My personal review of the Spirit Within Tarot

A few days ago I have received the wonderful Spirit Within Tarot by Steven Bright from Schiffer Publishing in the mail. It comes in a sturdy box in the same size as the deck. The box has the famous Schiffer magnetic closure we all know so well. The deck comes with a little guidebook with pictures of the cards in full color. The cards are borderless and have a glossy lamination, and their size is 7,5 cm x 11,5 cm.

For each card, Steven Bright has written a descriptive paragraph, one with the meaning of the card and some keywords. What stands out the most for me is that for each card he begins with a paragraph in which the card shares its essence in a very personal way. These paragraphs make me want to pick up the guidebook time and again.

"I get a bad rap around here.

I am only doing my job,

but people fear me all the same.

Endings are natural.

If something is no longer effective,

you need to bring it to a close."

The artwork and the symbolism follow closely the RW system which makes this deck very suitable for beginners, but I was quite surprised how subtle the silhouettes in the cards are conveying their messages. The way they are postured in their contemporary background is very evocative and will spark your imagination. A silhouette can be anybody. It is genderless, ageless and it can become whoever you need it to be at one particular moment. The next day it can become somebody entirely different. This quality makes the deck also an excellent tool for the Bardic reading technique (storytelling) and also for writers who want to spice up their work.

The deck includes the 22 Majors which have various color schemes and the 4 suits of the Minors which have a color scheme according to their suit. So with one glance of your eye, you can get a clear overview of a large tarot spread. Personally, I can get a little bit overwhelmed by a spread of more than five cards but this deck will certainly encourage me to try out these larger spreads again.  

All in all, I am so pleased to have this deck in my collection. The deck has a neutral feel to it which will allow it to become a whole year round deck and a potential workhorse for anybody who likes to read with a more contemporary deck. It will come as no surprise that I highly recommended this deck!

(I've been given this deck for review purpose. All opinions are entirely my own.)

Review - The Chronicles of Destiny Fortune cards

Recently a new deck has found its way home to me. I have been working with it for some time now without sharing it online, to get to know it a bit better before writing a review about it.

The Chronicles of Destiny Fortune cards by Josephine Ellershaw and Emily Ellershaw with artwork by Claudia McKinney (Schiffer Publishing) is an oracle deck which is a must have for all people who love to combine storytelling and divination.

The 60 cards come in a beautiful box which looks as if it is a real luxurious ornated old book. When we open the box with the famous Schiffer magnetic closure,  there is even an ex libris on the inside.

This amount of detail is also to be found in the guidebook which has beautiful paper and colored representations of the cards with extensive descriptions. Each card is an illustration of a continuous story. This story is very beautiful written and gives you so much to work with when you want to start reading with the cards. The language  is rich and very colorful. Together with the artwork they tell  a perfect story which held me captive until the end.

Besides these little chapters each card has been given some keywords and a more extensive divinatory interpretation..

The artwork in this deck is amazingly stunning. Although I  usually don’t like the use of photos for my decks, I can understand why the creators has chosen for this kind of artwork. It feels almost like snapshots from another realm; a place where you can picture yourself traveling to and having al kinds of adventures and it is also very easy to interact with the characters of the story. I mean, who wouldn’t want be like the hero or heroine of this deck?

The cards are gilded and the cardstock is excellent. They have a glossy finish and after some time they shuffle quite well.

After reading the guidebook I drew my first card and I got , believe it or not, Review. It shows the wonderful experience I had reading the story and don’t you just love the Dutch windmill in the background.  

Although one card draws are perfectly fine, the cards are meant to be read together. Just like in a story something needs to unfold in a reading. In the book we can find a two card spread: “the open book spread” which is great to start learning how to read with this deck. I say learning but it is not really that difficult. Especially when you have read the entire story the cards read very intuitively. From there on you can proceed which larger spread or just flip the cards and tell a story.

For my first open book spread I got:

Distant shores  and Weaver of Words. Again fitting very cards because writing a review can a feel a bit like a distant shore for me

I also like to use the deck face up. It is great to examine important chapters from your own life’s story and  retell them with the cards. It is also possible to rephrase your past experiences in life. With this deck every victim can become his own hero. Recreate your life story into a empowering fairy tale, myth or legend.

Some of my favorite cards:

All and all a great versatile deck and I am so happy to have it in my collection. If you have any question whatsoever about this deck, please feel free to ask me in the comments.
(I've been given this deck for review purpose. All opinions are entirely my own.)

