autumn star
Muir Aingeal said:
I saw that yesterday - must be a problem with supply. Amazon.com has three left in stock
Tarot of Transformation
I saw that yesterday - must be a problem with supply. Amazon.com has three left in stock
Cactus
I absolutely love this deck. It is very telling, even when reading for yourself. And though I read intuitively, I find myself reading the book (after I've gotten what I could out of the reading) because the descriptions of the cards are so spiritual and uplifting. They are in great detail, as well.
What I love is that I don't feel like I'm "cheating" when I read from the book. A synchronistic thing ALWAYS happens whenever I read the description. For instance, I'll do a one or two card reading for myself. I'll study the cards (and try not to be biased about what they could mean, since it's myself I'm reading for!). Then, whether I observe something meaningful or not, I still get a sense of what the reading means. Then I'll read the descriptions of the cards and something in the description will either be exactly the same thing I've been thinking or wondering just prior to doing a reading. Or the description will contain a phrase or word that I've used recently to someone else...
You know what I mean, right? Something just flies out that tells me what I need to know. That, and the beautiful artwork make this deck one of my favorites and one I use the most.
What I love is that I don't feel like I'm "cheating" when I read from the book. A synchronistic thing ALWAYS happens whenever I read the description. For instance, I'll do a one or two card reading for myself. I'll study the cards (and try not to be biased about what they could mean, since it's myself I'm reading for!). Then, whether I observe something meaningful or not, I still get a sense of what the reading means. Then I'll read the descriptions of the cards and something in the description will either be exactly the same thing I've been thinking or wondering just prior to doing a reading. Or the description will contain a phrase or word that I've used recently to someone else...
You know what I mean, right? Something just flies out that tells me what I need to know. That, and the beautiful artwork make this deck one of my favorites and one I use the most.
Rasa
a bit long-winded, sorry...
This thread inspired me to take out my copy of this deck, and have another look... It was actually one of the first Tarots I ever got, but I think it's probably been a few years now since I last used it.
The verdict: I still like it, even though it's WONKY!
I think that says a lot, seeing as my taste in decks has done a complete 180 since I first started out, and I usually reach for historical decks, nowadays.
I bought this deck because I loooooved the beautiful images, and I still do. Every single card is so amazingly gorgeous, and the art is very consistant in style and color palette, and always very skillfully rendered. There is not a single card that looks out of place in comparison to the others, or like any of them were painted in too much of a hurry. It really looks like the artist took the time to really feel every card, and make it beautiful.
I like how swirly and flowy the cards are.. the images blend into one another beautifully in a spread.
I also generally like the keywords, which is quite the accomplishment, since normally I HATE words on the cards, and will usually clip off ones with too many words or titles.
These keywords, however, have a kind of poetic air about them.. one could combine them in a reading to make expressive little affirmation-like poems.
Here are 3 I just pulled, for example:
"Receiving Grace,
Natural Intimacy,
Dissolving into Oneness."
How lovely!
Now, here's the iffy part... these really seem more oracle-like to me, than Tarot, which may or may not be to someone's liking.
For most of the minor arcana, there is nothing whatsoever to relate the cards to any sort of traditional system. In addition to not depicting suit symbols in the imagery (which I think is ok, actually, it's part of the strength of the images), they also don't generally convey any kind of 'generally accepted' meaning for most of the cards. For example, the 8 of cups is called "human doing" and shows the silhouette of a figure in front of a conveyor belt carrying a baby, with a cityscape in the background. A powerful image, and an interesting concept, but why is this the 8 of cups? Another is the 7 of wands, which they've titled 'opening to angels'. The picture shows a woman with arms outstretched, touching the hand of a large, shimmery-glowy angel figure. Again, it's lovely, but why the 7 of wands?
I thought maybe they just had their own structure, but after laying out each of the numbers, ace to 10, and comparing them across the suits, I can't see any common underlying structure, (ie: number doesn't seem to play a role in the meaning of many of the cards). In addition, the suits don't even seem to carry a particular meaning, right across the board.. A few of the cards have RWS/Golden Dawn type meanings, but most don't.
The court cards also have all been retitled (server, teacher, healer, master), and I'm not sure which are supposed to correspond to what, if there even was an intended correspondance.
If one were to clip off titles and color-coded borders, there is NO way that they would be able to tell even which suit a card belongs to, let alone which one it is in particular. Actually, they probably wouldn't even be able to tell that it was a Tarot image at all, if they didn't know.... I think this is part of the reason I like the keywords in this deck; they help to anchor the images a bit to some particular idea.
Don't get me wrong, I don't think everything HAS to line up with a particular set of esoteric correspondances, but I -do- like when there is some sort of underlying structure to the cards, and these don't seem to really have one.
