage is excellent. Miss Genetti’s precise, clean cutting
skills and her artistic eye for capturing just the right
combination of images makes for a seamless presentation of
each card. None of these cards look "assembled". Each small
image flows smoothly into the next…and the next. Each card
has an aliveness and freshness that makes one want to come
back to them again and again. Flowers sprout as if by magic
from the dark depths of the universal skies. Light plays
delicately over mountaintops and creatures of the earth.
Butterflies of various sizes and colors sweep and swirl about
the central figures. Each of these cards is a visual feast and a
delight for the eye.But a tarot deck has to be more than that.
Each image has to express the idea of that particular card.
Yes, the "idea" can vary in its interpretation from deck to
deck, but there has to be a message, a point, a central, seed
idea. If this is not accomplished, then the images cannot be
called a tarot deck. They are, instead, a set of pretty pictures,
suitable for framing or to be used as postcards.And Miss
Genetti’s cards? They are the real thing. They are beautiful
and they are tarot images.It’s hard for me to pick favorites
from this deck because all the cards are interesting and vivid,
with each idea clearly expressed. You could cover up the card
titles and still easily identify each card. They are that well
done.In any deck, there are going to be cards you love right
away and others you may have to work at. Sometimes, you
look at a deck and there are cards that you just know you’re
never going to be able to accept. For me, there are no such
cards in the Flowers of Life deck and there are only two (Fool
and Justice) that I think could have been improved upon.
However, in both cases, there are so many fascinating and
imaginative details to these two cards that what I consider to
be the slight flaw in the selection of the central figures is
satisfyingly overridden.Look at the and delight in the
wonderful combination of images presented to you. There are
those flowers blooming in the night sky. Instead of the
traditional dog, we have two charming little puppies, one of
which is sniffing inquisitively at the Fool’s foot. Take a
moment to enjoy the mountain range in the background and
the interesting counterpoint of its reflection in the pool of
water below it. Then, let your eyes feast upon the flowers and
other images that delicately entwine the Fool like a set of
psychedelic tattoos.All of this bounty makes the figure of the
Fool less of a disappointment. Not that I mind gazing upon
this very pretty boy clad only in a pair of black underwear.
It’s his facial expression which doesn’t seem to capture the
essence of innocence and enthusiasm as described in the
accompanying book. With his typical "dumb jock" expression,
this youth seems more clueless than innocent.I have a similar
reaction to . Here again, the choice, combination and
placement of images are a delight. I love the images of the
crystals, particularly the fluorite. Here, the "scales" of Justice
are the Sun and Moon themselves. Yin and Yang. Light and
Dark. Justice herself (who knows no boundaries or limits)
floats in mid-air against a stunning backdrop of sea and sky. A
Sri-Mantra floats behind her head and a rainbow (representing
spiritual enlightenment and harmony) shines over all. A
wonderful card with such creative energy; however, as with
the Fool, the choice of Justice herself, doesn’t seem as
inspired as the rest of the card images. Here we see a very
pretty young woman, who might be more concerned with hair
and makeup than other, more weighty issues.But let me tell
you, for me, these are minor quibbles. All of the other cards
are an absolute joy and some ofthem are inspired.Treat
yourself to the scan of the card. I say this even as I swallow
my disappointment that my deck will not be the first to
present the amazing and exotic images of the lunar moth
which have found their perfect place in this evocative card.
Here, they float quietly through the utter stillness of the night
sky towards that incredibly present moon. A moon which
almost touches the horizon, emphasizing its power over the
ebb and flow of the tide that washes glassily towards the
solitary image of the wolf who is poised upon a great,
shimmering pearl. The wolf serves a dual purpose – he warns
of the pitfalls of illusion and confused thought, while at the
same time pointing the way to the hidden wisdom as
represented by the great pearl. The exquisite interplay of
images brings a spellbinding quality to this card which is so
elemental in nature that it has quickly become one of my
favorite Moon cards.Moving along to another wonderful card
– the. Candles (symbolizing the light of wisdom and truth)
mirror and balance the Grecian pillars. And the High
Priestess…she is perfect. Tall, slim, ebon-haired, with skin as
pale and smooth as the finest marble and a face (with a slight
hint of vulnerability) that keeps her inner thoughts to herself.
Dressed in a gown of pure, flawless white, she stands
pristinely and serenely. Her body echoes the slim perfection
of the marble pillars. Her icy glow is perfection when
contrasted with the fiery flame of the candles that flank her.
The pyramids at her feet symbolize her ancient and timeless
wisdom. The full moon nestles within the leaves just
beginning to change color. The leaves symbolize the turning
inward that occurs in the fall season, when the tree goes
outwardly dormant, all its energy focused within
itself.Contrast this cool, pristine image with the glowing
power and vitality of thecard. In a field of vivid, orange
poppies stands a female beauty whose red suit, assertive
stance and glowing black skin exude feline power, passion
and grace. Her inner, elemental nature is further exemplified
by the molten rays framing her exquisitely boned face and by
the lionesses who repose behind her, basking in the rays of
sun streaking down through the clouds. This woman knows
her nature. She knows who she is. She knows she is capable
of handling anything. Capable of taking any challenge and
embracing it…making it part of herself.Everyone has favorite
cards in a tarot deck and one of mine is the It is one of two
cards I go to first when I open a new deck and, as is to be
expected, I am quite picky about it. This is another masterful
card. First, the card is just gosh darn beautiful. I don’t know
how many collage pieces had to be assembled to put together
this image, but it looks like one beautiful photograph. Again,
very interesting contrasts are presented…the fire of the setting
sun fills the sky with a glowing energy which is in sharp
counterpoint to the delicate, icy beauty of the snow covered
terrain. Each tiny branch is encased in a lacy shell of ice and
snow. Even the tall shapes of the cacti are magically dusted. A
small house is close by, its windows providing small,
welcome pinpoints of light to any weary traveler. And in the
foreground is the Hermit himself. Old and wise, he sits before
the tablets, their glyphs representing his accumulated
knowledge, gathered over many years and many journeys.
The lamp of inner truth and enlightenment rests beside them.I
view this card and I want to sit with this man. I want to look
into those eyes filled with awareness and see up close the
wrinkles etched across his face. Those etchings of countless
lifetimes lived. I want to pour over the knowledge of the ages
spread before him. And then, I want to proceed towards that
dark house, stopping frequently to touch with amazement
those tiny, delicate branches glittering in their coats of ice. I
want to sit before the Hermit’s hearth, sip a cup of tea and
watch that amazing sunset flare into its final beauty before
darkness brings its final cover. I want to bide for a time,
turning inward, hearing sounds that make no noise and seeing
images that cannot be drawn.I could go on and on and bring
each card to life for you because each one deserves to be
savored and enjoyed. I come back to them again and again
and I never tire of them. I experience anew the wonderment
and appreciation of the work of one of our young, magical
beings

Fractal Firebird Tarot

This is one of the more unique decks in my collection.
Certainly, it is one of the most abstract. Maria Kruse, the
artist, has designed a deck using fractals, which are, according
to the Cambridge International Dictionary of English, "a
complicated irregular line or pattern in mathematics built from
simple, repeated shapes that are reduced in size every time
they are repeated." Fractals are also used in computer
graphics. In the companion booklet, Kruse briefly explains
why she chose to create her tarot deck using fractals: "Fractals
represent the order that one finds in apparent chaos." Kruse
believes that "the Tarot contains a deep sense of order in what
appears to be random chance," hence, her artistic choice of
fractals flows holistically into her vision of the tarot.She
recommends that the deck user "meditate on each card for a
time to open the deeper meanings that are buried in
[the]...mind waiting to be awakened." The meanings are
described as "ever changing and meaningful." I agree with
Kruse on both counts. This is not a deck I would ever give a
reading with, per se, though it could be done. I'm not sure if
I'd call it a tarot reading or a search for personal meaning,
though. Because that's what these cards do...they offer a
glimpse into the recesses of your mind, coupling intuition and
psychic flashes with your mental, academic understanding of
the tarot. These mostly-abstract images jimmy your habitual
beliefs of what individual cards mean and what tarot is, and
by presenting completely unfamiliar and amorphous images,
unlock the chains of intellectual memory, allowing you to tap
directly into your intuition.I approach the tarot with the dual
engines of intellect and intuition, and am uncomfortable using
only one of them. Hence, the cards that offer images that can
even loosely be seen as representing literal symbols or people
are the ones that resonate the deepest for me. An example of
this is the Judgment card, where you can see a golden child
reaching out to an equally golden angel. Between them flow
alchemical energies that evoke thoughts of the Temperance
Angel's magical elixir, blended to perfection. I could stare at
the High Priestess (above) for quite a while, as she seems to
radiate light that is rippled with shuttering darkness--too
perfect. Other cards that seem dramatically literal are the
where all sorts of stresses get played out beneath an upside-
down woman's head, turning into a scary monster, t where
someone seems to be spreading his or her arms outward to
stave off the encroaching flames, and who seems to be
Buddha-in-abstract, meditating and manifesting balls of light.
I could name and show several others, but there are at least as
many cards that are completely inscrutable to me. Instead of
finding that debilitating, it kind of excites me. If every card
was easy to define and label, meditation would be a very short
process indeed.People often compare using the cards to
working with Rorschach imagery. This tarot deck is the
closest thing I've seen that bears out that resemblance. You
can find all sorts of things hidden in these cards, and I find
that fascinating.Still, I recognize this deck isn't for everyone.
And I have one major criticism to make, as well. It has to do
with the little booklet that comes with the deck. It's beautifully
and professionally done (as is the deck, which even comes in
a pretty green pouch). However, the majority of the 12 page
booklet is devoted to traditional interpretations of the cards,
with predominantly negative meanings for reversals. The
meanings and the cards don't link up at all, and can only be
valuable to a complete tarot novice--the individual least likely
to avail him- or herself of this deck! I would so much have
preferred Kruse's take on her cards than this regurgitation of
stale meanings. As I mentioned earlier, this self-published
deck has been thoughtfully and meticulously crafted in every
aspect of production. While I don't like the content of the
booklet, it is easy-to-read and carefully prepared, with a
lovely cover (you know--the thing you can't judge a book by).
The are marblized and lovely. The deck itself seems to be
hand cut and I suspect by the thickness of the cards that the
backs were pasted onto the scans. I have the large version
(three by five inches), but the artist has made them available
in two smaller sizes as well. Because I see this deck's primary
use as meditation, I believe the largest size is the most
efficacious. I received the Book of Chaos Tarot the same
week, another self-published deck done by a man (instead of
awoman). I don't generally ascribe to stereotypes, but I was
struck by the utter attention to detail and presentation by
Kruse compared to the creator of the Book of Chaos. Fractal
came in a green bag, Chaos with a cloth; Fractal is
meticulously cut and the cards are quite durable and printed
beautifully, Chaos is more...chaotic, made on a dot-matrix
printer on much flimsier material, the booklets were
especially in stark contrast, with Kruse's a model of
professionalism and the Chaos deck not even stapled! Yet the
Chaos booklet is far more appropriate and valuable than the
eye-catching one done for the Fractal, a substance over style
victory. The dissimilarities in the two approaches provided me
with food for thought, so I thought I'd share my mini-meal
with you.

Gaian Tarot
There used to be commercials for Manischevitz Wine that
claimed, "You don't have to be Jewish to enjoy
Manischevitz," or something like that. Or maybe I'm having
hallucinations? Be that as it may, you don't have to be Pagan
to enjoy the Gaian Tarot by Joanna Powell Colbert, but...oy--
it doesn't hurt.Seriously, no matter what your spiritual path is,
this is one gorgeous deck. But it is seriously steeped in earth-
centered lore and symbolism, and is, in my opinion, hands
down the best tarot for Pagans around (sadly though, at this
time it is not a full 78 card deck, but Majors-Only). But before
you say to yourself, "Well, if it's that great a deck, it's bound
to be published, so I'll wait for the 78 card version," I have to
say that the presentation and publication of this Majors-Only
version is so special that you really don't want to wait.
The deck arrives in a plush purple velvet bag lined with a tree-
patterned cloth that smells like heaven. Why? The bag
contains the small spiral-bound companion book, three stones,
and a packet of herbs all locally grown: lavender, sage,
sweetgrass and cedar. I can't tell you how many times I have
just stuck my face in the bag and inhaled deeply--not the most
attractive image, I grant you, but I bet if you buy this deck for
yourself, you'll do the same. Even the are hand-stamped with
a silvery wreath of healing herbs. At first, I didn't see the
holistic symmetry of the packaging, but when I started
thinking of the deck creator's intentions for the Gaian Tarot, I
realized how very earth-based and apropos each of the special
features is.Many independently-published decks aren't created
by people who earn their daily bread through their art. Colbert
is an internationally known artist whose work you might
recall seeing in SageWoman and/or PanGaia Magazine and
her deck reflects both her professional skill and deep
spirituality. It is an unusual pleasure and privilege to gaze
upon each of these exquisitely-crafted images, which are
primarily colored pencil drawingswith occasional and
effective integrative dips into PhotoShop. It is impossible to
describe every card in depth, and it pains me to not show all
of them (but you can see them all on, so I don't feel guilty--
thanks, Joanna!). The Fool has been dubbed The Seeker and
depicts a woman who is about to begin a long hike. There is a
contemplative quality that contrasts with the traditional
foolhardiness of this card, but the sense of magnitude of the
journey offers an interpretative nuance that I embrace
wholeheartedly. The Magician, a shamanic drummer, makes
my heart open every time I get a glimpse of this spiritually
rich card. One of the first cards completed for this deck, the
High Priestess, is a perfect amalgam of beauty and innovation.
The wise woman at the center of this card is a combination of
Crone and Maiden, Hecate and Persephone. The yin and yang
often shown by the black and white pillars is revisioned in this
card, shown symbolically in the various facets of the two
sides of the High Priestess, as well as the owl and salmon, the
moon and the light of the sunThe Empress (The Gardener)
and Emperor (The Builder) are a majestic couple, but they are
not bedecked with the royal adornments we have come to
recognize. Looking at them side-by-side, you see the pregnant
and lush woman lying in a verdant field in Trump III as the
essence of fertile womanhood and her partner, who carves his
pattern in a post outside his home-castle, as the ultimate
constructor. Ever since reading Banzhaf's this distinction has
been emphasized for me and I love the way Joanna
expressesthese two archetypes. These two seem to be reprised
(with some differences) as the Lovers, which speaks to both
an earthly and divine union.Each of the cards has been
revisioned to reflect an earth-centered sense of the sacred. The
Chariot has been renamed The Canoe and, while the pilot is
fixed on his goal, the goal is steeped in the waters of
spirituality. The Hierophant (The Teacher) is a mellow leader
whose religious milieu is the green and growing earth. The
Wheel shows the changing of the seasons through the leaves
(or lack thereof) on trees and the lunar cycle. Rarely have I
seen a Wheel that so perfectly evokes the cyclical nature of
life.depicts a glowing figure who is a literal man of measure
(as opposed to leisure)--he weighs and balances emotion and
logic, compassion and discernment. The Hanged One is now
The Tree (at top), a yoga master (mistress?) who has, through
meditation and suspending herself in space, so obliterated
boundaries that she has become one with the sky.I am
particularly taken with the progression of the /Lightning-
Tower/Star trinity--the cards are populated with different
characters, but the images convey a natural and powerful arc
of enslavement to breakthrough to healing, a hard-won peace
that recognizes true beauty.

Gay Tarot
Usually, women rightfully object to the fact that men
dominate our culture in ways overt and subtle. There is still a
glass ceiling for women, as well as a disparity between men
and womens' earnings for doing the same job, a disparity that
benefits men. Even medical research favors men--a study
showed that women were dying far more frequently than men
from heart attacks because all the research had focused on
mens' responses to treatment, and women and men are
biologically different (a rather obvious fact, I would think--
but one ignored by researchers).However, in Tarot World, two
lesbian-friendly decks (Motherpeace, Daughters of the Moon)
have been around for decades, with no true tarots out there for
gay males. Granted, there are some decks that have "gay" in
the title, but the emphasis on sex to the exclusion of all else
made these decks more erotic images than true tarot
archetypes.The Gay Bursten's offering is so wholesome that
some may find fault with its clean-cut approach. It's one of the
few tarot decks in existence that has NO full-frontal nudity.
Jack of Will and Grace would bemoan the lack of eye candy
as unspeakably dreary.Then again, not every gay man is the
Queen of Camp nor sex-obsessed to the point ofobliviousness
to any other reality--and that is this deck's greatest strength. It
addresses gay issues (coming out, fighting for equal rights) in
a way that is both gender-preference-specific but also
universally applicable to everyone. It doesn't hide its subject,
nor does it have an agenda. It simply portrays men as fathers,
craftsmen, politicians, and lovers, operating at every level and
position in our society. And that's certainly as valid a picture
of the "gay lifestyle" as Will and Grace provides the television
public.Since no women appear in the deck, the Gay Tarot
doesn't reflect a woman's world with the same effectiveness,
any more than a Native American Tarot encompasses Finnish
mythology. The artwork by cartoonist Antonella Platano, who
also created the is very modern in its orientation. The images
include blimps, skyscrapers, and skateboards, retaining almost
none of the traditional iconography of the Marseilles or Rider-
Waite-Smith (RWS) tarots. However, the cards themselves
will be a snap for those familiar with the RWS to use in
readings, as both the Major and Minor Arcana evoke familiar
messages and interpretations. These up-to-date scenes have
the added advantage of familiarity for querents who don't
know quite what to make of Hierophants and High
Priestesses. Not only that, the tastefully muted colors are
easier on the eye than the original RWS. However, this
modernization will not be to everyone's taste. On the other
hand, Lo Scarabeo and the author and artist of this deck are to
be commended for creating a very easy-to-read deck,
something not always the case with this publisher.The Fool is
a hitchhiker. Trump I is a modern, professional magician,
attired in a sparkling suit, with all the accouterments of the
trade: top hat, black wand, and klieg lights. When we turn to
the more traditionally female archetypes, they are revisioned
in more generic terminology. The High Priestess steps out of
the closet as an Intuitive, and the image is of a meditative
male looking rather sorrowful under a crescent moon. The
Empress is now the Protector, a father raising his little girl in
his strong arms, his tiara, a backwards baseball cap. (The
Emperor remains the Emperor, but is now a director or
producer who holds a stage in his capable hands.) Strength
has the obligatory big cat, but the calming presence is a well-
muscled male lion tamer, not a fragile female. The Hierophant
is The Priest--and he's marrying two men. The fact that this
issue is, at present, a major media item, gives it additional
wrinkles, not all of them in keeping with the traditional
interpretation of following...traditions. One of my favorite
cards is The Lovers (at top). We don't have the yin-yang of
male-female, but this opposition is shown in other ways: one
man is Black, the other, White, the moon crowns one male,
the sun, the other. Even their individual spaces are delineated
by night and day. Justice shows two men reaching towards
one another behind their prison bars--again, we have the
black/white poles expressed by the color of the two men.The
Wheel of Fortune is now the Wheel of Life and depicts men
of different ages and colors around a spoked wheel. The
Hanged Man is a diver and reminds me of who is considered
the greatest diver in history. He stayed in the closet about his
sexual orientation and his HIV-positive status for a long time.
These associations are richly resonant for Trump XII. Death
continues the metaphor--it shows a grieving man standing by
a gravestone of one who died too young. The Devil has been
renamed Self-Hatred, and depicts a young man speculating on
a "typical" family portrait with a degree of sorrow and loss.
Trump XVI (traditionally, the Tower) continues the theme--a
young man sharing his gay orientation to his parents, hence
the card name change to Revelation. The last renamed card is
Beyond Judgement (as opposed to Judgment) and depicts a
gay rights parade. I am sure there are some of you who are
reading this, and thinking "I'm straight. How will I relate to
these cards? I never hid my sexuality or protested in a gay
rights parade or came out to my parents." The reality is that
Lee has chosen specifically gay situations that have universal
resonance. Have you always been an open book or have you
held potentially damaging secrets? Was there never an issue
that you felt strongly enough about to protest? Did you never
have to tell someone you loved something you knew that
would hurt them? If so, you've lived a far easier life than I
have.The Minor Arcana are particularly clever. Each number
enhances upon the theme of its Major Arcana counterpart. The
Twos (associated with the Intuitive/High Priestess) show the
same man in meditative poses, three of them being actively
meditative by depicting a martial arts position. The Threes
(associated with the Protector/Empress) show Dad and
daughter sharing ice cream by a fountain (Cups) and painting
their walls (Coins). The Three of Swords depicts three
umbrellas crossed and lying in a puddle on a grey day. This
doesn't directly revert back to the Protector card, but it does
hearken to the tradition of the RWS Three of Swords, that
doesn't contain any human characters. The Three of Wands is
the most poignant card--it shows Dad waving goodbye to his
daughter as she goes off for school. The poignancy comes into
the picture with the two ghostly siblings who walk alongside
the little girl; this reminds you afresh how the law is stacked
against gays adopting children. The other numbered Minors
also refer in some way to their Major Arcana counterpart. The
Court Cards, as you would expect, are also revisioned in the
Gay Tarot. Pages are Youths, Knights, Men, Queens are
Guides and Kings have become These cards are also
ethnically diverse. The Guides are unique--they are wingèd,
naked creatures, either supernatural or mythical in nature.

Gilded Tarot
I’ve been sitting here, trying to think of exactly why it is that
this deck is so congenial. The first thing one notices upon
unwrapping the deck is the attractiveness of the art. The
images have been created digitally, but, unlike some digital
decks, the artist has hand-drawn the artwork with a digital pen
and tablet, rather than relying on software-generated effects.
For a few of the images, actual photographs of hands and
faces are cleverly worked into the pictures in an unobtrusive
way, so that one sometimes is unsure whether a particular face
or set of hands is a photograph or a drawing. The result is an
appealing combination of sharp photo-realism and soft,
flowing, fantasy-themed shapes and colors.Other visual
elements which I appreciate are the black borders, and the
way the edges of the images fade into black, giving them a
dreamlike feeling. The gemstones inlaid at the sides and tops
of the golden frames add to the overall impression of richness.
These gemstones are consistent throughout the suits: blue for
Swords, red for Wands, orange for Cups, green for Pentacles,
and onyx black for the Major Arcana.For me, perhaps the
most appealing visual elements are the sharply realized
interiors. For example, on thethe precise shading and use of
detailed texture gives me an intense feeling of locality, as if I
had fallen asleep and dreamed myself into the picture. I can’t
think of any other deck which accomplishes this feat.The
Gilded Tarot has a refreshing lack of ideological bias or
agenda. Like the Rider-Waite-Smith deck, it’s set in a pseudo-
Medieval fantasy world; but unlike that deck, it makes no
religious assumptions. And although the zodiac wheel is itself
used as a symbol on several cards (such as the Emperor, at
top), the deck is on the whole free of esoteric symbol systems.
Historically, various symbol systems have been attached to
the tarot by 18th, 19th and 20th century occultists, but the
tarot predates all of them and does not rely on them. Using
this deck, one is able to relax and let the pictures interact with
one’s intuition without having one’s intellect come stomping
through the process, insisting that this esoteric symbol must
mean such-and-such and that esoteric symbol must mean so-
and-so.Besides providing visual richness, Ciro Marchetti also
provides conceptual richness, in the form of manyinteresting
twists and variations on the standard images. For example, in
the Lovers, the gods Mars and Venus engage in a sensual
embrace, while maintaining the same circuit of energy shown
on the corresponding Rider-Waite-Smith card: the man looks
at the woman, while the woman’s gaze is directed above.
Andis, for a change, not a hairy monster but rather a
handsome devil, which is quite appropriate when one
remembers that devilish activities would not tempt us unless
they were in some way attractive. This Devil’s eyes are
hidden by his eyeless headgear, which brilliantly illustrates
his inability to see the moral consequences of his actions.The
Minor Arcana are fully illustrated with Rider-Waite-Smith-
inspired scenes. While many of them closely follow Pamela
Colman Smith’s lead, several demonstrate significant
differences, such as the Ten of Pentacles, which shows a chest
full of golden pentacles rather than the usual family in the
castle courtyard. Animals make frequent appearances,
commenting on the action or just setting an evocative mood.
My favorite is the platypus seen on the Platypus are often
referred to as “living fossils,” and serve as an apt illustration
for a card which often signifies a situation which has outlived
its usefulness. (I’m speaking symbolically, of course; platypus
are wonderful animals, a common but vulnerable species in
Australia.)Many of the previously mentioned interesting
twists occur in the Minor Arcana. For example, the heart on
the Three of Swords is very narrow. This might suggest that
the heartbreak referred to is overwhelming, but only when we
define the situation too narrowly, rather than considering the
bigger picture. There are similarly intriguing details on many
of the Minors which can provide intuitive clues when
performing a reading. Several cards throughout the deck
feature the sunburst symbol from the perhaps signifying
grace or optimism.I was curious about the choice of the suit-
identifying gemstone colors, and since this subject isn’t
mentioned in the accompanying book, I decided to ask the
artist. Ciro informed me that he specifically wanted to avoid
color associations which may have been influenced in the past
by pragmatic considerations such as printing limitations, and
instead approached the choice from an artist’s perspective.
The gemstone colors are derived from the Aces of each suit.
Thus, the orange-gold color of the gemstones on the Cups
cards stems from the golden color of the cups as reflected in
the water; the blue for the Swords is taken from the blue sky
behind the sword; the red for Wands comes from the fire
topping that suit’s Ace; and the grass on the Ace of Pentacles
leads to the green gemstone for that suit’s symbol, which
itself contains green gemstones.I must also note the
delightfully different shape of the pentacles – not disks, but
rather pentagons. Thus the “five” theme is retained, but
without the rather overused disks and pentagrams of other
decks.The Court cards, while beautiful and evocative, are a bit
less clearly indicative of meaning than their Rider-Waite-
Smith (RWS) counterparts. I like these Courts better, because
it allows me to make up my own mind about how I want to
interpret them, and also allows me to experiment with
different methods of interpretation, but some readers may
prefer the more obvious renditions in some other
decks.Llewellyn has included two extra cards which illustrate
spreads. This is a handy idea which many readers will
appreciate. One card shows the Celtic Cross, and the other an
excellent daily spread by Kathie Vyvyan. Also included in the
set is a black semi-transparent organdy tarot bag, similar to
the one that came with the Buddha Tarot.The accompanying
book, The Gilded Tarot Companion by Barbara Moore, is 150
pages and is geared towards the beginner, with sections
containing basic information on how to care for the cards,
how to ask a question, the Fool’s Journey, etc. The text is
dotted with short exercises for the reader to perform. The card
images are not reproduced in the card description sections,
although the book is otherwise profusely illustrated with black
and white images and characters taken from the cards. The
book makes for a user-friendly introduction to the deck and to
the tarot in general, and I’m actually happy about the book’s
small size, since, I suspect, the small size contributes to the
set’s reasonable price tag of $24.95 retail. However, the
prospective purchaser should not expect a weighty tome like
that which Llewellyn produced for Robert Place’s The
Buddha Tarot, which is 366 pages and provides a quite
sophisticated explication of the deck’s symbolic structure and
an excellent and extensive history of tarot. (Perhaps it’s not
fair to compare them, since the Buddha Tarot Companion was
not included with that deck but sold separately.)shapes set
against the black backgrounds tend to stimulate the intuition.
The adherence to RWS concepts in the Minor scenes means
that experienced readers won’t have to struggle for meanings,
while inexperienced readers will find a friendly guiding hand
in the accompanying book. For those who are looking for an
exceptionally attractive, straightforward deck which gives
creative interpretations for the Majors but retains familiar
meanings for the Minors, this will be the one. I predict this
will be a very successful deck for Reading with this deck is an
extremely easy and pleasant process. I find that the glowing
Llewellyn, and deservedly so.
Golden Tarot
This deck is even more beautiful and complex than the story
of its publication. Black originally created a deck for herself
and put it on the Internet, generously sharing her artwork with
other tarot aficionados. Unfortunately, some less-than-ethical
individuals pirated her Major Arcana images and published
them as a "Tarot Kalendar 2002" without informing the artist.
When Tarot Garden began to sell these decks, tarot enthusiast
Diane Turek directed them to Kat Black's site, letting them
know that the artist had been illegally thrust out of the profit
equation. Tarot Garden stopped selling copies and, in
addition, they, along with Judy Tillinger and many other fans
of the deck, started a campaign to get this deck legally
published--and today, it is.Well, sort of. US Games wanted
the deck to hew to the RWS iconology as much as possible,
and Black altered many of the original cards to reflect that
desire. Those who remember the pirated calendar cards note
that more than half of the Majors are completely different
(The Empress, The Lovers, The Chariot, Strength, The
Hermit, The Wheel of Fortune, Death, Temperance, the Devil,
the Star, The Moon, The Sun, Judgment and the World). In
almost every case, I prefer the new versions (though I have a
lingering fondness for the old Chariot and Star
cards).Artistically speaking, while the deck creator has
focused on what she refers to as one's first impulse upon
looking at this deck would be to attribute the majority of
images to Italian Renaissance painters. However, Black has
seamlessly woven a deck that is rather diverse in its origins--
Flemish, German, and Swiss artists are all resources for the
collaged images. The priority seems to have been to create
RWS-derived images, as opposed to choosing a "pure" genre.
The art is all taken from the years 1200 - 1500; this 300 year
period covers a wide range of artists and artistic styles and
approaches.If these cards were simply beautiful renditions of
the standard Rider-Waite-Smith (RWS), the deck would be an
achievement, but because the artists Black draws from weren't
planning a tarot based on the RWS, she has had to approach
things creatively, adding subtle differences that add to the
reader's arsenal. This is what makes the deck such a great
gift.The Fool is a woman troubadour of sorts, drumming in a
flowering forest. She has a fixed quality often lacking in this
archetype, giving her a shamanic or earth-based strength. The
Magician is a holy man who seems able tocommunicate with
animals--more Dr. Doolittle than Dr. Faustus. The Empress
holds a healthy baby on her lap, escalating potential creativity
to its manifestation. Assuming the reader uses an image-based
approach, these shadings impact and enrich a reading.The
Chariot (at top) depicts a woman who looks as if she is
standing on a moving dais, emphasizing the victorious warrior
aspect of this card; she is not actually driving the swan-drawn
vehicle. The imagery on is dominated by a woman suckling a
babe on her bed as an older man stirs the fire, giving us a
vignette of the eternal cycle of life. The Wheel itself, bordered
by the Four Evangelists, is more of a wall decoration than the
focus of the card.Justice, numbered XI, is particularly
fascinating, offering much in the way of interpretation. On it,
an angel balances the scales of humanity. Tipping the balance
to the nether world, a man is pulled downward by demons, but
little angels are lifting a woman on the other side upward
towards the heavens. Along with the angel's red wings, Black
gives Justice a vitality not often seen in this card.Some of the
more ominous Majors are lightened, but not in a treacly way.
Death is a beautiful woman of sepulchral white, holding a
flower as angels rush to her side. The Golden Tarot Death is
far less stark than the RWS skeleton version, yet in its own
way, just as blatantly irreversible. The Tower shows someone
hurtling downward from a burning building, but his Guardian
Angel is by his side. This doesn't mean he's not going to die,
just a reminder that we are protected in death as we are in life.
Also, there is a grieving family at the bottom of the image,
taking up half the card. This seems a reminder that worldly
comfort is transitory and we must deal with the aftermath of
our own blazing buildings.Black has given the Minor Arcana
the same loving attention as her Majors--perhaps even more,
as some of them must have been quite challenging to
replicate. Anyone familiar with the RWS Minors will
recognize these images immediately. Even so, these cards are
enriched by the special touches the images evoke. The , for
example, shows a grieving Pope,comforted by an underling.
The three cups that remain upright indicate that, while
weeping endureth for a night, peace will eventually be
returned one morning--and that it isn't weakness to feel
sorrow--it comes to all of us, great and small. The Three of
Swords includes a veined ruby heart pierced by the
conventional three foils, yet you also see a sad, but strong,
woman in red covering her heart with her arms, which
somewhat softens the image. The shows a man in bed, head
in hands, as nine rapiers hang above him, but Churchill's
"black dog" of depression adds a recognizable nuance that can
be addressed by the reader.The Court Cards are more of a
mixed bag for me. I love some of them, but others seem flat
and less nuanced than the other cards. The elaborately
adorned Page of Cups has a gentle dreaminess that is quite
evocative, and the Page of Pentacles is an interesting
combination of the scholar and the materialist. The Knight of
Coins is properly immobile, but the Knight of Wands seems
static and the Knight of Cups is a bit too much of a ramrod in
form for such an emotional court card. My usual significator,
the Queen of Wands is simply glorious, but the Queen of
Swords seems simultaneously bloated and anemic and the
Queen of Coins seems to have found a bad smell--a rotten
fish, perhaps?--in her famed kitchens. The King of Cups card
stands out as one of the few cards that employs a deep blue
color, and effectively provides an emotional ebb and flow to
this Court Card. The King of Coins is perfect, a King Midas
who appreciates his gold and the fruits of his wealth without
being obsessed by it. Speaking of the courts, the astrological
attributions are inconsistently and intermittently applied--the
Queen of Swords is given the astrological attribution of Virgo,
but there is no symbol to represent that sign (which is
normally attributed to the earthy Pentacles--Coins, in this
deck). The other Swords Courts aren't given astrological
attributions, but a power animal (the butterfly); no other suit
follows this repeated animal emblem. Some Pages are
assigned astrological suits, but there seems to be no rhyme nor
reason--the Page of Coins is assigned the cardinal suit of
Capricorn! Instead of the textbook Little White Booklet
(LWB), an almost 200-page companion booklet is included
with the Golden Tarot. However, if you are looking for in-
depth card interpretations, you will be sadly disappointed.
Almost 80 of the pages are devoted to providing the original
art sources for each card and appear at the end of the booklet.
I am grateful for this information and think it is most
appropriate, though I would have liked the art sources
integrated into the card meanings.Speaking of the card
meanings, the interpretations are not particularly in-depth, and
some of them are downright odd. The meaning given for the
Empress, for example, starts with the sentence, "In a true
victory, both sides are winners." This seems irrelevant within
the context of the archetype and the specific Golden Tarot
image. However, the Emperor's meaning begins with the
words, "There can be no winners without losers," and I
imagine Black's intent was to draw a contrast between these
two closely connected cards. However, since we see no losers
in the Emperor card, the contrast escapes me. Another
curiosity is the provided meaning of The Hierophant: "This
card indicates a time of change, particularly in
relationships...It is time to leave the past behind you, clearing
your mind of past thoughts and feelings." The first sentence in
the meaning for The Chariot: "Horses will only follow the
reigns [sic] if they want to," which later goes on to stress the
importance of working with others to achieve victory. The
given meaning for the Hanged Man starts out, "Trust that all
will get what they deserve." These are very modern and
unconventional interpretations, and not in keeping with the
time period of the artwork. In The Star, the artist has chosen
to keep the traditional number of stars (signifying the planets
as they were known at the time of the Renaissance). She fails
to explain that choice to the reader, which would be beneficial
and era-appropriate, yet speaks of pessimism and negativity.
Within the context of the deck, this seems problematic to me,
especially as the progressive psychological approach is not
applied throughout the booklet ("If there are more than four
Swords in a spread, this could be an ill omen.").In all fairness,
however, Black states at the beginning of the booklet, "[Y]our
own interpretations will become more important than those
I've given here. Consider my words a guide only." Veteran
readers will probably want to refer to the interpretations
rarely, if at all. The good news is that the cards, multi-layered
and sophisticated, offer wonderful and innovative approaches
to the Major and Minor Arcana, yet are based on the familiar
RWS iconography.The mode of packaging is new for US
Games and is both lovely and practical. Anholds the deck and
the companion booklet upright. It has a separate top, as
opposed to a fold-in. This box is far sturdier than US Games
tarot boxes tend to be. The gilt edging of the cards, precisely
because of the exquisite artistry of the images, adds a
luxurious note that harkens to an older time when
craftsmanship mattered more than it does today. The evoke
the feeling of a golden tapestry and are reversible. A title card
and a card with a brief note from the author are included with
the 78 cards, and I have found that I can easily keep them
separated by using the book in between them. That way, I
don't have to go through the process of making sure I am not
mistakenly including the extra cards every time I use the
Golden Tarot.Which will be often, because the combination of
beauty, intelligence, and the interesting nuances added by the
unique symbolism of the individual art make this a great
reading deck. I give the Golden Tarot my highest
recommendation, and though it's early days yet, I don't think
it's too soon to declare this the mainstream deck of the year.

