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Reviews: Tarot Decks
Tarot Reviews
by Bonnie Cehovet
Tarot Master
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The Shining Tribe Tarot:
Awakening The Universal Spirit
Author: Rachel Pollack
Illustrator: Rachel Pollack
Llewellyn Publications Worldwide
2001
ISBN #1-56718-514-2
Suits:
Trees (Wands), Rivers (Cups), Birds (Swords), Stones (Pentacles)
Court Cards:
Speaker (King), Gift (Queen). Knower (Knight), Place (Page)
I count myself amongst the people that were blessed to be able to attend The Reader's Studio 2003. I say blessed, because it was here that I got to meet Rachel Pollack and see "The Shining Tribe Tarot" in person. Rachel used this deck in her presentation on "The Forest Of Souls", her latest book. I had seen this deck being discussed many times on on-line Tarot lists, and it was on my "most wanted" list - but I didn't have it yet. After seeing it - I had to have it!
"The Shining Tribe Tarot" grew out of a previous deck done by Rachel Pollack called "The Shining Woman Tarot". Part of the reason for the revision was that "The Shining Woman Tarot" was perceived by some as a feminist deck, which in itself is not a negative thing, but it was not the author's intention. The deck was actually named for one card within it - the Shining Woman, which was Rachel's representation of the major arcana card The World.
There is much more than that to the revision of this deck. At its heart, this is a "deck of many cultures", represented by Stone Age hieroglyphics, Native American and African shamanism, Australian Aboriginal art and the Kabbalah. As Rachel points out - these are amongst the earliest forms of tribal art and divination. The artwork itself is primitive - and yes, takes some getting used to if one depends on the graphics for interpretation. The basic nature of the deck has not changed - while the art is non-traditional, the meaning and structure of Tarot has remained intact.
The gift that Rachel brings us is one of recognition - as readers, we are accessing the cards through very old symbols, the symbols of the ancient ones, our forefathers. As readers, we carry the same energy of our forefathers - that of membership in the tribe of diviners.
The cards are on good quality, glossy card stock. At approximately 2 3/4" by 4 1/2" they fit well into smaller hands, and are easy to work with. The backs are earth colored - the primary color being a burnt orange (or something close to it!), with two yellow figures in the middle. The figures are head to head, arms and legs outstretched, with hands touching over their heads. Each figure has three short lines over their head. There is a great deal of energy here - and it would be impossible to tell reversed cards before they were turned over.
The face of the cards has a 1/4" yellow/gold border, followed by a slender white border which encases the picture. The name of each card is written across the bottom in black letters. The artwork is primitive, including some human forms, many birds, some buildings and natural environment and many lines and spiral forms.The manner in which the images came about fascinated me. They were not drawn to either express an idea or to conform to the intent of the card - they were encountered in images (from stories and from sacred art found in books), they came through meditation on the traditional Tarot cards and they came from images that Rachel encountered in her travels to sacred sites.
The titles have been changed on four of the Major Arcana cards: the Hierophant becomes Tradition, the Wheel Of Fortune becomes the Spiral Of Fortune, the card of Judgement becomes Awakening and the World becomes World - Shining Woman. In her introduction to the Major Arcana, Rachel does a wonderful presentation of the three layers of interpretation (cards 1-7 are line one, cards 8-14 are line 2 and cards 15-21 are line three, with the Fool appearing above them). This is a presentation worth studying, as it tells not only the story of the Fool's Journey, but it shows how the cards relate to each other.
In presenting the Major Arcana, Rachel shows a black and white photo of the card, along with introductory words (I want to call them poems - four short lines that describe the card), a description and discussion of the card, along with Divinatory (upright) and reversed meanings.
The Minor Arcana suit names have been changed to reflect the elemental nature of each suit. Trees represent Fire, Rivers represent Water, Birds represent Swords and Stones represent Pentacles. I am going to include Rachel's defining keywords for the numbers, as they are very concise, lucid ... and they are an integral part of the foundation for interpreting the pips.