(I should point out though, that my copy of the accompanying book is currently on another continent, so perhaps they've written something in there about suit or number that I've missed from my own visual ponderings..)
I find it interesting in this deck to see how my own ideas of each card fit into the way they have chosen to depict them/title them.. sometimes they mesh very well into each other (I like the idea of the two of swords as 'creative differences', the 10 of swords as 'leaving the story', and the 4 of disks as 'manifesting home'!), and some of them don't dovetail quite so neatly, but that's part of what makes it interesting!
I think this is a great deck for meditation/contemplation/creating affirmations/examining one's spiritual path, or perhaps for using with someone who is made uncomfortable by more standard types of Tarot decks (all the imagery in this one is peaceful and pretty, the keywords are pleasant, and there isn't much 'scary' in here.), but I don't think it would do for many other types of card-reading. It's probably not what I'd reach for if I wanted to do a predictive reading about financial problems, for example, unless I wanted to look at the emotional, psychological, or spiritual implications of them.
This thread inspired me to take out my copy of this deck, and have another look... It was actually one of the first Tarots I ever got, but I think it's probably been a few years now since I last used it.
The verdict: I still like it, even though it's WONKY!
I think that says a lot, seeing as my taste in decks has done a complete 180 since I first started out, and I usually reach for historical decks, nowadays.
I bought this deck because I loooooved the beautiful images, and I still do. Every single card is so amazingly gorgeous, and the art is very consistant in style and color palette, and always very skillfully rendered. There is not a single card that looks out of place in comparison to the others, or like any of them were painted in too much of a hurry. It really looks like the artist took the time to really feel every card, and make it beautiful.
I like how swirly and flowy the cards are.. the images blend into one another beautifully in a spread.
I also generally like the keywords, which is quite the accomplishment, since normally I HATE words on the cards, and will usually clip off ones with too many words or titles.
These keywords, however, have a kind of poetic air about them.. one could combine them in a reading to make expressive little affirmation-like poems.
Here are 3 I just pulled, for example:
"Receiving Grace,
Natural Intimacy,
Dissolving into Oneness."
How lovely!
Now, here's the iffy part... these really seem more oracle-like to me, than Tarot, which may or may not be to someone's liking.
For most of the minor arcana, there is nothing whatsoever to relate the cards to any sort of traditional system. In addition to not depicting suit symbols in the imagery (which I think is ok, actually, it's part of the strength of the images), they also don't generally convey any kind of 'generally accepted' meaning for most of the cards. For example, the 8 of cups is called "human doing" and shows the silhouette of a figure in front of a conveyor belt carrying a baby, with a cityscape in the background. A powerful image, and an interesting concept, but why is this the 8 of cups? Another is the 7 of wands, which they've titled 'opening to angels'. The picture shows a woman with arms outstretched, touching the hand of a large, shimmery-glowy angel figure. Again, it's lovely, but why the 7 of wands?
I thought maybe they just had their own structure, but after laying out each of the numbers, ace to 10, and comparing them across the suits, I can't see any common underlying structure, (ie: number doesn't seem to play a role in the meaning of many of the cards). In addition, the suits don't even seem to carry a particular meaning, right across the board.. A few of the cards have RWS/Golden Dawn type meanings, but most don't.
The court cards also have all been retitled (server, teacher, healer, master), and I'm not sure which are supposed to correspond to what, if there even was an intended correspondance.
If one were to clip off titles and color-coded borders, there is NO way that they would be able to tell even which suit a card belongs to, let alone which one it is in particular. Actually, they probably wouldn't even be able to tell that it was a Tarot image at all, if they didn't know.... I think this is part of the reason I like the keywords in this deck; they help to anchor the images a bit to some particular idea.
Don't get me wrong, I don't think everything HAS to line up with a particular set of esoteric correspondances, but I -do- like when there is some sort of underlying structure to the cards, and these don't seem to really have one.
(I should point out though, that my copy of the accompanying book is currently on another continent, so perhaps they've written something in there about suit or number that I've missed from my own visual ponderings..)
I find it interesting in this deck to see how my own ideas of each card fit into the way they have chosen to depict them/title them.. sometimes they mesh very well into each other (I like the idea of the two of swords as 'creative differences', the 10 of swords as 'leaving the story', and the 4 of disks as 'manifesting home'!), and some of them don't dovetail quite so neatly, but that's part of what makes it interesting!