Gothic Tarot
While I am not a Goth Girl, or anything resembling one, I
recognize a class production when I see it. And the Gothic
Tarot by Joseph Vargo is definitely a class production--the
deck is both beautiful and professionally packaged--and it's an
independently published deck, to boot.The artwork, though, is
what really makes this deck transcend the boundaries of
theme. Like Robert Place's is like comparing a stiletto and a
sledgehammer. Panache vs. pancake. You get the drift. is
particularly unique, because normally this card is depicted
with one individual. In this version, the Magician makes fire
in a skull-based cauldron as he channels lightning, while four
hooded souls stand by, each holding a symbol of the elements.
The High Priestess looks like an Egyptian goddess standing in
a sarcophagial portal. Is she barring the way or beckoning you
to come forth? You be the judge.The Empress stands in her
coffin, which is also an arched doorway. There is a look of
shock or horror on her face--perhaps she sees that her mate,
the Emperor, is having a fine time with his harem of vampire
sirens. Some of my favorite Majors are Strength, which
reminds me of that famous scene in Ghostbusters when
Sigourny Weaver opens herself to the elements, and
Temperance, which shows a dark lady concocting a
powerfully witchy brew in her fiery cauldron. The Tower
shows a gargoyle-guarded fortress that remains intact as the
full moon overlooks the bolt of lightning that strikes it--the
scary part of this Tower is in its solid external structure. It's all
too ominously, powerfully sturdy and can withstand any
wraith's powers to escape.Two of the Majors evoke the a deck
I disliked except for the Chariot and theSun cards. The two
Chariots in these decks are almost identical, but the Sun card,
while carrying the same message, is more classically
rendered--and dare I say more archetypal?--in the Gothic
version. One card I really don't quite get is the World, which
looks like a decorated stone panel designed with two angels
and two demons. The angels bear spears, which could be used
as spikes through the heart of the vampire, I suppose, and the
demons proffer shields adorned with skeletons. It's an
interesting card, and I wish the little white book (LWB)
explained its symbolism. But more on that later.The Minor
Arcana are derived in large part from the Rider-Waite-Smith
(RWS), though the Gothic Tarot is not a clone of that deck.
As in many decks, some cards are more similar than others.
The Five of Cups depicts a cloaked man riveted by a skull in
his hand. A grinning demonic harlequin sits on a throne
surround by five swords in the Five of Swords. He holds a
pole with a bloody crowned head, clasped triumphantly in one
of his hands as blood drips down his arm. The Ten of Swords
shows the requisite swords in the prone body, but it's a
skeleton's structure that bears the weight. Talk about
something really being completely over and done with! An
Uncle-Fester type skulks about an icy graveyard in the Five of
Pentacles, giving a whole new face to spiritual
poverty.Speaking of Uncle Fester, the is pure Morticia
Adams, lifting her chalice in the dark of night--perhaps to an
invisible Gomez? For those who have long seen her as the
essence of feminine charm, this deck is a necessity for the
Queen of Cups alone.Some of the most interesting cards in
this deck are the ones that only hint at their RWS
counterparts. The Six of Cups shows a white wraith sitting on
the outside a graven tomb, reading a book. The image--and
her eerie luminescence--convey a new perspective on
nostalgia and its charms. The shows a woman leaning against
a pillar, her Victoria's Secret-style nightgown and enraptured
visage showing the compelling pull of the underworld and a
reason some give themselves up to it with abandon. She is an
all-too-willing captive.The images are dark and blanketed by
a black border, which is thematically apropos. The suits are
standard (Wands, Cups, Swords, and Pentacles), but are
illustrated with very Gothic artwork. The wand is ornate and
could be used as a spike (you never know when you'll need
one of those!), yet the gleaming ruby hilt adds both a fiery and
elegant touch. The cup is a goblet seeded with glowing rubies,
which is such a medieval touch when adorning a hammered
silver chalice. The sword also contains a ruby, though the
pentacle, alas, lacks a gem of any color.Vargo is a gifted artist
in the gothic fantasy field, and some of the tarot imagery is
taken from earlier paintings. From a sheet that came with my
deck, I learned that the artist had originally planned to do a
pips-only deck, but changed his mind, influenced primarily by
the RWS deck. The only thing I am disappointed by is the
LWB provided with the Gothic Tarot. It doesn't offer any
illumination on the deck's unique symbolism. Instead, it
provides general information about the tarot, along with short
card interpretations and two spreads, the Celtic Cross and
something called the Mystic Seven. The card interpretations
are traditional, and oft-times have no relationship with the
image on the actual card. The Eight of Pentacles, for example,
shows two gargoyles sitting next to a pillar lined with eight
pentacles. The "Divinatory Meaning" reads, "craftmanship,
skill and business savvy pay off, turning hobbies and interests
into a profitable endeavor, gainful employment or a
commissioned work. Reversed: vanity, overly ambitious." I
fail to see how that description relates to the card's picture.
The Ten of Wand's Divinatory Meaning: "the trappings of
success, fortune and gain come at a price, a burden to carry,
oppression, a lawsuit may end in defeat"--this describes the
RWS Ten of Wands, but not the Gothic Tarot version, which
depicts a ghostly woman carrying a glowing candelabrum as
she descends stairs. On the balustrade sits a winged and
howling fanged creature. The interpretation and image are not
related in any discernible way.This is, however, a deck I
recommend highly, not merely to tarot collectors and Anne
Rice/horror fiction enthusiasts, but to anyone looking for a
dramatically beautiful, independently-published deck that is
most reasonably priced.

Haindl Tarot
The Haindl Tarot is an altogether remarkable and unique deck
which was published by U.S. Games in 1990. Hermann
Haindl is a German artist who set out to create a deck which
would not only serve as an artistic expression of himself, but
also celebrate different cultures from around the world. In
these goals he has succeeded admirably.The first thing that
makes this deck unique is the quality of the art. Although it is
always debatable where the line is drawn between illustration
and art, I think almost anyone would agree that the art on
these cards is on a very high level. The use of composition
and color are highly sophisticated. Someone taking a quick
and superficial look at the cards might be fooled, but one look
at the immediately shows the skill of the artist.That same
hasty observer might quickly come to the conclusion that the
art is drab, dark, murky, and obscure. While it is true that
browns and faded shades of other colors predominate, a closer
look will reveal a large range of colors and moods. What
makes this a very serious deck is not so much the artwork but
Haindl’s viewpoint, which is unafraid to look at the darker
sides of life. Haindl’s life has been difficult, starting with his
captivity in a Russian prisoner of war camp in World War II,
and the themes stated in the cards present an often somber
mood. But this shouldn’t scare anyone away from the deck. If
you are willing to engage with its seriousness, you will be
rewarded with one of the richest, deepest Tarot decks
available.The deck is descended conceptually from the
Crowley-Harris Thoth deck, particularly in the Minors, which,
like the Thoth Minors, show the requisite number of suit
symbols against a highly evocative background, but they do
not show scenes with humans in them as in the Waite-Smith.
Also, the Minors are titled, using the Thoth titles as a model
but sometimes changing them. These titles were what
eventually kept me from reading with this deck on a regular
basis, but it’s still one of my favorite decks simply to take out
and look at.Another similarity with the Thoth deck is the
multitude of symbol systems used on the cards. But, as Rachel
Pollack points out in her books, the symbols are used much
more freely and organically, and are presented more for their
psychological impact than to illustrate any particular esoteric
teaching. The Majors contain the Hebrew letter, the
astrological glyph, and the Rune associated with each card.
Also, unusual in decks, the element for each Major card is
shown by a colored border, which might make this a good
deck to practice Elemental Dignities with. The Minors contain
an I-Ching hexagram which Haindl has assigned to each.But
the pictures themselves are the important thing. They are so
evocative, you can get lost in them for hours. As you look at
each card, it seems to grow until you are completely
submerged in it, and you enter a silent world where symbols,
scenes, and faces slowly float byOne of Haindl’s favorite
symbols is the bubble. For what is often presumed to be a
depressing deck, bubbles will playfully appear in the most
unexpected places, signifying hope and grace. On the High
Priestess appears the mother of all bubbles. Tiny, misty
bubbles surround it, and you can almost feel the wet mist on
your face. It’s interesting to compare this use of bubbles with
the Tarot of a Moon Garden, which uses bubbles for
pentacles. In that deck they come off as one more frivolous
and cutesy effect. Here they offset the dark colors and stony
backgrounds to add a (much welcome) lightness and airiness
to the deck.Haindl has an interesting way of painting humans.
They appear almost evanescent or transparent, as if the stony
backgrounds are what truly last, while humans and their
foibles are here and gone before you know it.One thing I
didn’t like was the showing an inhuman yellow eye
containing a tear or a sty. This image is rather frightening and
unpleasant and doesn’t fit in with the mood of the rest of the
deck.t took me a long time to really get with this deck because
I was initially quite put off by the . Instead of showing a
beautiful youth in the sunshine or a happy tramp or court
jester, it shows a frowning young man who is placing a finger
on the wound of a swan who writhes in pain. Yuck! But on a
closer analysis, the man is not really frowning. Like a baby,
he simply hasn’t learned the social skill of keeping a pleasant
expression on his face. And, like a baby, he doesn’t know well
enough to keep unpleasant facts to himself, like the fact that
he’s facing a wounded swan. Thus he resembles the "fools"
who tell us what we don’t want to hear and make us face
truths we would rather ignore (specifically the environmental
harm we have done to the planet, one of Haindl’s themes in
this deck).Haindl likes to switch things around to gain a new
perspective on them. One example is Contrary to most decks,
in this deck it is the Empress who represents intellectual
achievement and the Emperor who is shown in a natural
setting. Pollack in her books makes much of Haindl’s desire
to give precedence to the feminine, and the Emperor
supposedly is shown in a negative light, striding away from
the tree which gives him his strength. But I don’t think one
has to look at them this way. It could simply be a switching of
the usual attributions, the Empress showing the fertility of the
mind, and the Emperor showing the forces of nature in a
powerful, masculine light. is unique, as far as I know, in that
instead of showing a Christian or quasi-Christian or pagan
priest, it shows a Jewish grandfather, father and son. This
serves to illustrate very well the concepts behind the
Hierophant, i.e. tradition, both religious and familial. It is also
interesting that one reason Haindl painted the picture this way
is to help atone for the atrocities committed during the
Holocaust. Likewise, the use of the Runes was specifically
intended to rescue the Runes from the evil uses to which they
were put by the Nazis. I’m grateful to Pollack for elucidating
this part of the history of the Runes, which most books on the
Runes do not see fit to mention.is one of this deck’s
masterpieces. I cannot put my finger on it, but this image
somehow communicates a Chariot feeling in a wholly
different and exciting way. The huge wolf’s head looming
behind the charioteer represents the fears that are always
behind us, urging us on. To what extent do we carry on
because of a positive desire to get ahead, and to what extent
because of the wolf at our backs? is another wonderful card.
The bird is a perfect symbol for transformation, perhaps
because of its utter lack of humanity. This is one card where
Haindl has made the card less depressing than other decks.I
had some trouble figuring out the because I thought the goat
and the snake made up some kind of scene in which they
interacted with each other, and I couldn’t see the significance.
But now I think Haindl did not mean it to be a scene, but was
simply illustrating two different aspects of the Devil. The
positive aspects are suggested by the goat’s third eye, his
innocent smile, and the crystals atop his head, indicating
enlightenment.My favorite card in this deck, and one of my
very favorite single Tarot cards of any deck, is , showing a
woman bending over, washing her hair in a mountain stream.
The power and simplicity of this image show Haindl’s artistry
at its very best. is awe-inspiring. Taking off from the standard
image of a serpent with its tail in its mouth, Haindl has
painted a transcendent picture of the serpent breathing fire as
it removes the tail from the mouth and begins to uncoil,
sailing majestically through outer space, while the Earth spins
above.For the Minors, Haindl has taken details from his
previously painted works and superimposed the suit symbols
onto them. This unusual method works well, as he places the
symbols organically against the background to form patterns
suggestive of the meaning. Many of the cards were taken from
the same paintings, adding a unifying look to the cards
(although some might complain it makes them somewhat
monotonous). A good example of Haindl’s creativity is the
where a bubble replaces one of the stones. The bubble was
actually part of the original painting, and Haindl placed the
seven stones in such a way so that it appears that the bubble is
actually floating upwards.Another feature of the Minors is
their negativity. Like Thoth, there are cards titled "Cruelty"
and "Ruin." Unfortunately, Haindl has retitled Crowley’s
"Futility," which is bad enough, to "" which is even worse.
"Futility" could refer to a specific action, but the word
"Uselessness" seems to want to include the entire person.What
a downer! I’d hate to have that card come up in a reading. The
picture is distressing as well, with eyes, mouths and noses
bubbling up in an amorphous lump.The striking beauty of the
Courts goes a long way towards making up for the depressing
Minors. The Mothers illustrate the power and majesty in
these Courts.Coinciding with the publication of the deck,
Newcastle Publishing brought out a two-volume companion
book, The Haindl Tarot by Rachel Pollack. Part I covers the
Majors, Part II the Minors. In fact, Pollack basically took the
format of her (deservedly) highly regarded 78 Degrees of
Wisdom and rewrote the entire book for the Haindl deck,
which must have been quite a project, and demonstrates
Pollack’s commitment to this deck. These books are a must
for anyone who is really into this deck, as every symbol and
attribute on the cards is discussed, as well as fitting the cards
into Pollack’s and Haindl’s conceptual frameworks.I must
admit that after reading Pollack’s books I was in awe of her
encyclopedic knowledge of mythologies and cultures, but I
was somewhat intimidated by it as well. Knowing I could
never bring to a reading what she can, it made me reluctant to
try reading with the deck at all. For this reason I’m delighted
to report that Pollack has written anew book, The Haindl
Tarot: A Reader’s Handbook, published by U.S. Games, in
which she approaches the deck specifically from a practical,
reading-oriented viewpoint. The symbology on the cards is
discussed, but in a more abbreviated, easier-to-digest manner,
and more weight is given to divinatory meanings.My favorite
parts of the book came at the end, where she discusses her
views on Tarot reading (it’s interesting to compare these with
her earlier books and see how her views have evolved
somewhat over time), as well as three extensive sample
readings. I found the writing in this book to be friendlier and
more helpful than the earlier work, although that earlier work
is invaluable if one really wants to study the cards. She states
in the introduction to the latest book that she wrote it as an
adjunct to the first books, and that someone could use this
book without having to have read the first ones.Particularly
interesting is her treatment of the Court cards. Since they
illustrate mythological figures of different cultures, she
advocates that we see them as Helpers or Teachers who have
something to tell us or attributes to emulate regarding the
subject of the reading, although she also supplies more
standard personality-type interpretations. The problem with
the latter is that some of the Court figures that Haindl has
chosen are singularly devoid of characteristics which can be
interepreted in terms of human personality, such as the
Princess of Cups, which shows Brigid of Ireland. Pollack
seems to develop her interpretation more from the history of
the figure of Brigid through the ages than for any intrinsic
characteristic that Brigid symbolizes.Seeing the Courts as
Helpers and Teachers opens the way for new, possibly more
valuable uses for the Courts. Pollack has also been a Court
card pioneer in her own deck, Shining Woman Tarot, where
the Courts become Gift, Place, Knower, and Speaker,
signifying different ways of experiencing the suit energies.My
advice to someone who wants to investigate this deck would
be to buy the latest book (The Haindl Tarot: A Reader’s
Handbook), and work with that for a while. If your fascination
with this deck grows (as mine did), then you may want to get
the earlier two books for a more complete discussion of the
cards. For those who own the first books, there is enough new
material in the latest book to make it a worthwhile
purchase.For those who wish to study this deck, I would
recommend reading Pollack’s commentaries for the Minors
but not troubling yourself at first with the material on the I-
Ching hexagrams included on each Minor card. Unless you
are already familiar with the I-Ching, this material adds
another interpretative layer over the cards which can make
them quite overwhelming for the beginner. I would suggest
becoming familiar and comfortable with the Minors first, and
then going back and studying the I-Ching sections at a later
point to deepen your understanding.More than any other
artist-author collaborations I can think of, Haindl’s and
Pollack’s contributions meld together superlatively. Each
complements the other extraordinarily well. Personally, I’m
grateful that they have brought this deck and these books into
the world. The cards are wonderful to look at and to
experiment with. As Pollack states in the introduction to her
latest book, many people are finding reading with this deck a
worthwhile experience. But even if ultimately you decide it’s
not your cup of tea as a reading deck, I guarantee it’s worth
buying just for the wonderful art and Pollack’s fascinating
commentaries.

Hajimete no Tarot
Having trouble getting in touch with your inner child? The
Hajimete no Tarot will have you burbling and babbling in no
time flat. I have never seen a better deck to use with children
than this one...and it's not only because the most inherently
fearsome cards (Death, The Devil, the Tower) in the Major
Arcana are fashioned in such a way as to express the
archetype without causing major nightmares. Because I
believe that the best way to use the tarot with children is
storytelling, I screamed with delight when I saw this deck for
the first time. There is simply no better deck for this purpose,
in my opinion. Every image begs you to create at least ten
stories--and will kick-start the imagination in every child
"from one to ninety-two." (I just noticed the box reads: 10-100
years old; great minds think alike.)I am not knocking the
Whimsical or the Inner Child, but the Hajimete images look
as if a very smart and creative child of six or seven drew
them. This gives them a purity of vision that no polished
adult-drawn deck could muster, even if the artist of the
Hajimete didn't have his or her children draw these cards. A
nice touch is that each card is framed in a different color--one
can easily see these images hanging on a family
refrigerator.Take The Fool card as our first example. Ask any
child to look at this card and he or she will naturally start a
story about the Mommy whowent food shopping for her
family, but brought back a magic orange guitar instead of the
peanut butter and jelly. What made the guitar magical? Well,
it allowed her to leap from crater to crater without falling. Life
was good until she came to the skyscraper on the tiptop of the
mountain. What happened there? How did the magic bag she
carried on a stick save her from peril? You can while away
hours with this one card alone, encouraging your child's
creativity and entertaining yourself, all at the same time.The
black-robed has a huge green snake (spotted with polka-dots)
that he wears on his head like a big, flopping hat. But wait!
What's the story with the three ducklings nested on top of the
snake? Despite the naїve style, there are so many clever
details in the images that each little storyteller can focus on
something different. Put a few of these cards together and you
have story hour for any number of children. All the cards are
charming and engaging, yet often add something in the way of
opening up our understanding or conveying a specific
message. The way The Lovers meet in air reminds me of the
magical kiss shared by the Shining Tribe Lovers. is a vehicle
I dare not even try and describe (it resembles a blue hotdog
with a cloud top), but the driver is so clearly domineering that
the resulting story could well be a morality tale, a lesson many
of us could learn from.The Hanged Man's face is partially
draped by his shirt, which has, like London Bridge, fallen
down. Any child who has hung from the jungle gym will
relate. wears a black cape marked with an "X" as lightning
strikes the globe. Is it the end of the world? Or simply the
beginning of another great story? I adore The Tower (at top),
which is normally my least favorite card to see in a reading.
There's no lightning (I guess Death used it up), but a leg from
the cloud knocking down the Tower reminds me of the Rider-
Waite-Smith imagery of the hand in the cloud, which is seen
as a gift from G-d/dess. If He or She has appendages, it makes
sense He/She has feet, too. Now, when I see the Tower, I'll
think to myself, "It's okay, just another Kick from the Divine."
I'm not sure that will mitigate the experience, but perhaps it
will offer some comfort or perspective.The World card is
especially unique. Not only do we have an ouroburos instead
of the traditional laurel wreath, the world dancer has two
heads, one male, one female. What a wonderful way of
depicting the androgynous essence of this card!The deck
comes in a case with an 80 page book, but as it is written in
Japanese, I can't tell you very much about its innards. I
believe the author is Ryugi Kagami and the artist of the cards
is a famous children's book illustrator, Ryoji Arai. Ryugi is
also credited for the and the art is quite different in that deck.
The Hajimete cards are very small, and, while I would prefer
the images to be slightly larger, children will be comfortable
with the size and find it quite appropriate. The cardstock is a
smidgen flimsy and would probably rip easily in the hands of
an overactive five year old. The are reversible and in the vein
of the artwork, but more spartan. I guess we can't use them for
storytelling as easily.But I have never encountered a deck that
has made storytelling seem easier or more inviting. I would
change the name of this deck to Hajimete YES Tarot! I
recommend this deck to those who are drawn to the whimsical
and for anyone who wants to use the tarot for storytelling,
particularly with children. If you do decide to buy the deck for
family play, I suggest you make a color copy and laminate it--
the deck isn't cheap and you don't want it drooled on, chewed,
or ripped.

Healing Tarot
Here we have a truly awesome meld of tradition and
innovation. These photographiccollages were conceived on
April Fools Day, 1989 and completed eight years later atthe
Lammas as a celebration of the divine. Using original masks,
ritual and sacredspace, all work in this deck was intended as
an act of prayer.Experiencing it is also transformational. One
vacillates from How did she do that?o profound delight in the
accomplishment. As remarkable as the costumes and thebody
painting, are the gardens and lakeshores where the scenes are
set. This is theepitome of art, startling the viewer with colors
and concepts so creative Tarot willnever be the same.We feel
the seasons in these dramas. especially touch this
reviewer.The daughter blows bubbles from a chalice as she
straddles a tree trunk which snakesinto water whose
refractions dazzle. The son stands waist-deep in water so still
thereflection draws us under to the place where his chalice
breaks surface. The womans a mermaid wrapped in iridescent
chiffon holding her chalice at seashore. The manThis Fool
wears Groucho glasses. This Magician holds a caduceus. This
Priestesspresides among river rocks. This Empress is naked
and pregnant. This Emperors orbis the planet. This
Hierophants mudra is I Love You in sign language. These
Loverscombine innocence and sensuality. This Chariot wears
a winged breast plate. ThisStrength is Eve in communion with
serpent. This Hermit manifests light in his palm.This Wheel is
a mask with haunting eyes. This Justice balances in a golden
ring.This Hanged One lets us feel it. This Death meets life
who offers light. ThisTemperance is barefoot on ice. This
Devil is hidden among our stuff. This Towerreleases light.
This Star wears the best mask of all. This Moon has women
stand infor the gateway. This Sun is a child in rapture. This
Judgment is barefoot on
broken glass. This World toys with us.

Herbal Tarot
traditional card titles except The Medicine Wheel, The
Suspended Person, Paneight: Strength; eleven: Justicesuits are
wands, cups, swords and pentaclescourts are page, knight,
queen and kingillustrated pips, captions are names of herbs
symmetricalpurpose: Page of PentaclesGolden Dawn based,
this deck enhances tradition with the assignation of an herb
toeach card. The LWB says, As above, so below; as within, so
without applies to theorder of nature. Everybody has
experienced the spiritual and psychological weaknessthat
accompanies disease and ill health. Depression can be
attributed to a stagnantliver, excessive giddiness to congested
heart energy, excessive sympathetic feelingsand colon energy,
and insecurity and paranoia to weakness of the kidneys and
adrenalglands. These correspondences are all made according
to traditional herbology.Herbs as the sacrament of nature are
used not only to effect internal physiologicalchanges, but
spiritual and psychological transformations as well.Michael
Tierra has also written The Herbal Tarot with more specific
text. The deckassigns Ginseng to The Fool for cosmic energy;
Astragalus to The Magician forcreativity; Peony to The High
Priestess for intuition; Dong Quai to The Empress for
womens tonic; Atractylodes to The Emperor for digestion;
Sage to The High Priest fopurification; Parsley to The Lovers
for aphrodisiac; Cyperus to The Chariot for
direction from within; Cayenne to Strength for circulation;
Licorice to The Hermitfor calm; Slippery Elm to The
Medicine Wheel for soothing; Plantain to Justice for
adjustment; Kelp to Suspended Person for softening; Elder
Flowers to Death for
protection; Echinacea to Temperance for antibiotic; Lobelia to
Pan for playfulness;Garlic to The Tower for breakthroughs;
Skullcap to The Star for relaxation; Lemon
Balm to The Moon for nervine; Angelica to The Sun for
stimulant; Goldenseal toJudgment for cleansing; and Comfrey
to The World for healing.Blue Flag speaks for the deck in the
voice of the Page of Pentacles. The herb isalterative; these
cards intend to change us. The herb is cholagogue; these
cardsintend to minimize our toxic putrefecation, to aid
digestion. The herb is laxative;these cards intend to purge our
plumbing of that which no longer holds nutrients.The herb
promotes salivation; these cards want our eager assimilation.
The root isused for all chronic and acute liver disorders and
for blood purification; thesecards intend filtration and
cleansing of our vital fluids
Hudes Tarot Deck

This interesting deck by Susan Hudes was published in 1995

by U.S. Games Systems. It's a standard 78-card deck, with
Major card names, Court card names, and suit titles all
following the Waite-Smith deck. The imagery on the Minors
follows Pamela Colman Smith; in fact, in the placement of the
figures they seem to actually be based on another Waite-
Smith derivative, the Aquarian Tarot by David Palladini. The
Major imagery, however, is more original and
individualistic.The art medium is watercolor, which is done
very skillfully, the colors glowing like stained glass against
the muted backgrounds. The cards also include many added
elements such as marbleized paper, world maps, and
constellation maps, but they are used discreetly and never
overwhelm the picture.The scenes seem to take place in the
same quasi-medieval world as the Waite-Smith, but in this
deck there is a decidedly wintry tone, another feature
reminiscent of the Aquarian deck. Nobody smiles, nobody is
excited or amused. Even in the , a relatively pleasant card
showing two children digging up and arranging cups full of
flowers, the child with its face to us is frowning in
concentration.The artist has done some very interesting things
with the Majors. Rather than most decks which fill each card
with a wealth of symbols, Hudes has chosen to take one
particular aspect of each card and plumb the depths of that
one aspect, presenting it in a vivid, imaginative way. For
example, s simply a young man chasing a butterfly, with
nothing else in the picture at all. This emphasizes that
perspective of the Fool that shows him as someone foolish (or
wise) enough to do something as unproductive as chasing a
butterfly. But it leaves out many other interesting features
traditionally assigned to the Fool which many use as
interpretive elements, for instance the court jester's garb of the
Marseilles deck, or the cliff, wand, bag, and flower of the
Waite.Likewise, the hearkens back to the traditional
Marseilles design, showing a seated woman with an open
book. This card is even more devoid of symbolism than the
Marseilles; here, the woman has no ecclesiastical robes or
headdress. The only feature to hang an interpretation on is the
woman's dress, which is composed of antique manuscript.
This simple picture is an interesting one, however, given that
the book she holds has blank pages. To me this suggests what
happens when our minds, so literal and linear and language-
bound in their thinking (represented by the woman with her
dress made of words), try to wrestle with philosophical
mysteries (the blank book) whose answers cannot be reduced
to writing. is unique among decks for its somber mood. A
young couple stands in the foreground with their eyes lowered
or closed, suggesting they are enveloped in their own world.
Behind them stands an older woman who stares toward us,
wearing a frown, suggesting that she, unlike the callow lovers,
sees dark times ahead. Above, bare branches wave in the
wind. Strength is an example of Hudes's ability to
imaginatively transform the symbols. The traditional woman
holds open the lion's mouth, while above her head birds fly in
a lemniscate pattern. The card is particularly attractive
because of Hudes's skill at painting animals. The Hermit is my
favorite Hermit card of any deck. It's simply an old man with
a white beard, dressed in a cloak, leaning on a staff, while
dark browns and blacks swirl around him. I can't really
explain it, but to me this is the perfect Hermit. Hudes's
imagination is also evident in the Hanged Man, where faces
stare out of the tree on which the man hangs. Death is, again,
my favorite Death card of any deck. It's just an unclothed
skeleton; but the pelvic bone becomes the wings of a colorful
butterfly. Thus Hudes manages to retain he ancient symbolism
of the skeleton while communicating the modern
interpretation of change in one simple, potent picture. The
Devil is also unusual, in that it shows him in a
Mephistophelian mode, elegant and dapper, rather than the
usual hairy monster. The Star, Moon and Sun are each
reminiscent of the standard images, but more bare. The Star is
the most traditional, but in this card the woman is actually
submerged to her neck in the water, while a single star shines
above. This gives a nice restful feeling to the card, as if one is
submerged in peaceful waters. The Moon is only a marbleized
paper moon with a Pamela Smith-type face, and two trees
with bare branches. The Sun is characteristically muted,
shining in a gray marble sky, with colorful flowers below.
Judgement simply shows a rather broad-shouldered angel
blowing a trumpet, his cheeks puffed out. Looking at this
card, one can practically hear the trumpet blast. In the World,
Hudes actually abandons the traditional imagery altogether.
Against a background of maps, four green leaves form a
wreath around a drawing of two hands. The hands are actually
a depiction of a famous statue, although I'm not
knowledgeable enough about art to say which one. This new
imagery doesn't bother me as much as it might with other
cards, perhaps because the traditional picture never
particularly inspired me. For me, the two hands convey more
psychological and emotional significance than the typical
World dancer accompanied by the bull, lion, eagle and angel
inspired by Christian iconography. The Minor cards are
notable for their quiet, muted mood. The Waite-Smith pictures
have been drained of any drama or excitement (except for a
few cards, like the 5 of Swords, which is actually more
dramatic than the Waite). This brings a wonderful sense of
coolness and mystery to the cards, but many (including myself
at times) will miss the action and drama of Waite-Smith
inspired decks. For example, the shows a woman holding a
wand and looking downward, while six wands rise up in front
of her. The scene is obviously derived from Waite-Smith, but
here there is no suggestion that she is fending off attackers. In
fact, it's hard to tell what she is doing. In other cards this quiet
moodiness is an advantage. In the 4 of Cups, a man sits cross-
legged on the ground, disconsolately staring at the ground, the
very picture of boredom, while a cup is offered him on a tree
branch. And the 7 of Swords, an imaginative recasting of the
Waite-Smith picture, is an overhead shot of a man in a
rowboat, while seven swords float in the water around the
boat like mines or spent torpedoes. The 8 of Pentacles shows a
man working on a pentacle in a workshop, similar to the
Waite-Smith picture. Hudes apparently liked this image so
much that she used precisely the same image for the 3 of
Pentacles, except this time the artisan is a woman. The 10 of
Pentacles is one of the very best cards. Modeled after the
Aquarian picture, it shows a man, woman and child standing
under an arch. The picture is ambivalent; the family is
together but they don't look very happy. The woman stares off
to the left, while the child looks wistfully out at us. In the
background is the faint outline of a castle, barely discernible.
To me this suggests that no matter how happy the outcome,
human nature dictates that there will always be a certain
dissatisfaction; even while we enjoy the fruits of our labor, a
new dream begins to coalesce on the horizon. Likewise, the s
my favorite of any deck. Rather than showing the usual
insipid happy family, this card is composed simply of a
rainbow containing the ten cups, and a seagull (created from
marbleized paper) soaring high above a landscape. To me this
is a much more apt representation of ultimate happiness.