Aces: Prime quality of the suit
Twos: Duality and resolution
Threes: Strong expression of the element
Fours: Structure
Fives: Loss, sorrow, healing
Sixes: Passion, exploration
Sevens: Daring, communication
Eights: Movement, change
Nines: Confronting truth, healing
Tens: Fullness, completion
The presentation for the cards is the same as for the Major Arcana: a black and white photo, words of introduction, a description and discussion of the card, and Divinatory (upright) and reversed meanings.
With the Vision cards we add a new twist to interpreting the Tarot. These are not direct counterparts to the Court Cards in other decks. They retain the same traditional energy, but are more directly connected to the elemental energy of their suits, and to the understanding and use of this energy. In Rachel's world of myth, the first card encountered would be Place (Page) - this is literally a physical location so that we can see this energy as a concrete being, rather than as an abstract thought. The Knower (Knight) then gives us the feeling of actually experiencing this energy in our lives. The Gift (Queen) speaks of leaving our world and entering the world of spirit (please note - this is my interpretation of this card). Here we are able to recognize the gifts that we hold in our own lives. (The four Gifts appear together on the card of the Magician.) The Speaker (King) allows us to see images of acting from a place of power within ourselves. I appreciate this view of the court card energy, as it does not reflect the energy as actual people in the Seeker's life, nor does it relate to them as personality types. I love it when someone sees things the way that I do!
At the end of the book Rachel has written a chapter on reading the cards, where she presents a series of spreads, along with examples. For me - this is the best way of learning how a story can flow! She also talks about doing Wisdom (Soul) readings, which do not ask for personal information, but which address specific issues. She also discuses activating a Tarot card through working with meditation, affirmations, writing and other venues. Rachel talks a bit about reversals, and then she does something magickal - she encourages the reader to form their own Shining Tribes - to form Tarot study groups and do things like start their own psychic fairs. What a wonderful gift - to encourage the reader to recognize that they are part of the "Shining Tribe", and to walk their talk.
While it may take some getting used to, I recommend this deck to all students at all levels of Tarot. It can be taken for readings anywhere (public, private party etc), and is a gentle guide and mentor. The accompanying book is a marvelous gift on its own - full of both information and inspiration. Rachel - many thanks for the work that you have gifted us with here!
(c) June 2003
The Dragon Tarot
reviewed by Bonnie Cehovet, TM
text by: Terry Donaldson
illustrated by: Peter Pracownik
U. S. Games Systems, Inc.
1996
ISBN #0-88079-181-0
Suits: Wands, Cups, Swords, Coins
Court cards: King, Queen, Knight, Page
The Dragon Tarot, by nature, is a specialty deck. It will appeal to those of us who find dragons and dragon lore appealing. You won't find traditional visual symbolism here - but you will experience a deck that is artistically well thought out and well presented, and eminently "usable".
Donaldson introduces dragons as ancient symbols of knowledge and power - in virtually every culture of the world. The very word "dragon" comes from the Greek word Drakoni, which means "the seeing one". In The Dragon Tarot, Donaldson calls on dragon legends from around the world to present a saga of myth and magic. There is a very interesting section called "Dragonland - A Traveler's Report" , in which the reader is allowed to experience the adventure and magic associated with dragon energy.
In "Your Journey", Donaldson presents techniques that allow the reader to access their imaginations. In "Mastering The Tarot", he shows the reader how the cards come together to tell their story.
Dragon myths run the gamut of experience - from those encompassing greed, lust and the dark side of our personalities to (primarily from the Middle East) to those symbolizing wealth, power and supremacy (primarily from China). Some of my best "growing up" memories are of watching the Dragon winding it's way down the street at parade time. It was fascinating, exciting, colorful - a whole other "world"!
The Dragon also has its place in astrology, which is not something that I was aware of. The Dragon's Head (also called the North Node) represents the karmic lessons that we are to learn in this lifetime. How much more important can anything get - this defines what each lifetime is!
Each Major Arcana card is presented with a black and white scan, a description of the card, and section where the card "speaks" about the archetypal energy that it represents, the divinatory meaning of the card (in the upright position only), and a short discussion of additional symbols that have been placed on the card.
