Inner Child Cards: A Fairy-Tale Tarot (Cards)

~ (Author), Mark Lerner (Author), Christopher Guilfoil (Illustrator)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Inner Child Cards bring charming, fairy-tale images to the age-old tradition of the tarot. Authors and professional astrologers Isha and Mark Lerner intended to offer a fresh, innocent perspective on tarot readings while also staying grounded in recognizable archetypes. And what better way to tap into our true spirit than to recall the soul-inspiring stories of childhood? "Fairy stories, told and retold, enrich the depths of our hearts from which our hopes and ideals are born," the authors explain. "No other literary creation has such a fundamental effect upon us than has the fairy tale." Indeed, Little Red Riding Cap with her basket of goodies and her outstretched finger holding a butterfly speaks eloquently to the fragile process of individuation. The Rapunzel card with its maiden's long braid (which is eventually shorn by the evil enchantress) and the blind prince speaks to challenging times when we are cut loose from the strands of our past and must go forward in blind faith. All of the cards are lovely, with their rich images and rainbow borders. But it is the excellent accompanying text that offers readers the most enchanting journey into the past as they make meaning out of the present. --Gail Hudson

Review

...a perfect gift item for someone you love, including yourself! The book...is a small masterpiece in itself. -- Awareness, May 2002

A delightful odyssey. The images and stories of childhood become an enchanting guide for inner reflection. -- Wayne Muller, author of Legacy of the Heart: The Spiritual Advantages of a Painful Childhood

Aside from being a lovely deck, it's a great tool for getting your inner child and higher self to connect. -- Aquarius, October 2002

I was fascinated by the imaginative transformation of traditional Tarot images to Inner Child archetypes. . . . fun, elegant, and powerful. -- Dawn Baumann Brunke, Alaska Wellness, November/December 2001

It gives an especially clear reflection of the child within and imaginative access to the soul's own personal truth. -- Arizona networkingNews, June/July 2002

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Product Details

• Cards: 320 pages
• Publisher: Bear & Company; 2nd edition (December 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1879181827
• ISBN-13: 978-1879181823
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.4 x 2.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #253,846 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A New perspective, August 12, 2002

By	"ladyisarma" (Western Washington, USA) - See all my reviews

This deck wouldn't have been something I would have normally bought. I have been doing tarot for years, and I thought this deck looked too "fluffy". However, I was delightfully surprised when I found this on Lightworker as an On-line tarot program. Far from thinking "Oh, now I don't have to buy it" I thought "Wow, this deck is really cool, I wonder how much it is".
Put it this way, it just went on my wish list...
The best thing I love about these cards is, you don't really have to be a tarot reader to use them. Almost everyone knows these stories, even children, and can therefore make use of the symbology and bridge the gap between misunderstood "instrument of Satan" and "subconscious trigger mechanism."
For as long as I have been doing tarot, one might think it would be hard for any deck to give me a new perspective, but this one did. Very nice.

36 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Beatiful Artwork, May 4, 2002

By	Johanna Wainwright (Buffalo, NY USA) - See all my reviews

I am a collector of Tarot cards, more than I am a reader of them. The oil painting-like artwork for this deck is beautiful. The artist utilizes bold and rich colors in keeping with its faery tale theme.

Each card in the deck represents a character in a folk or faery tale. The Major Arcana runs it's choices parallel to the archtypes in the typical tarot.

For instance, the "Fool" card (Number Zero) is represented in this deck by Little Red Cap (the forerunner to Red Riding Hood- and it is also the card featured on the cover in the picture above.)

The High Priestess is the Faery Godmother, the Moon is represented by Cinderella, the Devil is represented by the Big Bad Wolf (a foil to Red Riding Cap and the Three Little Pigs, another card in the Major Arcana).

The titles of the cards are the names of the characters, not the archtypes (which are only noted in the book), so parents won't need to be squeamish in trying to explain to curious little seekers what a Heirophant is instead of pointing out Aladdin's Genie.

The minor arcana does away with the traditional court cards, meaning no kings or queens, but rather replaced with cards like The Seeker of Wands (all topped with butterfies) or the Guardian of Crystals (replacing the pentacle suit).

The accompanying book to the deck is a nice read, but a thicker companion than many of the tarot decks that are on the market right now. Experts may want to skip to the source and insight areas detailing each card. Beginners may be more interested in the different layout and reading options.

The cards themselves are larger than normal decks (and harder to shuffle if you have smaller hands) but very detailed.

This is a good deck if you are a collector of childrens stories or interested in folklore, and a fun one to look into if you are looking for an alternative/compliment to some more of the somber tarot decks that are out there.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars New Insight to Tarot, Astrology and Fairy Tales, July 29, 2004

By	Martha Rodriguez "cast away" (Albany, Oregon) - See all my reviews

I bought this tarot deck and book and didn't use it for years. I tried unsuccessfully to sell it. Eventually I opened it up and started using the cards. I'm glad I never sold it. This deck has brought me new insight to tarot and my readings. Through reading about each fairytale, corresponding astrology signs, and card numbers, I've been able to see karmic lessons I couldn't see with my regular deck. I've also learned how to read and understand each Major Arcana card better. I recommend it if you like reading about fairy tales and folklore. The pictures are beautiful and well done in a large card that needs to be suffled differently from the smaller decks. The only thing the book fails to do is to give full interpretations of what each card means. But I gave it 5 stars because of the involved work that went into using fairytales to tell us the story behind each card.