Intuitive Tarot
I find this deck rather intriguing--anyone familiar with the
Rider-Waite-Smith (RWS) Tarot will be able to read with it
without a great deal of adjustment, yet the energy of the deck
reminds me more of Thoth than the RWS. I'm not sure why.
Perhaps it's the artwork itself, which is nothing like Lady
Frieda Harris'...but both decks have a swirling, moving nature
that is almost the opposite of the more static RWS. Another
deck the Intuititve reminds me of is the Aquarian, with its pale
people and art deco sensibility.Conway, who is the artist and
author of this tarot book/deck set, has chosen to paint every
scene within the construct of an egg, which is then bordered
by a complementary color (or colors). For the artist, the oval
shape reflects the Divine Feminine, an area she was drawn to
early in her studies.In one of those strokes of synchronicity
the tarot thrives upon, The Fool was the first card the artist
created, and it originally appeared as while she was "doodling
idly" on a sketch pad. He was to be her companion on an
unexpected journey, one that took almost 20 years to
complete. (So the next time The Fool appears to you, be
aware that the paths he or she may take you down can have
unforeseen results.) The Intuitive Fool is a sharp and subtle
harlequin, whose movements in the blazing sun could be a
dance or a pre-jump crouch.Many of the people on the cards
are slim and somewhat bony, which gives this deck a stylized
gloss, yet there is nothing superficial about the Intuitive Tarot.
I did a fascinating meditation involving the High Priestess the
night before I had to attend an event I dreaded, and I modeled
my persona and behavior on her air of aloof openness. Her
severe face shows a strength that allows her to literally "go
naked." My work with thiscard helped to make the day
slightly more bearable, and served as a reminder to trust my
inner wisdom throughout the day. The Empress suckles a
baby, but she too has an angular face (one at odds with her
outsized breasts and my vision of a nurturer). Her spouse, The
Emperor, is equally chiseled, but where the Empress gives off
an aura of expansion (how Venusian!) the red-clad Emperor is
about enclosure and rigidity. I am not sure how good a couple
they are (or how he even impregnated her!). We are told in the
book that the phallic winged animal flying above the sun is a
symbol of potency, but he looks more likely to be the father of
the Empress' child than the man in the picture. When one
looks closely at this card, one notes the background is not a
combination of colors, but an Egyptian set of hieroglyphics.
This detail, along with the amulet, affords us an understanding
of The Emperor in terms of dynasty, and enriches our view of
this card. is interesting because it has many potential
meanings, imagistically speaking. Conway focuses on choice
in her written interpretation--primarily the choice of
separation and growth from any restrictive relationships. A
man and woman stand naked in all their bony glory in the
light of a full moon. A black-cloaked man lifts an arm--is it to
beckon or cast off? Is he about to unite the couple in marriage
or some ungodly ritual? Or does he represent something else
entirely? You get to choose...and isn't that the point of this
card, after all?The Chariot and the Sun card are particularly
akin to their Thoth counterparts. The Wheel is a swirling
mandala and, if you look closely, you can see the yin and
yang of people arriving and departing within the oval
container. The Hanged Man is a particular favorite of mine--
he seems to be held aloft by universal waves, waves he has
learned to flow into and with, not ride. The Tower shows a
buckling building that has been hit by lightning--it could
represent the tragedy of 9/11--or not. It's a powerful image
any way you look at it. Judgment is another swirling card-in-
motion--three bodies in the center of an eddy, reaching up to
the heavens. The World (at top) truly shows someone
celebrating existence--she and her filmy white construct flow
together in perfect harmony.The Minor Arcana are illustrated,
and though the borders of all of the suits are a mixture of
colors, the suit of Discs are rather yellow and orange. As
stated earlier in the review, the fully illustrated Minors will be
accessible to anyone familiar with the RWS, though there is a
connection to the Thoth with quite a few of them, as well.
Sometimes I wish Conway had color-coded to some degree
with the suits--the One of Rods looks like it would drown any
fire that came near it; the picture looks like waves of water
and bubbles to me, but it is described in the book as a tree. It's
a very white tree--and the amount of red is minimal, whereas
blue washes all over the card.Even though the Minors are
similar to the RWS, they are certainly not clones, and some
will involve some stretching of the reader's boundaries. Some
of the more involved stretches? The Four of Rods shows a
world suspended in a structure like an hourglass, but with four
wooden planks surrounding it. This enclosed world is a safe
and welcoming space, the promise of a secure structure. The
Seven of Rods shows a figure doing some kind of fire walk.
The Seven of Cups doesn't have a different symbol in each of
its vessels, but instead shows a battle between dark and light.
The Nine of Cups shows a figure melding completely with
flowing waters that fill some of the cups nearby. The Four of
Swords shows a man in a Yogic position--the Five, a man in
the shadows standing over a woman curled up into a fetal
position. It's a truly powerful image, one of the strongest Five
of Swords I'veever seen.The Seven of Swords is probably the
most unique. A man stands on a an odd hillock in a strange
land next to a large, swirling puff of smoke. Behind the taffy-
pull of a cloud is a cache of swords. It's an odd situation, one
that demands ingenuity, a new way of looking at things. This
haunting card reminds me more of Thoth's Futility than the
man sneaking off with the Swords in the RWS. Another card
that reminds me of Thoth in this deck is the Three of Discs,
with its grinding machinery as pure Works.While I find this
deck intriguing, I am not overly fond of the Courts. There is a
sameness to them that makes them less evocative than the
other cards--I suspect because they are headshots, as opposed
to full body images. The Page of Rods is a masculine looking
youth with flowing blonde locks--quite the androgyne, though
the book insists she is a she. Rupaul makes the same claim.
The Queen of Rods is worse--she is so elongated that she
looks like someone pulled her by the top of her scalp and
stretched her completely out of shape. Combine that with the
breast harness/choker she sports and it makes me think of
some icky sadistic male fantasy. The book calls this the "full
body jewellry of the pythoness" but it doesn't work for me a
little. do like some of the Court Cards. The Queen of Cups
has quite a bit of backbone and even her bared breasts aren't
an emblem of submission. Thes' angularity works well with
his icy aura of intellect and the King of Discs has a warm and
earthy groundedness.
The companion book is wonderful. Conway has an image-
based therapeutic approach to the cards that I really like, and
all of her descriptions include an exercise for working with
the card, along with basic upright and reversed interpretations.
The author is particularly strong on her suggestions for
dialoguing with the cards. She also provides several sample
readings, some with unique spreads. There is also some tarot
history that includes mention of the Knights Templar and the
Gringonneur Tarot, but since they have no real bearing on the
deck itself, we'll leave that alone. The book also includes a
wide-ranging bibliography.I find this deck oddly intriguing--
though occasionally a bit cool for my tastes. It is also an
excellent.

Nigel Jackson Tarot

begin with, the art is very good. The style is rather unique.
Jackson used finely detailed lines to soften the look of his
images. The colors are exquisite, with a wonderful mix of
pastels and brighter hues. The scenes are detailed with
beautiful background imagery. There are a few oddities, like
the purple hair in and the pink hair in the, but they seem
somehow to fit. The cards are slightly larger than average at 3
3/8" X 5 1/8". Theare reversible. The Major Arcana retain the
traditional names with the exception of the Juggler
(Magician), The Popess (High Priestess) and Fortitude
(Strength). Justice is eight and Fortitude is 11. The suits are
Swords, Cups, Staves and Coins which correspond to Fire,
Water, Air and Earth, respectively. The corresponding
elements are written on in Latin. The court consists of Page,
Knight, Queen and King. In the Minor Arcana, Jackson makes
prominent use of the suit number symbols, but I would not
call the Minors "pips," by any means. They are beautifully
illustrated, and often bring to mind the work of Pamela
Colman Smith. Examples include th and a few others. Some
of the cards that do not draw directly from Pixie Smith's work
use slightly different scenes to convey Waite-like meanings:
the nightmare in the the ennui of the and the swiftness of the
While some card scenes are quite original, overall, the Minor
Arcana images put me in mind of the Rider Waite deck more
often than not.The Major Arcana are more of a mixed bag,
combining imagery from early printed decks like the
Marseilles, with more modern symbolism from the Golden
Dawn and other sources, as well as the artist's personal vision
for the deck. The artist's talents are such that he is able to mix
these somewhat disparate elements into a cohesive whole
which is both rich in symbolism and pleasing to the eye - no
small feat. Some of my favorite Major Arcana cards are
Temperance, The Star, Please note that while these cards
stand out in my mind, I found every card in this deck
attractive, without exception. Some are more attractive than
others, but I can honestly say that there is not a single card
that I really dislike. This is a rare occurrence. that
accompanies this deck is too robust at 143 pages and in to
call a "little white book." Chapter One starts off well enough
with a brief history of the earliest tarot cards, but quickly
veers off into statements like, "The Greater Arcana are, in
essence founded upon ancient numerological teachings. This
gives a clue as to the actual historical origin of the Tarot
trumps for around 530 B.C.E." In fact, as one continues to
read, one is strongly reminded of by Christine Payne-Towler.
Both authors theorize that tarot preserves secret symbols,
esoteric lore, and secret initiatory information from the
ancient past and both tend to blur the lines between historical
fact and surmises. In Jackson's defense, I note that he did not
have as much space as I - The Juggler/ XI - Fortitude: Mind as
sovereign over lower Nature; the source of Magical Payne-
Towler did to explain himself. Once we get past this section,
we begin an all-too-brief discussion of , specifically what the
author describes as "The Pythagorean Dekad: The Tetraktys
and the "Gods of Number." Descriptions and correspondences
are given for each number from one to ten. This is followed
by a description of how this number scale corresponds to the I
through X of the Major Arcana, with the XI through XX
representing the "doubling of the Dekad." The Majors are
described in pairs, for example:Mastery.II- The Popess/XII -
The Hanged Man: Holy Wisdom obtained by introversion and
sacrifice.I found these descriptions rather interesting and wish
that the author had spent more time describing these ideas.
The author then tells us that this system is combined with a
secondary scheme of Esoteric Astrology and Elemental
Dignities, though he does not provide specifics, preferring to
regale us further with speculation on how the Arabian star
occultists and sorcerers of Harran perhaps fed this information
into the trumps arrangement within Hermetic circles in the
14th and 15th centuries. Frankly, I could have done without
much of this chapter, which encompasses 68 of the 143 pages.
Either the size of the book did not allow for the author to fully
develop or document his ideas and theories, or he was poorly
edited with basic explanations of his ideas cut in favor of
speculative theory. I left this section feeling that there was
much more that I needed to know to understand and/or
employ the author's system. I could tell he was excited about
his ideas, and I wanted to get excited too. Unfortunately, I
couldn't, because I did not have enough documentation to feel
comfortable with the the author's theories, nor did I have
enough nuts and bolts information about his system. The final
sections of this chapter provide additional descriptions for the
Major Arcana that relate the cards to various myths, folklore
and esoteric ideas.

Kabbalah Tarot
About three months ago, a Japanese bookstore opened in my
neighborhood. Actually, it is some sort of "mail order
central," operated from the proprietor’s living room – but I
still asked if she could get tarot decks from Japan for me. This
week, my long-awaited order finally arrived, and I’d like to
share my joy and present you with my instant favorite: Miss
Persephone’s Kabbalah of Love Tarot. It is a Major Arcana
deck, and I’m sorry the accompanying book is in Japanese,
because the name is a mystery to me: Art and symbolism
make it a Rider-Waite-Smith (RWS) clone, though a very
pretty one. To me, there are no indications for an explicit
qabalistic approach in the cards, so obviously, it must be in
the book... Also, the love aspect of the title remains
mysterious. The cards are oversized and measure 15 x 8.5 cm.
They are printed on good cardstock, but don’t shuffle too
well, since the gilded backs are a little rough. The are black
ornaments on heavy gold and are reversible. The artwork is
done in muted colors with pastels or crayons, and it follows
the RWS original very closely. Some cards are even stripped
of details some more, e.g. pomegranates don’t seem to be
essential to the artist, as they are missing as well in the High
Priestess and in the Empress card. The Empress is also less of
a fertility symbol, being neither obviously pregnant nor
surrounded by crops.An interesting change has been made
with the Magician, whose pose is reversed from the RWS
with the wand inhis left hand and the right pointing to the
ground. Probably because he is not stretching his arm upward
like his counterpart does and because of the dark blue robes
he is wearing, the whole figure evokes more of a tranquil
impression, as opposed to dynamic action or even "showing
off." He doesn’t wear the Ouroborus belt, but the flowers
framing the card do remind me of the shape of the coiling
snake. However, the artist is either not familiar with the
symbolism of the roses and lilies in the RWS deck, or a
narcissus has a similar meaning in Japan. In the the couple is
not facing each other. They look to different sides, while at
the same time expressing a dialogue with their body language.
The situation depicted is the crucial moment when Eve is
about to hand the apple to Adam, so it is more than just a hint
towards the decision aspect of that card. The book, a
paperback of 200 pages, starts with a general introduction to
the tarot and has illustrations from different (European) decks
like the Medieval Scapini or the Tarot of the Old Path ,which
it seems to compare. The second chapter deals with the
meanings of the individual cards and their reversals. Part three
is devoted to practical reading lessons, like a step-by-step
explanation on shuffling, and several spreads and reading
examples. The book is very well illustrated, but unfortunately,
I can’t comment on the content! The deck has all the
limitations of any Majors-only pack. Apart from that, it is
very attractive and recommended for collectors as well as
people who like the RWS symbolism, but seek a version with
a pleasant color scheme

The Kazanlar Tarot

This deck, by artist Emil Kazanlar was produced as an

'Ecumenical Tarot". The deck has a Middle Eastern look,
though Kazanlar borrowed from several sources. The High
Priestess, for example, looks suspiciously like the High
Priestess of the Wirth deck. The cards are 2 3/4" X 4 1/4".
Each card has a gold Metallic border with the card's name at
the bottom in four languages. I recognize English, French and
German, but do not recognize the fourth language. The art is
good with a lot of detail. The colors are rich and vibrant.
There is also a lot of symbolism in the drawings, both Eastern
and Western. The major Arcana are a strange mix of old and
new. Kazanlar obviously used his own vision to produce the
scenes on the Majors. As mentioned previously, the High
Priestess looks like Wirth's, Strength and Temperance seem to
be modified versions of the Marseilles cards of the same
name, and the remainder of the Majors seem to have an
Islamic influence. For example, the Hierophant has been
renamed The Prophet and depicts Muhammad (face hidden by
a veil) riding a horse. There is Arabic writing sprinkled
throughout the Majors as well. Strength is number 11 and The
Fool is number 22. The Court Cards are King, Queen, Knight
and Page, and the suits are Wands, Cups, Swords and Disks,
though the cards also use the playing card equivalents on the
right hand border.The minors present us with an even more
diverse mixture of cultures. Middle Eastern, Far Eastern,
Egyptian, Hindu, and European culture are all represented.
The Minors have even more symbolism than the majors. The
Qabalistic Tree of Life correspondence for each Minor Arcana
card is on the top and bottom of each scene. Kazanlar
attributes all the court cards to En Soph. The Aces are
attributed to Kether, twos to Chokmah, etc.. Kazanlar also
provides the negative or "black"Sephirah at the bottom for
reversals. There are astrological symbols in the left, and the
card number, suit and some other symbol unknown to me on
the right. Some of the Minors depict scenes from mythology,
and Kazanlar indicates these in his booklet. The scenes on the
Minors are not based on Waite-Smith.The little booklet that
comes with this deck is rather thick. Kazanlar explains his
background and the deck's premise. He explains the Qabalistic
associations of each card, which is what he bases his
interpretations on. These are not the familiar Golden Dawn
Qabalistic interpretations. He also provides an upright and
reversed meaning for each card, though curiously he failed to
provide interpretations for the High Priestess, The Empress
and the Prophet.. This could be a printing error. He does
explain what these cards represent, but he did not provide the
positive and negative meanings provided for all the other
cards. Although Kazanlar explains his Qabalistic ideas as he
goes along, previous knowledge of the Qabala is probably
necessary to understand what he is talking about. There are a
few spreads at the end of the book, including the "Oracle of
the Seraphim" which Kazanlar claims is the method that was
used by the ancient priests of Israel and which he claims is the
forerunner of the modern Tarot. This spread is fairly complex
and requires math skills as well as reading skills. Other
spreads include the "Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh", and the
"Twelve labors of Hercules". The only 'common" spread
provided is the "Astrological "(12 Houses), which Kazanlar
has also embellished to make it his own. I find this deck quite
interesting for several reasons. The Qabalistic interpretations
used by Kazanlar are not the run of the mill Golden Dawn
materials. Kazanlar apparently derived them based on his own
studies. I find that refreshing, even if I do not agree with some
of his conclusions. He also provides an intriguing, if not
always comfortable mix of myths and cultures. I am also a
sucker for gold metallic ink. I would like to see a separate
book published about this deck. Although the little booklet
accompanying the deck provides more information than most,
there is much that is left unexplained. One could spend a great
deal of time studying this deck. I would recommend this deck
for those looking for a fresh approach to the Tarot and Qabala.
While beginners could use this deck, those familiar with the
Qabala would probably appreciate it more. Those enamored
of the Golden Dawn tradition may find this deck bewildering.
Kazanlar goes off in many directions, and his vision is not
always clearly stated. You are left to puzzle through some of
his ideas, correspondences and assignments without
assistance.
Legend Arthurian Tarot
As the title suggests, this deck is based on the Arthurian
legends, or at least the most commonly accepted version of
them! Each Court card shows a character from the legends,
and each Minor and Major either an event which is usually
very well-known, or a character. This makes the Court cards
extremely easy to interpret, as most people already know
details about the personality of the characters from the
legends which are used in the Courts, which helps when
trying to read these cards, especially for beginners who have
never used a Tarot deck before. Because of the ease of use of
the Court cards, memorizing meanings for these cards from a
book is virtually unnecessary. The King of Swords, for
instance, is Mordred, and anybody who knows Mordred's part
in the Arthurian legends can easily apply this to the card and
interpret it accordingly. The only confusing thing about the
Courts is that each Page is not a character from the legends,
nor is it illustrated with a person, but instead is represented by
an animal. The is the Adder, the Shields (Discs/Pentacles) is
the Badger, Cups is the Salmon, and Spears (Wands) is the
Hare. These animals are rather like totems, and represent key
concepts associated with each of the Pages. This is a very easy
to grasp method, and, like the other Court cards, is useful for
beginners, however, the Pages do look slightly out of place
when compared to the other cards. This is just an aesthetic
concern though, and does not affect the readability of this
deck.The Major Arcana are, quite frankly, stunning. The
characters and events chosen to correspond to them
arebrilliant and fit perfectly, except for the Empress. She is
represented by Guinevere, which in my opinion is a
contradiction, since in nearly all the accounts of the Arthurian
legends, Guinevere was barren, whilst the Empress represents
fertility and fecundity. However, there is a line of thought that
says Guinevere represents the Goddess of Sovereignty, the
Goddess of the land, who confers upon men the right to rule
the kingdom. In this way, the Empress could be linked with
Guinevere, although there is still a danger of the link looking
a little shallow at first glance. Indeed, in this deck it seems
initially that the only reason for placing Guinevere in the
Empress card is because King Arthur is the Emperor.The
artwork in the Major Arcana is beautiful, engaging, and
thought-provoking. All of the Majors are full of symbolism
which helps get meanings across, and I found it easy to pick
up on these symbols in a reading. This is a fairly traditional
deck, in that it keeps the images of the Majors recognizable,
even though they are in an Arthurian context. The order of the
Majors is also left unchanged, as are the meanings most of the
time. There are a couple of cards, such as the Horned One
(traditionally the Devil) which are given a more Pagan
meaning, but this is not without good reason. Whilst the deck
does incorporates both the Christian side of the Grail legend,
and the later medieval romances, some cards like the Horned
One are very Pagan. The Minor Arcana are one of this deck’s
many strong points. Fully illustrated with scenes from the
legends, these are exceptionally easy to read, even for the
beginner, for the same reason as the Court cards. After all,
who couldn’t understand the link between the and the Last
Battle? The Minors, just like the Majors, are evocative,
meaningful, and, of course, beautiful. Together with the
familiarity and depth of the Arthurian legends, these Minors
are brilliant. Unlike most Tarot decks, they do not actually
depict the number of Swords, Cups, Coins, or Wands in the
cards themselves. Instead, the suits appear in an unobtrusive
box somewhere on the card. This sounds unusual, but I found
it much better than having loads of swords or cups floating
around in the cards, because the scenes themselves are given
‘free rein’ and are more open and uncluttered. The of the
cards are a little disappointing, as they are not as aesthetically
pleasing as I expected, but they are certainly symbolic; they
show a labyrinth on a deep blue background, representing. to
me, the nature of myths and legends, and their purpose in our
modern world.

Light and Shadow Tarot

This deck was previously released as the Contrast Tarot in a
limited edition of 120 decks. It has now been mass published
and at $16.95 for the deck and a small book, it is a steal. The
art in this deck is truly amazing. It was done in linoleum block
prints. In this method, the artist takes the linoleum block
(though they are not always made of linoleum), draws the
picture on the block and carves it out using tools. The trick is
that you have to do it in negative. You carve away all the parts
you want to be white and leave the parts you want to show as
black. You then roll an ink roller over the block and use it to
print. It sounds primitive and because of the amount of
painstaking work required, many linoleum block prints tend to
be rather simple scenes. These cards are intricate and detailed.
I suppose you could also color your prints after you roll them
onto paper, but the artist chose not to and I am glad he did.
The contrast between black and white is quite attractive and
eye catching. I can only wonder at the amount of time it must
have taken to carve such a beautiful 78 card deck. Both the
majors and minor have scenes, and for the most part the artist
relied on his understanding of the cards in rendering his
drawings. The cards are large: 4 1/4" X 5 1/2". Some of the
cards are suggestive of their counterparts from other decks.
For example, the 8 of Pentacles looks like Crowley's and the
10 of Swords is similar to Pamela Coleman Smith's. The
Majors are based on the traditional, but the art makes them
truly Goepferd's own vision. He has added some symbolism
and changed some, but not so much that you can not
recognize the card in most cases. The Majors have the
traditional names and the Court Cards are Queen, King,
Princess and Prince. The suits are traditional as well. The art
is somewhat stylized and it may not appeal to everyone, but I
think it is one of the most beautiful decks in my collection.
Some of the cards are Rated R (nudity and sexually
suggestive, but no full frontal nudity). This deck is traditional
enough to be read with, but beautiful enough to purchase for
its artistic value alone.

LongMoment Tarot
Here is another Tarot deck by the author/artist Greg Hoose,
whose previous deck was the. In this deck, Hoose selects
Chinese Sumi art as his theme, a discipline which he has
studied and practiced for several years. Like the earlier deck,
the images are all created digitally. The Majors have titles
which presumably refer to Chinese folklore, followed by the
standard Tarot title, such as Rain Fairy (Fortune) or .
Sometimes these titles in parentheses refer to the
corresponding card in the Fae Tarot. The deck is accompanied
by a small booklet which gives a verse of poetry and very
short upright and reversed divinatory meanings for each card.
Like the earlier deck, the cards are colorful and attractive. But
unlike the Fae Tarot, this deck is done in avariety of styles.
Some cards are presented in landscape orientation. Some
cards, like the Storm Genie (Emperor), seem comparable to
present-day Asian popular art or animation, while others, like
the Seven of Pentangles, are done in traditional styles. Some
of the people shown on the Majors look rather elfin, with
pointed ears. The Fae Tarot was notable for its slightly out-of-
focus appearance, but the lines in LongMoment are much
sharper, which contrasts well with the soft colors. I was
particularly intrigued by some of the Majors which seem to
offer different perspectives on the familiar archetypes, for
example or Ceramic House (The World). The LWB’s text for
The Hive points to a recurring problem I had with this deck,
which is that for many of the cards neither the poetry nor the
divinatory meanings seem to have much to do with the cards’
image. For The Hive, the text says “In this Union of our
Souls/ In the Magic that we behold/ We see each other and no
one else.” The divinatory meanings are, for upright,
“Marriage,” and for reversed, “Society.” Perhaps there are
links between the image and the particular folktales which the
image refers to, but I feel as if I’m not being given enough
information to figure out the connections. Ceramic House
(The World), however, is one example where the text does
indeed seem connected to the image and, in a way, to standard
Tarot symbology, and is quite evocative: “Magic spaces, quiet
and smooth, ancient High definition so smooth, so smooth
what life could be there? In infinite light? Only touch the
surface clean and bright/ And your Soul cries out to the night
and pulls us to the space within.” The upright meaning is
“Path toSuccess” and the reversed is “Inertia.” Some of the
Majors are seemingly unrelated to their standard Tarot
counterparts. For example, card number 12, ordinarily The
Hanged Man, has become The Performer (Inspiration), with
divinatory meanings of “Wisdom” (upright) and “Selfishness”
(reversed). It’s certainly a pretty card, though. In the Fae
Tarot, Hoose avoided any negative image in the Minors. In
this deck, however, we see a frightening apparition (a green-
skinned fairy) for with a divinatory meaning of “Misery.”
Some cards, like , I can’t make heads or tails of. An object is
pictured which is unfamiliar to me, the poetry is obscure
(“Lost in distance, knowledge lingers/ that which once was
our servant is now our Lord”), and the divinatory meanings,
once again, seem unrelated to either the image or standard
Tarot (“Loss” for upright, “Arrogance” for reversed). For the
Minor Arcana, Cups are represented by people, Swords by
animals, Wands by plants, and “Pentangles” (the author’s
preferred spelling for Pentacles) by scenes. Although the art
on the Minors is particularly attractive, often showing simple
scenes, such as a grasshopper on one card or a flower on
another, these cards are very puzzling to me. The numbers
seem to have been assigned to the cards at random and are not
reflected in the scene. Even a card which is subtitled “Five
Trees,” and which actually shows five trees, is assigned to the
Twoof Wands, rather than the Five. The divinatory meanings
for the Minors are sometimes directly or indirectly related to
the picture, but all too often the connection between image
and meaning remains mysterious. For example, in the , a man
is shown gardening. The divinatory meanings are “Bitterness
with the Sweet” for upright, and “Close accord” for reversed.
The poetry in this case doesn’t help me: “As an artist of the
earth/ each stroke that doth apply/ each furrow a challenge./
And were the seed but a mean particle of space but for the
hidden life!” Other Minors, though, do make much more
sense to me, such as the Seven of Pentagles, which shows a
waterfall. The text says, “Water falling! How can we climb
back upon its slippery slopes? Such is the purity of weight
that draws us down an keeps us close upon ground! But for
some that pinnacle star – ‘tis attainable, attainable.”
Divinatory meaning: “Strife for success,” reversed:
“Monetary anxiety.” Many of the reversed meanings in this
deck are opaque to me; I have no idea where “monetary
anxiety” comes from. Overall, while I admire much of the art
on these cards, I can’t say that I consider it a complete success
as a Tarot deck. Unlike the Fae Tarot, which mostly adhered
to the standard Tarot structure in concepts and meanings, the
LongMoment deck goes its own way, and without some
further information from the author to help us understand why
those cards which are departures from standard symbology
have been assigned their LongMoment meanings, it becomes
mostly a bunch of pretty pictures together with some puzzling
words. As in his previous deck, the packaging is superlative.
The deck comes wrapped in a shiny red wrapper and

Lord of the Rings Tarot

As a reading deck, I would not recommend this deck to
anybody, not even fantasy/LOTR/Pracownik fans. I found the
cards much too cluttered to be suitable for divination: each not
only bears the card image, but also a sentence beneath it
explaining the image, a grey-brick border on the top hand left
and side displaying the title of the card, and a gaming symbol
in the top right-hand corner (more on the game later.) It all
looks very ugly, and as though it should be in some TV
fantasy program like Knightmare! The deck is traditional all
the way except with the images, so it has 78 cards, 22 being
Majors, all numbered 'correctly'. Each card bears an image of
a person, place or event from the world J.R.R. Tolkein
created. But this fact cannot save the deck. The images it
carries would require the reader to memorize all the meanings
beforehand, since they give you no clues through symbolism
as to what the meaning of the cards are. Sometimes you
cannot even work out why a certain character has been put in
the card! The Queen of Wands for instance is Théodwyn,
Théoden's sister, mother of Éowyn and Éomer, sitting on a
throne thinking about what the future may hold for her
children. I'd dearly love toknow why she was chosen for the
Queen of Wands: she doesn't seem to fit at all! And the fact
that Théodwyn doesn't appear at all in the LOTR books,
except as a brief mention in a family tree in the Appendices,
rings alarm bells for me. Is this a LOTR deck, or is it a LOTR,
Silmarillion, Hobbit, and Tolkien's Unfinished Tales deck?
Indeed, there are quite a few cards that depict things that
never happened in the LOTR books: The Six of Swords
('Bilbo and his Dwarf friends use barrels to escape from the
Elves'), and the King of Cups ('Thorin Oakenshield and Gimli
the Dwarf resolve to work together'), for instance. Many of
the images chosen for the cards I disagree with vehemently:
Gollum as the Fool? I think there are better possibilities for
this card, Frodo being the most obvious one. Faramir on the
funeral pyre for the Hanged Man? Where is the self-sacrifice
and reflection in that part of the story? I would have preferred
to see Gandalf's battle with the Balrog as the Hanged Man,
since Gandalf has to sacrifice something in order to gain a
greater understanding. This deck also has 'The light of the
Evening Star shines through Galadriel's Ring' as the Star,
which I think is quite a shallow choice for this card; surely the
Light of Elendil would be a better choice, since the Star is
about hope in the darkness, and the Light of Elendil provides
exactly this for Frodo and Sam in Shelob's lair?I also do not
agree that the One Ring embodies the Wheel of Fortune card,
and instead think it would be better as the Devil (because of
the temptation it exudes, and the way it binds people to it,
often taking away their free will and drawing them into
shadow.) Éowyn is the High Priestess in this deck, which I
think does not do the character justice and misinterprets her.
According to the deck, 'The Lady Éowyn is guided by her
intuition', but I do not see where. In the books, she is guided
by her inner strength, her desire for valor and to be able to
defend those she loves in battle. She is also the one who
defeats the Witch King and slays his fell beast, not through
physical strength but through courage, determination, and the
refusal to be something she is not. (The Witch King cannot be
slain by any man, but little does he realize that the soldier
standing against him is actually a woman!) To me, Éowyn is
the Strength card perfectly embodied (whereas in this deck,
Strength is 'The White Tree that bridges Heaven and Earth,
and shows the opening of a New Age'.) I was also expecting
Galadriel and her Mirror to be the High Priestess instead. I
was very disappointed to find that the creators of the LOTR
deck have fallen into the blind trap of only seeing the
Hierophant card as something bad and evil: they have
assigned Saruman the Many-Coloured to this card. The
caption on the card reads 'Saruman courts dark and secret
forces. The Palantir has given him a vision of his own future
glory.' When will tarot deck creators get over their childish
hatred of this card? The Hierophant is so much more than
some stuffy, evil figure-head for organized religion: he is a
teacher, full of wisdom that he passes down to others. He is a
representative of the Divine on Earth. In my opinion, Gandalf,
one of the Maia incarnated as a Wizard, a guide and teacher to
many in the LOTR books, would have been better suited to
the Hierophant card than Saruman. There are many more card
allocations that I disagree with, but there are far too many to
mention here! Obviously, with a deck like this, nobody is
going to agree with everything in the cards and there are
bound to be a few cards people dislike and say could have
been done better. However, one does not expect nearly all of
the deck to be like that! The choices of
characters/places/events in this deck are frequently shallow
(such as - you guessed it - Middle Earth for the World), odd
(Théodwyn as the Queen of Wands) or could have been
chosen better. Having said that, there are a few cards that I
think were excellently chosen: Éowyn and Faramir's embrace
as the Two of Cups (a healing love), and Aragorn and Arwen
as the Lovers (true love and choice.) I used to adore Peter
Pracownik's artwork, but feel he sold himself short in this
deck: many of the images are unappealing, far too dark for the
card meaning, and portraying the LOTR universe very poorly.
Hobbits in shoes, Norse Runes engraved here and there,
Gollum being green, Orcs that are indistinguishable from
men... And not to mention impossibly beautiful women
wearing very little clothing. The card backs are also very
unattractive: they are reversible, with a grey brick background
upon which 'The Lord of the Rings' is written. In the centre
we see two interlocking golden rings. Once again, it looks like
something from a fantasy TV show or a computer game. As
mentioned previously, this deck can be used to play a game as
well, created by Mike Fitzgerald. Half of the little white book
that accompanies the deck has been dedicated to the rules of
this game, which is far too difficult to learn and far too boring
to be of any use. According to the creators of the deck, they
included the game to continue the 'bardic tradition' of making
study fun, though I don't see how the game would help one
study tarot, apart from making one look at the cards (though
that can be done without playing the game). The deck can be
purchased alongside the book, instead of just with the little
white book. I would recommend you choose the former, since
the proper book gives a lot more information about why the
creators chose certain characters/events for each card (though
even these explanations do not make me agree with them!)
The book includes descriptions of each card and its
astrological association. For the Majors, we are also treated to
some first-person speech titled 'The Fool Speaks' or
'Temperance Speaks' (for example). This seemed like an
interesting idea at first, but at times it seems too cheesy and
unnecessary: a lot of what is said in this section has already
been said in the general description of the card. The Minor
Arcana, as usual, are given less space in the book than the
Majors: one page for the Minors, describing only the choice
for the card and the meaning of that card, whilst the Majors
are given around four-six pages each. Included in the book are
a few spreads and a short section on how to read the cards, as
well. It's not much, but it's better than the little white book!