Review of The Inner Wizard – Message cards from your higher self

Today I want to share my thoughts and feelings about a wonderful and gentle deck of cards. “The Inner Wizard - messages from you higher- self” is a small square deck of 84 cards. Each card has one side a short message, notelet  from a part of your higher self and on the other side a conscious new choice how to approach life. And this is for the main part what this deck is all about. And I love it!! 

There are no illustrations on the cards to trigger your intuition. You have to work mostly with written language to find meaning for your personal situation. It is almost as if I have found another key to open the door to  my intuition. 

The messages are very diverse: motivating, gentle, funny and empowering. They all adhere to the notion we can consciously and actively be a participant in our own life and life in general. The parts of our higher self, the “writers” of the notelets have also wide range of characteristics: God, your wicked self, your sense of humor, your body, your fear, your inner goddess, your future self, your wild self …..  I think that the variation in these messages and messengers add a very playful and surprising element to this deck. Each time when I pull a card, mostly in the morning I wonder: who I will hear from today? Will I get a supporting pat on the back or a soft kick in the butt?

Personally I think this deck is very suitable for daily draws. Of course you can do a three card spread if you like but with oracle decks I usually only do daily draws

A few examples

Some further information:

Each of the 84 cards has been assigned to a zodiac sign which can add another layer to the meaning of the card. Since I am a complete newbie as regards to astrology, this could be a way to familiarize myself with the zodiac signs and their attributes.  And since each zodiac sign is related to one of the four elements, you can also choose to use this aspect to enhance your reading. 

The  side of  choice proclamations are done in luscious red and the side with the the notelets have a soft pastel color according to their astrological sign.

The cards are sturdy and  have a glossy finish. They come in a nice box with a lid which is perfect to storage you cards in. In the box you will also find a leaflet with some more information about the cards and the astrological and elemental attributes

This lovely deck of cards has really found its rightful place in my collection of tarot and oracle cards.

Author: Jacob Roth & Libby Ram

Artist/Designer: Orna Ben-Shoshan

More information can be found at Kabbalah Insights: Inner Wizard

(disclaimer: although this deck was kindly given to me by the artist. This hasn't in any way influenced my review)

My First Impressions of The Joie de Vivre Tarot

Yesterday I've received The Joie de Vivre Tarot By Paulina Cassidy in the mail. I've ordered it two weeks ago at Book Depository. And to be honest is was a kind of an emotional purchase. Although I am celebrating my birthday in about three weeks and I am promised some tarot presents, I really needed  to treat myself on a light, friendly and uplifting deck.

A deck which will comfort you. A deck which will tell you the truth but in a gentle and kind way. A deck which will emphasize the positive side of a situation. Even the most dreadful cards are friendly and they speak more to your compassion than to your fears.

For instance the figure in the two of words is being  held by birds and the girl who is falling from the tower is held by butterflies

It had to be also a deck which would distract my mind form worrying. So there had to be enough symbolism in de pictures to keep my mind busy. Look how many symbols there are for instance in The Wheel: the zodiac, the moon cycles, the four trees on his head, the lemniscate on his jacket. In every card there are little treasures to be found.

And that’s when I knew it had to be the Joie de Vivre Tarot:

“French for 'joy of living', the Joie de Vivre is designed to access the childlike energy in each one of us to help stimulate, enhance, and inspire joy in our own lives. A truly fantastical people, the living beings in the Joie de Vivre realm are all sentient souls of love who want nothing but the best for those who take a journey through their world. An amplifier of intuition and a connection to the divine source, they hope the Joie de Vivre deck will help awaken a response from deep within your heart, mind, and spirit.”

It is the second tarot deck by Paulina Cassidy. I don’t own her first deck: the Paulina Tarot, because the artwork was too detailed for me. In the Joie de Vivre tarot the pictures are less crowded but still they contain a lot of little adorable details and symbols. The pictures were done in watercolors and ink. The colors are soft and transparent. The backgrounds are often just made  with a color wash and some swirls which is a good contrast to the detailed figures. The cardstock is average and the finish is glossy and smooth. The colors are much more vibrant than I had expected and they are absolutely beautiful.

One more thing about the LWB. Paulina has written a tiny little story about each character in her pictures and she has even named them. This makes this little booklet a very surprising addition to the deck

AL together it will be rather obvious I totally adore this deck.  And I haven’t even started reading with it. I do have already begun to knit a bag because the little tuckbox didn't survive the long journey overseas. 

My Morgan Greer Tarot has arrived!

A week ago I've ordered this deck from Book Depository and I didn't expect it until next week, so I was pleasantly surprised to have found it in my mailbox  yesterday; like a Imbolc gift for myself.

