Although cute, I find this deck very hard to understand. The majors are fairly clear and follow the Marseilles pattern. The only exceptions to the regular pattern are that VIII, normally Justice, has been renamed Dryad, and XIV, normally the Temperence, has been renamed Sylph. XVII, normally the Star, has been renamed the Naiad. Despite the change in names, the images are fairly standard and easily read for anyone with familiarity with tarot. It's the minor arcana that are so hard to understand. The suits are non-traditional, and the suits don't follow intuitive correlations. For example, one suit is leaves. One could surmise that this would be the suit of Earth and would correlate with Pentacles from other decks. However, in the little white book, leaves are the suit "of thoughts and of intellectual gifts." Seems like it relates to Air and Swords. Huh? I found it confusing, and the sparse definitions in the little white book, don't help much.
Overall, there is an inconsistency in artwork that I find off-putting. The majors, court cards and Aces are all done in a more cartoony style (as in the Tarot of the Gnomes). The minors are half-pip card and half-illustrated. The illustrations below the suit objects are reminescent of Victorian fairy books and engravings. There is a place for both kinds of art, but together in one deck, it's a little jarring.
Despite my issues with the deck, there are some cards that are rather nice. The Magician and his companion owl look very mich alike, and the effect is adorable. The Ace of Acorns is a cute little hedgehog, and the 2 of Hearts shows a lovely picture of a male and female fairy courting.
I personally am not overly fond of this deck, but I can see how many would find it cute and could overlook the strangeness. I would definitely not recommend it for beginners.
Copyright K. Mayberry. Not to be used without permission.
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