A Review of Magical Times Empowerment Cards

Magical Times Empowerment Cards

By Jody Bergsma

Published by US Games Systems, Inc

Review by Christiana Gaudet

Magical Times Empowerment Cards by Jody Bergsma is a deck of forty-four cards, each with a pretty image and short affirmation.

An enclosed twenty-eight page book includes a further message for each card as well as three spreads for use with the deck.

I am enough of a hard-core tarotist to not be a huge fan of oracle decks in general, but I recognize their purpose.

An oracle deck requires no study, and no prior knowledge of the cards. You can purchase the deck and be doing readings the same day. Tarot decks, and even the simpler Lenormand decks, follow a specific structure and require a bit of a commitment. Oracle decks such as Magical Times Empowerment Cards require only the desire to receive inspiration and perspective.

One of my favorite things about Magical Times is its lovely box. There will be no need to find another book or a pouch for these cards.

The cards themselves are a bit larger and squarer than most tarot decks. The cards are colorful without being garish. Each card has a simply title, such as Confidence, Creation, Nature, Prosperity and Quest.

I really like the forty-four words that were chosen to be cards in this oracle. Right away I can see how these words could be helpful in healing, inspiring and directing those who seek wisdom from the cards.

Each card is illustrated with a lovely picture. The images feature faeries, angels, animals both real and mythical, flowers, butterflies and Celtic symbols. The Dignity card, for example, features a dragon. Destiny features dolphins. The Dance card shows a faerie dancing with a winged frog.

I love that there is a Dance card, as well as a card of Mercy, and one of Manifestation. In many ways this is obviously a high-quality oracle. The art is appealing, and the cardstock is sturdy.

I appreciate how much information is in the booklet. The cards are listed alphabetically. Each card has a statement that begins with “Today I will.”  This is in contrast to the affirmations that are printed on the cards, which are directives rather than first-person affirmations.

There are a few things in the booklet and in the on-card affirmations that make me cringe. For instance, the opening sentence in the booklet reads “Like all things, Magical Times Empowerment Cards are a living energy and it is good to align with their life force.”

I’m sorry, but “all things” are not a living energy. That is what makes “living energy” special and sacred. The lamp on my desk is not a living energy. I would have appreciated more careful writing and editing.

Likewise, many of the affirmations written on the cards are poignant and inspiring.  Others fall a bit flat. On Gentleness, for instance, is written a wonderful last line “Love in action endures.” But the line before that is “True kindness has wings.”  Wasps have wings, too.  I am just not sure what “winged kindness” might be, or what it might have to do with the subject of the card, Gentleness.

I really like the spreads in the booklet. There is a simple one-card spread, a three card spread and a five-card spread complete with an elemental ritual. All three spreads seem effective and helpful. The variety of the spreads could easily inspire a diviner to create their own spreads for use with the Magical Times Empowerment Cards.

I recommend the Magical Times Empowerment Cards to anyone who enjoys pretty oracle decks, mystical images and simple, spiritual messages.

Christiana Gaudet Reviews Magickal Times Empowerment Cards

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Review of The Golden Tarot: The Visconti-Sforza Deck

There are a few reasons I was skeptical of the new Golden Tarot from Race Point Publishing. The author, Mary Packard, is not a known tarot expert. The deck is a reproduction of the Visconti-Sforza Tarot; both US Games and Lo Scarabeo have published similar decks. The name, Golden Tarot, has already been taken by the beautiful medieval collage deck by Kat Black.

Race Point Publishing is a new company with a very specific mission. They publish the sort of books that just don't work on your Kindle. Children's books, art books, craft books and cookbooks - books you must touch, see and feel are their specialty. Tarot is obviously a good fit for them. I believe the Golden Tarot is their only tarot offering so far.

The look and feel of the Golden Tarot makes me hope they will publish more decks soon. The deck and book set comes in a large display box. Inside the box is the tarot deck in its own box, a lovely hardcover book and a purple layout cloth in a cardboard sleeve. The set retails for $30.00. This is an amazingly low price given the high quality of the set.

The cards themselves are lovely. Most tarotists know that the Visconti-Sforza is one of the oldest and most complete tarot decks in existence. Given its importance in tarot history it makes sense that there should be a variety of Visconti-Sforza Decks available to us.

