THE TAROT OF TRANSFORMATION

by Willow Arlenea and Jasmin Lee Cori

a review by Sheila Hall, CTM

The Tarot of Transformation, by Willow Arlenea and Jasmin Lee Cori, (ISBN: 1-57863-239-0) is a beautiful deck to work with. The images have reached me on a highly spiritual level. The deck consists of 78 cards divided in two sections, like most traditional decks, but some of the cards have different titles.

Each card is titled and numbered, although not with Roman numerals, as most decks. Some of the Major Arcana titles are the same as traditional decks, and some have been changed. Instead of listing the whole Major Arcana, I am going to list the cards with changed titles:
The Earth Mother/Empress
The Green Man/Emperor
Spiritual Leaders/Hierophant
Balance/Strength
The Crone/Hermit
Strength/Justice
Kali/Tower
Compassion/Judgment
The Kosmos/World

Each card also includes guiding keywords or a phrase. For instance, Balance, card 8, offers Restoring Cosmic Order, and card 9, The Crone, is The Light of Introspection.

Each suit in the Minor Arcana carries the traditional elemental associations, and includes " variations and refinements." the suit of swords, following traditional associations is of the mental realm, which relates to thinking, rationalizing, communication, and even the mental anxiety we can put ourselves through, can also represent patterns, and the "emotions and physical sensations that are a part of the mental patterns."

The Swords flow with geometric patterns, and the Wands relate with the chakras. The Disks hold animal images, and the Cups carry the titles of names adopted by Ron Kurtz, founder of Hakomi, which show strategies (" are patterned responses developed to cope with situations encountered in early environment.") they include thought, emotional, and behavioral patterns.

The titles of the Court cards have also been changed and are gender-neutral. Now, they simply " the gifts of each suit." the titles are server, teacher, healer, and master. the server reveals the impulse to help in the emotion, spiritual, mental, or spiritual areas. the teacher expresses the aspects of wisdom and learning in the particular suits. the healer is the healing influences, whether from within or from outside influences, and the master is one who builds on the previous lessions, and shows the integration of these qualities.

Each Minor Arcana card has the same keywords or a phrase on it, and the suits contain color-coded borders. The Major Arcana cards have a purple border, the Swords are yellow, Wands are pink, Cups are blue, and Disks are green. The border colors are soft pastel and are beautiful. The cards are of a thin card stock and can be slippery when shuffling. I have found that the slipperiness can subside with use.

further which express The accompanying book offers explanations for changes that expand from traditional decks, and each card is covered. I like the way the cards are discussed, and how the meanings of the cards are expressed in such a guiding way. We are given much food for thought into attitudes or behaviors, with helpful suggestions, and even questions for us to consider. The book offers guidance on pulling cards, and working with two to six card spreads. The back of the book has a chapter relating to themes that can appear in readings. A list of themes is included, along with the cards that relate closest to the theme. A Quick Reference Chart is also included.

The "Tarot of Transformation" is an awesome deck with a truly healing and spiritual feel to it. it's a must have! the images are incredible, full of symbology, and i find them great for meditation and self-exploration. i do have to complain about the smell when i first opened the deck, which is from the printing ink, i guess. when i first opened the deck, i couldn't stand to even look through it. i placed the deck in a box, along with some of my favorite incense and closed the lid for about a week, and the problem was solved. i left the book out in an open place for it to air out. after taking care of the smell, i thoroughly enjoy the artwork and working with this deck.

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