Love Tarot
Upon closer scrutiny, my preliminary findings were, more or
less, confirmed. The deck is a collage deck, which is, for me,
a plus--since I found my baby (Transformational Tarot), I
have developed a penchant for collage decks. I still really
liked the High Priestess and cards. But Arnell Ando's
collages have set a standard for me--I expect to find more and
more each time I look at the cards, but The Love Tarot has
none of those hidden symbolic mysteries to uncover. While
the collages are attractive, they lack the depth I have grown
accustomed to; I suspect the artist had little knowledge of the
tarot, and Ms. Bartlett, not much more. I base this assumption
not only on the art, but the book. The attempt to weave a love
message into each card has resulted in material that is
stretched ridiculously out of shape. Looks like Orlon™ to me!
If you ignore the book when you read with the cards (and you
have a mental library based on working with other tarot decks
and books), you can do an adequate reading with the Love
Tarot, but with so many evocative decks out there, why would
you choose this one? Still, this deck is not without its charms.
Check out as a celestial barmaid. She's got some seriousupper
body strength to create those magical brews. And the
lemniscate bow on the Strength image is fetching. Not deep,
mind you, but fetching. On the upside: the price is right (when
you buy them from Atlantic Books, anyway) and the are very
beautiful. The stars against the deep blue background remind
me of the Universal Rider-Waite backs, which is a
compliment. The deck and book are small (ergo, portable) and
come in a nice, solid box that is wider than the standard box,
but not oversized. The little book includes an introduction and
tips on how to use the cards (ie., "It is the questioner's aura
and their choice of cards that establish a rapport with you, the
diviner (the person reading the cards). The cards are a
medium, a catalyst, and it's your intuition and interpretation
that count."). The bulk of the book offers a two-page set of
meanings for each of the Majors, which includes the "Love
Oracle" message, along with a "symbolic and traditional"
meaning, an upright and reversed meaning, and a "blockage,"
which refers to a particular spread designation. Following the
meanings is a short list of card combinations, six spreads, and
sample readings, along with a list of sun signs and their
planets. The most offensive interpretations have to do with the
"Love Oracle" section for me. The Sun: "The mystery of love
is unsolvable; a crossword puzzle with no clues, no answers.
Make the words your own." Besides having nothing to do
with the Sun card, the grammar is screwy. Or for the Lovers:
"Love is like driving into a blizzard. You are snow-blind,
there is silence, yet you still move on. Listen to your intuition
to show you the way." I've gotten better messages from
fortune cookies. If you peruse the excerpt below, you should
find a few lines that annoy you as much as they have annoyed
me

Lover’s Path Tarot

The Lover’s Path Tarot comes to us from the creator of the ,
Kris Waldherr, and while the highly acclaimed Goddess Tarot
is a tribute to the talented painter and storyteller, Waldherr
outdid her own formidable reputation with this latest. She had
to be immersed in the creative artists’ “zone” every minute of
the 10 years it took to create The Lover’s Path Tarot. My head
can’t stop saying, “how wonderful!” and my heart echoes,
“how beautiful!” when I look at these cards. I can’t help
myself -- I am in book-lover’s ecstasy, too, over the find of a
new “Precious” for my substantial hoard.
As is usual with myth-based theme decks, you need the
companion volume to fully appreciate and interpret the deck
along the lines the author intended, but you could read the
Lover’s Path Tarot without it. The familiar Rider-Waite-Smith
model underlies all, although the cards have been given rather
more romantic and fanciful titles. For example, is Innocence;
The Devil is Temptation; The Star is Grace; and is Triumph.
The book is sumptuous, though, glossy and colorful, and
you’ll be glad you had to purchase a set. Its wine or burgundy
cover matches the reversible card backs. A lover’s-throat-
cream shade highlights portions of the book’s interior and
glances off the card faces, shedding light on many a tryst. A
moody grey sky is painted into the frontispiece and inside
back cover, reminding us that into every couple’s life, a little
rain shall fall … stars arc overhead and the clouds are pierced
with lightning bolts.
The Little White Booklet has the usual limitations of scale,
but you don’t need it.
The cards are matte, the same size as the Goddess Tarot,
making them a little wider than average (3 ½ inches wide by 4
¾ inches tall, including borders). Burgundy, gold, green, and
blue predominate. Strength is VIII; Justice XI. Each Major
Arcana card depicts a couple from an historic myth or legend,
some dreamy and sensual, some tragic. Can you imagine any
couple other than the iconic Romeo and Juliet to illustrate
Tradition (The Hierophant)? Or other than Isis and Osiris as
Love (The Lovers)? Some myths work better than others in
carrying the energies of the Majors, but that is always a matter
for personal interpretation; no two readers will agree on card-
myth assignations. One or two combinations strike me as
moderately discordant. I’m not sure that the Roman lovers,
Vulcan and Venus, belong on Balance, Waldherr’s
Temperance card, to which she has attributed the keywords
equilibrium and harmony--unless the author was thinking of
the volatile Vulcan balancing his affections between Venus
and his other wife, Maia. Venus, we know, was not at all
reticent when it came to extramarital affairs, so maybe the
couple’s relationship did balance out in the end. When you
scratch beneath the surface of the ancient legends, multiple
personalities abound, making it hard ever to find a myththat
squares with readers’ preconceptions about the cards. The
suits -- Cups (water and emotions), Staves (fire and action),
Arrows (air and intellect), and Coins (earth and manifestation)
-- carry the familiar attributes of Cups Wands, Swords, and
Pentacles respectively. The older tarot names of Staves for
Wands and Coins for Pentacles emphasize the nostalgic
overtones in this deck. Arrows “prick our consciousness into
awakening,” Waldherr tells us, but they don’t leave us mired
in gloom or despair. Each suit enhances one myth that is
assigned to the Major Arcana. Tristan and Isolde in the suit of
Cups appear also in VII Desire (The Chariot); Siegfried and
Brunnhild in the suit of Staves are associated with VIII
Strength; in the suit of Arrows, Cupid and Psyche are
associated with XIX Awakening (The Sun); and Danae and
Zeus of the suit of Coins also are found on X Fortune (Wheel
of Fortune). I postponed purchasing this tarot a while,
although it called to me for answering love queries. I trusted
Waldherr’s integrity as an artist, but wondered if the publisher
had succumbed to infusing the set with valentine
sentimentality or dumbed-down lovers’ advice captions. I am
pleased to report that U.S. Games took the high road. It’s a
wonderful tarot to decipher emotions surrounding any
relationship question. You could fall in love with the deck so
much you won’t want to limit it to romance readings. Usually
there are minor flaws in even the highest quality books and
decks, but there’s not much to criticize here. The high quality
of the book warrants the longer life a hard cover would have
gained for it, but that decision may not have withstood the
publisher’s cost/benefit analysis. The grammarian in me
wonders whether The Lover’s Path should have been written
The Lovers’ Path (it takes two, right?), or whether that was a
conscious choice of author or publisher. In this tarot, a case
could be made for using either singular or plural. While my
Libran sensibilities are awash in the aesthetic wonder of the
deck, my heathen sensibilities would have preferred a more
positive name for The Moon than Illusion. I won’t obsess
about it, though; the darker threads of love and relationships
had to be woven into the Majors, but the tradition since Eden
Grey, at least, has been for tarot writers to emphasize negative
and fearful aspects of The Queen of the Night that don’t sit
well with me.

Management Tarot
First, I have to credit the authors of this deck and book set for
their efforts to establish Tarot as a serious means for self-
development and decision-making for business people, who
are not usually ready to come out of the closet even if they use
it.The set comes in the plastic case which is typical for the
Urania sets, but this one is well oversized. This is due to the
book, which is a substantial volume and, for me, certainly the
most valuable part of the set.However, when I first opened it,
my initial response was a little grudging, since the book starts
with testimonials from managers and management trainers
who work successfully with Tarot – six statements, all from
men. Having been a management trainer for many years and
being a business executive now, I would have liked to have at
least a “quota woman” mentioned… after all, we are about
40% of the management trainers and 25% business
executives…Next, I did, of course, shuffle through the cards.
At first glance they seemed rather disappointing to me: Very
pale watercolour images on a mostly white, sometimes
slightly shaded background. Scenery is, if at all, sketchy. The
are pips, and even the court cards are not bearing people, but
symbols. Minors and also have keywords on the top
border.After a while, and especially after studying the
companion book, I got used to the cards. The symbolism is
thoroughly researched and well integrated. However, most
cards have fairly traditional images assigned and therefore
don’t prompt too many new insights or twists. Those who are
depicted in a different way resonate partly positively, partly
negatively with me. For example, the High Priestess is shown
in a standing position with outstretched arms, like caught in
the middle of performing a ritual. This is a surprisingly
dynamic pose for a card of a rather contemplative nature. I’ve
stared for ages on end at the wondering what on earth was the
thingummybob on the right. The book told me it was a
“mysterious tower”, and the dripping wet heroine had come
out of the waters of emotion together with the cancer. Hmm…
On the other hand, Strength (which is numbered Eight) shows
a woman leading a dragon by a bridle. The dragon is clutching
a golden ball in his right claw. I love this image, because for
me Strength has always had a strong aspect of leadership.
From the book, we learn the golden ball stands for the
completed process of transformation in alchemy, turning
lower to higher material.Another good example for the
thorough occupation with the cards’ symbolism is the Chariot
(above). His breastplate is blank because he doesn’t know his
destination yet. The gloves show he is still inexperienced and
has not gotten in touch with the harsh aspects of life. The
cushions show his noble descent. The staff with the golden tip
shows his call to power. The two masks on the shield show
that all the potential for a mature persona is already there. The
yin/yang symbol emphasizes this polarity. The city walls are
engraved with the planetary symbols for Sun, Mars, Mercury
and Venus.As mentioned before, the book is the strongest part
of the set. The book starts with an overview of the career
paths and life cycle of enterprises, connecting the stages to the
Fool’s journey, life cycles phases being divided in Spiritual
Principles (Majors 0-5), Growth (Majors 6-8), Flourishing
(Majors 9+10), Downfall (Majors 11-14), The Pit (Majors
15+16), Ascension from Crisis (Majors 17-19) and Perfection
(Majors 20-21). Each Major Arcanum has information about
19 different aspects, namely: Archetype, image description,
symbolism, phase of life cycle (in terms of business
management), normal and pathologic symptoms (i.e.
upright/reversed meaning), quality, analogies, message,
impact/consequences, enneagram, trap (shadow),
development, challenge, explanation, metaphorical example,
practical exercise (work/business context), I Ching
correspondence, radionic rates, quotation. This part is really
comprehensive, and the practical aspects for the career
context for which the deck is crafted are well assembled. Most
of the exercises could be used in a seminar situation without
any adaptation. I can’t really judge the radionic rates,
knowing next to nothing about the subjects; the assigned
states of mind seem however exact enough (i.e. for Strength:
Control energy centres devoted to them, covering the aspects
general theme, meaning and interpretation keywords, career
meanings and symptoms. I think the author has given away a
lot of potential here. Since the main purpose of the deck is
self-development (maybe with a focus on management skills),
it would have been vital to have illustrated minors. Also, the
set is directed at a target group which may not have too much
Tarot knowledge to build on, and pips are always an obstacle
for the newbie learner. Also, there is no explanation for the
general theme of the suits. I would have expected another
analogy to business life, especially since the correspondences
could be made so obvious.

Medieval Cat Tarot

A friend of mine who lives in the city but visits her pied-a-
terre most weekends has a unique way of thinking about and
purchasing decks. She looks for "matches," decks that "play
well together." Ironically, they never do get to play together;
one lives in her weekend home and the other remains in her
primary residence. Her philosophy is that these decks have
similar qualities and by buying in pairs, she can always lay
her hands on a particular and specific kind of deck.So, when
the Medieval Cat Tarot crossed my path, I thought of my
friend immediately because this deck is so similar in theme to
the recently-released by Karen Mahony and Alex Ukolov, a
deck my aforementioned friend owns. Not only are the decks
both populated by and illustrated with felines, these felines are
both attired in older costumes. This literally places both decks
firmly in the same category. The Baroque Bohemian Cats
Tarot is a photographic collage deck, though. The Medieval
Cat Tarot looks as though it were created using computer
graphics. The Major Arcana are particularly well-done; they
are full- length presentations of the archetypes, whimsically
created in muted, but rich colors. The dark beige outer borders
outline a dark brown lattice-like border, so the actual images
are on the thin side (kind of like an underfed alley cat). All of
the Major Arcana images are placed against a brown-on-
brown patterned background, so all elements of the color
scheme contribute to the old-fashioned, yet opulent, feel of
the deck. The Fool, dressed in a rich wine overcoat, has
elongated lower extremities. They look more like tapered
flippers than paws, which is the kind of feature that makes
these cats less like real animals and more like fanciful
creatures. In keeping with this whimsicality, the sun that
shines on the Fool has thin lines representing rays, which,
against a dark brown patterned background doesn't make for
any kind of realistic scene.However, cats in clothes demand a
suspension of the rational mind, so get into a Disney mentality
and enjoy the catwalk through the Fool's Journey. The
Magician holds a candy cane wand as he looks outward at an
unseen crowd. The Empress (at top) is unusual in that her
kittens (who are rather grown-up little creatures) accompany
her in the card. (The Emperor is far better dressed--I bet it's
because he can avoid kittysitting duty!)While the images are
based on the Rider-Waite-Smith iconography, they are often
simplified and stripped of symbolism (what a surprise in a cat
deck!). The Pope wears the fancy hat and holds a cool scepter,
but he has nary an acolyte (acatlyte?) to call his own. The
Lovers contains a small Cupid-like kitty angel (he carries a
bow and arrow) watching over two cats holding paws--there's
neither a trace of Eden nor an attempt to show a male cat
having to choose between two females. The Wheel of Fortune
has four cats riding on the sides of the circular wheel, with
another holding fast at the center position. It's a cute enough
image, but if you are trying to place the four evangelists, give
up now.One of my favorite cards is The Hermit--the wise cat
is attired like a whimsical Sherlock Holmes and has an owl
perched on his shoulder. While none of the cards are
numbered, the cards' order in the box indicates that Justice is
VIII andThere are only two cards that don't feature a cat. One
is Death, which shows part of a skeletal face underneath a rich
fur cloak hood. Butterflies surround the bonyfigure, and the
largescythe arcs over the image like a dangerous silver moon.
The Devil holds a dark black cat mask, but we see an orange
fox face peering out from behind the mask.The Moon is a
thick crescent that weeps--and a sad orange cat cloaked in fine
fur stands in front of it--no doubt mourning the mouse that got
away. The only two cards that are titled differently than the
Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot are the High Priestess and the
Hierophant, which are the Popess and Pope, respectively. The
Court Cards are Page, Knight, Queen, and King and the suits
are Wands, Cups, Swords, and Coins. If we had no little white
booklet (LWB) to refer to, we wouldn't know the suit titles
unless we looked at the Court Cards, because the Minors don't
contain any written designators.Before you get too excited,
thinking that fact indicates the images are undefiled by
writing so you can enter them more easily, calm down. It ain't
gonna be easy to enter these Minors! Why? Because they are
very, very small. Imagine how large we look to our cats.
Imagine how large cats look to mice. Well, using those
proportions, these Minor Arcana images are akin to mice to
our unaccustomed (and possibly aging) eyes. Speaking of
mice, the Ace of Pentacles is graced with three sighted ones--
mice, that is. The Ace of Swords is adorned with birds, the
Ace of Cups, a fish, and the Ace of Wands, a salamander.
While the last three are traditional correspondences, the first is
the most cat-appropriate--though my cat would consider a bird
or afish a nice gift, too. While the artwork on the Aces is
deliciously large, the rest of the Minors are decorated with the
suit totem as the background and a very small cameo image at
the center. These images are often quite simple and sometimes
hard to distinguish from their background, such as the Three
of Pentacles shown here. The picture of a cat holding a
stringed instrument is cute enough, but doesn't provide much
of a mnemonic for a novice reader, and the color scheme
makes it difficult to see this card as anything but a glorified
card back. The cards that have some blue in the central image
are the most exciting, because the contrast allows the picture
to stand out a bit.Experienced readers can extrapolate
traditional interpretations from the central image, and many of
these cameos transmit a lot of information considering their
diminutive size. All of the Minors are clearly based on the
Rider-Waite Smith iconography. Particularly clever (and one
of the most unusual depictions) is the Seven of Swords, which
shows an innocent looking cat standing beside an open
birdcage...and some loose, tell-tale feathers float by,
indicating the innocuous feline has seized more than the
day.There are only two Minor Arcana cards that don't
compute initially. The Eight of Cups shows a cat tipping
vessels into a well. This flummoxed me, so I referred to the
LWB: "The Eight of Cups has a similar energy to the Four, in
that we are taking personal inventory and considering what
we have already completed on emotional levels in our lives as
having no more to offer us. However, when we go in search of
new emotional fulfillment, we must guard against "Throwing
the Baby out with the Bathwater. We may be able to bring
new pleasure in to enhance that which we have already
gained." I looked at the image again, and could see neither
"Baby" nor kitten, so I remain flummoxed.The other
confusing image is the Ten of Coins, which features a
crowned cat wearing a tartan cape. I can see the idea of legacy
via clan-dom through the Scotch plaid, but the message
according to the LWB is that it represents the pinnacle of
material reward. How will a novice discern the Ten of Coins
from its King? It's not a huge problem. Just a tiny one.Like the
tiny images. Which is more of a problem for me--and the
friend I mentioned at the beginning of this review. She
ordered the deck with the express desire to mate it (asexually
speaking) with the Baroque Bohemian and then saw some of
the cards online--and hissed. She was so disgusted at the size
of the Minor Arcana central images that she spoke of
canceling her order. While the deck is certainly very
"readable," its size impacts its aesthetic power. And while that
wouldn't be a reason to eschew the deck if you wanted one
with a adorably attired cats, when there are two that have such
a specifically comparable theme, it is only natural
to...compare them. Choose between them. And the Medieval
Cat Tarot is sadly undermatched in such a comparison--it's not
as clever, it's not as charming, and it's not as pleasing to the
eye. If both of these decks were at the ASPCA and only one
could go home with you, which would you choose?That
doesn't mean the deck doesn't have any redeeming qualities.
Far from it. The production is very professional and the set is
highly attractive. are tasteful and complement the images
well. The interpretations in the LWB are longer and more
complex and, as such, will be more valuable to beginners than
the skimpier ones in many

Mistic Tarot
Like the Tarots, the Mistic Tarot is one of three decks
published by a Polish publisher named Sara. The artwork on
this deck seems to me the darkest (color-wise) and, while I
usually prefer darkly colored images, this one seems a bit
murky even to me (the only other deck I can think of with this
quality is the I have also noticed an unfortunate propensity of
the artist to put everyone on a flying horse in this deck, and
it's the kind of thing that loses its visual power when
indiscriminately applied. Still, the deck is somewhat
fantastical in nature, so why should I find it odd when all the
archetypes are airborne in some fashion or another?The Fool,
a sweet-faced blond youth, walks blithely off a precipice into
the clouds. The Magician creates gold in the sun as he stands
behind his magical tools. Are they, perchance, on a table? It's
hard to tell, as they are obscured by clouds. The High
Priestess is also amidst the nimbi and cumuli. This card, too,
depicts the triple moon symbolizing the goddess, as do the
Antic and Sara Tarots.The Empress and Emperor also rule a
sky domain and each has a bird of prey perched on their
thrones. The Hierophant in this deck resembles a combination
of the Fool and the Hermit--he stands at a precipice
overlooking still more clouds and he carries a scepter that
serves as a walking stick. His bent head and body position
reinforce the Hermit archetype., like the Chariot, are airborne
(though the Lovers are driven by a unicorn, whereas the
Chariot is simply led by horses), and "The Strength" shows a
woman riding a wingéd lion. You can see how this
interskytravel gets old fairly fast.The Hanged Man's head is
literally in the clouds--but what I find arresting about this card
is that a bat is holding the hanged one in suspension. Death
travels by ship over the clouds and Justice and Temperance
fly over them. I know the reason the Tower must fall is that
it's built on a false foundation...but clouds seem an awfully
literal illustration of that concept.Even doesn't get to immerse
herself in water--like Strength, she rides a wingéd steed and
looks, sadly, more like an intergalactic Wonder Woman than a
tarot card.All three Sara Tarot decks have simply-designed
pip cards. The Mistic Tarot has the most interesting
illustrations of the Minor Arcana, with dorje-like Wands,
bejeweled Cups, , and coins stamped with an intricately-
drawn beast. Unlike the other two Sara Tarots, the
backgrounds are in gradients of color--Wands are green,
Cups, red, Swords, blue, and Pentacles, orange-yellow.The
Courts are a bit more mundane, with the exception of the
knights, who all ride--you guessed it--winged horses. While
this is an effective look for the Knight of Swords, as feathers
are an air symbol, it is less so for the romantic and waterythe
fiery Wand Knight or the earthbound Knight of Pentacles. Yet
even he gets to fly in the Mistic Tarot--and he's dropping
coins on the populace, which makes him even less
traditionally characteristic of this Knight, who would be ill-
inclined to make so free with his money.

Morgan-Greer TarotThis is a popular deck, and it has been

used to illustrate four currently available books: Tarot
Celebrations by Geraldine Amaral and Nancy Brady
Cunningham; Step-by-Step Tarot by Terry Donaldson;
Spiritual Tarot, by Signe E. Echols, Robert Mueller, and
Sandra A. Thomson; and The Book of Tarot by Susan
Gerulskis-Estes, which U.S. Games sells packaged with the
deck if you want to buy a book/deck set.This deck is a
"Waite-Smith clone," i.e. a deck that basically re-illustrates
the classic Waite-Smith deck without significant conceptual
changes or additions. The artist seems to have made an
attempt to simplify the symbolism of the Majors so that they
often resemble the Marseilles deck, while the Minors stay
close to the Waite-Smith pictures. Another obvious influence
on both Majors and Minors is an earlier deck by the same
publisher, the Aquarian Tarot by David Palladini. Many of the
cards follow the Aquarian in composition, if not in style. Like
the Aquarian, most of the Minors feature close-ups rather than
full-length figures.This deck is quite unusual in that it has no
borders; each scene goes to the physical edges of the card.
This, combined with the dark, deep colors used in the deck,
creates a specific feeling not found in other decks. It reminds
me of the difference between watching a movie on a small
screen and a large screen. On the small screen, you are always
aware of the wall beyond the screen; on the large screen, after
a while you forget that you are sitting in a theater, and you
begin to enter into the world you are watching.The art style
reminds me of magazine illustrations from the ‘70s. The
sometimes psychedelic colors and the hairstyles of the men
are what dates it somewhat. In my opinion Cynthia Giles
maligns the deck in her book The Tarot: History, Mystery and
Lore. She categorizes the deck under "Pop," and states that it
uses a style of illustration "that will remind you of Batman,
Sleeping Beauty, and the Illustrated Classics series. These
may be fun to read with if they suit your taste, but they
probably don’t lend themselves to deeper uses." This is rather
unfair, especially when you consider that the Waite-Smith
deck itself is open to exactly the same criticisms, while
Greer’s draftsmanship is far superior to Pamela Colman
Smith’s. is a good example of Greer’s modus operandi. It
follows the Aquarian picture, except that the clothes are more
like the Waite-Smith, and the viewpoint has pulled back so
that the Fool’s legs are visible, along with a cliff in the
background, as well as a leaping dog. This picture perfectly
illustrates the interpretation of the Fool as the fairy-tale hero,
setting off on his adventures. takes its cue from the Marseilles
deck. It’s a simpler picture than the Waite-Smith, but it
borrows from that deck a crescent moon at her feet and a body
of water almost hidden by the veil. As with many cards in this
deck, the coloring, in this case different shades of blue, does
much to add to the atmosphere.The Chariot is also a simpler
card. There are fewer symbols on the charioteer’s dress; just a
crown of stars, a sun on the chest, a crescent moon at each
shoulder, a modified yin-yang symbol on the belt buckle, and
a staff topped by a crescent moon and an infinity sign.
Otherwise the card echoes the Marseilles Chariot, with horses
whose bodies seem to emerge out of the chariot, rather than
the sphinxes of the Waite-Smith.The Wheel of Fortune
abandons the Waite-Smith symbolism entirely, and is even
less esoteric than the Marseilles. In fact it is modeled after the
1JJ Swiss deck; a king and queen live it up atop a spinning
wheel, while a human figure has lost his grip on the wheel and
is being catapulted into the abyss below. In a wonderful touch,
the figure’s foot has gotten caught in the queen’s voluminous
gown, which she worrisomely tries to tug free.s my favorite of
any deck, because of its Marseilles-like simplicity. There is no
halo, no bag of coins, no snake, no faces in the trees -- just a
hanged man. and the Devil are two problem cards for me.
They are extremely negative. I have always felt the important
element in Waite-derived Death cards was the banner with the
rose pictured on it. To me this symbolizes the fact that death
brings with it the concept or the idea of new life, which has
not yet blossomed into reality. In this deck the skeleton is
about to cut down a living white rose. The positive elements
of the Waite picture are therefore gone, and the picture seems
quite bleak as a result.The Devil totally baffles me, as it is
different in style than the rest of the deck. It is a rather
abstract picture; a silhouette of a goat’s head, with malignant
eyes. Atop the head is a large reversed pentagram, enclosing a
fly. Atop the pentagram is a burning candle. This card
conjures up the worst associations with black magic. I have
tried to view this card as simply the "shadow" part of one’s
psyche putting on a scary mask, as a child might. However,
this card still scares me, and goes a long way toward single-
handedly preventing me from using the deck.The Moon, like
the Hanged Man, is gorgeous in its simplicity. The mood of
the Waite-Smith card is improved by featuring a large full
moon with no human face.Judgment departs somewhat from
the standard picture. The Waite-Smith picture shows an angel
blowing on a horn, while a man, woman and child rise up
from coffins floating on the water. While some decks, like the
Aquarian or the Hudes, drop the man, woman and child and
simply show the angel, in this deck the angel disappears, and
we have the man, woman and child rising up, while a flaming
French horn emerges from a cloud above. The combination of
the dark-blue-skinned family with a yellow sky and the red
flames is less than eye-soothing, but maybe that was the
artist’s intention.The Minors contain some interesting touches,
like the in which the figure being offered the fourth cup is
covered with ivy, bringing to mind the saying that "a rolling
stone gathers no moss." The 3 of Pentacles and are set against
stained-glass windows featuring red and yellow, which create
a wonderful effect. In many cases, like the 7 of Pentacles, the
Aquarian design is illustrated more completely, which makes
it easier to grasp what is happening. Of all the Waite-Smith
clones, this deck’s 6 of Swords is the most successful at
maintaining the original picture’s sense of melancholy and
loneliness. I find this picture even more interesting than
Pamela Colman-Smith’s picture, because in this deck the
woman’s child, instead of sitting beside her, has taken the
place of the boatman and is guiding the boat, leading to the
suggestion that one’s "inner child" may be relied upon to
guide us out of difficult situations.The Court cards again echo
the Aquarian, adding in a few elements to make them more
suggestive of their standard meanings, such as a background
of waves for the King of Cups or a burning tower for the
Knight of Swords. These Courts lie somewhere in between the
Aquarian or the Marseilles, where there is very little in the
picture suggestive of meaning, and the Waite-Smith or Robin
Wood, where the meanings are very obvious from the
pictures.I feel this deck is an excellent choice for those who
want to work with a good "basic" deck, one that uses Waite-
Smith type Minors while being better drawn and with more
interesting colors. I find working with this deck and the
Aquarian to be a relief after struggling with the individualistic
concepts of other deck designers who seek to impose their
own ideas onto the Tarot (not that there’s anything wrong
with that!). I will, however, continue to struggle with those
overly negative Death and Devil cards.

Native American Tarot

Even before I looked at the cards in this deck, I was
predisposed to admire it because of the packaging. One
shouldn't judge a deck by its cover, but this one is quite
clever; the sides of the box are threaded with the American
Indian design that also borders the The bold image of The
Magician on the back complements The Moon, in all its
mystery, which adorns the front. Even the selection of those
particular cards seems meaningful, in terms of Native
American spirituality, the masculine and feminine energies
book-ending the deck, in some fashion.The artwork on the
cards didn't just impress me, it moved me. Some of the images
are haunting and/or poignant and/or simply lovely. And
they're often quite powerful. However, they don't always
exemplify traditional tarot or even the descriptions. The
Magician is described as a "shaman god" in the little white
booklet (LWB), but he looks more like a warrior chieftain to
me. The High Priestess cradles a baby, which is atypical of
this virginal archetype. The Empress and Emperor each
denote gender-based initiations and, taken as a unit, are even
more potent than they are individually, which strikes me as
apropos. The Hierophant is a medicine man with two brightly-
colored masked acolytes, of sorts. He may perform his ritual
outdoors, but is as rooted in tradition and passed-on lore as
any priest. The Lovers card (at top) shows what looked to me
like a couple building sandcastles while a fertility goddess
oversees the scene, encouraging a romance that will lead to
procreation and new life. However, the LWB says that "The
twins create the earth by moving the mud and nourish it with
the plant of continuity." Twins aren't usually lovers, so the
card should be renamed if the intention is so vastly different
from the title. However, it's a powerful card--it literally seems
to emit light from the glow of the twin suns that illuminate the
scene below. The play of light upon the water literally reflects
nature, the core of Native American spirituality. Another card
that is rather mysterious in nature is the Hanged Man, who
pours water upon the earth from apainted vessel. No mention
of this water or its meaning is to be found in the LWB, and
the emphasis on the card is the tree itself (Wagachun, the two-
faced tree). I find this image and the description somewhat
mystifying--and not in a good way. The Death card is one of
my favorites--it depicts a shaman going on a transformative
journey of the mind. continues the this passage with a vision
of the Cosmic Buffalo, but the LWB doesn't note the
connection. Actually, the LWB describes the Death card as
"the Calendar" and focuses on various symbols of the passage
of time. This description does not accurately encapsulate the
card image.For the most part, I can easily work with the
Major Arcana, despite the disconnect between the LWB and
the images. In fact, I find the different shades and nuances add
to my readings, not detract or distract from them. The Minor
Arcana have been greatly revisioned, however, and most
readers whose card meanings are based on Golden Dawn
iconology might find themselves a bit lost. The Native
American Tarot Minor Arcana are primarily based on
animals, akin to the Wands correspond to fire and objects,
primarily magical tools like Calumet and Drum--and the
Shipapu (medicine staff), which unfortunately is too
linguistically similar to Buddy Hackett's Shapoopie for me to
bring the appropriate reverence to the term. Cups are zodiacal
and water animals, including Beaver and Snake and Swords
are totemic animals and air, ie., birds. Pentacles are things of
the earth, including elements and plants (Tobacco,
Sunflower). These categories make "tarot sense" but there are
some odd crossovers; Hawk, Crow, and Owl--all birds and
therefore air-like--fall under the Cups aegis, and Fire and
Water, as elements of the earth, are assigned to Pentacles.
These aren't isolated inconsistencies. The for example, is
Turtle--a totem, yes, but also often seen as representative of
Water, or even Earth (the slow but steady Aesop's Fable
character).The Cup and Sword Court Cards are animal-based,
as well, but the even the Wands and Pentacles Court often
contain animals. While Shell is the attribution for the the
symbol shares space with what looks like a large rat. This is
not your Uncle Arthur's Page of Pentacles, for sure. I am
unsure why the term Knave is used in connection with these
particular Court Cards--Beaver (Cups), Coyote (Swords), and
Dreamcatcher (Wands) are not really knaves, are they?In
addition to the usual 78 cards, Tuan includes two extras.
These are our "Celestial Parents"--Father Sky and Mother
Earth. These are the equivalent of deities in many Native
American spiritual systems, but Mother Earth could easily
have played Empress to Father Sky's Emperor. I am unsure
why Tuan felt the need to differentiate them from the other 78
cards, except that she seems to place the Major Arcana within
the circle of humanity, as opposed to the higher strata
populated by these two divinities.The LWB offers a two
paragraph mishmash of information about various North
American tribes and spirituality, then three sentence
definitions of the Major Arcana and briefer interpretations for
the Minors. A five card "Spread of Sacred Space for Spiritual
Evolution" in the shape of a star is also provided. There's a
degree of irony in that there are more words in the spread title
than there are cards for the spread, as Native Americans are
not known for their volubility.This isn't the only irony. There
is no one Native American spirituality, and the various tribes,
customs, and specific totems and myths are all dumped into
this deck with what appears to be a shallow understanding of
all of these tribes. While I don't hold to the idea that no one
but a Native American should create or work within a Native
American framework, I do think respect for the culture you
are claiming to focus on requires serious research and
knowledge.That said, I love the artwork in this deck. It's
evocative, haunting, mysterious, and powerful. The colors are
subtle--colorful, but not gaudy; the images finely wrought and
sensitively done. Amazingly, the cards often transcend the
LWB and occasionally weird attributions. When I do readings
with this deck, I find they are similar enough to the RWS for
me to draw upon that knowledge in interpretations, but also
add something different that adds a new dimension or insight
to the issue at hand. The Star card, for example, shows a
beautiful woman with an arrow in her heart. This seemed odd
to me, even after I read the explanation in the LWB--but then,
during a reading, this particular detail provided a powerful
personal message that no other Star card would have
provided.

