Dreaming Way Tarot Review

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.

Page of Cups

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.

A Review of Tarot Foundations: 31 Days to Read Tarot with Confidence

My first thought when I read Brigit "Biddy" Esselmont's new e-book Tarot Foundations: 31 Days to Read Tarot with Confidence was "Darn! I wish I had written this!"

Biddy has produced a unique and valuable tarot treasure. Although she and I do not always agree on card meanings and reading techniques, I endorse her concise, understandable and thorough method of tarot learning.

In her introduction, Biddy mentions something that seems to be true for tarot teachers everywhere. We all discover than many students find the concept of learning tarot a wee bit daunting. While Tarot Foundations does require a great deal of work and focus, it will make the task of learning tarot easier.

I like the title of this book, "Tarot Foundations," very much. The truth is this. No one can really learn tarot in thirty-one days. I am often irritated by courses and books that offer to teach tarot in fifteen minutes, or an hour, or a weekend. But I do understand the concept. The idea is to create a foundation that gives students the confidence they need to embark on the lifelong journey of tarot study.

Tarot Foundations is self -published as an e-book. Unlike many self-published e-books, it is well-written, well-edited and beautifully formatted. All of this, along with Biddy's clear and friendly style, makes it a pleasure to read. She includes many clickable links to her own sites and products as well as other pertinent tarot websites. This gives the book a very interactive feel. Biddy has even provided readers with a free website where they can meet and converse with other tarot students who are working on their thirty-one days of tarot learning.

In the introduction, Biddy makes it clear that the student can achieve the thirty-one day goal in more or less than thirty-one actual days. In this book, a "day" equals one focused lesson and/or activity. Students can skip days, or can do more than one day's work at a time.

The book assumes no prior knowledge. In the first "days" she guides the student through the process of selecting and purchasing a tarot deck, along with two or three tarot books. She teaches the basics of cleansing the cards and bonding with the cards.

 Each day builds on the next. Students are to keep tarot journals, a practice of which I am a complete fan. The book also includes templates for creating key word charts, and clever tarot card profiles. Completing these forms is part of the lesson plan for particular days, but the finished charts and profiles will remain valuable to the student long after the thirty-one days are over.

Tarot Foundations separates itself from other beginner tarot books in that there are no actual card descriptions or instructions for interpretation beyond some key word charts in the appendix. It is the students' task to derive key words and deeper interpretations from the tarot books they read, and from their own intuition. Tarot Foundations teaches a nice mix of interpretive and intuitive reading styles. The exercises are varied accordingly.

I have very few criticisms of Tarot Foundations. Perhaps some of the finer points, such as predicting timing, are taught in an overly didactic way. My experience is that each reader needs to experiment with many techniques and traditions to figure out what works for them. To suggest there is just one way to do it and that way will be completely reliable seems disingenuous. While there is no harm in teaching students a specific tradition, I wish it were more clear that there are many traditions and techniques, especially when it comes to predictive reading.

I have taught tarot classes for years. After taking a few classes, some students really have a grasp on tarot; others less so. What is the difference? The successful students actually study every day in between classes. They do their homework.  The other students choose not to study.

Tarot Foundations is a great guide for effective tarot study. Tarot Foundations doesn't just teach students how to read tarot. It teaches students how to actually study tarot, and then put that study into action. For some students, this distinction will make all the difference. 

For more information, and to get your copy, visit Biddy's website here.

A Review of Tarot Journeys, Part One

Kim DeCina, of Mirror Moon Tarot, has recently released an on-line tarot course, Of Mentors and Magic Wands. This is to be the first of a four-part series entitled Tarot Journeys.

Of Mentors and Magic Wands includes lengthy e-books about each of the six Major Arcana cards, Fool through Hierophant, covered in the course. It is DeCina's intention that the student should tackle one card a week.

I like DeCina's take on the cards, in fact it is very similar to my own. She feels, as I do, that each card carries a spiritual lesson to be used for growth and healing. She feels, as I do, that we can connect with the card characters in meditation and learn from them.

DeCina's writing style is brilliant. She is witty, intelligent and elegant in the way she describes tarot, and each of the individual cards. My only (small) complaint about her written work is that sometimes her font choices seem gimmicky. I would choose readability over aesthetics any day.

The Tarot Journeys series is based on the RWS (Rider-Waite -Smith) images and tradition of tarot. She doesn't really make it clear that this is one of many tarot traditions, so beginning readers of other decks may be a bit confused. But, I think all readers really should have a solid understanding of the most popular tarot deck on the planet. It has, after all, earned that honor for a reason.

DeCina employs a number of teaching tools in this course, including some really smart, fun exercises. In many ways, these e-books are like workbooks, where the student must actually think and write. In my opinion, thinking and writing are two really important aspects of tarot study that are all-too-often ignored.