Each Pip is presented with a black and white scan, a sentence on what the Dragon guide in the card is trying to accomplish and the divinatory meaning.
Each Court Card is presented with a black and white scan, a description of the energy of the card and the divinatory meaning. There is also a short addendum to the court cards, with the admonishment that while the court cards represent either male or female energy, that this energy exists in both males and females - each of us carries dual energy.
While Donaldson does not present reversed meanings, he does indicate that they are a question mark that needs to be paid attention to - that the energy of the card is in some way not working as it should.
In the section on spreads, the Celtic Cross is presented, along with two separate readings that are left to the reader to interpret along the lines of key questions that Donaldson presents. Donaldson has done something quite interesting with the three card spread - he has presented several different possible questions dealing with different life situations (relationship, home, career, life path, children's education and life path). There is also the beginning of a work sheet that show the reader how to bring the cards together in story form.
The cards themselves are on good quality, glossy card stock. At 2 3/4" by 4 1/4",the cards are easily worked with by those like me that have small hands - a definite plus! The backs of the cards have a 1/4" white border, with an inset background of deep purple. A light blue and white dragon is placed in each of the four corners of the inset - the four dragon tails are interwoven in the center. Behind the dragons there is a diamond-like schematic outlined in fine gold lines. The cards read the same upright and reversed, so there would be no way to tell which position the cards were in before they were turned over.
The majors are a combination of dragons and traditional symbols. They have a 1/4 " white border, with the number and title of the card in black lettering against white across the bottom of the card. On either side of the title is placed a glyph of the astrological sign associated with each card. The only title change is that the Hanged Man becomes the Hanging Dragon.
The pips have the same 1/4" white border, with the name and number of the card across the bottom. The pips are not illustrated in the traditional manner - they contain a dragon "guide" and the symbols representing their respective suits. On either side of the title are glyphs representing the element of the respective suit.
Some of the cards in this deck are fairly true to traditional Tarot, and some are very different. The traditional cards for me were the Tower, which is represented by a Tower, lightening, water and fire; the Moon, which shows a full moon in a night sky, overlooking two pillars - one on either side of a flowing stream, with a dragon between them; Justice, which shows a dragon head between the two pillars of justice, holding a set of scales in his mouth over a globe of the world and the Wheel of Fortune, which is depicted as a wheel with twelve spokes, each containing a glyph of one of the signs of the zodiac. Perhaps the most traditional card is the Three of Swords, which is seen as three swords piercing a heart.
A card that I found beyond traditional, but very well done, was the Sun. Here we see dragon wings surrounding a lion face, around which are placed glyphs of the twelve signs of the zodiac, with flames surrounding them. In the mouth of the dragon we see the Yin/Yang symbol.
Strength also falls into the "same but different" category. The top of the card shows a night sky, the bottom of the card shows green hills in daylight. The middle of the card shows a lion and a dragon on either side of a caduceus, which has fiery flames at its top. It appears that the lion and the dragon are having a wonderful time playing together!
Donaldson ends the book with a section on dragon myths from around the world - ancient Egypt, ancient Greece, North America and Mexico, China, Japan and the West.
The Dragon Tarot opens up the imagination, just as the author intended it to. While not for all people, and definitely not for beginners, I found it interesting and believe that it has a place in the Tarot world.
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Bonnie Cehovet,
Tarot Master, and Reiki Master/Teacher.
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Bonnie Cehovet is a Tarot Master, professional Tarot reader and Reiki Master/Teacher.
Bonnie has been reading the Tarot professionally for over ten years. She has served in various capacities with the American Tarot Association, including Secretary and Web Assistant For Links. She is currently Certification Director and Secretary for the American Board For Tarot Certification. Bonnie is also a founding member of the World Tarot Network.
Bonnie has had her work published in the ATA newsletter, in Geraldine Amaral's "Celebrating The Tarot" print newsletter, on the World Tarot Network and other internet sites. She is editor for her own monthly newsletter "Gateway To Tarot" (Yahoo Groups).
www.tarot.
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