The original Visconti-Sforza is missing four cards; the Tower, the Devil, the Three of Swords and Knight of Coins. In order to be usable, a reproduction of Visconti-Sforza needs to include replacements for these cards. The replacement cards in the Golden Tarot fit in beautifully with the rest of the deck. In fact, the Golden Tarot seems much more usable to me than my other Visconti-Sforza reproduction deck. The cards feel good in my hands. The images are clear and easy to understand. For those who prefer to read with a deck that has non-illustrated pips the Golden Tarot will be a worthy choice.

Even more than the lovely and workable deck, the real jewel in this set is the book by Mary Packard. It turns out having a professional writer research and report the story of the Visconti-Sforza tarot was a brilliant move. Every tarotist has their own opinion of tarot history and interpretation. Mary Packard is able to tell the story in a fresh way that honors current historical understanding. Packard is a clear, smart writer who shows respect for her subject matter.

The hardcover 144-page book is lovely, nicely illustrated and well-made. Tarotists will be pleased to see that it carries a forward from our own Robert M. Place. There are six chapters in the book that cover everything from the history of the deck to traditional interpretations for each card and tarot spreads with believable sample readings.

Of particular interest to me are discussions of the characters and symbols depicted in the cards. It pleases me to know that the characters on the Lovers card are thought to be Francesco Sforza and Bianca Maria Visconti, for instance.

I started my journey into the Golden Tarot wondering why such a deck was needed, and what value it would bring to tarot. After spending some time with the Golden Tarot I see it as a laudable contribution to the world of tarot. Whether your interest is history, art or divination the Golden Tarot will be an appreciated addition to your tarot collection

Golden Tarot Review

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Queen of the Heavens Book Review

Queen of the Heavens
A Novel by Kingsley Guy
Published by Middle River Press
Review by Christiana Gaudet

Queen of the Heavens, a new novel by Kingsley Guy, is one of the best books I have read in a long time.

Kingsley Guy has crafted a story about Tuya, a young Egyptian girl who becomes the mother of Ramesses II, Pharaoh of Egypt.

This story works on many levels and will appeal to a great number of readers.

It is rare for a male author to truly write in a woman's voice, but Guy accomplishes this handily.  It is easy to see the world through Tuya's eyes. Queen of the Heavens is a page-turner; a story of love, family and politics.

Queen of the Heavens is more than just a great story. Readers interested in Egyptology will enjoy Guy's well-researched view of ancient Egypt.  Modern spiritual healers and metaphysicians will be thrilled with Guy's descriptions of Tuya's experiences with the Neters, the Gods and Goddesses of Egypt. Tuya's ability to heal the sick and wounded transcends culture and religion.  Her healing rituals and techniques will ring true with anyone who has studied Reiki, crystal healing or energy work.

Queen of the Heavens is in no way preachy, yet it manages to teach universal spiritual principles. For some this will be a nice reminder. For others it will be no less than transformative.

Queen of the Heavens is a first novel from a respected journalist. I'm sure it won't be his last.

You can learn more about this great book and see a slide show of ancient Egypt by visiting Kingsley Guy's extensive website.

On January 27^th at 9 pm Eastern Time Kingsley Guy will be my guest in the Artist's Corner of Christiana's Psychic Café, my new internet TV show. Tune in on the Paraencounters Network.

A Review of The Sirian Starseed Tarot

Sirian Starseed Tarot
By Patricia Cori and Alysa Bartha
Published by North Atlantic Books
Review by Christiana Gaudet

There are a number of reasons I might not have loved the new Sirian Starseed Tarot by Patricia Cori and Alysa Bartha, published by North Atlantic Books.

The Sirian Starseed Tarot is a "channeled deck," and clearly born of and marketed to the community of people whom many would describe as "waiting for the spaceship to land."

It is a photography deck. I don't always connect with photography decks.

Many of the card and suit names have been changed. I'm a bit of a traditionalist, so that doesn't always resonate with me.

The list could go on, but you get my point.

Now here's the punch line. I absolutely love The Sirian Starseed Tarot.

Patricia Cori, well-known voice of the Sirian High Council and designer of The Sirian Starseed Tarot, agreed to spend some time with me over Skype from her home in Italy.

