I AM ONE TAROT

by Maya Britan

A review by John Gilbert

I am One is a tarot deck for advanced students, collectors and art aficionados. It's not a deck I'd recommend to rank beginners. The suits are Two Headed Serpent (Fire), Curved Blade (Air), Pear of Tears (Water), Stone of Age (Earth), and Universal Law (Major Arcana). Fire is the spiritual aspects of one's life. Air, Water and Earth represent the usual Mental, Emotional and Physical parts of life. The court cards are called Authority Cards composed of the Knight, Queen, Price and Princess. Each is an authority on some subject relating to the element of the suit involved.

The author/artist Maya Britan describes each card with a short phrase printed at the bottom of each card in French, English and Spanish. Now you know why I don't recommend this deck for rank beginners. The meanings are printed right on the cards so the reader has no reason to learn them. For the occasional party trick, that's fine. But for serious tarot reading it's important for the reader to get to know his or her cards as friends and connections to the Divine. At least, that's my opinion.

Did I mention this is a gorgeous deck. It's absolutely beautiful. Each card is a work of art. The Authority cards are easily recognized as people in the Earth and Water cards. The Air Authority cards are more symbolic and the Fire Authority cards even more so. The forty pip cards are excellent for meditation because of the great depth the artist is able to obtain. The colors are exquisite and vibrant. The features pop out at you or recede into infinity. It seems like you can see forever. That's a good thing for most meditation practices.

The Major Arcana is based on the Tree of Life paths though each path is represented by a Master of that path. The author's done a good job renaming each path and Master to make a coherent whole which is consistent with the Kaballah. The Magician becomes The Changer who's described as the Master Communicator. The High Priestess becomes The Mother who's the Master Creation. As you progress through the Majors a familiar story emerges. It's the story of creation and our life. It's the story about how we improve ourselves and travel a spiritual path.

The I am One Tarot (ISBN 0-943832-33-0) created by Maya Britan and published by US Games is available on-line at www.saint-art.com or though your local bookseller. By the way, the little white book is also written in English, Spanish and French. It gives a bunch of divinatory meanings for each card. But I wouldn't buy the deck just to get this booklet. I'd buy it because it's a beautiful and educational deck.

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