Customer Reviews

Mystic Faerie Tarot

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have been craving a deck with soft creamy colors,
something gently beautiful, a deck that would feel
"just right" for me. I've spent weeks over at Aecletic
Tarot looking at various cards to try to get a feel for
the right one. I have several decks, but I got them
quite a while ago and I've gone thru some heavy changes in
my life and I need some new decks that will better match
where I am now. I did list this deck as a possiblity when
browsing at Aecletic.

Over the years I have had decks that worked for me intellectually,
some on a creative basis, some spoke to me spiritually, some politically.
It seems every deck speaks to me in a different way which is why
I would choose different decks for different people when reading
and also depending on where I was in my head.

I've always had one deck at different points in my life that was
the one I could always use for anyone and the one that I used for my
own personal readings. This deck is that deck for me at this time in my life.

I'm older now and have had a lot of experiences, some wonderful and some
devestating. From all this, thankfully, I've gone in the direction
of attaining some wisdom rather than going toward bitterness. This
deck speaks to all that. It doesn't just have all positive meanings.
It is a for-real, real-life, deck.

I have learned thru life that there are healthier ways to handle difficulties than I knew when I was younger and that you "can" do things to improve even the worse situations. And this deck goes in that direction.

As an example, I love her interpretation of the "Devil" card:

"If you are in the Devil's garden, your answers will not be easy, but they will be freeing. At some level, something is controlling you, and thus you are not in control of your life. Identify what it is that holds you in bondage. Only then can you free yourself. And finally, our impish fae would tell you not to be afraid of your desires. Enjoy the ones you can in ways that are beneficial to you and others, and don't give the destructive ones any foothold in your life."

For me, this is the best interpretation of this card I have ever read.
It doesn't pussy-foot around. There is a problem. It has you in bondage. But after cautioning us to free ourselves from it I love that she goes on to talk about enjoying other pleasures freely,ones that do no harm.

Usually, when I choose a deck I read the interpretations like Death, Devil, Hierophant and lots of the yukky sword cards. I can tell by the
way the writer has approached these if this is a deck I can work with.
I wasn't able to read this book before hand so I think the Universe directed me to this kit.

It's beautiful. It talks about real life, but without leaving you feeling hopeless, and if that is the kind of thing you are looking for, you'll love this deck and book. (I also really do love the little bag for the cards,too :)

"The faeries of Mystic Faerie Tarot will help guide your way through the garden. The garden is really your life, and the tarot can help you find your path. You can use it to explore possibilities so that you can make better decisions. If you make better decisions, you can create the life you long to live." - From the companion book by Barbara Moore

In a garden strewn with red speckled toadstools and iridescent pearls, magical blue roses and ripe juicy berries, resides the enchanted world of the Mystic Faerie Tarot. Playful, resolute, curious and helpful, all manner of personality and appearance find expression among the sparkling, fluttering wings of the faeries.

From the Fool to the Wheel, the Hanged Fae to the World, the sprites, elves, faeries and nymphs of the Major Arcana demonstrate a deep connectedness to nature, imparting visionary insight to humans if we but take the time to listen carefully and closely.

The Minor Arcana cards of the Mystic Faerie Tarot are delightfully unique, for each suit weaves a special tale of exploration, discovery, industry and duty--as well as loss, love, triumph and adversity. With bloodied thorns and magical blue roses, the Sword suit speaks a cautionary tale about attempting to eliminate all pain and disruption from life.

The Pentacles suit shows the story of a self-assured, assiduous fae, while the Cups illustrate the power of understanding and effort in building relationships. The Wands suit tells the lively account of two young friends who make a pact to find their fortune--but whose actions lead them down unexpected paths.

Among the four suits are Knaves, Knights, Queens and Kings, representing the people and energies surrounding issues both significant and mundane. The card backing features a simple design that is fully reversible and there are two extra cards in the deck: a Faerie Greeting and a Faerie Farewell. The Mystic Faerie Tarot box set comes with a lovely gold organdy bag with satin drawstrings, as well as a bronze cardboard storage box that matches the border color.

The exquisite images from self-taught British artist Linda Ravenscroft imbue the Mystic Faerie Tarot with gentle beauty and animated expressiveness--making this an immensely readable deck. In fact, as soon as I began looking through the Minor Arcana, I soon realized--with surprise and delight!--that each suit unfolded to impart a special "faerie tale".

Author Barbara Moore provides brief, lucid Tarot instruction in the 284-page companion book, but also demonstrates some impressive storytelling chops. Reading the vivid parables was an enjoyable experience in itself, but I gained additional insights into various cards because of her uncanny observations.

For example, when describing The Hermit--my favorite card in the Tarot--Barbara observes that this particular fae is on a solitary, life-long quest with no expectation of an end. He examines the wisdom that other faeries have left behind so "he can compare the collective social beliefs to those that reside in his own heart."

Noting his ragged, loosely stitched cap, she comments that "what he thinks and believes is constantly pieced together as time and new knowledge changes what he thinks" advising to "Release what doesn't work, keep what does, and continually re-create your own belief system." This is, indeed, what I've done to survive and thrive in the world, and it was fascinating to read her perceptive observations about the fae, Tarot and life in general.