I think this is a great deck for meditation/contemplation/creating affirmations/examining one's spiritual path, or perhaps for using with someone who is made uncomfortable by more standard types of Tarot decks (all the imagery in this one is peaceful and pretty, the keywords are pleasant, and there isn't much 'scary' in here.), but I don't think it would do for many other types of card-reading. It's probably not what I'd reach for if I wanted to do a predictive reading about financial problems, for example, unless I wanted to look at the emotional, psychological, or spiritual implications of them.
autumn star
Thankyou Rasa & Cactus for your detailed descriptions of the deck! It sounds just like what I am looking for, I can't wait for it to arrive
This is one of the reasons why I am attracted to it - for spiritual development & contemplation. It seems really well thought and well done for this kind of deck
Rasa said:
This is one of the reasons why I am attracted to it - for spiritual development & contemplation. It seems really well thought and well done for this kind of deck
Carla
Thank you, Rasa for your insightful review. For the all the reasons you mentioned, I can confirm this deck is not for me, in spite of the beautiful images. I, too, really dislike key words and phrases, and find it annoying and confusing when a card system departs too much from traditional tarot meanings. So I can save my money and trouble!
lark
This is one of my favorite decks...and I just wanted to say that the book is invaluable for understanding what is being shown in the art work.
It's very well thought out and a healing deck.
Take for instance the 8 of cups.
Human doing...this card is about getting over involved in doing and not being able to stop until a task is completed...even though your spirit, emotions and health may dictate otherwise.
The man is like a cog on an assembly line not able to connect with his inner child anymore....just focused on that 40 hour do, do, do work schedule.
How some people use activity to cover up a sense of emptiness or disconnection.
And how some are so focused on the learned behavior of perfectionism...they barely look up from a task to connect with the Now.
At the end of the chapter they give you cards to help bring you back into balance...read about 2, 3 and 8 of Disks.
A beautiful, powerful deck...and one of those decks that is often overlooked.
If it is going OOP grab a copy now...it's a deck not to be missed, and unique in that it is as useful as it is beautiful.
It's very well thought out and a healing deck.
Take for instance the 8 of cups.
Human doing...this card is about getting over involved in doing and not being able to stop until a task is completed...even though your spirit, emotions and health may dictate otherwise.
The man is like a cog on an assembly line not able to connect with his inner child anymore....just focused on that 40 hour do, do, do work schedule.
How some people use activity to cover up a sense of emptiness or disconnection.
And how some are so focused on the learned behavior of perfectionism...they barely look up from a task to connect with the Now.
At the end of the chapter they give you cards to help bring you back into balance...read about 2, 3 and 8 of Disks.
A beautiful, powerful deck...and one of those decks that is often overlooked.
If it is going OOP grab a copy now...it's a deck not to be missed, and unique in that it is as useful as it is beautiful.
autumn star
lark said:
Thankyou lark! I think it seems like a healing deck too and I just feel really drawn to it at this time in my life.
I read alot with oracle decks (at the moment probably more so that my tarot decks) - so the fact that it has phrases and that it moves away from the traditional tarot meanings does not bother me at all. I can understand that if you were looking for the traditional type of deck it might not fit the bill - but I feel like I have as many traditional decks as I need and I am looking for something a little different and off the beaten path something to offer me a new approach or perspective
I can't for this deck to arrive Sulis
Here are some imgages: http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/tarot-of-transformation/
And reviews: http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/tarot-of-transformation/review.shtml
It seems that Amazon UK have it: http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1578632390/aeclectictaro-21/
Amazon Canada seems to have it too: http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASIN/1578632390/aeclectic-20/
If you're in the US Tarot Garden has it listed as in stock: http://www.tarotgarden.com/boutique...title=The+Tarot+of+Transformation&pageenter=0
And reviews: http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/tarot-of-transformation/review.shtml
It seems that Amazon UK have it: http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1578632390/aeclectictaro-21/
Amazon Canada seems to have it too: http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASIN/1578632390/aeclectic-20/
If you're in the US Tarot Garden has it listed as in stock: http://www.tarotgarden.com/boutique...title=The+Tarot+of+Transformation&pageenter=0
autumn star
When I was looking to buy this deck, I asked the Book Depository to let me know when it was available again and today they sent a message saying it is now OOP. Just thought I would let others know.
I do have this deck now and I enjoy using it - I mostly use it for daily draws and general advice and guidance and I find it helpful for this purpose. Although, it is kind of hard to read intuitively as I have to keep referring back to the book but perhaps this is because I need more practice reading with it. It is very insightful and can offer different perspectives on my issues than traditional tarot - so it is kind of more like an oracle.
I do have this deck now and I enjoy using it - I mostly use it for daily draws and general advice and guidance and I find it helpful for this purpose. Although, it is kind of hard to read intuitively as I have to keep referring back to the book but perhaps this is because I need more practice reading with it. It is very insightful and can offer different perspectives on my issues than traditional tarot - so it is kind of more like an oracle.
Aurora369
I was just going to say that it is in stock in the US as well at amazon for the moment.
