Review by Christiana Gaudet

Deck by Rome Choi and Kwon Shina

Published by U.S. Games

Dreaming Way Tarot is a new tarot deck from US Games. Dreaming Way closely follows the Rider Waite Smith traditions to the point that most people who are comfortable with the RWS will have no problem immediately reading with Dreaming Way.

Dreaming Way Tarot is a youthful deck. I think it will be very popular with younger readers especially. The art is very good. The faces of the characters are delicate and detailed. Many of the images are breathtaking and evocative. I particularly like the Aces, and the Judgment card.

The scenic backgrounds seem random. Some are beautiful color-washed tones. Others, for no apparent reason, are textured. Some have a repeating pattern that looks like old-fashioned wallpaper.

The costuming of the characters is curious. Many wear huge, elongated shoes. Some wear oversized top hats. The High Priestess is a young girl in a black top hat and white knee socks. It is images such as this which make me think this is a deck for someone much younger than me. In my tarot world, the High Priestess does not wear knee socks.

There are some striking contrasts in the art. Many of the costumes are colored in black-and-white checks. The Cups are of varying sizes and shapes, and they are decorated in large black-and-white polka dots.

There are some images that just make me shake my head. Most notably, the Page of Cups is a sweet young girl in a dress, holding a black and white cup. Fish are swimming through the air. The image is lovely, except that the poor Page has a teapot tied to her head.

What makes matters worse is that the LWB is skimpy, and does not give the reasons behind the crazy images. If I could explain to a client the symbolism of the teapot hat I would feel better about it.

Another problem I have is the facial expressions of some of the characters. In some cards that are traditionally happy, the characters look sullen and morose. I am not sure how well my clients will react to a Ten of Cups where Mom looks like she is coming home from a funeral.

All griping aside, there is something really special about this deck. After looking through the cards a few times I decided that Dreaming Way was just not a deck for me. I put it to the side of my reading table to sit rejected until I had a chance to review it.

Then I had a couple of telephone readings to do. I began each reading using my current professional deck, my trusty Hanson-Roberts. Early on in both readings, I felt the Dreaming Way call to me. "Use me! Use me!" it seemed to say. And so I did.

Here's what I discovered. The stark black and white graphics against the watery pastel washes evoke a lot of intuition. As a full-time tarot professional I could read with any deck and do a good job. But I must admit Dreaming Way made my job easy.

I know that newborn infants react to black-and-white graphics. Maybe the inner child does too. Maybe the interesting and eye-catching images work to open the third eye. We know that the third eye is linked to psychic ability, eyesight and imagination. For me, this is why every tarot deck is so powerful. As the eyes view the tarot cards the images stimulate the imagination, the intuition and the psychic ability.

It may be that these odd Dreaming Way images have some special ability to stimulate psychic awareness.

I am still more comfortable using these images for phone readings, where the clients can't see the cards. Over time, I may come up with my own explanations for the odd symbolism. Then I will be excited to take Dreaming Way Tarot on the road with me.

Addendum: For some other thoughts on this deck, after it's designer, Rome Choi, explained some of the symbolism to me. visit here.