At first, I felt that the images of the Mystic Faerie Tarot were too cluttered, especially with the large, ornate frames painted by the artist. But as I began to work with this deck, I came to see the filigreed borders as portals into the faerie realm--a place inviting humans to listen closely, look carefully, and access timeless wisdom that honored nature and the interconnectivity of all things.

The Mystic Faerie Tarot surprised me on several levels, most notably the affinity I forged with this compelling deck. Why this is surprising is that, before now, I didn't feel any connection to faeries--feeling that the subject matter was mostly frilly, frothy, and fanciful--lacking substantive relevance or commentary to the "real world" of humans.

However, after working with this deck--and performing several of the excellent spreads found in the companion book--I now count it among my favorites! I feel as if I've found some new friends that are unfailingly honest, non-judgmental and uncannily visionary.

If you love elves, faeries, gnomes and nymphs, you'll no doubt love the Mystic Faerie Tarot. However, even if you don't feel that you resonate with this magical world so intrinsically tied to the Earth, you may want to try this box set anyway because, like me, you could end up discovering an enchanted realm filled with new friends and fresh insights.

(To see 12 images from this deck, visit the Reviews--Decks section at JanetBoyer.com)

Janet Boyer, author of The Back in Time Tarot Book: Picture the Past, Experience the Cards, Understand the Present (coming Fall 2008 from Hampton Roads Publishing)

I've had this set about 2 months now and I am throughly loving it. I didn't think I would love a more "fluffy" deck so much, but I do. I think it is the unqiue use of colours that the illustrator chose to use. More subdued greens, blues, purples, reds etc.

The faeries in the Major arcana are just breathtaking. Explosion of colour and evocative emotion. You can read so much in their faces. My favourites are the Empress, The Hermit, The Tower (a faery tree!) and Death, which looks more like a beautiful faery moth with deathhead's wings. I love how the Magician is juggling playing cards. There is much deeper meaning to that let me tell you (I read with PC's as well).

Now the minors scale down the vibrancy and artwork quite a bit. I really wish she had kept up the style into the minors as she used in the majors. While there are many cards I adore, some fall short and I find static and hard to read. The suit of pentacles is just the most sweetest, warm and gorgeous suit in this deck. The cups I was confused about as they're supposed to be nymphs but are clearly mermaids. Also realistically, how are the mermaids supposed to be walking about on land with a fin? I don't like this suit for the most part. While some of the cards are charming, no matter how hard I try I can't look at a photo of a mermaid just hovering there (what is she floating?), it just takes away from my pleasure of the deck. The swords and wands have some gorgeous cards. Knave of Swords....wow!

I haven't been reading or using the book too often. I thought the writing was not up to standard and the fairytale stories a bit too simplistic and really narrowly focused the meanings of the suits and cards. I was expecting better writing and exploration of the suits with these stories, so I was let down in that aspect. If you read without the book though, I think the pictures can open up and tell you a lot. But if you go by the book meanings, it might be too constricting. The spreads contained in the back are wonderful though and my favourite is the Rose Petal Spread.

All in all, if you love faeries, I am certain you will love this deck. As a reading deck it is giving me gentle, but firm messages and reads quite easy. I think the use of colours and the charming borders really make this deck stand out from others in the genre.

The deck itself in this set deserves five stars. While it does not make use of much in the way of traditional symbolism, the art captures the feel of the cards wonderfully. And my favorite part - the minor arcana suites, from 2 to 10, tell little stories of their own of particular faeries rather than simply hosting a plethora of lovely but otherwise unrelated art. The colors are gentle but the feelings given off of these cards are quite strong.
Not a traditional deck by any means but truly a beautiful one.

On the physical side, the cards are of slightly smaller than average size for a Tarot deck. They are somewhat thinner than I would prefer for a heavy use deck, but they have a good finish on them to add strength without making them feel plastic-like or slick. The backs are fully reversable and host a lovely design reminiscent of various Celtic leaf-face designs without flat out copying them.

All in all, a beautiful, beautiful deck. Reader/Questioner friendly, well thought out and wonderfully designed.

So why do I only give it four stars? The book cost this set its final star. I am no fan of Barbara Moore's works on Tarot. If you are considering this as your first set or you're still new to Tarot, be aware she does not include reverse interpretations for any card. I would strongly advise picking up another book on Tarot in general that contains full meaning sets to accompany this deck if you are not a veteran reader.

I will say as a writer, she did very wonderfully in bringing the stories of the 2 through 10 cards to life in text. It was a joy to read her stories as I went through the cards in order. For divination, however, I would turn to another source.

When I first received my "Mystic Faerie Tarot," by Barbara Moore and Linda Ravenscroft, I was so excited. I am especially passionate about Celtic folklore, and anything that comes my way that is about the faeries is especially welcome.

Originally I had thought that the Mystic Faerie Tarot would be similar to the Faery Ring by Anna Franklin, which is based on actual faerie folklore. The Mystic Faerie Tarot is not based in folklore, though it does feature its own tales from the fey folk.