New Century Tarot

The New Century Tarot is the brainchild of artist Rolf
Eichelmann, who was inspired by Stuart Kaplan's book, Tarot
Classic. He began sketching the deck on one of the Canary
Islands, completing the deck in his native land, Germany.
While not a Rider-Waite-Smith clone by any stretch of the
imagination, readers familiar with that deck should have no
problem reading with it.The deck is immediately engaging,
with its vivid colors and sometimes-surrealistic, sometimes-
cubist artwork. The Major Arcana pictures all share a nature-
based setting. The upper half of all of the cards contains
identical trees the color of cinnabar; the lower part of the
cards feature a central image, along with differing plants.
Gold ink accents the images as the color of the inner borders;
there is a larger outer border of royal purple. Europeans tend
to be less prudish than Americans, and the New Century Tarot
reflects that openness without emphasizing the prurient. , for
example, is naked beneath a red, gauzy curtain, which literally
veils her secret self. If you place the Empress and Emperor
side by side, they face one another, yet each has their gaze
focused elsewhere; the Empress stares at a white eagle, the
Emperor is mesmerized by the crystal globe in his hand.
Eichelmann refers to this globe as the "apple of the empire" in
the little white booklet (LWB). Each wears oversized flowing
clothes, with huge bell sleeves (these dramatic sleeves seem to
be an Eichelmann eature, as most of the Major Arcana figures
sport them). The figures on the Lovers have no sleeves at all--
it shows two women doing a kind of mirror dance in front of a
priest, who resembles a god with his bright headdress and
white robes.The Wheel of Fortune has a carnival aspect to it,
with a half-woman, half-leopard sphinx gracing the center,
and misshapen, horned creatures clinging to each side of the
wheel. The Hanged Man is particularly dramatic, surrounded
by a bright orange, pointy aura. His feet are pointy, too, and
the sharp angles of the card, combined with the falling flakes
of snow, give this card an unusually dynamic aspect.
Temperance, on the other hand, seems frozen, carved from
ice--even her hair looks like almost-dead, thin tree branches.
revisits the angularity of the Hanged Man, and the sense of
chaos and movement in this card could engender motion
sickness, an instinctive response to the initial Tower
experience. The women awaiting are not passive, but test the
flowing waters, rising up to respond to the Angel who dives
into the scene with a lot of fire power.interpretive scene. In
the Three of Swords, they adorn a banner, but our focus is on
the woman whose pose and shadowed face ooze tristesse as
the red bird of happiness flies on by her wistful self. The Four
of Swords is unique; it depicts an image of a woman floating
in the air. The four swords and the levitating lady evoke
magic without the k, but the booklet interpretation is more
mundane, speaking of standstills and seclusion. The Ten of
Swords shows two mummified women, each standing in their
own fog. The largest, most dominant sword in the image has a
red stone embedded in the hilt, a sign of life in death.
While many of the cards evoke the Rider-Waite-Smith, some
are quite different. The Seven of Cups doesn't have different
items emerging from the different vessels, but instead, shows
a woman standing in the middle of a river, forcing it to adjust
to her. She carries a mask and wears another, symbolizing
illusion and delusion. Additionally, two of the cups are
smaller than the others, yet they initially appear to all be the
same size. The Two of Pentacles shows a troubadour, playing
his guitar and dancing upon a flowery landscape
simultaneously. He has a romantic, Fool-like quality.The Cup
court cards are also very romantic; in fact, all the court cards
have an air of otherworldly fantasy about them. In part, this is
due to the whimsical and imaginative artwork, but it is also
because one can't really see faces very clearly in this deck,
due to the miniaturized main images. The fullness of the
background and foreground limits the size of the central
figure(s). The has a hat bedecked with purple flowers and his
cape is filmy and white, giving him a feminine, dreamy look.
The Queen's wand is topped with a delicate flower. The Minor
Arcana and court cards each have a particular sky color,
depending on the suit. Wands and Swords are both blue, but
Wands is more of a green blue, Cups are red, and Pentacles
are yellow. The cards are a heavy, matte cardstock and are
wider and slightly shorter than standard. The width factor
makes them harder to shuffle. The depict a reversible abstract
pattern that is primarily purple, but has other colors, as well.
The LWB is 35 pages long and contains a description of and
meaning for each card. Interestingly, there is no general
information on reading or layouts. Perhaps the assumption is
that the purchaser will already know these things if he or she
is obtaining a deck other than the Rider-Waite-Smith. The
Major and Minor Arcana get equal time, in terms of the length
of the card descriptions, which were written by the deck's
creator and translated from German into English.This deck is
excellent for reading or meditation; because of the power and
depth of the images, they are interesting cards to enter. I
recommend this deck for anyone looking for an easy-to-read,
evocative, and powerful deck that offers new insights with
vividness and imagination.
Odyssey Tarot
Forgive me for clucking like a proud mother hen, but when
one of my students creates something wonderful, I can't help
basking in the reflected glory. And Jean Hutter has truly
created something wonderful with her Odyssey Tarot, a
collage deck created using Photoshop.Hutter is a fine artist
(you can see some of her work and worked professionally as
a graphic artist, as well. Her aesthetic gifts and technical
expertise produce an accomplished work, but it is her
innovative take on familiar cards that makes this deck such a
revitalizing breath of fresh air. is a fine example. While we
may be very familiar with the Parrish image, we might not
have recognized it as evocative of the Fool archetype. The
addition of the dog is a perfect complement. There is also a
flexibility in collage where a painting can work perfectly in
more than one context; Arnell Ando's primary figure for the
Queen of Wands in the Transformational Tarot has been
recontextualized as a powerful witch conjuring something
supernatural in Hutter's Magician card. Klimt's makes an
appearance as a most persuasive High Priestess (and another
version of Hygieia makes an appearance in Michele Jackson's
as the Queen of Swords). I think the most productive way to
view these cross-pollinations is not to embrace one or the
other as the "correct" choice, but see them as patterns that
connect and illuminate both cards.As in the Hero's Journey
and Transformational Tarot, the Odyssey Tarot Lovers
presents several differentexpressions of romantic interaction.
Hutter is clearly influenced by decks like the , as opposed to
one enveloping canvas. Normally, I prefer the former, but
Jean wisely limits her number of separate images so that each
offers a different window, but doesn't overwhelm the reader or
blur the view with excess.Strength, for example, shows a
comic superheroine tramping in a forest with her pet lion on
top of an image of a woman meditating in the lotus position
on the beach. The way the two terrains merge allows the
reader to go to both places simultaneously, and understand the
dynamic of the card.I would love to share my thoughts on
each card in general, but that would make for a rather
unwieldy review, so I'll limit myself to some special favorites.
Card XV (at top) speaks of the masks the Devil can wear, as
well as the bondage and chains that can be all the more
powerful because the escape key is so tauntingly close, yet
remains elusive. The Tower of Pisa is the central image on
Card XVI. I love the coloring of the Star-Moon-Sun trinity--
the Star's blue-grey caste morphs into a deeper blue and then
explodes into the hot red of the Sun. The color gradations
stimulate the senses in accordance with one's intellectual
understanding of these cards. The World dancer is a shadowy
figure whose moves incorporate the trajectory of the earth,
which is in the background but still takes its rightful important
place in the image.The Minor Arcana cards are rendered as
beautifully and effectively as the Majors. The Aces do not
portray the elements in the unadorned style of the Rider-
Waite-Smith (RWS), but instead move you powerfully into
the midst of that element's domain--the Ace of Wands shows a
woman with her violin, an expressive instrument, about to
traverse a winding path to the castle on a hill. She is lit from
behind in flaming orange. The Ace of Cups depicts a woman
in a dance upon the waters, the Ace of Swords, one
precariously balancing herself mid-air. The Ace of Pentacles'
background is mountainous, and shows one person holding a
blazing golden disk, and a woman surrounded by her pottery.
Each of these cards conveys its element in a visceral way.The
Five of Wands shows two images--the top one depicts a joust,
the bottom, knights en masse going into battle. This dual
illustration expresses both the light-hearted and more serious
aspects of this card. The Six of Wands continues the knight
imagery, but shows them returning home in victory. The
Seven continues theprogression by featuring a knight drawing
back his bow at an unseen target.The Cups suit is drenchingly
romantic--and I mean that in a good way. The couple on the
Two of Cups reminds me of the Errol Flynn-Olivia de
Haviland historicals like Captain Blood and Robin Hood--
love will out, even against (or because of) a turbulent
backdrop. The Four of Cups shows a woman gazing into the
mirror at her own reflection, ignoring the other beautiful
things in life. The nostalgia of the Six of Cups is represented
in three images--a child reaching out to touch a tulip, two
children riding on giraffes in the sky...and two children
standing in a doorway. But are they huddled together in
expectation of something positive--or negative? Not
everyone's memories of childhood are pictures of whimsical
delight, and that is expressed in this card, as well.Is the Asian
man in royal garb on the Nine of Cups smug and self-
absorbed, or serene within himself because of his practice of
lovingkindness? The artist had one vision in mind, and I,
another. I consider that a strength of this deck--that there are
multiple possibilities and viewpoints in the cards. The Nine of
Swords shows another dichotomy--one frame is of someone
holding her head in dread, the other a man about to go to
sleep, gazing at his pillowcase, which depicts a toothy and
fearsome maw. This is no Laura Ashley design! Yet the
second image is depicted in a cartoon-ish style, which shows
that sometimes we need to laugh at our more terrified
imaginings.Again, I want to talk about all the cards, but space
does not permit me to do so. I will merely mention one more
card, the which shows umber photographs that speak of an
earlier time, but also family legacies and history. Recently, I
did a reading for the protagonist of Pride and Prejudice,
Elizabeth Bennet, at the apex of her crisis over losing Darcy's
esteem because of the follies of her sister Lydia. The Ten of
Pentacles was the probable outcome, and really emphasized
the differences between the "love in a cottage" Ten of Cups
and the rise in fortune of the Ten of Pentacles.In some cases,
the number of the suit emblem is not always in accord with
the actual number of the card. The 10 of Swords, for example,
only depicts three swords in the back of a woman on the floor.
However, three swordsappears to be as overwhelming as ten
in this particular image, and the figure looks just as obliterated
as the one that graces the RWS 10 of Swords.The court cards
are also utterly engaging. With her strength and focused
intelligence, the Queen of Wands reminds me of Rachel
Pollack, were she dressed in the fashion of the ancient
Romans. The Page of Swords in her fashionable jester suit, is
part adventurous child, part intelligent sophisticate. Once I
pulled two cards for getting unstuck, and received the Fool for
the short term, and the Page of Swords for the long haul. I
couldn't miss the connection between the two cards and their
united message to me--which made for a truly powerful and
constructive reading. Jean makes each deck by hand,
laminating them and sealing them perfectly. This means that
the clarity of image is preserved and yet they seem more like
"real cards" than decks that are laminated and have
superfluous clear plastic around the edges. The deck is
slightly thicker than standard decks, but not at all unwieldy.
Each is different--the artist has decided no two will be alike,
adding to the uniqueness of the deck. The cards are flexible
and shuffle easily, but I am extremely careful with this deck,
because it is so very special

Osho Zen Tarot

The first thing I have to say about this deck is that it does
something I think EVERY tarot deck should do - include a
glossary of symbols shown on the cards. More comments on
that later.The second thing I have to say is that this is only one
of two decks I've given the privilege of having it's own little
silk bag, in a position of honor on my altar (the other is the
Robin Wood deck). I was that impressed with the deck, as its
art, colors and presentation speak to me quite strongly. But
first, a little background.The Osho Zen Tarot is based on the
teachings of Indian "guru" Osho, and attempts to present the
unique wisdom of Zen through the pictorial medium of Tarot.
Osho, born in 1931, went through similar life experiences as
the Gautama Buddha, and attained enlightenment at age 21.
After spending several years teaching philosophy in Jabalpur,
he traveled throughout India expounding his theories to the
masses, and promoting his meditation techniques which, he
asserts, helps modern man to throw off the "...outmoded
traditions of the past, and the anxieties of modern-day
living..." so he can "...go through a deep cleansing process
before he can hope to discover the thought-less, relaxed state
of meditation." In the 70's, he and his followers formed a
commune in Poona, India which began to grow rapidly as
visitors from the west, during the sexual and religious
revolution of that time period, discovered his teachings. The
commune eventually grew into the world's largest
international meditation and spiritual growth center, and
includes various schools and academies for Centering, Zen
Martial Arts, Creative Arts, Healing Arts, Meditation,
Mysticism, Transformation, and Creative Leisure.
Osho died in 1990, but this huge commune continues to
attract thousands of international visitors who come to
experience its creative programs, or "...just to experience
being in a buddhafield." (a word that is defined in the
accompanying book). The art was created by Ma Deva Padma
(Susan Morgan), who came to the commune as a disciple in
1975. In following his teachings, she discovered that
"creativity is her meditation." Her artwork has appeared in
books and magazines worldwide. She was supported in this 4-
year project by many commune followers, especially Ma
Jivan Upasika, who contributed her knowledge of the Tarot,
which was blended with the wisdom of Zen Buddhism
through the filter of Osho's teachings. The accompanying
book attempts to give a cursory history of the tarot, but only
succeeds in perpetrating a Tarot "myth" - that of its Egyptian
origins. But it goes too far in making an assertion that the
"...number of cards is based on the number of steps taken by
the infant Siddhartha...as soon as he was born..." which
supposedly became the model for the minor cards in the tarot.
Nice idea, if there were any basis, but none exists.Some
changes you might note: no traditional suit symbols, but the
deck does try to somewhat stick to the elemental associations.
"The cards of the Water suit have a blue diamond, those of
Fire, red, Clouds have a gray diamond, and Rainbows, a
rainbow-colored diamond." No court cards. Instead, the cards
in this section have "...been given names to simply represent
the different opportunities for mastery over the four elements
that they occupy." The only similarity here is the positioning
of a color-coded triangle at the bottom of the card, pointing up
(for life, heat, male, King, spirituality), down (lunar, feminine,
receptive, Queen, cool), left (Movement from the passive to
the active, Page) or right (Movement of the active toward the
inner, Knight). This explanation is found in the glossary of
symbols in the back.
The Major Arcana are given the familiar roman numerals
from 0 to XXI, however, there is an extra "Master" card (with
Osho's picture) which has no number. This card is supposed to
symbolize transcendence. Another oddity - card number 5,
traditionally the Heirophant, is totally blank, and is entitled
"No-Thingness." Don't expect to lay out this deck side by side
with a traditional deck and see one-for-one correspondences,
at least not for every card. Some do exist, but not all. With all
the departures from the traditional symbology, why have I
given it such high ratings? Partly because of my fondness for
Jungian archetypes and their meaning. Many other decks give
single word meanings to the cards, and this one does the same
- for every card. The words are different than those you can
find on Crowley's deck or the Waite deck. But they
nevertheless represent archetypal ideas that are as universal,
in my opinion, as those in traditional Tarot. Examples of some
of these conceptsIt was this last word and its accompanying
artwork, that grabbed my eye immediately when I looked a
the deck. This picture shows a three-legged jester, balanced
on a large bubble, his four arms juggling lit candles while he's
straining to blow a fine tune on a trumpet. One of his hands
holds a leash, at the end of which is a smiling monkey holding
a sharp pin, just millimeters away from popping the jester's
balloon on which his whole carefully balanced act delicately
stands. I can't tell you how many times I've felt just that
stressed in my years of corporate work. It just hit home, what
can I say? Other examples: The "Trust" card shows a small
child in mid-leap off a high place which we cannot see,
towards a soft pink glow. The "Guilt" card shows a screaming
woman trying to fight off gray clawed hands pawing at her
head, gray clouds of self doubt in the background. One of my
favorites - the "Courage" card, shows a flowering daisy which
has made its debut into the world up through a crack in solid
stone. "The Outsider" shows a small child peering through a
locked gate. Has she/he been shut out by others, or has he/she
done this to herself? The colors in the deck are bright, clear
and true. No muted tones or neon glare - all on a black
background. The art follows a general color scheme that some
decks use - Red for Fire, Blue for Water, and Gray for Air.
The departure from tradition here comes with using Rainbow
colors to represent Earth. As the book explains it, the
Rainbow "...bridges the earth and sky, matter and spirit - we
remind ourselves that in reality there is no separation between
the lower and the higher, that indeed it is a continuum of one
total energy. And that heaven is not some remote place high in
the sky, but a reality waiting to be discovered right here on
earth." The deck is a good comfortable size for the hands, and
it shuffles easily. The book includes seven spreads for various
purposes, including the traditional Celtic Cross, somewhat
modified. And then there's that wonderful glossary. The
glossary includes meanings for all the symbols in the deck.
Not being very well versed in the meaning of symbols, my
evaluation is that they seem to be aligned with "common
sense" meanings that would be recognizable to most people.

Pagan Tarot
The Pagan Tarot, is published by Lo Scarabeo and designed
by Gina Pace, with artwork by Luca Raimondo and Cristiano
Spadoni. Gina Pace is a Priestess of the Pagan Religion, as
well as ar which includes deck reviews. If you say the word
“pagan”, how do people react? We had a good friend who
studied many metaphysical subjects and who considered
himself well educated. He met a woman who shared many of
his interests and they had promise as a couple. However, one
day he announced the relationship was over. “She’s a
PAGAN”, he said. “Well,” we asked, “do you know what a
pagan is?” His stuttered reply had something to do with devils
and orgies so we explained that pagans actually honor all life,
revere Mother Earth, observe and celebrate the seasons, and
believe in the Threefold Law. Our friend calmed down, but he
never did date the woman again.Gina Pace obviously
understands the complexity of a pagan living in the modern
world. Pagan tools, symbols and rituals intermingle with
computers, cars, and modern dress in this tarot deck. It
challenges us to incorporate our beliefs into the every day
world, dealing with the prejudices and intolerance of a
modern society.One of the most powerful cards in the deck is
the Hierophant. With a beautiful church in the background,
we see a book burning in the foreground. The card is
uncomfortable. The little white booklet (LWB) says, “We are
challenged each day to deal with authority and the status quo;
we must ask ourselves to do what is right. Sometimes we must
go against the grain of establishment, other times we must
work for changes within the very system that haunts us.”
Truly a difficult task.Many of the Major Arcana have a
slightly different slant to them. The Hermit shows me in my
very crowded office (no, wait, that’s not me – it just seems
like it’s me!) From the LWB: “Hermits have typically been
considered reclusive, but the hermit does not run from society
out of fear; instead, the Hermit needs seclusion in order to
hear the voice of the God/dess within. We must seek out a
quiet place, either physically or through meditation, in order
to hear the voice within.”As expected in a pagan tarot, the
minors are divided by the elements: earth (Pentacles), air
(Swords), fire (Wands) and water (Cups). The aces in the deck
made a particular impression on me as they all have such a
sense of isolation – perhaps this speaks to the fact that nobody
can decide to take up new challenge or begin anew project for
us…we must be our own creative force.Court cards are
different. Instead of Page, Knight, Queen, King, we get
Elemental (the very beginning, purest form of energy), the
Novice (being motivated to take action), the Initiate (making
headway, growing) and the Elder (realizing the true potential,
now having the responsibility to pass what has been learned
on to someone else).The Pagan Tarot appears to me to be a
great deck for those who read the cards intuitively. Each card
tells a mini-story. I asked, “What can I learn from this deck?”
and pulled the Emperor. No “benign despot” here, as this card
shows ordinary people walking into a room in a church. It’s a
little difficult to tell what is going on, as one man seems to be
talking to a priest, while another priest looks away
disinterested. Two of the nine people shown appear to be one
priest helping another priest. Is he trying to get away? Or is he
ill? Why is he wearing glasses? The other priest is very calm,
so everything must be okay, right? What does it all mean? I
feel it means that when it comes to authority, we must think
for ourselves…make up our own minds…make our own
choices. We can ask a lot of questions, we can respect society,
and we can look at all the options. But, in the end, we must do
what we feel is right. We must follow our hearts.

Pandora’s Tarot
actualized characters typical of an art film in two dimensions
through photography and computer graphic imaging. The
Pandora’s Tarot is a visual journey where the cards seem alive
with archetypes. The symbolism is spare; the richness exuded
in the experience of reading with the deck can be uncovered
within the toying glance of the Fool attired in bellsand motley.
Although his dog is absent, the feeling is that his companion
has bounded ahead excited for the unfolding adventure. The
Wheel of Fortune shows female twins as a reflection of light
and dark, each bearing a shield formed by a mechanical gear,
which interlocks through the metal grooves. Adorning the
third eye of each woman is a red semi-circle to illustrate the
components of the conscious and unconscious mind. Behind
the figures, a series of gears turn like the internal workings of
a clock—marking the cycles of life, marking time. In the
Tower, the four elements are enlisted to depict the shattering
of all that hinders the development of the Self. The Tower is
the confining earthly structure reminiscent of a medieval
turret built from granite or limestone. The narrow windows
uphold the protection of a fortress yet limit vision, so that the
expanse of the blue landscape could not be viewed in true
magnanimity. The Tower is encircled by a swirling cloud
mass that acts as a border between levels of water and sky.
Lightning veins through the azure, marking the Tower with
fire that destroys the existing structure and makes room for
the potential of new creativeforces. A sea that seeks to erase
details of the building the way that strong emotions can layer
over existing reality consumes the base of the Tower. The
swirling wind is symbolic of thought processes that can build
an encroaching tunnel; it is the lightning which breaks
through the bounds of the flow of emotions, the workings of
the intellect, and the rootedness of physical surroundings. The
Star is a pale woman whose skin captures the quality of light.
Her body is partially submerged in a cerulean sea as she rests
her face against the backdrop of the deepest evening. Gazing
from her sky realm, she acts as the protectress of a couple
who look into the vast blue. The figures seem to be offering
their wishes to the stars while the woman attends the call of
their hopes and desires. She appears to be a celestial guide
who bestows the promise of youth as free as the path of
light.In a woman clothed in black stands within the arc of the
waning crescent. Within the night sky, where deep blue and
green merge like the shimmering of a peacock feather, she
embodies the dark of the Moon. Her hair falling in long wisps
forms the border of a translucent veil edged in gold.
Resembling the stretch of moonlight, her dark hair conversely
expresses the shadow. Her face is positioned downward as if
she is looking at the earth from her celestial sphere. It seems
she is waiting to bestow her full illumination in her own
measure, in her own time. clarity, the insight brought to
consciousness. The Sun also exhibits a magnetic quality, the
visual pull towards the center, to delve into the source of light.
The World features a seated young woman in a gauzy dress,
as sheer and white as the lotus petals, which surround her.
Instead of being completely encircled in laurel as in the Rider-
Waite-Smith, she wears the wreath as a crown towards the
back of her head. She looks downward towards the earth with
an expression of beatific peace. Here the World seems to
honor meditation and serenity as the essence of completion.
Staring in icy profile, the Queen of Swords is the woman
contained within the realm of her own dark power. Her skin
appears smooth and cold like a landscape of snow from what
is visible of her face and neck. Her cloaking gown is crimson
at the throat and chest—the same color as her tightly held lips.
Were her lips to part, doubtless would she recount a harsh
truth stored within the calculating perception of her active
mind. Strands of black hair, bound in brilliant purple and gold
silk, offset her burnished gold crown. Despite the obscured
quality of her figure, her eyes are thestrongholds in her
fortress of wisdom. She stands in front of an antique sword
rendered in the same gold as her crown and before her the
image of the blade appears in shadow.
The is the seeker worn from the quest. Only his head is visible
from behind the shield of tarnished armor. A deep gash in the
breastplate mirrors the scar across his forehead. He is
physically marked near the heart and the brow, conveying the
weight of the journey on his emotional and mental states. The
shading of the background obscures any view of the
landscape; the path of the Knight is unclear. Murky with
shadow, his face is tilted into his gorget, showing the need to
venture within.The shading in the Pages causes the four young
men to look like actors trapped in a badly lit scene. Not even a
giant scepter could prevent the encroaching shadow from
taking over half of his face, the majority of both hands, and
everything below the waist, leaving the unfortunate Page of
Wands unable to embody the energy of youth that would
make him so delightful. While the Page of Swords was hit in
the face with a splotch of darkness, the Page of Cups stands
moodily as a blackening shadow travels up his legs. Only the
Page of Pentacles escapes, with arms crossed and a long
brown robe to confuse the path of the shading. His eyes are
closed as if he is dreaming of an opportunity that allows him
to venture beyond the grim nothingness. I prefer more
optimistic Pages with appropriate visible body parts. Cards
Ace through Ten depict the heraldic symbol of the suit
arranged on a vacant white background. The symbols convey
an antique elegance: for cups; a double handled urn with
sculptural flourishes, for wands; a scepter aglow with a ruby
cabochon, for pentacles; a golden disk with a floral emblem
that appears to be a shield, for swords; a blade with a handle
adorned with the a golden head of a dog. I wish the artist had
been allotted the time to fully illustrate the stories of the
figures in the Trumps throughout the four suits. As a pictorial
reader, I find the ability to show the querent the images helps
facilitate a deeper foundation of trust and understanding of
what the tarot can offer. A stack of swords may as well be a
stack of folded laundry to an uninitiated querent, though some
readers are able to work with the numerological symbolism
and offer a bridge to understanding. I prefer to guide the
querent through the visual landscape. For readers who feel
uncomfortable divining with unillustrated pips, I would
recommend separating the pips from the more evocative
Major Arcana and Court Cards for the smaller spreads. I see
no need to include cards that are not fully rendered, nor to
assign Pandora’s Tarot into the category of art decks that have
visual merit yet are not readable in the true nature of tarot.
However, I would much rather be given the opportunity to
read with the full 78 cards than have to choose between
staring at empty arrangements of repetitive symbols or
filtering cards from the deck. Another possibility is to the use
Pandora’s Tarot as a study deck to assist students in
uncovering the personas of the figures inhabiting the Major
Arcana and the Tarot Court.

Phantasmagoric Theater Tarot

This deck is drawn in a rather unique style. It looks as if it
were drawn by a child, though the complexity of the images
and the use of shading and perspective make that possibility
unlikely. The characters have large heads and eyes. The
bodies are sometimes small and simple, or misshapen. The
card name and number are written in a child-like scrawl where
the letters are not uniform in size and have the wobbly look of
those written by children first learning to write. In addition to
the child-like style, the imagery tends to the fantastic and
horrific, but cute. The (Hierophant) sits on a toadstool. shows
a spaceship being pulled by seahorses. Eyes vary greatly in
size or may be replaced with buttons or an "x" - symbol of
being closed in older comics. Toys abound and the deck gives
the impression that one has just entered a combination of the
fun-house and the house of horrors at a carnival, only nothing
is really scary, just weird. It reminds me of the movie The
cards are larger than average at 3 1/2" X 5 3/8". The Major
Arcana have the traditional names with the exception of the
Hierophant, which is called the Grand Master. In the Major
Arcana the card name number is spelled out in the top border
and the name is in the bottom border. Those Major Arcana
associated with a zodiac sign have them worked into the
image, but those associated with planets or elements do not.
The Majors also have a puzzle piece in the lower right corner
that indicates whether the "influence" of the card is masculine,
feminine, or both. The suits are Swords, Wands, Cups and
Coins. Each suit takes place in a different setting: Swords are
in the mind, Wands are at the circus, Cups are in the desert
and Coins are in a village. The Court consists of Page, Knight,
Queen, and King. The art is good, especially when you
consider that he is trying to paint like a child. The colors are
interesting and I suspect that the original paintings were
brighter than the printed version. Although we see a nod to the
Waite deck now and again, as in the pierced heart of the Three
of Swords and the artisan in the by and large these images are
original in style. One thing that bothered me was the use of a
green dress decorated with Venus symbols for The green
dress and Venus are usually associated with the Empress. I
got the impression that he got these two cards mixed up.
feature the number 56 (the artist's personal number), a die, a
puzzle piece and a question mark. The artist states that these
items often appear in his work. That is certainly true for this
deck. The little booklet that comes with the deck talks a bit
about the artist. It seems that his first Tarot deck was Tarot of
the Witches by Fergus Hall and that he painted this deck
accompanied by the music ofThe artist describes the premise
of the deck - that you are an actor in a theater that is the world
and a play that is life. The Major Arcana meanings provide a
secondary name, the ruling planet, sign or element. The card
is described in terms of its character and/or scene in the play.
Brief upright and reversed meanings are given. The Major
Arcana meanings are similar to Waite's. The Minor Arcana
are less traditional in meaning. The characters in the court
cards all have names as do several of the characters on the
numbered cards. Some characters appear in more than one
card, like Fingerpin the Ringmaster who appears in the The
Celtic Cross Spread is also provided. I have provided excerpts
from the little booklet to give you a feel for the style. My copy
of the booklet had a page that was not stapled in stuck in the
back of the booklet. I don't know if this is a one of a kind
thing or not.I recommend this deck for anyone who liked the
Nightmare Before Christmas and for those who are looking
for something dark, yet whimsical. It would make a great deck
for a Halloween party. While some of the meanings are
different than the Waite deck, the stories woven around the
cards make them easier to remember. Even when different,
they are usually not that far afield of the traditional.

Phoenix Tarot
shoots blazing sparks of light.The Empress and Emperor are
card-carrying members of the Beautiful People. You can
easily imagine seeing this Emperor at Cannes, not as its ruler
but on the beach, doing a press shoot for his latest movie. He
possesses physical might, but not the requisite gravitas for the
rôle...much like another bodybuilder I could name.A night sky
filled with stars is the backdrop for Il Carro (The Chariot) (at
top). The elegant vehicle traverses the unusual terrain of long
grass that reminds one of the jungles of Africa. The image is
very romantic -- one can even make out the shadows of angels
riding across the sky.One particularly effective card is La
Giustizia (Justice), whose starkly defined role isperfectly
matched by the clean linear style of the Phoenix Tarot.
Justice's face is not expected to convey a depth of emotion, so
no nuance is needed. (The Hermit) is another card that
naturally dovetails with this style. A robed figure stands in the
tall grass, his purple gown meshing like interwoven linen with
the sharp green blades of the waving grass, as a full moon
blesses and illuminates his meditation.The figure on Il
Diavalo (The Devil) looks more like a cartoon character than
a truly fearsome demon, but the golden lightning that sizzles
behind his back gives the card a looming menace to face, just
the same. La Torre (The Tower), with its geometrical designs
is less frightening -- the bodies falling from the top of the
building are too close to being stick figures for self
identification. The card does bring me back to my 11th grade
fear of Geometry, though. Another card that loses something
in the translation is La Luna (The Moon). The flat quality of
the round pool surrounding the crustacean makes it look like
crab-on-a-plate--al fresco dining, anyone?
Il Guidizio (Judgment) manages to blend the modern with the
mystical. The luminous ribbon Angel that floats above the city
built on sand shares a song many of us desire to hear. This
card tells a dramatic story, a story that would enrich any
reading.The central figure on Il Mondo (The World) is not a
person, but a three-dimensional diagram of the Tree of Life,
with a green snake wound about its paths. It's an interesting
concept, but even the bursting lights in the background can't
give the card the dynamism of a dancing figure.
As I mentioned earlier, the Minor Arcana has simple,
straightforward pips. They seem influenced by the Thoth
Minor Arcana, particularly some of the higher numbered Cups
and the Two of Pentacles, but I don't find them as powerful or
as meaningful, despite the vibrant colors and unusual
positioning. Take, for example, the Otto di Bastoni (Eight of
Wands). Eight green implements are poised against a red-
orange background, with sparkles of light bursting from the
wands. Despite the pyrotechnics, the scene seems static, not
energetic. Often, a concept is repeated, such as a flower
Scarabeo, but one can not expect that of a self-published deck
(though some decks, like the and manage to meet those
standards).My main concern, frankly, though, is the price of
this deck--if it were akin to the Templar and/or Guardians of
Wisdom, I wouldn't have any issues at all. If you are from the
United States and buy the deck from the artist, it costs slightly
more than $67.00 (including shipping). It is $15 less if you
purchase it through the . I have a gut feeling that this price
isn't due to greed on the part of the artist, but a way of
recouping her costs--I suspect she ended up with a publisher
who didn't give her a very good deal. Factor in the non-
pictorial pips, though, and the deck price seems fairly
prohibitive for the average would-be purchaser. ragmented by
swords. What is meaningful and interesting in the Due di
Spade (Two of Swords) becomes less so when duplicated in
the Three, Four, Six, Seven, and Eight.Occasionally,
Angelotti transcends the mundane with the pips. Many are
visually lovely, and the Due di Coppe(Two of Cups) takes on
a life of its own. The two cups hover above two new, green
leaves in a gently undulating blue sea. A sensual flower spurts
water into the colorful chalices. But the interesting part is that
the chalices have handles that put one in mind of arms
akimbo, molded into a saucy, almost-challenging, pose, much
like a romantic pair who tease and test one another. This card
gives the reader a lot to work with, if he or she is willing to
look closely at the imagery. Unfortunately, not every card
contains as much symbolic material.The Court Cards carry the
same fate as the human figures on the Major Arcana--the
computer-generated images tend to the bland, plasticene faces
that fail to convey emotion or a sense of reality. Some of the
pictures are lovely--Angelotti has an excellent sense of
composition and color-- but the people are often vapid and
ultimately empty. One exception for me is the Cavaliere di
Coppe (Knight of Cups), whose one-emotion face telegraphs
his single-minded devotion to capturing the Grail Cup. Sadly,
his King is diverted, staying way too busy living the highlife
with the Emperor on the beach at Cannes. The reminds me a
bit of Robin Hood, more Kevin Costner than the Man of the
Forest. Again, no gravitas.The box the deck came in was
crushed in transit, but I suspect this will be the rule, rather
than the exception--the construction does not seem
particularly sturdy. A signed title card comes with the deck,
which is limited to 500 copies. Another card contains the deck
dedication, which is "To Ermanno and Martina"--I am
guessing they are Paola Angelotti's parents. The inclusion of
this card makes me want to like the deck more than I do, as it
is personal and touching. There is no little white book--if you
want to read anything about the cards, you will have to
consult are reversible and of a simple purple and white
design--a design that does not reflect Angelotti's artistic eye.
The deck itself is made on reasonably sturdy cardstock, but
the unevenness of the edges is occasionally problematic, as is
the quality of the printing. In my deck, some of the card titles

The Prediction Tarot deck

you like soft watercolour artwork, this is definately a deck
you may want to take a closer look at. The deck was
conceived by Bernard Stringer and painted by Peter
Richardson (1985). The deck comes with the usual flimsy
'Instruction booklet' that is authorless and provides no
information on the deck, just some tPyramidinterpretations
and three layouts (Horoscope, Celtic Cross and Art The
pictures have a real-to-life feel to them, with costumes and
settings that are medieval and very simple. The human figures
are all very well proportioned with clear expressions on their
faces. The general atmosphere on the scenes is peaceful and
harmonious. The imagery on all cards is pretty basic. There
are not many fringes, wich gives the entire deck a clear
feeling. Admirers of the deck often say the scenes of the
major arcana have a dream-like quality, wich makes
meditatingon the scenes easy and pleasant. Others consider
the deck to be too simplistic and too 'pretty' for their taste. The
cards are fairly small and slimmer than usual. The back design
is one little tower on an even pale blue background. This is a
disadvantage when you're using reversed meanings; when you
are shuffling and picking the cards, you see beforehand wich
cards are upright and wich ones are reversed. Major Arcana r
cards are all set in a three-fold 'wooden' frame. The upper
frame features the number of the card in old roman numbers
(4 is IIII and not IV; 9 is VIIII and not IX). The middle frame
shows us the scene and the bottom frame has the name of the
card in what seems to be carved-out letters. No astrological
correspondances, no hebrew letters or alchemical symbology
for this one. Justice is 8, Strength 11. Among the scenery of
the majors, this deck has a few surprises in store. The first
surprise is the picture of The Fool. It's a sturdy man with an
oversized red coat with golden buttons and a thick black
leather belt. He's wearing a black hat and leans on a cane, one
hand in his pocket. The carelessly in one hand. He's looking
straight at us, and so is his little (very little indeed) dog. He's
not falling in any kind of abyss, but just stands there looking
at us wondering what we're going to do. If you're looking for a
confronting and challenging Fool - here's one! He says: "I've
been Fool a long time and I'm good at it. It's your turn now.
So what are you going to do? It's showtime for you!" The
Magician is another surprise, although not unfamiliar. This
magician is In early Tarot cards, the Magician card had the
same pagan magician/trickster quality. The High Priestess is
'barer' than e.g. the Rider-Waite version (no black and white
pillars, no sea, no pomegranates). Yet the image we're looking
at the Marseilles Tarot; an old, wise, silent woman. Strength is
not a woman embracing, but a man fighting a lion. It's true
that the oldest Tarot known (Visconti-Sforza) also features a
man fighting a lion (actually just about to hit a lying lion). I
wonder if this historical consideration has been the reason to
choose for this scene. It certainly alters the meaning of the
card; in this scene our primal drives, instincs and forces are
not tamed by loving acceptance but by fighting them not a
partisan of this point of view. The Hanged man is - again very
traditionally - losing money that falls out of his pocket. He's
looking very unhappy about the whole situation. The Sun card
is remarkable because it features a young man and woman
sitting on the ground, singing to each other. Not surprising but
awe-inspiring are the cards of the Emperor and the Hermit.
Court Cards These are a real deception after the beautiful
major arcana. The Kings, Queens, Knights and Pages are all
the same persons regardless of their suit, sitting or standing in
the same position only carrying the different objects (swords,
staves, coins and cups) of their suit. The thrones of the Kings
and Queens are all the same, no horses for the Knights, and no
background scenery whatsoever. Even a normal deck of
playing cards offers
more variety and inspiration in their court cards. Minor
Arcana No scenes, just symbols arranged in their traditional
form, staves straight and swords in a bow. A minor detail is
 that normally the swords on the uneven cards 3,5,7 and 9 in
patterns like this would be arranged in such a way that the
middle sword stands upright (that is, with the blade up). In
this version the blade is pointing down. Personal evaluation
When I first saw this deck I was captured by the good
rtwork and the ntriguing look of some of the majors. The
uninspired look of the court cards and the very basic pip
cards have never appealed to me though, so I don't use itfor
readings, either for others or for myself. Sally Nichols
suggests in her book "Jung and Tarot" (Samuel Weiser Inc.,
1980) that you can address the figures on the majors by
simply trying to start a dialogue with them. For me, this is
one thing that has worked very well with the majors of The
Prediction Tarot.