Each e-book in Of Mentors and Magic Wands sort of takes on the personality of the card it is teaching. DeCina has a really smart way of tying the energy of each card to a wide variety of cultural references. Each book is peppered with wise quotations. In her narrative she invokes musical theatre references as easily as she does sacred texts. DeCina is well-educated, and it shows. She really understands the concept of archetypes. After taking her course, her students will as well.

In presenting these archetypes, she also presents the spiritual and psychological lessons and healing opportunities available in each card. Kim DeCina is a welcome new voice in the chorus of tarotists working to present tarot as a tool of healing and spiritual growth.

The e-books also include original tarot spreads and meditations as well as the aforementioned thinking and writing exercises. If the student actually follows through and utilizes this course, the student will most assuredly come away with a real working understanding of the cards - not just how to interpret them - but how to really use the images and concepts in healing, personal growth and spiritual thought.

DeCina and I met on the internet, but it turns out she is a neighbor of mine. South Florida boasts a number of tarot luminaries, and Kim DeCina is definitely one. I expect we will be seeing a lot more of her in the coming years.

I am curious about her decision to publish this work as an on-line course, rather than as a book. At $95 for the first of a four-part series, she stands to earn more than many tarot authors sadly earn in royalties, which I don't begrudge her. On the other hand, her work might have benefited from the gentle touch of an editor, but only slightly. I have honestly seen more typos in books from large publishing houses than I found in this self-published course.

Since she calls it a "course" rather than a series of "books," I wish she had included some video or audio with it, and maybe some opportunity to interact with her personally.

On Mentors and Magic Wands would be an especially fine find for any serious tarot student who is really looking to bond with the cards, and to understand them on a deep, personal level. To be a decent tarot reader we all need to do the real work of tarot study. That this course makes that work fun and easy in no way diminishes its potency.

To learn more about this course and Kim DeCina's work, and to order it for yourself, visit Mirror Moon Tarot at http://mirrormoontarot.weebly.com.

Gilded Tarot Royale: A Deck is Reborn

Just a short time ago, a few South Florida Tarot friends and I were enjoying a meal at Ciro and Maria Marchetti's lovely home. Ciro pulled up an image of the Strength card from Gilded Tarot on his amazing computer. Then, he showed us another image. It was an image of the same Strength card, but it had been altered. The lion's mouth was different. The woman's dress was more detailed.

Ciro explained that he was interested in creating a new special edition of the Gilded Tarot, incorporating advances in both computer technology and his own tarot understanding.

Fast forward some months and the Gilded Tarot Royale has become a reality.

Amongst my students the original Gilded Tarot published by Llewellyn is a favorite. It does not contain the most traditional images, but there is an almost intangible appeal to this deck. Perhaps it is the colors, the cool steampunk feel of Marchetti's "retrotech" images, the masks, jesters and cosmic images that somehow blend together to create a tarot deck that stimulates the imagination and intuition.

The Gilded Tarot Royale is self-published. Its packaging, printing and cardstock are of the highest quality; arguably better than standard decks from most publishers. The deck is oversized with actual gilded edges.  It comes with a CD that includes a comprehensive PDF booklet. In the booklet, Ciro discusses each card, pointing out the changes and symbolism. The booklet also includes three spreads especially designed for this deck by members of the tarot community; Pamela Steele, Lee Bursten and me, Christiana Gaudet.

Ciro Marchetti's art style has made a definite mark on modern tarot. I believe there are new tarot students whose entire visual experience of tarot is based on Marchetti's work, rather than the Waite deck in the yellow box that readers of my generation identify as their first introduction to tarot art.

The miraculous thing about Marchetti's work is that he paints entirely in pixels. Of course advancements in computer technology would afford him more detail and nuance in his pictures. And that is primarily what I see in this new deck; more nuances. The faces of the characters are more detailed, as are the costumes. The quality of the art is better overall. In a way, it is like the difference between an animated movie and a live-action movie. The message may be the same but the live-action film evokes more emotion, and is more fun to watch.

There are some symbolic changes as well. In Major Arcana Six, the Lovers, the man is now transparent. Is he real, or simply a figment of the woman's imagination? This helps us to focus on the deeper meaning of the Lovers, and is a nice correction to the rather simplistic Lover's card in the original deck.

The Gilded Royale Hermit is contemplating a snake. In Strength, the chains with which the woman controls the lion are more apparent. The Chariot is drastically changed. The Charioteer, though still female, is now regal, balanced and determined.

The Gilded Royale in no way diminishes the original Gilded. Gilded Tarot may be flawed, but it is also well-loved. If you are one of the few who didn't love the original Gilded, it is worth giving this new deck a try. The art is better, and the symbolism is better.

If you, like me, love your Gilded Tarot, you also need this new edition, simply for its beauty and maturity. It is like seeing a small child you once knew now grown into an adult.