Patricia has been visited by the sixth-dimensional beings from the Sirian star system since she was young. She is a world renowned author and teacher. She leads trips to sacred sites around the world. And, she is amazingly down-to-earth, compassionate and intelligent.

In our conversation I discovered that Patricia Cori has been a tarot reader for many years. Unlike many recent deck creators, tarot is not a band-wagon on which she is jumping to find a new audience. Tarot is a life-long passion for Patricia, and that passion is evident in The Sirian Starseed Tarot.

Sirian Starseed Tarot is oversized. Patricia knows this makes it a little harder to handle, but she wanted us to be able to really enter each card and experience it in meditation, as well as in divination.

Patricia worked side-by-side with the artist, Alysa Bartha, to create the deck, but she also worked with the Sirian High Council. She channeled information from them, related it to Alysa, and together they birthed the deck.

Patricia described to me times that unintentional images simply appeared in the cards; images that were appropriate and meaningful.

The cards themselves include photos from sacred sites around the world. As I said earlier, I usually don't like photography decks, but in this deck the photos work so well that all my brain registers is beautiful spiritual art.

The coloring is vibrant, with a lot of starlight in the purple-hued night skies.

To really understand this deck one must understand the concept of "Starseed." Starseed are souls who have been planted here on Earth by those who exist in higher dimensions and other star systems. Starseed have been placed here to serve Earth in our process of spiritual evolution. To me, the concept seems similar to that of the bodhisattva in Buddhism.

Those who are Starseed may not have an inherent knowledge of being Starseed. They may be psychic and spiritual. As Patricia says, they may feel not quite at home on Earth, and may have an inner longing to return to their home in the stars. They may remember past lives in Atlantis, the Mayalands or Egypt.

Many of the Major Arcana cards are renamed, as are the Minor Arcana suits. The renaming reflects the Starseed theme of the deck. The Fool is "Starseed," and the Magician is "Indigo", for instance.

The changes also reflect Patricia's desire that the deck be less hierarchical and less patriarchal. The Empress is "Abundance" and the Emperor is "Reason," describing the female/male energy without the gender references.

As a product of medieval Italy, tarot is admittedly sexist and classist. Many decks have been created over the years to reflect more inclusive values. I happily count the Sirian Starseed Tarot as one of those more balanced decks.

The Minor Arcana suit names are Crystals, Chalices, Orbs and Flames. The only one I didn't immediately resonate with was Orbs for the Air suit. I asked Patricia about this, and was completely satisfied with her answer.

First, Patricia said, she wanted to get away from the aggressive masculine concept of Air and Fire. So, instead of Swords and Wands she called them Orbs and Flames. The Air element is about thought and communication; Patricia used Orbs since that is a way Spirit communicates with us, especially in photography. And, Patricia specifically receives her messages from the Sirian High Council in orb-like "thought bubbles."

Patricia Cori is a Rider-Waite-Smith tarot reader, and her deck reflects Waite tradition quite nicely. The card backs are not reversible as they bear the triangular symbol of the Sirian High Council. Reversed meanings are not given in the accompanying booklet, but I am sure the reader could chose to honor reversals if desired.

The booklet itself is well-written, but does not fully explain each card in the detail I would have appreciated. Patricia told me she is considering writing a full-sized book for the deck. I think this would be a very worth-while project.

One of the things I like about the images of Starseed Tarot is that they are evocative without ever being gruesome. Even the most timid client would not find any words or images frightening.

That Patricia Cori understands tarot as an archetypal journey and a tool of tarot and meditation, as well as a tool of divination, gives the deck and booklet a lot of depth. Some of the images are deceptively simple, but if you spend some time with each image you will find the images evoke meaning and feeling quite easily.

The Sirian Starseed Tarot is not a deck to be taken lightly. It is more visually understandable than Tarot of Transformation, and more traditional in its images than the Doreen Virtue Angel Tarot. For me, its vibe is somewhat similar to both those decks.

The Sirian Starseed Tarot will be a good fit for a great number of readers, both beginner and advanced. I particularly recommend it to those who want a more spiritual deck and to those who want a more inclusive deck. Of course, I recommend the Sirian Starseed Tarot to those who look to the stars in the night sky and long to return home, and to those who hear a calling to bring the message of the star people to the planet Earth.

For more information on Patricia Cori and the Sirian Starseed Tarot, visit Patricia's Website.