Prism Tarot
One wonders therefore, why the use of software packages that
can do almost everything except cook your breakfast (I’ll buy
that one when it comes out!) have been used to create some
fairly lifeless tarot art. You know which decks I’m talking
about. The ones that you look at once and then toss on your
shelf, NOT because you disagree with their philosophical
interpretations or what they have to say (because as you
evolve, your viewpoint can change) but because, deep down,
you have a sneaking suspicion that they really don’t have
much of anything to say at all.To me, this just emphasizes
what we already know. Technical wizardry cannot be
confused with true artistic magic. The whole magic of the
artist rests in his or her ability to take the simplest of tools and
transform them into visual/written/musical episodes bordering
on the sublime. Sure, it’s great for a gifted artist to have
sophisticated tools and there’s no question that those tools can
significantly affect the caliber of the finished product;
however, the emphasis is still on the root essence of an artistic
creation…the talent of the artist.In short, the artist can
transform the tools, but the tools cannot create an artist.The
radiant Prism Tarot is a perfect example of this point.When
Dirk Gillabel came to the U.S. and finally met (after an
intense correspondence) the special woman in his life,
talented artist, Carol Herzer, he became fascinated with
computers and spent hours playing around with various paint
programs installed on an old computer belonging to Carol’s
son.Now, before we go on, I should give you a little
background. Dirk Gillabel has created a great many tarot
decks. He views every medium (some more conventional than
others) as an opportunity to express his artistic talents --
eggshells, pieces of oak, tile, canvas, paper, paint, pencil, you
name it. Like some intrepid sea navigator of old, he has
explored them all.We are fortunate that, as he was playing
with this old computer, he became inspired to create the set of
tarot images that evolved into the Prism Tarot.One reason
why Dirk’s art is so exuberant and refreshing is that he brings
his entire philosophical attitude into his art. For him, each
tool, even its limitations, presents a series of exciting
challenges. Dirk, like a modern-day Walt Whitman, takes to
the open road…takes the long path leading wherever he goes
and travels with the wide world before him, taking one path
that leads him to the next…and to the next. For Dirk, it is the
journey itself that contains the magic – not just the final
destination.I can just imagine Dirk sitting at the computer
using one of those old paint programs from almost 10 years
ago. When the rest of us would be pulling our hair out in utter
frustration, I can almost hear Dirk saying "Well, how about
that…that makes a great effect!…I’ll use
that…perfect!"Another aspect of Dirk’s tarot art that makes it
interesting and, many times, utterly endearing, is his deft
sense of humor. With all of his talent, Dirk always takes time
out to have fun with his art. That does not mean his tarot
images are frivolous…quite the opposite. His images are fresh
and quite insightful. The fact that, in the Prism Tarot, those
images are imbued with a light touch of humor and a heavy
dose of originality are additional blessings that we, the
viewers, are fortunate enough to experience and enjoy.For
Dirk, his delight in the journey itself has flowed into his tarot
images. One additional piece of information that you should
keep in mind as you experience this deck, which is, as Dirk
sat at the computer, he created these images spontaneously,
without prior planning, using his intuition and spiritual muse
to guide him as the images took shape under his
fingers.Ok…on to the deck.First, the basic description. a
handmade deck of the 22 Major Arcana. Laminated on one
side, the cards measure 5 ¾" x 4", an interesting feature being
that the cards are rendered in "landscape" format, meaning
that the cards are wider than they are tall. The deck arrives to
you packaged in a moiré fabric pocket tote with an extended
length that folds over. No need for ties, buttons or snaps.
Another very thoughtful feature is the inclusion of two pieces
of thick gold cardboard which protect the cards and keep them
from becoming bent. Included with the cards is a small,
softcover book which includes a brief introduction and then
proceeds to describe each card, giving divinatory meanings
for both upright and reversed positions.As he discusses in
his little book, Dirk named this deck the Prism Tarot
because a prism refracts light into many colors. He goes
on to say: "In the same way the source of Life refracts
into multiple life experiences, each tarot card is such a
life experience."And experience these cards you will,
because they explode with color and pattern. Your
senses become ever more stimulated as you proceed
through the cards. Each one is a visionary delight and,
by the end, you will find yourself smiling …this is one
of the happiest sets of cards I have ever experienced.Let
us begin our journey through some of the images.How
could we begin a journey without first looking at the
He has emerged from the pure, unfathomable energy of
the cosmos and begins his trek towards the world of
formation. He has proceeded but a little distance and
already the energy from which he was wrought has
begun to change. That pure energy is just beginning to
coalesce, forming the indistinct rounded patterns surrounding
this newly-born traveler. Still radiant with the white,
unrefracted light, he strides eagerly forward, his walking stick
and pack slung across his shoulder.Next comes the Magician.
One hand upraised, tapping into that white light of the
universe, the Magician standswithin the center of a huge
energy web. He is the conduit whereby the pure, white light
becomes refracted into the brilliance of a hundred different
colors. The use of a complex, interconnected web of life
energy is a favorite symbol of mine and used quite
imaginatively in this card. I like the way in which this web of
energy resembles a fireworks display on a galactic scale.I
especially like the The oval in which she stands, the colors of
blue and purple surrounding her, the crescent moon perched
upon her head…all these images emphasize the feminine
archetype of receptivity and the subconscious. Even more
perfect is the vast, unending floor…the black and white
checkered pattern symbolizing duality. Her book of secret
knowledge lies open before you, but ah! You cannot access
the true secrets of the High Priestess without first finding the
key. Notice that, in the floor to the left of the High Priestess,
there is a small keyhole. Find the key within your own Higher
Self and you will unlock her secrets.The most difficult thing
about writing this review is choosing the cards to discuss. We
move past the Empress, Emperor and High Priest (which are
all wonderful cards) and meetDrifting romantically above a
nocturnal sea, with only the glow of the moon to witness, our
Lovers stand on a magical flying carpet, clasped in each
other’s arms. Their embrace is passionate, yet tender.The
Chariot is absolutely charming. An astronaut navigates his
flying saucer through the black night of the universe, leaving
a trail of stardust in his wake. He epitomizes that courageous
life journey into the unknown. It is a physical journey we all
must take and careful navigation is the key. The goal? To
move ever forward…evolve, grow.is a very interesting
portrayal. Its imagery emphasizes that true strength is control
over the lower, baser instincts – that true strength is a strength
of the mind and spirit, not the body. In this card, Spirit stands
within the jaws of a vast, dark beast, frustrating its blood lust
by preventing those sharp, yellowed teeth from closing down
upon him.Still another wonderful card is the-. In this card, the
Devil is Pan and he appears to have his victim deftly wrapped
around his little finger. Pan’s grinning visage looms from his
huge energy field, which takes the form of a vast cage. This is
another piece of imagery that I am particularly drawn to. How
easy it is to be ensnared by the Devil’s charms…and how hard
it is to escape.And I couldn’t end this review without giving
you a peek at the Moon. Dirk’s humor and imagination
combine to produce a charming "first encounter of the third
kind". Here, we see our astronaut has landed safely upon
theMoon, only to find that someone else has gotten there
ahead of him! A friendly alien waves happily at the
newcomer. The interesting question being…is this piquant,
deep green being real or merely a hallucination brought on by
a long, solitary voyage? This is the Moon card, after all. What
do you think?I would like nothing better than to treat you to
the rest of the wonderful cards in this deck. The imagery of
each one is interesting and thought-provoking. Each card
brings a stimulating array of intense color and myriad shapes
to the eye of the beholder. None of the archetypes have facial
expressions, but you will not find yourself missing more
detailed features. There is more than enough lush imagery and
elements from Greek mythology for its symbolism. Let me
state at the outset that there is spiritual food for thought to
more than satisfy you.It is no secret that I have an intense
fondness for handmade decks. They come to you imbued with
the essence of the artist. To me, there is no substitute for the
intensely personal craftsmanship…that sense of the deck just
having left the hands of the very artist that gave birth to
it.Unlike many of the decks I review, the Prism.
Pythagorean Tarot
plenty of interesting material here for readers who, like me,
have no knowledge of or interest in Pythagorean
numerology.This deck began, according to the author, "as a
project to embody my interpretations of the tarot, based on
traditional iconography, archetypal imagery, and Pythagorean
numerology, into a deck for my own use." He began by
posting his interpretations on an Internet list, which eventually
grew into the 470-page book which is included in this set.
Apparently the entire text of the book can be read at the
where you can also see Opsopaus’s original designs for the
Major Arcana. For the published set, the author’s designs
have been recreated by a professional artist, Rho, who also
created the Minor Arcana from Opsopaus’s written directions.
By comparing the published cards with the scans on the
website, one can see that Rho has been very faithful to
Opsopaus’s drawings, mostly by improving the human
proportions and anatomy, and subtly improving the color and
compositionThe Major cards in their published form are
interesting because, despite Rho’s excellent handling, they
retain a homemade, funky appearance which is actually quite
appealing. Many of the cards are rather close to the Marseilles
designs, such as Angel (Judgement), which, like The Mythic
Tarot, shows Hermes in his role as Psychopomp. Most of the
Majors, however, avoid identifying the figures with specific
individual deities; instead, several deities are mentioned for
each card which fit within the card’s archetype. Several of
Opsopaus’s choices strike me as odd. For example, while
follows tradition by showing a horse-drawn vehicle, the High
Priest and the High Priestess sit in horse-drawn vehicles as
well, which seems to me to muddy the iconography.way
which doesn’t really make for an harmonious whole. For
comparison, I have scanned this card with the Magician from
The Mythic Tarot. While the Pythagorean Magician is more
sophisticated and in several ways more interesting, it lacks the
power and drama of the simpler Mythic image. For this
reason, I wish Rho had been given a freer hand to adapt
Opsopaus’s pictures.For the Minor Arcana numbered cards,
Opsopaus has chosen to not use Rider-Waite-Smith type
scenes, explaining that "the pip cards are illustrated with
simple, abstract images representing the combined elemental
and numerological interpretation of the card, so the meaning
of a card can be determined from its suit and its position in the
suit […] there is, therefore, no need for the concrete
interpretive images found in many modern tarot decks." This
would actually have been quite an the fact is the
overallinterpretations are mostly based on the R-W-S/Golden
Dawn standard, although he doesn’t state this. I had mixed
feelings upon discovering this; on the one hand, I was quite
relieved that I wouldn’t have to study a whole new Minor
system, but on the other hand, itwould have been interesting
to see a Minor Arcana with pictures that illustrate a truly
numerological approach (you can read more about this kind of
approach inRelating and the Tarot by Gail Fairfield).
Visually, the pip cards are rather simple, mostly showing
arrangements of pips against a colored background. The
pattern of the pips serves to illustrate the card’s meaning. I
actually like these pip cards; the cool sparseness of the Four
of Swords, for example, is appealing. The Pentacles cards,
however, seem a little too plain, as in the And I could have
done without the three elemental symbols which sit
awkwardly atop each Minor card. The symbol in the middle is
the card’s element, and the other two are that element’s
powers or qualities (for example, Fire is Warm and Dry).
Since all the Fire cards are Warm and Dry, it seems redundant
to place all three symbols on each card, especially since the
powers or qualities aren’t really looked at from an interpretive
standpoint (at least, not for the pip cards).The Court cards are
also appealingly simple in design. I was a bit taken aback
when I came to the Pages. The for example, wears only a
helmet, and has, as Mae West would say, the proverbial gun
in his pocket. Since he has no pockets, this card has the
potential to cause quite a bit of embarrassment, not to mention
giggles, if one were to use this deck to read for others. The
card is actually drawn in a completely inoffensive manner, but
if you’re planning to buy this deck to use at the county fair,
you might want to think again.The book is truly impressive.
Opsopaus has gone into quite a bit of depth with each Major
card, placing it into a complex framework of Pythagorean
numerology, Hermeticism, Gnosticism, Alchemy, and Jungian
psychology. The prose is rather more academic than many
Tarot readers (including myself) are accustomed to, thick (one
might almost say clotted) with citations of sources. I think
footnotes would have made for a more readable text. But
much of the book is quite readable and interesting, although
for some readers 16 pages on the Sun card may simply be too
much. There are also many sentences such as the following in
the section on the Empress:"On Etruscan mirrors we see Uni
(Juno), with Tin (Jove), naked, but for a cloak over her arm
and a necklace (five pendants), or with a peplos exposing her
right shoulder. Her hair is short or tied up. (van der Meer, 33,
116) "Gold-throned" (khrusothronos) is a common epithet of
Hera; likewise, Aphrodite is called Golden (khruseiê, khrusê)
(LSJ, s.v. "khrusothronos"; Kerényi, Gods, 80)."A whole
book of this sort of thing may not appeal. But it’s important to
point out that there’s a lot of good information in this book, if
you’re willing to wade through passages like the above.I
particularly liked the chapters on the Minor numbered cards,
because Opsopaus attempts to describe Golden-Dawn-derived
interpretations from a numerological standpoint, and succeeds
to a far greater degree than other Tarot authors have. Anyone
who has tried to place the R-W-S Minors in a numerological
context knows that there are several cards which won’t fit into
any such scheme. But Opsopaus somehow makes it all work,
and explains it in simple, clear language. The understanding
gained from such an approach can be transferred to any deck,
and I found it extremely valuable.The introductory remarks to
each number, however, are even more clotted than the text for
the Majors. One more brief quote:"The Passive Dyad
corresponds to the Second Cosmological Stage, in which
some active agent (e.g. Marduk, Shu, "Destructive Strife" –
Oloios Neikos, etc.) opens a gap between the Earth (Gaia,
Keb) and Sky (Ouranos, Nut); it’s the splitting of the Cosmic
Egg."hen concept after concept is piled up like this, I find the
whole edifices soon crashes over, leaving me with less
understanding than I had before. Those who do not read
classical Greek may find it rough going.Opsopaus breaks
down each of his numbers into Active and Passive, but I
found this to be fairly useless, since he doesn’t provide any
interpretive context for such a distinction. What would the
Active mode signify in a reading, as opposed to the Passive?
And how would we know when one or the other applies?I had
difficulty with the author’s assignment of the deities don’t
quite fit. For example, the King of Pentacles is assigned to
Hades, because "he rules the underworld, which consumes all
things, and because he is Pluto, Lord of the Earth, which is the
source of all wealth." However, then he gives a Golden-
Dawn-based interpretation of the King of Pentacles’
personality, which doesn’t seem to have anything to do with
classical descriptions of Hades. Having decided to restrict the
Court cards to Olympians, he seems to admit that his scheme
is less than perfect, when he says that the King of Wands "is
assigned to Hephaistos because he is an Olympian, but it
really belongs to Prometheus." Later in the text the author
provides more of a rationale for why the King of Wands is
Hephaistos and not the pre-Olympian Prometheus, but I’m
still left with the feeling that he really would have preferred
Prometheus but had painted himself into a corner by having
previously decided to restrict himself to Olympians.At the end
of the book is a section on "Divination and Other Practical
Aspects." Opsopaus favors an approach to divination similar
to that of the ancients, for whom divination was a life-altering
event and not to be taken lightly. Some readers may be
alarmed at the suggestion that "it is helpful to fast for seven
hours, or at least to abstain from heavy food. You may also
want to deprive yourself of sleep the day before; this
facilitates entering a liminal state in which your conscious
mind is less likely to block the synchronistic event."
Personally, I think my conscious mind would be less likely to
accomplish much of anything while in such a state, including
shuffling a deck of cards. A lustral bath is also recommended.
"If a bath is infeasible," the author primly tells us, "at least
wash your hands."Actually, Opsopaus is letting us off easy by
recommending fasting for seven hours. Elsewhere on his
website, when discussing the practice of Haruspicy
(divination with a raw egg), he says we "should fast for at
least twelve hours before the Rite; three days is best." I’m
afraid that after three days of fasting, I would be more likely
to eat the raw egg than divine with it.when we de-ritualize the
art of divination, we lose something in the process. However,
I don’t think I agree with his overall premise. Rachel Pollack
says that It’s easy to make fun of this sort of thing, but
Opsopaus does make a valid point, which is that one of the
best ways to learn about the cards is to read with them. But if
reading is infrequent and over-ritualized until it’s built up in
the reader’s mind to such an extent that he or she is expecting,
as Gail Fairfield says, the sky to fall, it seems to me we won’t
be learning very much, and we won’t be in a condition to
perform a useful reading.Opsopaus also includes advice for
learning the cards, which includes memorizing the poetry he
has written for each card. I found these verses less than
helpful, especially ones like the following, for the Twos:"In
Two divide the source and end apartto yield the Goal, at
which is aimed the start."It would take somebody smarter than
I am to make any sense of this verse. I ended up breaking it
down into its component parts and moving them around like a
jigsaw puzzle until it made sense:"Divide apart the source and
end in two to yield the Goal, at which the start is aimed."Not
much better, but at least I can follow the sense. If his verse
was going to be so tortured, perhaps the author would have
been better off omitting it.Information about correlations
between dice and the Tarot is included, along with a chart
which explains how to derive Major Arcana cards from
throws of two dice. I must say that I couldn’t understand this
chart at all, and I fail to see why anyone would want to choose
Tarot cards by throwing dice as opposed to simply shuffling
the deck and drawing a card off the top.My overall impression
from this set is that the Tarot is for Opsopaus more of an
intellectual and academic exercise than a living, breathing tool
which we can use in our everyday lives. While his erudition is
of a very high level, and while he’s approached his task with
admirable industry and enthusiasm, I’m not sure that many
people will want to use this as their main reading deck or as
their main interpretive system. But many will be fascinated by
the depth of the mythological associations and the extent to
which the system has been thought through and developed

Quest Tarot
My first glimpse of these cards came at the October 2002 San
Francisco-Bay Area Tarot Symposium. Joseph Martin had a
table display that not only included his cards, but gold-
wrapped chocolates that evoke thoughts of pirate's booty. Not
only did they add to my chocoholic swag, they served as a
reminder that this deck introduces a different universe than
the everyday one in which we travel daily.The art is
computer-generated, and ranges from powerful and/or
beautiful to unexciting and/or attractive. One of my favorite
cards is Death, where the skeleton looks as if it is about to
come out of the card and harvest the querent. While I find this
kind of anthropomorphism compelling, I am not sure how
well-received this card would be if and when encountered by
a frightened novice. Fear Factor: the Quest Death Card.The
Fool is lovely and idyllic, with a rainbow arc illuminating the
background. The Emperor, with his boy-kingparticularly
unique--the driver stands on a UFO led not by E.T., but two
dinosaurs.Oh, yeah. That's one of several twists contained
within the Quest Tarot. Various intergalactic, otherworldly
phenomena are scattered within these cards. Since UFO's
aren't a matter of personal interest, I don't find it an addition,
but an unnecessary diversion. Your mileage may, as they say,
vary.abstract. The art and many of the keywords seem
primarily derived from Thoth. card, with its ascending winged
cherubs, is but one example of this. Like Artistically, the
exquisite reminds me of the though the rest of the deck is not
particularly Thoth, Card XIV is Alchemy, Card XX, The
Aeon, and Card XXI, The Universe. The Court Cards are
Father, Mother, Son and Daughter, a schema Crowley
discussed but didn't use for titling the Thoth Courts. There are
two extra cards in the Quest Tarot. One is a blank card for
your own creation; the other is a card that shows a dark galaxy
with planets bursting in air. Martin talks about the natural
progression from the World (found on early tarot decks) to the
Universe (Crowley's Thoth) to the Multiverse. The Minor
Arcana are, like Thoth's, basically illustrated pip cards, but
also like Thoth's, usually quiteevocative. The Five of Swords
shows a scene that obliquely depicts a ship wrecked on
swords that rise from a roiling sea, the sky red with thwarted,
angry passion. Some of the cards are less insight-laden and,
more troubling, some of the coloring of the suits seems askew.
For example, the Six of Wands is illustrated with six
crystalline wands against an icy-blue background. While the
card is beautiful, it doesn't physically express the element of
fire nor its keyword (Victory). are not reversible, but they are
"almost" reversible--depending on how carefully you look at
them as you deal out the cards. The colors and design are both
beautiful and mesmerizingly mood-enhancing for a tarot
reader. The images are bordered with a marbleized look
reminiscent of the . Another border, chock-filled with various
icons symbolizing everything from astrological attribution to
hair color, further enclose the central image. A card title and
keyword can be found at the bottom of each card. Strength is
numbered VIII, Justice, XI.While I think some of the cards
are beautiful, the multi-bordered effect means that the central
image is not very large. I would need to examine each of these
cards with a magnifying glass in order to glean everything to
be found within these images. I feel sure that there are many
things I've missed as I've scrutinized these cards.This deck is
companioned by a large (almost-300 page) book, authored by
the artist. It begins with an Acknowledgments section so
effusive in its specific and effulgent gratitude that you can't
help but think Martin must be one Hell of a nice guy. This
induces the reader of The Compass: Guide to the Quest Tarot
to think kindly of the author, yet this reviewer must
acknowledge some concerns with this set. The Introduction
speaks of the author's quandary as to what to include and what
to leave out, and recommends that the reader contact
Llewellyn (who just happens to publish this set) for more in-
depth material on tarot history, Kabbalah, and/or the I-Ching.
While Llewellyn publishes some good books on Kabbalah,
the idea of seeking them out for tarot history is...entertaining,
to say the least. While tarot books published by Llewellyn in
the last two years don't contain too many historical bloopers, I
can't say anyone would call them a font of tarot history.But I
digress. The next section, "Caring for Your Tarot Cards," has
typical advice, such as wrapping your deck in silk (though this
is not archivally sound). Martin also stresses individual intent,
but for me, this conflicts with the directive that you won't be
able to "purify" your deck (with rock salt) until you have not
just the deck and the requisite silk, but a wooden or granite
box, a tarot cloth, a wooden or granite-topped table, and your
Quest Tarot record sheet (which is luckily to be found in the
companion book). While these things are surely nice to have,
they are hardly essentials that necessitate purchase prior to
purifying your deck. There are even dress and lighting
requirements (What to Wear For Your Readings). I
understand that some people find these accoutrements
valuable, but since this deck/book set is targeted for
beginners, this directed approach can be damaging. I know
that this is a pet peeve and might not be of universal concern,
but I am weary of deprogramming students who think they
"have" to wrap their deck in silk or unswervingly follow some
other dictates they read once in a book.The next sections refer
to all the different signs and symbols included in the card. The
first chapter is: Signs, Planets and Constellations (all the cards
have traditional Golden Dawn assignments, except for The
Multiverse, to which Chiron is assigned). The next is The
Yes/No Feature, which relates to symbols contained on the
court cards. How to Foretell Timelines will be of particular
interest to readers who wish to use the tarot for timing issues
using the Celtic Cross spread. There is even a worksheet using
Martin's calculation formula. Several of the next chapters are
relatively self-explanatory: The Gemstones, The Hebrew
Letters, The I Ching, and The Rune Stones all provide
information on each mode as it pertains to meanings within
the Quest Tarot.Reading Physical Characteristics is unique to
the Quest Tarot. Because almost all the court cards in this
deckare made of metal or glass, they have indicators
implanted in the design at the top of the cards. The first and
last of the larger circles indicate eye color, the second and
fourth, hair color. Smaller circles at the top of the card
indicate skin color. Gender is depicted by the character's sex,
though Martin gives an example of how this can occasionally
not be literally, but symbolically manifested. Another feature
unique to this deck is a letter (or wild card) at the bottom of
each card, from which you can synchronously spell out
answers to questions. Martin explains this in Spelling Out
Words, as well as how to combine the yes/no option with the
letters for more in-depth answers.
Many of these special features are integrated into Tarot Party
Games, wherein we are given more familiar ways to use the
tarot, like role-playing and group storytelling games, as well
as a spelling word game that uses the alphabet feature. The
following three sections all relate to tarot layouts. The first,
Reading Three-Card Spreads, sounds more expansive than it
is. It's more like, "Reading Past-Present-Future Spreads", with
an option for a fourth card that represents the individual.
Martin then focuses his attention on The Celtic Cross Spread,
in which we get the foreordained Quest Tarot Record Sheet
(at least, I'm guessing this is where it comes in, since it's
named "The Celtic Cross Spread"). Often, tarot authors have
their own slant on this spread, and Martin is no exception. It's
an interesting variation, but I wish the author wouldn't go into
such precise detail about how to deal/select each card from the
deck. It's that directive programming that I find so offensive
rearing its ugly head again. Lastly, there is a Quest Tarot
Spread, which has an original template and a "turbo-charged"
variation.The remainder of the book is dedicated to card
interpretations. Each card is shown for the Major and Minor
Arcana, along with various associations--often, the planet and
some associated keywords, stone (crystal) influences and/or
associations (separate items), border colors and their
associations, Roman and/or Hebrew Letter, card number and
rune and/or I Ching correspondence. The Court Cards have
different correspondences. All cards are given upright and
reversed interpretations. While the Major Arcana and the
Court Cards are discussed in some detail, the interpretations
for the Minor Arcana are given minimal coverage, scanty as
that provided by some little white booklets. Because so much
of the imagery is obscured by the smallness and darkness of
the pictures, I'd have appreciated a detailed listing of what is
in each card.More upsetting to me is Martin's equating
reversals to simple opposites of the upright. There are no
subtleties or nuances in these interpretations (see excerpt
below as just one example). This, plus the author's emphasis
on significators indicating gender and appearance, as well as
the outer space element of this deck, all lead me to think that
the author's background is psychic-predictive. He does not
seem conversant with current tarot trends, and I find this deck,
despite everything but the kitchen sink included in the
symbology, too much of an improvised stew for me to savor
at length.My last complaint: there is no bibliography. I find
this distasteful, as clearly Martin utilized many, many sources
in order to compile his runic, I-Ching, and crystal glossaries.
He does refer to R.L. Wing in his I Ching correspondences
listed in the card interpretations, but not in the section on the I
Ching, nor elsewhere. He also mentions Zoltan Szabo in terms
of the runes. It seems spurious to thank every relative you
have, but not credit official deck influences.On the other hand,
this deck has something for everyone, because of the artist-
author's liberal integration of so many disciplines. I
recommend this book/deck set to collectors, as well as those
interested in various divinatory correspondences (crystals,
runes, and the I Ching). Those who find UFO's fascinating
might be swept into this deck's strangely compelling vortex,
as well.

Radiant Rider-Waite Tarot

For purists, there’s the venerable Rider-Waite deck from U.S.
Games (you can also get it super-sized). For many people, this
deck, with its heavy line art and bright, flat colors is the
ultimate and only Tarot. Prefer softer lines and more gentle
color and texture? Try the Universal Waite. Want aggressive
background colors for the minors? The Albano-Waite awaits.
Want colors approximating the original four-color images
Waite himself might have used? Try the Original Rider-
Waite. Want less detail, murky color, and an odd copper
border? The Golden Rider will make your day.f you’re in
need of a good read, the shrinks the pictures, allowing the
publisher to squeeze tiny divinatory paragraphs into the
borders. Shrink the mages even more, surround them with
obnoxious psychedelic patterns, and voilá: it's the Send in the
ClonesThen, of course, there are the so-called clones: decks
deliberately designed to emulate the RWS images to some
degree. Llewellyn distributes , which, as Lee A. Bursten
notes, offers a glimpse into a strange “alternate universe … in
which A. E. Waite went to Roberto de Angelis instead of
[Pamela Colman Smith].” The also from Lo Scarabeo, spins
the RWS drawings around 180 degrees, revealing what was
“behind the camera” when the images were made. Sick of
borders? Theitches the borders entirely, allowing its autumn-
toned, RWS-inspired artwork to dominate the cards. The
offers jewel tones and groovy updates of Miss Smith's art. A
Dutch publisher offers Tarot in the Restored Order, which,
apart from two new cards and some re-numbering, is nothing
more than an exuberantly re-colored Rider-Waite Tarot.The
reinterprets the familiar RWS images in terms of everyone’s
favorite holiday. The not only attempts to make the images
appear to be created with stained glass…it prints the images
on cardboard beverage coasters. The deck (a good argument
against Mensa members becoming Tarot artists) looks like a
Rider-Waite deck redrawn in dull pencil and re-colored by
someone whose supply of water colors was running low.And
speaking of water colors: one the most elegant and evocative
RWS clones I’ve ever seen – Andreas Schroter’s – hasn’t
even been published yet. That’s a pity, because it puts many
commercially-available decks to shame.In the end, dozens of
decks, from the to Zolar’s Astrological Tarot, ape, copy,
duplicate, or otherwise draw inspiration from the Rider-
Waite.But Waite … There’s More!Which brings us to the
latest RWS-inspired deck: a “vibrant re-coloring” of the
Waite-Smith tarot cards sold asThe Radiant Rider-
Waite.Identical in size to the standard Rider-Waite, but
slimmer and shorter than the Universal Waite, the Radiant
Rider-Waite purports to be, well, more radiant. Think
Universal Waite with the hue and saturation controls kicked
up several notches, and you’ll get the idea. What’s next? The
Pixie Smith Purple and Peach Tarot, perhaps? A. E. Waite’s
Amazing Technicolor Dream Cards? Or maybe Tarot
Chroma: an RWS rendered entirely in depressing shades of
gray?For now, though, the yellow sky behind the Empress
features burning shades of orange and gold, and the wheat
stalks at her feet blaze with color. Watery purple pervades sky
and stage on the Four of Coins. The sits beneath a buoyant
blue sky. The guy on the appears to be blushing about what
must be a particularly uncomfortable case of razor burn. In
case that's not enough brilliance for your buck, the central
image on each card – usually a human figure – is always
surrounded with an aura of light. And, oddly, the colors on
The Lovers and The Devil are so punched up, the nude male
figures -- how to say this delicately? -- no longer display what
nude male figures would normally display. In addition to
these color changes, the cards feature fat white borders (à la
Lo Scarabeo). To accommodate these, the images are slightly
smaller than those on the Rider-Waite or Universal Waite.
Worse, the illustrations also appear to have been slightly
squished. As a result, the Empress looks positively ferret-
faced (especially when compared to her plumper sisters), the
guy on the Seven of Coins appears anorexic, and the Queen of
Wands is more skinny than her cat for a change.