Morgan Greer Tarot

 Now I have this deck I cannot imagine why I've never felt the urge before to buy it. The cardstock is smooth and of good quality  and it shuffles like a charm. But most important are of course the magnificent vibrant colors of the borderless cards. The color palette transports you immediately back to the seventies Perhaps it is funny to say but they make me feel young. Listening to music from those days can also provoke feelings like that.

The imagery is mostly Rider Waite based but it is like the camera has zoomed in, so you are very up close to the characters, which gives this deck an intimate feel. I expect it will read particularly good with larger spreads because you can easily get an overview of the situation thanks to the clarity of the images of this deck.

I am looking forward to read with it. Tonight I will “officially” use it for the first time for my Imbolc reading (Of course I've played with it and tried it out already. But then who wouldn't? J)

My personal review of The Gilded Reverie Lenormand

A long time ago I did try to purchase this Lenormand deck form  Ciro Marchetti’s website, but sadly I was informed he didn't sell it any more. You can imagine my happiness when I heared this deck was going to be published by US games. 

I've pre-ordered my copy with Book Depository and it has arrived safely yesterday. I had read some reviews  already so my expectations were high. Excited and with al little bit anxiety. (I've had some misprints before) I opened my package. OMG what a cute and sturdy box I found in there. It opens with a magnetic flip. I had never seen such a nice box to go with a US Games deck. The cards are just beautiful. They are gilded, which adds to the luxurious feel of this deck.

The colors are vibrant and lush and the cards are thick and glossy and also quite large compared to other Lenormand decks. Since I never work with grand tableau’s, I don’t mind this at all. I like the size of these cards which does justice to the beautiful artwork of Ciro. My favorite card as always is “mice”. Wouldn’t  you love to tickle this little guy’s tummy?

The deck doesn't contain the extra cards of the original self-published version. But I've heard US games will probable print an expansion pack for this deck with the additional cards in the beginning of 2014. I am certainly planning to buy this too. It does come with a well written LWB by Tali Goodwin and Rana George. Each card has tells a little bit about itself and after that follows the general meaning.

And even the backs are stunning. This picture says it all

I am glad I've picked up my Lennies again and did some practicing before my package had arrived. So with a totally refreshed memory I am going to play with this gorgeous deck

The first three cards I've pulled for this deck were: garden + birds + clover:

·         People are coming together to discuss the happiness this deck has brought them

·         There’re  a lot of positive comments about this deck in the community

Simple and clear just as any other Lenormand deck, except this one is absolutely stunning!!!

I am not a Lenormand deck collector but I am very happy with this addition to my more traditional decks. I highly recommend it to every Lenormand reader. And with all the gilded edges and decorations it could be a great Christmas gift too.

For now, I only have to wait for the Celtic Lenormand Oracle from Chloë McCracken and Will Worthington to be published…..  J

Review of the Tarot of the Hidden Realm (Updated)

Normally I just buy a deck, but this time I really wanted it on the day it was released, so I've preordered the Tarot of the Hidden Realm from an online bookstore. Finally today it arrived in the mail. I was so excited and yes, the cards were amazing. All the cards were beautifully painted by  Julia Jeffrey, with natural earthy colors. When I flipped them through it was indeed like you were strolling through a hidden realm. I came across so many different creatures and fairy folk. 

And with that said, I had discovered my main problem with this deck. There are too many people in the cards. I didn't mind that some of the meanings were different then with the standard Rider Waite. But for me it’s hard to see the meaning behind the people, for instance just a guy with a sword looking up to the stars as the seven of swords.

The book tells you the stories and the circumstances of these fairy people and it is beautiful written as you would expect from Barbara Moore. But for me it would take me to long to learn the characters of the people on the cards with their full story. I like to just take a glance and know what a card is telling me. Later on, if I want to, I also like to search for little details in the scenery on the cards.  

Tarot of the Hidden Realm - Julia Jeffrey

So I did hesitate, because I liked the pictures a lot. But I don't want to have a deck that is likely to end up in a drawer instead of on the table.

At first I thought I would keep it and think of an oracle meaning to go with each card. But I recently bought the Anna K Tarot and for now this deck will keep me occupied, so I’ve send the Hidden Realm Tarot back to the bookstore.

This is just my personal meaning for I  still think that it’s really a great deck. The cardstock is not to thick but good enough. They are smooth and have a matte finish. The pictures are phenomenal and the book is awesome.

I still am a bit sad it’s not for me L (for now…)

Addition May 3 2014

Today I've received this deck for the second time (birthday Present) and I am ever so happy this deck and Iwill get another chance to connect. I never felt good about my giving up on it, If you are curious about my new experiences with this deck I invite you to follow my blog because I am going to use this deck regularly for daily draws for the coming time. I am really looking forward  to it!