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.)

The Hermit – Coming home to yourself

For today I’ve received The Hermit from the Spirit within Tarot by Steven Bright.  Actually, I received it quite literally because it jumped out of the deck while I was shuffling. This deck seems to know me already quite well because it keeps giving me the cards I love the most.

The Hermit is one of the cards where we see the silhouette in the far distance which gives the card a very spacious feel. The Hermit is sitting on the top of a mountain. He carries no lantern but the light of the full moon is all he needs right now.

I identify with the Hermit on a very deep level. He is my guide and my shadow, so I feel he will be my teacher for a very long time.

Since I have been cutting down on my screen time you would think there would a lot of spare time for me to spend in Hermit mode but it is more complicated than it appears to be. Some restless, always need to be busy, part of me is frantically searching for other ways to occupy my mind. O my, how resourceful we are when it comes to undermining ourselves. Luckily for me, I have uncovered this “devious” plan so I am one step ahead of myself again. One thing I did manage was to pick up my meditation practice again which I am so grateful for. Each time I meditate it feels like coming home to myself.

Queen of Swords – Me and my journal

Today’s card is the Queen of Swords from the Spirit Within Tarot by Steven Bright. As you all know I identify highly with this queen and I was pleasantly surprised when I saw how Steven has captured her in his deck.

We see a woman sitting at her desk in front of her laptop, scratching her head with a pencil. She is obviously pondering what to write next; how to formulate her words in a way they will describe her feelings and ideas as clearly as possible. It feels so natural to see myself in her place. It is almost as if the silhouettes are inviting us to put ourselves or others in the depictions of the deck.  

I like to journal, almost on a daily basis. It helps me to get my mind in order and to think in a more linear way, which can be a good thing when your mind sometimes resembles a merry go round. Also, I feel that writing things down makes them more real, more tangible. I’ve been journaling since I was ten years old so I can hardly imagine myself without a journal by my side.

And then I was wondering what she was journaling about and I got …the Nine of Pentacles. This is a favorite of mine in any deck. Although I don’t shy away from writing about sad and painful things, I do like to emphasize what is beautiful, magical and delightful in life. Focusing on the sad stuff comes naturally to many of us. It used to be that way for me too. So nowadays I’d like to push myself a bit further and try not to write only about the clouds but even more so about their silver linings. Like the lady in this card, I have so much to be grateful for.