Renaissance Tarot Deck

This is a wonderful new deck published by Fireside/Simon &
Schuster, the same publishers who brought us The Mythic
Tarot. It comes in a deck/book set. The book is by Jane Lyle,
author of The Lovers’ Tarot. The cards are by Helen Jones.
This deck is not to be confused with the Renaissance Tarot
Deck by Brian Williams (U.S. Games) or the Tarots of the
Renaissance by Giorgio Trevisan (Lo Scarabeo). (I’m starting
to sense a trend here...)There’s one thing I want to get out of
the way first. As in The Mythic Tarot, most of the credit is
given to the author(s), while the illustrator is listed as an
afterthought. It’s especially egregious in this deck, where Jane
Lyle’s name is featured on the box, while underneath, in tiny,
tiny print, it says "Cards Illustrated by Helen Jones." This
introduces a mystery. How much input did Lyle have in the
actual design of the cards? Was Lyle the A.E. Waite to
Jones’s Pamela Colman Smith? The copyright page simply
says, "Card illustrations copyright 1998 by Helen Jones." At
the back of the book Lyle thanks Jones "for being my co-
creator." The history of the deck’s creation is not addressed in
the book, so we are left to wonder what the division of labor
was. But whatever it was, Jones surely deserves more credit
than she’s getting, especially since she’s provided such
marvelous illustrations. The folks at Fireside need to realize
that we may read the book a few times and then put it away,
but the cards are what we hold in our hands and use year after
year.Getting to the cards themselves, they utilize a type of
illustration that I have not in a Tarot deck before. Each card is
a photograph of a highly detailed bas-relief sculpture; that is,
the objects and figures are three-dimensional sculptures,
although the back side of the sculptures is probably flat. The
three-dimensional elements are placed against a background
of vividly colored paper or fabric, often with slight folds or
creases to provide texture. I cannot imagine the amount of
time and effort that must have gone into the creation of these
cards. The end result is quite striking.The human figures on
the cards are metallic, either gold or silver colored. Their
clothes appear to be made of soft clay, which has been molded
into such finely detailed drapes and folds that it makes you
want to reach into the card to feel them. The metallic figures
do give a rather cold feeling to the deck when you first look at
it, but I found that I got used to it quickly enough.As if to
make up for the fine detail of the sculptures, the symbolism of
the cards is on the simple side, which always appeals to me.
The cards communicate the messages of the archetypes quite
clearly and simply, with an iconic quality that I don’t often
see on decks other than the Waite-Smith.The symbolism on
the Majors is sometimes standard, and often original; but even
the original symbolism seems perfectly logical and well-
thought out. For instance, the contains a snake and a black cat;
on, winged hearts replace the usual rising figures; Justice
balances a huge pair of scales on an upraised finger; the Fool
plays a lute.Sometimes the imagery is surprising and bold,
but, again, logical. For example, on Strength a white unicorn
replaces the usual lion, which makes perfect sense in light of
the myth that only a virgin (i.e., one pure of heart) could tame
the wild unicorn. The World is another striking card; she
stands with her feet crossed, nonchalantly tossing her hair
back, while in one hand she holds what appears to be a rolled-
up diploma, complete with red ribbon. Below her feet are a
small sun and moon.The sun and moon make a more striking
appearance on the Lovers. Here a golden man with a sun face
clasps the hands of a silver woman with a moon face, while
Cupid aims his arrow from above. The man wears a tiny moon
around his neck, and the woman wears a tiny sun, making a
nice yin-yang effect. Red and white roses climbing up each
side complete the picture.Temperance is another extremely
attractive yet simple card. One side of her shirt is red, the
other orange; one side of her skirt is black, the other white;
one wing is black, the other red. One jug is red and the other
white, while between them flow a red stream and a white
stream. Two silver ribbons, symbolizing water, flow around
the sides of the card and at the bottom, where they entwine
around one of her feet, reminiscent of the Waite-Smith
Temperance with one foot in the water.Two cards have had
their symbolism changed more dramatically. has become a
phoenix, symbolizing rebirth, presumably to avoid a negative
visceral reaction to the standard skeleton. At the phoenix’s
feet is a small skull and crossbones. And has become a rather
positive picture of a Pan-like creature dancing in a forest, face
crowned by leaves and feet hoofed.The Court cards are King,
Queen, Knight, and, rather awkwardly, Page~Princess. I think
the authors should have chosen Page or Princess; I don’t think
we really need both, and using a tilde rather than a hyphen
makes it even more unwieldy. The figures on the Court cards
are human from the waist up. From the waist down they take
the form of the appropriate elemental creature. The Cups are
mermen and -maids; the Swords, sylphs; Wands, fire-spirits;
and Pentacles, earth-spirits. The figures are posed in
expressive postures with their suit symbol as well as other
appropriate symbols; for instance, the Knight of Cups is
surrounded by sea horses, shells, and fronds of seaweed.The
authors have struck a clever balance between illustrated and
non-illustrated pips. About half of the number cards are
simply suit symbols arranged into a picture suggestive of their
meaning, with perhaps another symbol such as a ribbon or a
heart. The other half actually contain human figures posed in
dancer-like postures, interacting with the symbols. The
resulting scenes suggest the Waite-Smith cards in their
meanings but not visually. For example, the shows a figure
holding up two pentacles while balancing on a third. A simple
picture, but evocative. On the a figure carrying a wand trudges
up a set of stairs composed of nine other wands.One aspect of
this deck that I’m a little dubious about is that the figures on
these pips are naked, genderless, and faceless, unlike the
figures on the Court cards and Majors. The result is a little
eerie. Their heads are perfectly smooth and metallic with no
features whatsoever, making them look as if they just stepped
off a UFO. All they need is large black eyes to complete the
picture. Conceptually it’s a nice idea; since the figures are
without gender or race, they take on an Everyman quality
which is quite appropriate. It just takes a little getting used to,
and it gives a rather aggressively modern quality to a deck
which is supposed to evoke the Renaissance.One thing I like
about all the suit cards is that they are color coded. The
backgrounds of Pentacles are dark green; Wands, dark red;
Cups, light blue; and Swords, violet. This makes it much
easier to get a feeling for a spread as a whole when you lay
the cards out.The book that comes with the deck is generally
pretty good. Lyle presents her theory that the Majors can be
arranged in a lemniscate pattern which she calls the Wheel of
Infinity. The cards on opposite sides of the wheel form pairs
which she believes are linked in meaning, and she and Jones
have "included subtle design links between these pairs, to
highlight their mysterious partnership and to enhance your
sense of the Major Arcana as a complete entity." Some of
these pairs, like High Priestess-Moon, Empress-Star, and
Emperor-Tower, are indeed suggestive of links in meaning,
but some of them, like Chariot-Death, are beyond my ability
to find a link. The design links are also sometimes apparent
and sometimes not. I personally don’t think this sort of thing
is really necessary, although it might perhaps help some
beginners who may be overwhelmed by so many individual
cards.After this, the book goes on to present Lyle’s
interpretations of upright and reversed cards. Here again the
author has struck a clever balance, this time between
psychologically oriented interpretations and predictive ones.
A beginner could use only this book and gain a good
understanding of the cards. A nice feature is that the
interpretations of the Court cards include and upright and
reversed meaning dealing with personalities, and an abstract
meaning so that you can apply the card to a situation.
Unfortunately these lean more heavily towards the predictive.
I’m not necessarily opposed to some predictive
interpretations, but when there are too many of them it can
overload the reader if he or she tries to memorize them all.The
interpretations of the cards in general sometimes apply more
easily to other decks than to the cards in this deck. For
example, the Devil, a benign image, is given a generally
negative upright interpretation, while the reversed
interpretation is even more negative. I found it more useful to
think of the upright card as the more benign aspects of the
Devil -- i.e., gentle and appropriate outlets for desires -- and
the reversed card as the more negative aspects. Of course, if
one doesn’t use reversals, both aspects would be incorporated
in the upright image. In fact, the symbolism on the cards is so
universal that you certainly don’t have to stick with Lyle’s
interpretations if you have already developed strong feelings
for what the cards mean to you.

Revelations Tarot
Ever had problems with reversed cards in a reading? Ever had
trouble seeing a different side to that uber-happy, fluffy Star
card? Ever wished you could see the images on the cards
properly when they were upside-down? Well, the Revelations
Tarot is here to help that. This beautiful new deck from
Llewellyn, created by Zach Wong and formerly called the
Adflatus Tarot, not only has the upright images on the cards,
but the reversed images as well – each image fitting in with
the upright and reversed interpretations of the cards. The
fantastical, stained-glass style artwork lends itself well to the
theme of this deck, where the two images on each card tend to
blend into one another and create an enchanted, mystical feel
to the deck. The cards are filled with elemental creatures such
as fairies, gnomes, mermaids, and dragons, so that the deck
reminds me of the Tarot of the Moon Garden or Sacred Rose
Tarot. Amazingly, the two different images in each deck
coincide and blend so well that at first you barely realize there
are two – but sure enough, when you turn each card upside
down the image becomes clear. The faces of the figures in the
Major Arcana are quite disturbing: angular, made up of many
different parts. Wong says in the book that this is because they
are wearing masks, and I am impressed by this idea – that
there is something more universal behind the masks of what
the Major Arcana represent and their ‘human’ form. It makes
one realize that the ideas expressed by the Major Arcana are
very macrocosmic and ‘big’, and they are only illustrated by
human figures in the cards to make them more accessible to
us human readers.The Revelations Tarot takes its cues from
the Rider Waite tradition, and sticks fairly rigidly to it in
everythingbut card image. There are the traditional 22 Major
Arcana, with the Fool being 0, Strength being Eight, and
Justice 11, four suits of Wands, Swords, Cups, and Pentacles,
and the traditional Court Cards. The card interpretations are
fairly standard as well. But one thing makes this deck stand
out from all the other Rider-Waite inspired decks: it has an
inventive and original view of the cards which comes across
in the images. Wong’s Court Cards are particularly ingenious,
and convey the meanings of these usually difficult-to-read
cards effectively. For instance, with the King and Queen of
Wands upright, they are welcoming, social, smiling, with
sunny and fiery dispositions. But reversed, we see them as
manipulative, power hungry, over-bearing, and attention-
seeking. The images convey this perfectly, and you know
instantly by looking at them what they are like. (And, yet
again, I find myself irresistibly drawn to the King of Wands…
he’s a sexy reversal!) Because of cards like this, the
Revelations Tarot would be a perfect deck for any beginner,
or somebody who is just starting out using reversed cards in
their readings.is that Wong seems to have an extremely
negative view of any lust and passion that is devoid of love,
and this unfortunately shines through in cards such as the
Lovers and Devil. Now, my generation of 20-somethings will
be able to give lengthy speeches on the joys of sex without the
added complication of love (or is that just the crowd I hang
around with?) Either way, this struck me as Wong’s own
personal issues clouding the deck and applying value
judgements to what are essentially neutral images until they
are laid down in a spread. Who is to say that lust and loveless
passion is always a bad thing? I’ve done plenty of readings
where such things are exactly what the querent needs – but I
am afraid that if I had done those readings with this deck, the
value judgements placed upon lust and passion would have
given a prejudiced reading. The companion book is very
boring, unoriginal, and disappointing. It tells you what the
card images show and what they mean – which is always a
good thing – but it often oversimplifies things and does not
have any tarot spreads created specifically for the deck.
Instead, we are given traditional spreads that you can find in
any number of other tarot books. I was hoping that the book
would have something to offer a more experienced reader,
such as a spread that utilizes the deck’s theme of ‘reversals’,
but no such luck. The book struck me as completely
incongruous to the deck, where the Major Arcana seem to
contain many very deep concepts, but where the book
trivializes them into simple, everyday matters. While this may
be useful for those who want to use the Tarot for divination
and everyday fortune-telling (and sometimes I do), it doesn’t
lend itself well to the more spiritual matters. For readings like
this though, it should be easy enough to use the deck without
the book’s limiting and trivial interpretations that de-
spiritualize so many of the very spiritual cards (such as the
Hanged Man, at top) Some more experienced readers may
also find it difficult to accept the reversed interpretations that
Wong has illustrated, as he focuses on only one tradition of
reversals: ‘good’ cards become negative, whilst ‘bad’ cards
often become worse (though a few of them show a ray of hope
instead.) Readers who see reversals instead as blockages or
delays of a card’s energy, for instance, will not like this deck
very much. This approach disappointed me with cards such as
the Devil, since Wong has not shown any positive side to this
card whatsoever (many Crowley fans will know that he
equates the Devil with ambition and an ability to scale the
heights effortlessly.) Personally, I don’t use reversals in
readings because I see each card as neutral until it is placed in
a spread and surrounded by others cards or a question.
However, I still found the Revelations Tarot a very easy,
useful deck to read with – purely because it shows both the
positive and negative sides to the cards (well, most of them.)
The card doesn’t need to be upside down for you to be
reminded that there are two sides to every coin, and to utilize
the different side of the card in a reading. Having said this,
some people have commented that this makes the Revelations
Tarot a very pessimistic deck to use, since there is always
another side to the coin. Personally, I think the entire system
of using reversals can be a pessimistic way of reading tarot –
depending on how it’s done, and the same is true of the
Revelations Tarot. Just because there is a negative side to the
Star card, for instance, doesn’t mean you need to see that side
in a reading. The view that the deck is pessimistic is also
based in the faulty assumption that if you can’t physically see
the negative side of the card, it doesn’t exist. Rubbish. Any
good reader will, when laying down the cards, have in their
mind many different aspects for the Star card, and they use
whichever aspect is most appropriate in that reading –
sometimes regardless of whether the cards are upright or
reversed. Is this being a pessimistic reader? I don’t think so. I
think it is being a reader that sees all possibilities – and this is
what the Revelations Tarot aims to do. (Though it is
questionable as to whether it achieves this with certain cards,
such as the Devil. Who I quite fancy in this deck!)

Rock and Roll Tarot

This deck combines my two great loves--rock and roll and
tarot (I couldn't possibly choose one over the other, or even
attempt to order these passions). , I've worked as a disc
jockey, and have even written for Musician Magazine and
penned a monthly music column for a Philadelphia magazine.
I've also daydreamed about creating a rock and roll tarot--and
even gone so far as to outline the Majors; Chris Paradis has
created and manifested a 78 deck that leaves me in awe. You
might think that my review would be laudatory under any
circumstances, but the opposite is true. Anna Ferguson may
admire the Arthurian Tarot but I bet she prefers her
attributions to the Matthews'--and vice versa. I admit to a few
questions about Paradis' selections--but these are mere
quibbles from an extremely enthusiastic admirer of this
artistically brilliant, innovative, and cohesive deck. My
daydream deck ascribed an artistic persona to each of the
Majors: Mick Jagger seemed an ideal, strutting Fool and Patti
Smith, coming out of the shadows of her husband's death to
dance barefoot and gain a brand-new audience, seemed to be a
great World archetype--she even has that androgyne thing
going. I also wanted at least one song to encapsulate the card's
theme. Springsteen's use of the vehicle as metaphor
throughout his oeuvre made his writings the obvious choice
for the Chariot (and I chose that image for the Storyteller
Tarot). Paradis describes his intent thusly: "The lyrics, taken
out of context, give each card its meaning. The images on the
cards invoke what that individual or band contributes to the
energy behind those words--and a new archetype is born."
Great minds must think alike. Obviously, getting artist and
lyric to dovetail is a challenge--and some cards are more
suited to this than others. Some that seem particularly
brilliant: The Lovers wears a line from David Bowie's Modern
Love: "Modern love walks beside me, modern love walks on
by." David Bowie is famous for his triangulation, as it were,
and the card shows him in three quite different personae.
Prince, whose career has cycled so much he's back to his old
name, is perfect for , as is the lyric snippet: "Life is just a
party and parties weren't meant to last..." (traditionally
Strength or Lust) shows Madonna, half glamour-girl, half-
Lion. The passage? "Ready or not, express yourself." She is a
Leo...Judgement has also been renamed; in the Rock and Roll
Tarot, it is "--and what could be more appropriate than the
band being The Doors, with the words, "Break on through to
the other side..." Temperance has also been renamed. In The
Rock and Roll Tarot, it is "The Bridge," with Paul Simon on
the card. It's not the 59th Street Bridge (Feeling Groovy) that's
quoted, though; instead we have: "hear my words that I might
teach you, take my arms that I might reach you." (Sounds of
Silence)Tempted as I am to stay onstage with the Majors,
some of my favorites are found in the Minor Arcana. Paradis
has broken the suits into musically-related components: Voice
(Wands), Muse (Cups), Guitars (Swords), and Albums
(Disks). I love, love, love all these choices, especially Guitars
as Swords. Paradis has even tinted each suit with one color--
red-orange for Voice, Blue Muse (sung to the tune of Blue
Moon), Purple Guitars (as opposed to Rain), and the Green
Green Grass of...Albums. My favorite card in the deck is the
Queen of Voice. You know who she is and what she wants
(I'll give you a hint: R-E-S-P-E-C-T). This card has delighted
me as much as hearing Respect unexpectedly on the radio (it
doesn't matter how often this song gets played--I never get
sick of it). he' quote is "Great Balls of Fire" by Jerry Lee
Lewis. Having seen this artist perform live, I think this
selection is pure poetry, as well as hysterically funny. The is
Stevie Wonder; the quotation: "This is Love Day...a
celebration." How perfect, even if Wonder's a Taurus and
named his publishing arm Black Bull. Paradis also includes
my very favorite rock icon (who kissed me once, by the way):
Bruce Springsteen. I actually used to sign my letters "Yours in
Bruce." I see him as the essence of Chariot, but the quotation
used works superbly as a description of the Prince of Albums:
"He'd measure his need, and then very carefully he'd
proceed." And who is more of an earth mother than Carole
King--Paradis has crowned her the The lyric, however, seems
more suited to The Tower ("I feel the earth move under my
feet.") Well, maybe not. The more I think about it, I realize
this evokes a Pagan Queen of Disks...The Goddess is alive
and magic is afoot...literally. In the words of the Lovin'
Spoonful, I can dig it.But I can't dig Tina Turner, who pulses
with sexual vitality, in the role of the High Priestess ("I'm a
Private Dancer"). And Annie Lennox as the Empress doesn't
work for me, either. Tom Petty as is a good match, but the
snippet "Rebel Without a Clue" initially comes from Paul
Westerberg, who would have been an even better choice.
Petty has acknowledged that he must have "unintentionally"
picked up the line from hearing the Replacements night after
night when they toured as his opening act. Prince of Guitars as
plagiarist? Must be a reversed Prince of Guitars... But bless
Paradis' heart, he has given me (and all you other little rock
and rollers) not just permission, but encouragement to come
up with our own selections: "I challenge you to add your
favorite artists to personalize this deck." Never fear...you will,
and you'll have fun doing it. But, if you're anything like me,
you'll garner a lot of tarot insights from the artist's choices.

The Sacred Rose Tarot

This extremely strange deck by Johanna Gargiulo-Sherman
was published by U.S. Games Systems in 1982 and is still in
print. Anybody who is looking for something different will be
sure to find it with this one.According to the booklet, the
artist’s goal is to "enable viewers to envision the obvious
fragmentation of their existence, to recognize and foresee
their own inner strengths and, despite the ever-present
obstacles that arise in life, to transcend earthly existence."
This statement seems at odds with the visual impact of the
deck, which has many images that are quite disturbing, and
some that are downright frightening.The artist is a master
colorist, and the deck truly excels at color. The colors used are
mostly dark and vivid reds, purples, oranges, blues and
greens. There are no light, pale colors in this deck, only dark
ones, giving it a dreamlike, hallucinatory quality that really
pulls you in.Most of the scenes take place in woodland, and
the cards are densely packed with trees, foliage, and flowers.
There is a crowded, claustrophobic feeling to every card in the
deck. There is a great deal of energy and drama in each card,
and an intensity which is rarely found in other decks. I think
this deck lends itself to being used for reading simply by the
nature of the intense colors and dramatic scenes.Although the
use of color is truly masterful, for me the deck falls short in its
draftsmanship. Many cards, like or the Star, have an
amateurish look about them. In some cards it’s difficult to
make out what is going on, such as the 7 of Pentacles, where I
had to rely on the booklet to find out that the figure was
sowing seeds. Although one might also complain about the
draftsmanship in the Waite-Smith deck, at least in that deck
there is never any doubt about what is happening. Sherman
displays some lack of expertise in anatomy, for instance in the
where the figure’s outstretched fingers are all the same length.
Also, the artist seems to not enjoy drawing eyes. Except for a
huge Sphinx which (characteristically for this deck) towers
threateningly over the Wheel of Fortune, the figures on most
of the cards have their eyes closed, although on many cards
it’s impossible to tell whether the eyes are closed or simply
blank, i.e. all white with no iris or pupil. Needless to say, this
makes for a very disturbing effect.Every time I look through
this deck I am struck by the disturbing and scary aspects. The
Hermit, almost always pictured as a kindly dispenser of
wisdom, in this deck has blank eyes which stare out from a
dead-looking face. In the Wheel of Fortune, the demons from
the Waite-Smith Wheel have grown large and menacing and
seem to be controlling the wheel’s turning, while the
aforementioned Sphinx glares malevolently at the viewer. In
the angel, who has completely taken over the card, holds the
trumpet directly over the child, and seems about to either suck
the child up through the trumpet or else to be preparing to
blast the child out of existence, while its parents beg for
mercy in the background. (These are my interpretations, not
Sherman’s.) In the Lovers the man dominates the two women
and seems to be holding them captive, while the angel,
blindfolded, smiles up at the sky, unaware of the scene being
enacted below in his name.The Minors are more abstract.
They have scenes somewhat similar to the Waite deck, but the
suit symbols are emphasized and the figures often float
against a starry background. There are plenty of disturbing
images here, too. In the 10 of Wands, nine wands entrap a
figure lying on the ground, while the tenth wand hovers over
his chest, "ready to leave its mark," according to the booklet.
The 7 of Cups is an interesting card, showing a man with a
desperate expression holding five cups, while two arms reach
up from the bottom of the card to steal them. Behind him a
woman offers two more cups, her face changing "from
kindness to scorn to aged disappointment." Characteristically,
the card uses concepts from the Waite-Smith deck but puts its
own negative spin on them.In the Knight of Swords we have a
good example of the contrast between the artist’s stated
intention and what is actually shown on the card. Sherman
writes, "On a foggy night a determined knight...emerges from
the mist...this card signifies a strong, brave but domineering
individual...skillful and clever, charismatic and persuasive."
What the card actually shows is a knight looking basically like
a vampire, with a grim expression and an upraised sword. The
effect is actually quite terrifying. In fact, many of the humans
in this deck look like vampires.I admit to breathing a sigh of
relief when I saw the 10 of Swords, often the most dreadful
card in any deck. Here it is rather sedate, showing ten bloody
swords stuck in a tree. But my hopes were dashed when I saw
the 5 of Swords, which shows an almost naked, blue-skinned,
kneeling man, being impaled from the side by four swords,
while a fifth one hangs over him "ready to strike." As if we
did not get the point, the artist has helpfully painted blood
trickling down his body from each wound to pool at his feet.
This card wins the Most Gruesome Tarot Card award, at least
in my experience.There are some interesting motifs that run
throughout the deck. For example, each of the Kings holds in
his hand an "elemental" creature corresponding to the element
of the suit -- a salamander for Wands, an undine for Cups, and
a gnome for Pentacles. Also, each of the Majors has what at
first seems to be a pool of water at the bottom of the card, but
is actually the Cosmic Rose of time and space, which is
pictured on the card backs surrounded by four roses - Red,
White, Gold, and Blue.

Sakki-Sakki Tarot
The first words that came to mind when I started looking at
the Sakki-Sakki Tarot were frivolous and whimsical. But the
more I looked at this deck--and the little white booklet
(LWB)--the more I embraced it. The subtitle of this deck is
"for the artist in each of us" and it really is geared in that
direction.The Sakki-Sakki Tarot is a riot of colors and shapes,
each card bursting with electricity and personality. The cards
are busier than a college campus McDonald's--and have a
youthful exuberance to match. The textures are swirly and
delicious--like images a wayward child of Picini might have
created. The creamy matte coloring of the cards doesn't tone
down their wild effect, but simply deepens it, enriches it.The
Empress (at top) is one of the most attractive cards in the
Sakki-Sakki. Her unruly tresses contain an entire village, her
body untold new worlds. She evokes Banzhaf's model of the
Empress as a lush and unregimented creatrix in a bright and
powerful way. The other Major I think most beautiful is the
World: a woman gracefully carries a large globe behind her
back. The best thing about this card is there's a sailboat
floating on the edge of the globe, at harmony with the winds
of change that whistle in the background.Some of the cards
are less effective, particularly the ones that express serenity or
harmony. Temperance is a discordant concatenation of colors-
-I like a dynamic version of this archetype at least as much as
the next person, but this one feels like a fork stuck in a toaster.
The Star isn't much better: a naked woman with a kewpie doll
pucker reaches up to a sun-like star--it's not as jarring as
Trump XIV, but it evokes the jazz age of Thoroughly Modern
Millie--and jangling razzmatazz does not typify this calm and
gentle archetype.On the other hand, the "scary" cards are not
remotely intimidating, making this a perfect deck for children.
A cartoon character instead of a skeleton occupies the center
of the Death card--a cartoon riding a cartoon dog with
spectacles. The bowlegged is much less horrifying than
George W. Bush--and a better dancer, besides. The denizens
of this Devil's domain seem to be having a Hell of a time--and
I mean that in the best sense of the word. The Tower looks
like something you'd find at Chuck E. Cheese, where the
worst that can happen is you lose all your tokens and eat ice
cream.The Sakki-Sakki is absolutely a Rider-Waite-Smith
(RWS) variant, remaining truer to that composition than many
other so-called "RWS clones" if one ignores the fact that
many of the Minor Arcana cards are peopled with headless
figures. A bit disconcerting but children will not find it so
troubling, I don't think. I thought it was a gimmick, but not an
offensive one--until I tried reading with this deck. While I
could easily do so, I had to import my knowledge of each card
from previous decks; despite the riot of swirling colors, there
is a dearth of symbolism in the cards and, with no facial
expressions to riff off of, the Sakki-Sakki images seem devoid
of meaning. (They did lookgorgeous all together in a spread,
though!)Take the Nine of Rods, for example. If one had no
foreknowledge of this card, one would think simply that a
mannequin was placed among some oddly-colored wands. Is
the mannequin looking over her shoulder in fear, or simply
modeling the fall line? The colors don't express paranoia nor
courage, and since all the cards are busy, one can't attribute
that adjective to every meaning.
I find the Minors that are peopled with headed characters tend
to be much more effective. The dark-skinned individual in the
Ten of Rods may look cheerful, but carries "the black man's
burden" along with the sticks. The woman on the with her
large eyes and stark white skin, is the embodiment of
sorrowful regret. We can tell that the man in the Seven of
Swords is carrying off ill-gotten booty because of his shifting
eyes and sneaky expression.Some of the Minors that are
headless are effective too, precisely because of their physical
state. The white noise aura over the bed in the Nine of Swords
makes you think that the reason there's no one in the card is
because there's "no there there." The Four of Coins' individual
is all about the physical, with a blocked heart (two coins cover
it). I have mixed feelings about the headless cards--I think
they force you to look at the images in a fresh light, which is
good...but they also are less evocative precisely because there
is no facial expression for the reader to interpret. The
excellent LWB makes me wonder if perhaps Sakki (the deck
creator) is better at expressing herself in words than the visual
arts. The LWB is particularly appropriate for artists--despite
(or perhaps because of) its almost relentlessly positive
message. The Devil allows us to get in touch with our
shadow, the Tower allows us to establish a new order, etc.
However, some of the Swords are given their grisly due: the
Nine of Swords..., the Three of Swords... The deck includes a
79th card, "The Artist." It consists of an empty black stage,
reminiscent of a blank computer screen (where have I seen
that before?), but is surrounded by a burst of colors. It can be
used as a significator. In the unique "Artist's Path Spread," it
serves as a reminder to the querent that he/she is an artist who
needs to accept both gifts and responsibilities. The card can
also be used in general readings, but the reader has the choice
of including it or not.One thing I like about independently
published decks is that they often "feel" different from
standard ones. I love the creamy feel and look of the matte
images, but I wish the card edges weren't so nubbly and
rough. The reversible show Spring Green flowers set against a
Yellow Green backing (for those who remember those
Crayola colors)--and one suspects they would glow if seen
under a black light. The packaging of the deck is unique--the
box is cleverly folded. Unfortunately, one of my side panels is
ripped, so the box doesn't stay closed. The presentation is
professional and artistic--just what you'd expect from a
professional artist with a creative mind.
Savage Tarot
I pre-ordered this deck on eBay two months before it was
actually printed. I am always willing to give more
experimental decks a chance and especially self-published
ones. And the dark content of this one seemed interesting. So
now, after waiting for two months, I finally received the set.
And I have to say, I am disappointed.The packaging of the set
is nice enough. The deck comes in a metal box with a booklet
wrapped in leather. But the quality of the cards leaves much to
be desired. It is as if they were punched out of a sheet and the
rough edges are still there. Furthermore, the card stock is thin
and rather flimsy. I wouldn’t be surprised if they tear with
frequent use. I know that self-publishing is a costly business,
but they have cut the wrong corners on this production. And
with a price tag of $49.99, it isn’t that cheap.However, my
main beef with the deck is that it is just too dark! Wait a
minute, you probably think, you wanted dark. Indeed I did
but, in this case, many of the cards are just too dark to even
see the imagery, let alone interpret them. Even the is dark--
you can't see the name in the scan, though it is there. This
murkiness may be due to the printing process and the original
artwork might not have been this dark. But that doesn’t help
me with deciphering the cards I hold in my hands.So, in the
hope of making any sense of what imagery and symbolism
might be hidden from my sight, I opened the booklet and
started reading. After all, one can’t write about a deck without
at least understanding it a bit more. And here we actually find
a positive for this set. The book is not only wrapped in leather,
but also gives a detailed report of the artists’ concepts behind
each card. Which is a good thing, because while reading I
quickly discovered how different this deck is from the
mainstream decks. When they said this was a dark tarot,
showing the more savage and dark nature of humanity in
general, they were certainly not exaggerating. Indeed, the
deck is dark, very dark, and in my opinion even depressing.
The artist seems to have focused more on the reverse
meanings of the cards, the negative connected to situations,
then anything else. And I am wondering if this deck is a
representation of her own view of the world. If so, then she is
probably not a very happy person.Personally, I find it almost
impossible to find any positive meaning in these cards, even if
the artist does indicate them in her book. The artist also seems
to have some preferences for sadomasochism and bondage, as
many images show this and she refers to it frequently. Even
with the book and the detailed descriptions in hand, it is often
still hard to find the imagery. A good example is the Chariot
(at top). Thebook tells me that the serial killer looks over his
shoulder in this card. I only see a dark shadow. And seeing the
Chariot as a serial killer is not my cup of tea either.The
Chariot is not the only card with a radically different view
than what we are used to. The Magician for instance, is a drug
dealer; The Emperor, a dominant in a leather suit, the
Empress, a slave, and the Devil is a CEO of a company,
complete with horns to show how evil he is. is another very
unusual card. The booklet says: “ Does temperance truly
exist? Isn’t it simply the restraints that are placed on us by
society or our fear of what others may think?” And what does
the image show? A woman all chained up and restrained. That
is Temperance for you.A particularly gruesome card is This
card is always difficult. But in the Savage Tarot, it depicts the
release from a state of depression--by suicide! The apology to
whoever is left behind is even written on the shower door. I
am sorry, but this card just turns my stomach. How can you
ever place a card like this in perspective in a reading? And to
connect suicide with a state of release and transforming is
disgusting in my opinion. Likewise, the Judgement card
depicts blood trickling from a vein as yet another suicidal
person intends to leave her life. And then there are the minors.
No breaks here. The deck continues on its dark and savage
path. The Wands start off with an automatic weapon and the
warning of what could happen if a child takes daddy’s gun to
school. It is then followed by several Wand cards that again
indicate suicide or killing. And here I thought the Wands were
a suit of living energy and movement. Not so in this deck.On
to the Cups. And wow, the Ace of Cups is actually not
depressing. But that feeling soon changes as we go further in
the suit. No suicide or killing, but plenty of emotional anguish
can be found there. Still, at least this suit is not all doom and
gloom.The Swords deal, as expected, with plenty of mental
issues and anguish. Again, the cards are not all dark and
doom-filled, but one has to wonder if the S&M imagery really
fits. Then, finally the Pentacles. This suit is actually the least
dark and even a bit positive. But, at the same time, I don’t
mind nudity, but excess is never a good thing.