The creator of the deck is the renowned faerie artist, Linda Ravenscroft. And the cards are among some of the most beautiful that I've ever seen. The cards seem to be done in watercolor and the colors of the minor arcana are done in gentle hues, with the colors of the major arcana being just a bit brighter.

The guidebook is by Barbara Moore, author of the Gilded Tarot. Barbara really knows her tarot. She has served as the Tarot Specialist for Llewellyn Publications, and has been featured in many tarot publications.

The cards are so beautiful, they are impossible to put down. I just can't stop playing with them! They don't seem to be based on the traditional tarot at all, but rather each suit tells its own faerie tale.

Pentacles, for instance, tells the tale of a young fey who goes out on her own; the challenges she must overcome and the beautiful friendships she forms along the way. Cups tells the story of love, and the commitment necessary to make relationships work. Swords tells the story of three fey who must learn that sometimes pain and loss are part of life, and that some things just have to be released. Wands tells the story of two fey friends who travel on a grand journey together, only to find that they must eventually part ways due to differing opinions.

The guidebook carefully (and simply) lays out the story for you, so that you can look at the cards and get a clear picture of the meaning of the cards.

This clever design makes this one of the easiest decks I've ever worked with (aside from the ones that actually have the keyword printed on the card!). And mind you, I would never have considered myself a tarot reader.

The guidebook itself is 284 pages, and includes sections on interpreting the major arcana, the suits and the court cards. It also includes a chapter on "Visiting the Faerie Garden" which gives guidance on creating sacred space, asking a question, selecting a spread, shuffling the cards, laying out the cards, interpreting the reading, thanking the faeries for the help and cleansing and storing your cards. The chapter on spreads includes nine spread examples (and they are all fun). There are also sample readings and a quick reference guide.

All in all, I must say that the Mystic Faerie Tarot is one of the most lovely decks I've ever worked with, and would highly recommend it to anyone who wished to wander into the magical realm of the faerie.

I very much like the artwork with this deck. I collect some decks just for the artwork. It does not have a great deal of symbolism for serious readings and the Pip cards or minor arcana are mostly non-symbolic except for the number of wands, cups, pentacles and swords. A lovely deck if you are into fairies but not for serious readings.

This is a lovely deck. Really, it has some beautiful faerie images, well laid out and as it is based on the Rider Waite deck, you can see the images transition into the faerie realm. The colors are soft, pastel and it is a very feminine deck, in more ways than one. While the artist specifically says that the images are not supposed to carry the imagery in any one specific gender and can be interpreted as either male or female, I got a very decisively female imagery from many of the cards.

While there are male images throughout the deck, the female images are stronger. Female warriors, female figureheads. The Sun which most associate with male energies, is very much female and strong in appearance. In the Lovers card, the woman stands above the male image. The male images almost stand as consort to the female images.

This imagery will determine who purchases this deck. I do not see many men using this deck. However, if you have some very feminine clients, this deck may be one that speaks to them. I noticed that my very feminine clients liked this deck, but most noticed the absence of very decisive male imagery.

The deck could speak to some teenage girls who are looking for their first deck and are very into faerie imagery. The images are soft, non - threatening. Even the devil card seemed almost friendly.

The imagery does relate to the Rider Waite deck, as I mentioned, and using this deck should be no problem for those familiar with this layout. There are 22 Trump cards and the suits are wands, cups, swords and pentacles. The court cards are (in order in the book) Queen, King, Knave and Knight. And going back to a teenage girl's first deck, the images will work as basics for reading the tarot.

The deck does lack in the deeper symbolism of the Tarot. While a good place to start, a more in depth deck would be recommended as the reader graduates into the deeper meanings.

This deck is lovely to look at. The faerie images are beautifully executed and it will hold great appeal to someone who associates with the beautiful faerie imagery. But as a working deck, I would pull this out only for the younger faerie loving teenager or the occasional client who does not like the "darker" imagery that is in most tarot decks. Boudica

The book that came with the deck is kinda fluffish, but it does have some pointers and I did like the way the stories were carried out in the minors, if not a tad bit overlaping at times. The borders were rather invasive I do say. But I've done lots of readings with these cards and there hasn't been any problem, no more then any other time. You do of course have to put on your thinking cap to flush out the meaning of the cards in a reading and some of the cards are a bit of a stretch as far as meanings/picture go. The artwork is just absolutley wonderful as far as fairy decks go. If you want a fairy based deck, this one should be seriously considered.

These cards are a lot of fun, I love the soft colors artist Linda Ravenscroft used for this deck, simple but beautiful, the faeries are very playful, I love faeries! Around Dec of '09 I began collecting tarot and oracle cards and I always go after the faery decks, this deck has become one of my favorites, so if you are a collector and love faeries, this is a MUST have! I have no doubt that you will enjoy them, I highly recommend them. I look forward to seeing more by Barbara Moore and artist Linda Ravenscroft.

I bought this card deck for my daughter as a present. She loved it!! A fabulous gift for a girl in love with faeries!!!