Shapeshifter Tarot
Michele Jackson, in her review of this deck in 1998, had this
to say: "I don’t know who to recommend this deck to.
Collectors of course - we will buy anything with the word
tarot in it. Aside from that, this deck might appeal to those
pursuing a Shamanic path, or to those who are followers of
the author’s specific tradition."Respectfully, Michele, though
collectors will want this deck, it has little to offer this
Shaman, other than perhaps a chuckle. And, in reading D.J.
Conway's books, I am more and more perplexed as to what
exactly is her tradition... [Examine her books Celtic Magic
and Norse Magic side by side, page by page, and you will see
what I mean.] This struck me so forcibly that I looked askance
initially at By Oak, Ash & Thorn, which forgiving certain
sins, is not a bad book in many respects.But as to this deck as
a tarot deck, to start with 81 cards attributed only to "81
Knights" is not in accordance with the real Tarot. Renaming
the Majors has been done in other decks; putting unsaid words
in Crowley's mouth has also been done before (didn't he say
enough?); and a loose match up of maverick Majors with
conventional pips has also been undertaken previously, but
taken altogether, it creates a system that doesn't adhere to or
feel like Tarot.And what is the message supposed to be with I
hardly find a castrated male to be symbolic of vitality, life
and/or energy, and find the image completely inappropriate
for Tarot archetypes in general, as well as for a deck of
"shapeshifters".Oops. I am supposed to be addressing only
this deck's shamanic value (forgive me if the Tarotist in me
digressed), but here again, the deck falls far short.
Shapeshifting in the shamanic sense allows the Shaman to
assume the physical body of a given power animal. Kristin
Madden says, "Whether you choose to believe that these
shamans actually bend the laws of physics, or are able to alter
energy fields enough to appear that they defy physical laws, is
really unimportant. The point is that these are individuals who
have cleared their personal limitations to the extent that they
are able to effect significant control over our experience of
this reality." [Shamanic Guide to Death and Dying, p.
5]...This is true and it refers to the rare shamanic ability to
assume the shape of a given creature or co-exist in
thatcreature's body. Lesser shamanic abilities entail taking on
many of the given creature's movements, sounds, etc.,
commonly via dance, but this does not mean that said Shaman
morphs into a conglomerate creature akin to something from a
pastel colored sci-fi film, as is the case with cards like the
Sorcerer, or with the elementally conflicted Goddess of Earth
[pictured at top], shown in a very airy presentation with a
prominent bird.The author does mention that this sort of
shapeshifting is an experiential shifting of energy rather than
physical shapeshifting as done by Shamans, but the
illustrations and other statements in the book make this
distinction very confusing, especially as it is actively
marketed with statements like the following from the "Like
the ancient Celts, you can now practice the shamanic art of
shapeshifting and access the knowledge of the eagle, the oak
tree or the ocean: wisdom that is inherently yours and resides
within your very being". And even from the standpoint of
"experiential energy", how many animals can one experience
simultaneously and learn anything at all? Ironically, one of the
few cards showing little morphing is the Hanged Man card,
titled

Shining Tribe Tarot

This is a "Renewed and Expanded" version of Rachel
Pollack’s Shining Woman Tarot, which was originally
published in 1992 by Thorson’s and has been out of print for
several years. Thankfully, Llewellyn has brought it back, with
larger, more colorful cards, several cards redrawn, a revised
book, and much more attractive packaging. Pollack and
Llewellyn are to be congratulated for the care and attention
they have given to revitalizing and making available this
wonderful deck.’m in a somewhat unusual position for a
reviewer because in my review of Shining Woman, although I
liked the deck as a whole, I had problems with several specific
aspects of it, and now almost all of them have been addressed
and resolved, leaving me with precious few criticisms to
make! I don’t mean to imply that the author was responding to
my comments specifically, which of course isn’t the case, but
I flatter myself to think that some of my comments may have
been along the same lines as the author’s own evolving
feelings about her deck, as well as with the comments of
others that may have come to her attention.Specifically, I had
perceived an anti-male bias in the original deck. This was not
because of the name "Shining Woman," but rather because of
the Emperor card, both the frightening image and the
accompanying text, which seemed to imply that maleness is
inherently bad and needs to be rechannelled, as well as several
cards and card descriptions which I felt celebrated women to
the exclusion of men, such as the Three of Rivers, referring
tofriendship "especially" among women, with no
corresponding card referring to friendship especially among
men.I am delighted to report that the author has made a strong
effort to be more inclusive of men, from changing the title of
the deck to the gender-neutral "Shining Tribe" to completely
rewriting card descriptions that before seemed biased, like the
aforementioned and Three of Rivers. I no longer feel that the
deck leans towards women, although I must point out that
there are still occasions where Pollack will place a feminine
symbol on an otherwise masculine card, whereas she feels no
corresponding impulse to mitigate the effects of a feminine
card by including masculine symbols. But on the whole I
think that men should not feel in any way left out by this
deck.For those who are interested in the differences between
this deck and the earlier, the new cards are of course bigger,
about the size of the Waite-Smith. The borders are a warm tan
color, growing darker towards the tops of the cards, with a
soft gradation between the border and the picture, which
makes the whole deck warmer and more approachable.The
colors are brighter, and on the whole I always feel, the
brighter the better. However, those who are regular users of
Shining Woman may be a little alarmed at some of the new
colors, which are not only brighter but have sometimes
changed dramatically. I sat down and examined each card and
compared the new and old decks (yes, this is obsession). In
general, brown has become red, dark blue has become light
blue, and tan has become yellow. In Tradition (Hierophant)
the effect is almost garish; the tan central circle has become
bright yellow, and the five standing stones are now bright red.
Many of the human figures who before had brown skin now
have bright red skin with yellow hair.In several of the
pictures, where the background used to have a mottled,
watercolor appearance, the background is now a uniform
color. In a few cases the colors have apparently been
deliberately changed. For example, in the High Priestess, the
snake now has a yellow glow around it which wasn’t there
before. Despite all this, I do think the brighter colors are an
improvement. In the for example, the red spiral on the blue
background makes for a satisfying day-glo effect which was
missing in the original. And in the Five of Trees, the sky is
darker, creating a nice cityscape effect with the yellow
windows.There is one change which I’m not happy about. In
the Shining Woman, the titles were large and upper case.
Whatever one may think of the art, and I happen to like it very
much, these cards don’t look much like what most people
associate with Tarot, and the large upper case titles helped to
establish the Tarot-ness of them. Now the titles are much
smaller and in mixed upper and lower case, and don’t have the
same impact.There are five totally new cards, and mostly I
prefer the new ones, which make more of an effort to conform
with standard ideas about the meanings of the numbers, for
example fours meaning structure and stability. Interestingly,
the author gives a different, more standard listing of the
meanings of the numbers 1-10 than was given in the original
Shining Woman book. The new cards, especially the are also
very attractive esthetically. The only one I’m not wild about is
the Gift of Trees, which doesn’t seem to liveup to the
standards of the rest of the deck.A few of the original cards
have had small alterations. In the original Lovers, for
example, there was an ugly blotch of ink obscuring the
mouths of the figures, which I took great exception to in my
review. The blotch has thankfully been removed. The Nine of
Stones has been redrawn, making the figure softer and gentler.
And a broken chain has been added to the Eight of Stones,
encircling the sun.The accompanying book, while larger and
containing more pages than the original, isn’t really a much
larger, wholly new book, which some reviewers have seemed
to suggest. There are some new chapters, a new introduction,
and some of the card descriptions, like the aforementioned
Emperor, are completely rewritten, and most of the
descriptions have an added paragraph or two and some added
divinatory meanings, but overall it’s the same book, although
certainly an excellent one.My only real remaining complaint
is the fact that with many of the minor arcana cards it would
be impossible for someone who hadn’t read the book to come
up with any meaning at all for the picture. Although
interesting and imaginative, I feel that the more obscure
pictures in this deck don’t have the same immediate, visceral
impact that a simple picture like the Waite-Smith Seven of
Swords does. Ironically, my appreciation for these qualities of
the Waite-Smith minors comes from Pollack herself, in her 78
Degrees of Wisdom.But overall, if you’re looking for a deck
with weight and depth, which uses symbols and pictures that
are nature-based and more personally meaningful than swords
and pentacles, with bright, cheerful pictures, then this is
definitely the one for you. I wholeheartedly recommend it.
Tarot of the III Millenni
The concept behind the Tarot of the Third Millennium is quite
dynamic--it is "the conflict between spirit and technology,
between oneself and the madness which surrounds it,"
according to the card box. Iassen Ghiuselev is certainly an
able artist, but his execution of this concept is oddly
inconsistent. The Majors are beautiful line drawings, elegant
in their intricate, grey-on-sand detail. Nothing about them
hints of the alleged theme of the deck--Classical Tarot would
be a far more accurate title. , which depict the Fool against a
blueprint of something electrical, hint of anything modern--
and the actual Fool card doesn't contain the
blueprint.Hierophant is also drawn with classical lines, but his
back is to us--face front is a symmetrical cathedral
thatTheserves as his pictorial backbone. I suppose it's a
statement of modernity to show such a man of the cloth's
strong identity with the structure of the church. However, the
building and Hierophant's clothing hew to the most traditional
versions of this card--there'll be no folk masses played here,
thank you very much.Another perfect image of symmetry is
the shows a building similar to the Tower of Pisa--only it's
not slanted in any direction. Next to the many-tiered edifice is
an imperious Hermit-like image who holds a staff strongly
against the breeze, which ruffles his long hair. His face is
bearded and wise, and his eyes have seen much. There's no
sense of movement to this card; the man and structure stand
tall and immobile against the wind. There's certainly no sense
of chaos--the dramatic force is the figure, nothing external.
Yet if you look closely at the Tower card, you'll see the
various tiers of the building are architecturally diverse,
spanning the centuries, blending the old with the new.
Another image that catches the imagination is card--a naked,
perfectly-built man stands with his back to us, one arm raised,
a large orb the only backdrop. The circle, symbolizing the
sun, is not far above the man, evoking the Browning poem
Andrea Del Sarto: "Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his
grasp, Or what's a heaven for?" This is a truly wonderful
card.The Minors are quite quirky, though the art is equally
adroit. The main art in each of the cards is also drawn in a
classical, detailed style, but the pen-and-ink drawings are
darker, done with a thicker brush and are more robust. There
is an insert of the Bologna Tarot version of each card. There is
also a symbol of the "Third Millennium" attached almost
haphazardly to each card, as well. Note the Three of Cups, in
which is portrayed a scene of great revelry. At the right hand
bottom of the card is a green bar code. Other than the concept
that we have to pay for our pleasures, there is no other
symbolism except that it adheres to the stated theme of the
deck.The Three of Cups is one of the rare Minor Arcana cards
that can in any way be equated with traditional tarot
meanings. A more typical Minor Arcana representation of this
deck is the which shows a man falling back in anguish at
some indeterminable, unseen horror...unless the distress
emanates from the odd mathematical code stamped in the
middle of the card. The keyword given for this card is
"lucidity;" if this is lucidity, give me the fumbling darkness.If
you lay out all four aces from this deck, you will see that the
art is all connected and of one piece--though they don't neatly
come together. Even here there is a sense of entropy and
chaos. This four-card connection is unique to the Aces in the
Tarot of the III Millennium.The court cards are unique, in that
they are colorized, the only cards in the deck that are. Each
has its own above. There is a short section on the meanings of
the numbers and suits in general. There is a separate section
on the meanings of the Court Cards by rank. Lastly, there is a
fouam card spread called "The Two-Headed Serpent."
Directions for the spread ask that after it is read in one
direction, the reader should read them in the opposite one.
This is in keeping with the contradictory theme of the deck.

Vampire Tarot
While I am not a vampire scholar by any means, I've read
Anne Rice's vampire trilogy and seen Dracula. I understand
there is a whole vampire culture, with its own body of
literature, symbolism, and rituals. I understand it's somewhat
elaborate, certainly more complex than the trite and simplistic
Vampire Tarot by Nathalie Hertz reflects.Since I am not
"into" vampires, I brought the deck to my friend Toni, who is
more conversant with that culture--she is also somewhat
familiar with tarot. She couldn't stop laughing at the Vampire
Tarot's simplistic, non-tarot imagery, which made me feel
more sanguine in my assessment of the deck.The Fool,
normally carefree and innocent, has become a bit of a sharp-
tongued Satyr--he hones it on the knife he holds in his bloody
hand. He would make a better Devil card, I think. The
Magician's traditional lemniscate veers overhead, but the
traditional Wand, Cup, Sword, and Pentacle aren't too be
found on any table. You'd really think he would find value in
at least two of those items. The resembles a rat with plush
Mickey Mouse ears. No hint of wisdom or mystery--just a
pronounced overbite.Th are a perfect Goth duo, I suppose.
The Empress holds a rose (dripping the requisite droplets of
blood), her blonde locks adorned with a sleek tiara. Her mate
has long flowing locks of brown, but both are dressed in rich,
luxurious cloaks. Each stands in an archway of stone; his is a
warm claret, hers a deathly green. Though they might be a
cunning couple, they don't respectively exemplify creativity
and abundance and structure and discipline to me; they are
hardly archetypal. A beautiful, stained-glass ceiling towers
over the black-cloaked Hierophant. He is reading a book, and
judging from the blood streaking from his mouth, he finds the
material meaty.The Chariot is actually kind of charming, in a
Halloween-Tarot-esque way. Against a luminescent moon
shiningin a blue sky, a charioteer swings his lash at two yoked
horses, one black, one dark grey. Dark birds fly above, eager
for their share of carrion. There is a lantern on the outside of
the coach, and a red curtain flares out behind, a la Isadora
Duncan. If you look closely, you can also see a white claw of
a hand limply leaning out of the carriage. Smoky clouds of
dust add to the eerie quality of the evening, as does the patch
of tangled tree branches on the underside of the card. But
since there isn't the interminable splash of gratuitous blood, it
isn't nearly as numbingly boring as most of the cards in this
deck.Strength is eight and Justice is 11 in this deck.I guess
altering the card to suit the Vampire Tarot wasn't a big leap;
this card hews to the traditional. Needless to say, he carries a
big scythe, and is surrounded by crackling red stars. This
Death card is almost electrical...and nary a drop of blood leaks
from his toothy mouth. In vampire culture, the Sun is not a
card of joy, but a dangerous enemy. The spin on this card is
definitely unique and one of the few examples of successful
integration between tarot and vampire symbolism.cards are so
similar in their imagery that it is hard to distinguish the
differences between them without consulting Hertz's
commentary in the Little White Book (LWB). The LWB is 35
pages and made me laugh out loud several times--though I
don't think the author means to be humorous. She describes
the Fool card as representing "...the beginning and the end.
This bat is extravagant, he represents eccentricity. He dislikes
well-established principles such as biting his victims. Instead,
he likes to kill them with his claws..." I find this take on The
Fool quite amusing, in a macabre way.The bulk of the LWB is
the card description and interpretive meaning section, which
includes reversals for both the Major and Minor Arcana.
Three spreads are included, one being what Hertz refers to as
the Celtic Draw. You may be more familiar with it as the
Celtic Cross, but perhaps the vampires don't like that name,
for obvious reasons.The Minor Arcana are somewhat quirky.
Some cards follow the R-W-S model, but many do not. The
Ten of Wands looks like a pencil convention honoring
Grandpa Munster, but Hertz says it's a "laughing bat who
embodies celebration and accomplishment." The as "This
sweet queen [who] symbolizes gentleness, sensibility,
generosity, and beauty." I don't want Hertz choosing my
friends, and that's all I have to say about that--this demon-
infested Queen looks like Marianne Faithfull before she
kicked the heroin habit. What do I like about the deck? The
reversiblein requisite black and red (for you-know-what) are
kinda funky (in a good way). Each card has a border of
delicately-drawn grapes, leaves, and--of course--skulls,
silvery-white on grey-black. The border is so tasteful--it
reminds me a bit of Wedgwood, actually. And of course, the
ever-fashionable basic-black borders the border.

Vertigo Tarot
The Vertigo Tarot, based on the comic books published under
the Vertigoimprint by DC comics, is one of the most visually
stunning decks ofrecent years. The artwork is a blend of
painting, photo-montage, andeven found objects - those
familiar with deck artist Dave McKean's muchauded work on
the Sandman comic covers will immediately recognize his
distinctive style.The deck is not limited by the fact that it is a
theme deck; familiaritywith the Vertigo characters who
populate the major arcana certainly addsto the enjoyment of
using the cards, but it is not mandatory, especiallydue to
Rachel Pollack's outstanding hardcover text which
accompanies thedeck. There is, additionally, a "Vertigo
spread" created by Pollack forthe deck that is not only fun but
very enlightening for fans of thecomics. Since many of these
characters are archetypes to begin with,this additional frame
of reference can help bring new interpretation to
the cards.The minors are illustrated, but often in a rather
abstract way. In thisrespect they have more in common with
the Crowley/Harris deck than theWaite/Smith deck. Both the
CH deck and the WS deck are referenced in theextensive text,
and the symbolism of each card is given a very
detailedtreatment. Court cards follow the Waite/Smith format
of King - Queen -Knight - Page. Each card of the major
arcana is imprinted with itsrespective astrological symbol.
Many of the card meanings and images arevery much slanted
towards the creative process and the artistpersonality, making
this a wonderful deck for artists and writers. Ifind that it is the
first deck I go to when I have issues related tosome type of
creative or artistic project.It is excellent, however, forall-
around readings as well.The packaging for this deck and book
set is one of the bestpresentations I have seen; it comes in a
large box about the size andshape of a small delivery pizza
box. Inside there are separate wells fordeck and hardcover
book. The graphics - a very dreamy, dark abstractdesign
utilizing a chambered nautilus motif - are all unified in
everyaspect of the packaging. The cards are a bit oversized,
especially inheight, and might be difficult to shuffle for those
with small hands.They have a very thin matte finish lacquer
give the cards a ratherpapery" feel, but they hold up very well
over extended use. Overall,he quality of the printing and
presentation of the cards is stunning.The colors are extremely
rich and vibrant. I have heard this described
as a "dark" deck, but I see it as more mysterious and
enigmatic.I'm not sure if this deck is immediately accessible
to someoneproficient with the WS deck, but working with the
Pollack text and thecards is an enjoyable experience. A
beginner could use nothing more thanthis set and get a good
start on grounding themselves in tarot. At thesame time, it is
challenging enough to engage the interest of a seasoned

Victoria Regina Tarot

On what do I base this grandiose statement? Simple – when I
look through the cards, it becomes immediately apparent that
this deck accomplishes what many decks have unsuccessfully
attempted, which is to speak with an original and utterly
unique voice, while at the same time remaining true to the
spirit of the traditional archetypes.While the Victoria Regina
is a collage deck, it maintains more stylistic consistency than
most collage decks, because many of the images share similar
sources, i.e. British black-and-white newspaper and
advertising illustrations from the Victorian era. The art on
these cards is eye-catching and electrifying; after all, the
original purpose of the illustrations was to catch a reader’s
attention. Also, in my opinion the artists who created these
images were rather better at the craft of illustration than many
deck artists of today. Add to this the consummate artistry of
Sarah Ovenall’s collage work, and the result is a truly
energizing blaze of creativity.In the past, I had made up my
mind that black-and-white decks were not for me, especially
after my experience with the Light and Shadow Tarot, which
I’m very fond of but find myself unable to look at for longer
than a few seconds at a time. I find that the Light and
Shadow’s black areas seem to clash with the white ones for an
effect which is electric but not altogether pleasant. Perhaps the
large card size of that deck contributes to the problem. The
opposite, however, is true of the Victoria Regina; here the
large card size perfectly suits the images. Each card has many
fine lines and details which would have turned to mud if
shrunk down to a smaller card. And, surprisingly enough, the
multi-textured nature of these images more than makes up for
the lack of color. I’m sure someone out there will attempt to
color these cards, but that would be an ill-advised example of
"gilding the lily," a phrase often used by the Victorians
(although actually originating in Shakespeare’s King John).In
many modern decks, the archetypal icons become buried in
the artist’s individual vision. But if you lay out the Victoria
Regina Majors, their messages jump out at you. The delightful
thing about this deck is that you don’t have to supply your
own associations to make up for an unevocative card. In this
deck, everything is right there. The Magician is confident and
talented; the High Priestess, mysterious; the Empress,
majestic in her sensuality; and so on.Just as an example of
Ovenall’s brilliance, I’d like to take a look at Temperance.
The collage has only fiveelements: the woman, the explosion,
the wave, the night sky, and the salamander (there’s also a
fish, but it’s hard to discern in the scan). Like the woman on
the card, Ovenall has magically combined these simple
elements into a fantastical scene. The nighttime sky could
symbolize the deceptively quiet moments that often precede a
burst of creativity. The woman seems confident, like the
Magician, but unlike him she seems to have no self-
consciousness; she simply goes about her work because that’s
what she does, not because she’s out to impress anyone else.
She is combining fire and water, two normally antagonistic
elements. A flash of light and steam results (the flash’s
reflection on the woman is testament to Ovenall’s genius as a
collagist). But there is another, unexpected result, perhaps
unseen by the woman – a salamander emerges from the wave,
perhaps suggesting the emergence of a creative endeavor as a
living entity, derivative yet in some strange way distinct from
the sensibilities of the artist. This image actually suggests
Crowley’s Temperance card, which he renamed Art, rather
than the more traditional woman pouring liquid between two
cups.As Patterson and Ovenall point out in the well-written
accompanying book, the Victoria Regina Companion, the
Victorian era makes a very appropriate setting for a Tarot
deck, because this was the milieu of the creators of both the
R-W-S and Crowley decks, and of the Golden Dawn tradition
from which these two decks drew their inspiration. Ovenall
also takes the opportunity to comment on sociological trends
prevalent at the time. Some may see the inclusion of a Hindu
Emperor as anachronistic, but actually he fits in very well
with the Victorian theme. According to James Morris in his
book Pax Britannica, in 1897 Great Britain was "the largest
Empire in the history of the world, comprising nearly a
quarter of the land mass of the earth, and a quarter of its
population." Colonialism was perhaps the single most
important element of the Victorian era, and an examination of
that era would surely be incomplete without including the
Queen’s many subjects who were not native Britons. In fact,
the entire population of the British Empire at that time was
372 million. The image also speaks to the fascination the
British Victorians had for what they saw as exotic.Besides
being true to its setting, however, the inclusion of indigenous
peoples in this deck provides a multi-culturalism which will
be welcome to the modern reader.For the Minor Arcana,
Ovenall has replaced the standard suits with pens, guns,
clocks, and Mason jars, but only in the images; for the card
titles, the traditional Wands, Swords, Coins and Cups remain.
In the book, the authors make their case for their suit symbols
being the Victorian versions of the traditional suits. The use of
guns for Swords may strike some as adding a violent character
to the deck. It may be that in the 21st century we are
desensitized to the sword as a weapon, and tend to see it as
either a plot device for fairy-tales or else as a ritualized object.
Of course, the sword’s main purpose has always been as a
weapon, the point (so to speak) being to puncture one’s
adversary. The gun makes a perfectly reasonable Victorian
substitute. And while the cutting edge of the sword makes it
suitable as a symbol for the discriminating qualities of the
mind, the gun as a device built for destruction is an excellent
analogy for the dual-edged quality of technology, which,
along with colonialism, was another important part of the
Victorian world.Despite the newness of the suit symbols, they
are used in the images just as if they were the traditional ones.
This lends a dreamlike, somewhat hallucinatory atmosphere to
the deck. For example, in the ten guns are stuck into the back
of a prostrate figure, as if they were swords.
The new suit symbols also have some very exciting
implications for intuitive readings. In the Six of Coins, for
example, a woman in a sleigh hands out clocks to some
beggars. This could show the traditional meaning of
benevolence or dependence, but it might also mean that
someone is giving you more time to do something.Although
the Minors show scenes which are mostly derived from the
Rider-Waite, I also sense an influence from the Crowley deck.
Many of the cards use machinery or ironwork to create a
semi-abstract background which suggests the abstractness of
the Crowley Minors.As Diane Wilkes mentions in there are
many details in the cards which aren’t stated in the book. To
pick one just as an example, in the Princess of Swords, an 11-
year-old Victoria reads a book with a gun in her hand. But she
is not holding the gun correctly; instead, she grasps it by the
trigger, making it highly likely that she will shoot herself in
the foot rather than hit her target. This could easily stand for
the impetuous qualities of the Page or Princess of Swords. As
another example, the background for the aforementioned
Emperor shows a stone archway, decorated with stone
branches and leaves. This could suggest that the ideal
Emperor honors the natural world, or, negatively, that he
seeks to ossify it under the patina of civilization.Although this
isn’t mentioned in the book, the Court cards are faithful to a
tradition in antique playing cards of portraying historical
personages. Ovenall and Patterson have done an excellent job
of matching these larger-than-life figures with their Tarot
Court counterparts. I particularly liked Oscar Wilde as the
Prince of Wands and Benjamin Disraeli as the King of
Wands.The accompanying book is excellent. It describes the
context for the cards, and will satisfy the curiosity of anyone
who is interested in what life was like for the people who
originally drew these images and for those who originally
viewed them. It’s also a very user-friendly book, and it does
something that I have frequently wished other Tarot authors
would do, which is to include a sample reading with the deck,
in this case by Valerie Sim, who also created the spread used
in the sample reading. However, it’s important to note that
using this deck does not require one to learn a whole new
system. In fact, one could easily read with the deck without
consulting the book at all, although I think one would be
missing a lot by doing so.Of course, the most important
consideration for any deck (at least for me) is whether one can
read with it. The answer is a resounding Yes. This is a
wonderful reading deck. When you lay out a spread, the cards
seem to magically link together; it’s almost as if the
machinery and ironwork which comprises the background of
many of the cards locks together with an audible "click,"
solidifying the stories thus captured into a new and exciting
scenario.I really must congratulate the folks at Llewellyn;
they’ve outdone themselves with the packaging and
presentation of this deck. The black-and-white printing is
excellent, and the designer of the book and package cover,
Lisa Novak, has done a great job of being faithful to the
black-and-white look of the deck while introducing a few
understated colors. It’s really very attractive. Best of all,
included with the book and the deck is a cloth bag for the
cards, which is black (or very dark blue) velvet on the outside
and a blue silk-type material on the inside. This is a perfect
Tarot bag. It’s large enough for the deck, and it has a tasseled
drawstring which cinches tight when you pull it, so the bag
stays closed. The Llewellyn moon logo is discreetly placed
towards the top of the inside of the bag, so that someone you
were reading for wouldn’t even notice it. provides some
suggestions for hand-decorating the bag.

Wheel of Change Tarot

This deck by Alexandra Genetti has had many favorable
reviews. There are many things I like about it, but there are
things I don’t like, so I thought I would add my two cents.To
cover the positives first, I like colorful decks, and this deck is
certainly colorful. Done in watercolor, many of the pictures
are very skillfully painted. I usually prefer Waite-type Fools,
but I could certainly live with this Fool, who seems more
Crowley-ish. I love the way a river of stars rushes up from the
bottom of the card, winds around the Fool, and flows off the
card at the top. The Magician, the High Priestess, the Devil,
the Tower, and the Sun are all extremely attractive cards.
Justice is absolutely wonderful, with all manner of animals
flowing around the central figure. This card shows Genetti at
her very best. I’m also very fond of the Hermit. He is shown
wearing glasses but with his eyes closed and his hand against
the trunk of a pine tree. There are a microscope and a
telescope in the foreground and planets hovering in the
background. I don’t quite know why, but this strikes me as a
perfect Hermit.card is just about the best and most
imaginative World card I’ve seen in any deck. The planet
Earth in the shape of a woman steps out of a blue egg, holding
the moon in one hand and a comet in the other.I also like the
multiculturalism of the deck. Many different races and
cultures are portrayed in the Major and Court cards (the pip
cards contain no people), but this is not done self-consciously
as in many decks.Unfortunately, I find that the artistic
execution is not consistent throughout the deck. There are
some cards like the Hanged Man and which seem
amateurishly painted, which is very surprising considering the
high quality of many of the other cards.I also have some
problems with the Minor cards. The Court cards are
commendable for their multi-ethnicity, and they show some
interesting scenes, but I find them difficult to read with
because the scenes aren’t particularly evocative of specific
meanings (at least not to me). For example, the Queen of
Wands shows a woman playing a flute while musical notes
float around her, some of them catching fire. But what does it
mean? The book packaged with the deck, written by the artist,
while impressively hefty, doesn’t give much help. "The Queen
of Wands is a symbol of passionate participation in a complex
creative enterprise. This creative endeavor may involve
coordination of a vast number of people...who are all working
for a common pattern or goal." This doesn’t suggest much to
me, and it seems a rather limiting definition for the Queen of
Wands.In fact, I find this to be true with many of the Minor
cards. Some scenes are quite evocative, such as the 8 of
Swords, showing a baseball crashing through a glass window.
But others just sit there on the cardboard and don’t seem to
suggest much. For example, the 4 of Wands shows an
Egyptian bird flying over four Washington Monument-shaped
obelisks. The meaning given is "a creative completion and
ending that can give you a new perspective." This simply
doesn’t give me a sense of immediacy and emotional impact
as Minor scenes on other decks, particularly the simpler ones
of the Waite/Smith.My favorite Minor card is the 10 of
Swords, which shows the inside of a garden shed, while
through the open door we see stars and planets. Again, I’m
not sure what it means, but it’s certainly nice to look
at!Although the book is long and detailed, the card
descriptions seem to follow a trend in some Tarot books lately
of issuing preemptory New-Agey instructions (like "Allow
your creativity to carry you into the future with a sense of
continuity") which, however much I may agree with them,
don’t really describe the cards in terms of psychological states
and conditions, which (to me anyway) is what the Tarot is all
about.Finally, I am quite uncomfortable with what I see as a
preoccupation with women’s breasts, women’s private parts,
and bodily fluids. For example, it’s not enough that the
Empress is bare-breasted and pregnant, but she must sit on a
vulva-shaped hill, while behind her is a hill identified in the
text as representing a pregnant abdomen, and beyond that, two
hills representing breasts. Likewise, Judgment shows a young
boy emerging from a vulva-shaped hole in the ground, with
the same three hills behind him. In this case the symbolism
becomes humorously overdone when you notice that the two
hills representing breasts are each topped with small nipple-
shaped towers. I also find quite disturbing the image of
Temperance, from whose breasts flow blood and milk which
mix together in a cauldron at her feet. This is similar to the
Star card of a different deck, the Alchemical Tarot, in which a
mermaid’s breasts leak blood and milk into the water around
her. These images are probably derived from old alchemical
illustrations and do, I suppose, have occult and psychological
significance, but am I the only one who would rather not see
these images on Tarot cards? Finally, the Moon shows a river
of what is identified in the text as menstrual blood.

World Spirit Tarot

World Spirit Tarot is one of the most charming and powerful
decks I've seen in a long time. While the art looks like it is
carved from woodcuts, the cards are actually hand-colored
linoleum block prints. The colors range from the gently pastel
(Seer of Cups, Seven of Pentacles) to rich jewel-tones
(Lovers, , Temperance) to the dark and ominous (Two of
Swords). The block prints themselves are highly detailed and
the images are done in bold, dramatic lines.The cards seem to
be the fascinating offspring of two decks: the Rider-Waite-
Smith and Michael Goepferd's Light and Shadow. (As I
worked with the deck, I couldn't help but fantasize how the
cards would have looked sans coloring--I imagine they would
be utterly striking.) The artistic style is very much influenced
by Goepferd and the imagery itself is deeply influenced by
Pixie Smith. In fact, the artist has made it clear that she
reveres Smith: the Seer of Cups is dedicated to her. It's a sad
fact, however, that this card reminds me of our present First
Lady, Laura Bush. I wonder how the Religious Right would
feel about this.Be that as it may, there is nothing conservative
about the World Spirit Tarot. It is a deck that celebrates
diversity with wild abandon--there are full-figured individuals
pictured on cards like (whose central figure could be a model
for Mode Magazine), and people of all colors--even blue!
Cards that traditionally contain male figures, such as the Fool,
the Hermit, and the Five of Cups are female; the Temperance
card is a winged (blue) male, which leads me to a tiny quibble
with this deck. I don't mind the sexual juxtaposition--in fact,
this is one of my favorite cards in the World Spirit Tarot.
However, Temperance and the (male) Magician are the two
cards that Llewellyn has chosen for the extra cards that can
serve as significators, while also remaining in the deck as
potential cards in a reading. Why have two male and no
female significators? I don't use significators, so it's not an
issue for me, but this seems like an error to me.But this is a
minor complaint indeed. Look at these cards! They are
amazingly joy-inducing, and so rich with detail and nuance.
The set itself comes as a "mini-kit", like the Nigel Jackson
and Enochian Tarots. This means that the book is rather small
at 163 mini-pages--the printing isn't densely packed, either, so
the text, while well-written, seems somewhat scanty to me.
The style is pleasant and non-didactic, but I would like more
art-specific commentary. This deck deserves fuller
elucidation. As the artist clearly learned from and and
emulates Goepferd, the author would have done as well to
follow in Brian Williams' textural footsteps. I have so many
questions I'd like answered about these cards. Why is there a
satyr in the ? The shows a man lying in a daydreamer's pose,
a sleeping dog at his side. Is he symbolic of the Rip Van
Winkle syndrome? The Sibyl of Pentacles "wears the three-
tiered headdress of Chicomecoatl, the Mayan goddess of
corn." I understand the corn is a symbol of Pentacles-like
earthy harvest, but is there something else about
Chicomecoatl I should know? In the , there is a waning moon.
While I know what that symbolizes, not everyone does, and it
would be a good thing to explain in the accompanying text.On
the other hand, the book contains some nice insights. In the
description of the the author writes, "Such grief literally
creates more space in the heart." That's a perception I'll
definitely use with decks like the R-W-S; ironically, it doesn't
go with the picture in the World Spirit Tarot! There are
several other inconsistencies in the book. Keywords are given
for Minors, but not court cards or the Major Arcana. In the
introduction, the court cards are described as aspects of the
self, but in the specific descriptions, that is often the second
meaning; the first mentioned usually concerns others in your
life. An interesting feature of this deck is that reversals aren't
used; instead, there are "gifts and lessons" contained in each
card. Sometimes the write-up only contains one or the other,
though.And doesn't it seem that even in the most perfect deck,
there is one card that you don't like? For me, that card in the
World Spirit Tarot is the baby looks like a false-faced
politician whose genial optimism is simply a guise adopted
for the purpose of getting elected.Trust me, though, these are
minor, petty cavils. The deck itself is a gem. The artist hews
to tradition insome ways; the Majors are traditionally titled, as
are the suits--though the court cards have been renamed. In
order, they are Seer, Seeker, Sibyl, and Sage. I very much like
these choices. Strength is Eight; Justice, 11.are wonderful,
though not-quite reversible; the main image is an hourglass
evenly divided, but one side angles into a bright blue sky with
a shining sun, the other a starry night sky with a crescent
moon

Yesteryear Tarot
think it's interesting to look at the last fifty years in terms of
the explosive proliferation of tarot decks. The last decade, in
particular, seems to be an era of personal creativity, with tarot
enthusiasts of all stripes and artistic training desiring to
express their (often multiple) visions of what the tarot can
look like. Laurie Amato, a tarot devotee of many years,
created her first deck, the Victorian Tarot, in 1999, and now
has 8 (!) decks to her credit.Her latest venture is the
Yesteryear Tarot, a Majors-only collage deck in the form of a
photograph scrapbook. This is a particularly appropriate
format, as the heart of each card (with the exception of Death
and The Tower) are old sepia photographs from the Victorian
era that Amato chose to personify the archetype. She then
found backgrounds, symbols, and items to enhance the
message of the card. The Fool is a sweet harlequin. The
Magician is a dapper man dressed in a tuxedo, holding a
bouquet of red roses. The High Priestess is a Theda Bara type,
with elaborate headdress and earrings so long they could be
taken as pillars.But the magic is in Amato's attention to
compositional detail, which conveys the mood and message of
the cards with Six of Cups poignance. Note how the Empress'
background is green, a color of fertility and growth, and edged
in golden fruits. Flowers bloom at her feet, but all is not so
tame and controlled in nature--hence theflowing and powerful
rushing waters in the stamp affixed to the image.The most
intense and provocative image in the Yesteryear Tarot is the
Hierophant. A small girl holds a super-sized crucifix within a
gold window frame that evokes an orthodox church. Other
religious images and icons show other dimensions of this
archetype, as does the classic Greek font stamped in green,
but the tape rule on the bottom remind us of the importance of
structure and definition to this card. This version of the
Hierophant is simply haunting.Unfortunately, sometimes
power is sacrificed for aesthetics in this deck. Strength shows
a sweet little girl embracing a cat. Bordered by lace and roses,
the picture is utterly adorable, but is somewhat toothless. The
Hermit's background of marbled paper in earthy shades of tan
and brown is the only hint of the esoteric, aside from the
lantern the elegant woman holds in her hand. The Tower
features old postcards, one showing the Eiffel Tower in
pristine condition. The Star, however, is quite potent. Amato
includes a typed definition of "Hope," but the central figure
expresses that aspect of this card most eloquently--and
wordlessly. The photograph is slightly off-center, and, against
a background of blue, seems like yet another star in an
unusual firmament, half-earth, half-sky.The booklet cover is
breathtaking: a graceful female is the central photograph with
words referencing Anne Bronte's Agnes Grey in French
superimposed upon both photograph and a flowered
background. The cards are not numbered, but Strength comes
before the Hermit in the photograph book.

packs spreaeds
Strictly speaking, there is no such thing as a One Card Spread,
but it is possible to have a meaningful reading if Elemental
Dignity skills have been developed and the question is fairly
simple. One Card Spreads are probably not for beginners, but
they might have a use where the Tarot reader has to do a lot of
quickie readings.EDs should be read with a minimum of 3
cards, so the Reader is faced with conjuring some other
elemental aspects to make a relationship. First of all, the
elemental basis has to be determined, and this is done by
relating the The next stage is to use the elemental basis of the
Querent's sun sign (the Ascendant or Moon sign may be more
appropriate if a natal horoscope is available). To sum up, we
have:Elemental Position (nature of the question) Element of
querent Sun Sign Element of Tarot Card ExercisesIf you wish
to hone your ED skills, try reading the same card using a
different elemental background, or Sun Sign.Advanced
Exercises - AstrologyFor those astrologers who have a clear
mental map of horoscopes, things can be taken further. For
example, if the Tarot Card represents one of the twelve signs,
then there will be a clear aspect or house relationship to the
querent's sun sign.For example, if the Sun sign is Aries and
the Tarot card is the Hermit (Virgo), we might deduce that
there might be some health or work issues (6th House). If we
follow the reciprocal path from Virgo to Aries, there may be
some 8th house problems relating to other people's money,
financial loss, death, or sexual relationships: the 8th House is
Water, which may have a bearing on the situation, especially
as Fire and Water are enemies. We can do a similar thing with
the 36 Minor Cards (Aces excluded).If one of the seven
Planetary Major Arcana are drawn, then we use our
knowledge of planetary rulerships and positions of planets in
signs to draw further inferences.Two Card Tarot ExerciseThe
Two Card Exercise is about pairing cards, an essential skill in
reading the first part of the where the cards at the extremity of
the spread are read, then the next inner cards and so on until
the centre of the spread is reached.The Two Card Spread
requires an elemental basis, which has to be supplied by the
Tarot reader according to the question. For a guide as to the
elemental nature of questions see .