September 03 - 09, 2011 ~ The Whispering Tarot

Star

The Whispering Tarot
Elizabeth Hazel
Playing Cards R Us / 2008
EMH © www.kozmic-kitchen.com

I purchased this deck from the Daughters of Divination Millard Fillmore Memorial Spiritualist Temple Garage Sale at SF BATS.  I grabbed a stack of decks and asked the nice lady, “How Much,” She said 15$, I said, “okay.”  Little did I know what a treasure I would find in the Whispering Tarot!

The deck is self published through Playing Cards R Us and are slightly smaller than average playing cards.  Actually, the size is perfect as far as I am concerned at 2.5” x 3.5”.  They are easy in my small hands.  The card stock is supple without being flimsy.  The borders are heavy and glossy black - about 1/4”.  At first, I thought that would be a hinderance is such a small deck, but what it does is help to accentuate the amazingly vibrant colors.  One thing I noticed is a lack of white space in the cards.  Clouds are white, and things that should be white are white, but that is it.  The skies are blue, the grass is green - nothing is left uncolored.   The backs are also a treat - a very cool design.

Eclipse (Moon)

The system is pretty standard, though I got a bit of a Thoth feel from some of the cards.  And others felt RWS.  But what is missing is all the religious and Golden Dawn symbols.  I was asked if it was the art or the lack of the symbols that made this deck so great for me.  Now, in retrospect, I think it was the combination of Thoth and RWS systems that I perceived.  I don’t really have an affinity for the Christian and Golden Dawn symbolism and usually just ignore it - so I didn’t really miss it.   I suppose this raises all kinds of other questions - I will have to consider this.

As a reading deck it has been fantastic.  The New Deck Interview told me I would love it and that it would make me consider how I read tarot.  For a beginner who is trying to learn a particular system, I am not sure if it would be very much fun.  There are some slight changes, such as the renaming of Moon to Eclipse (shown).  It makes sense within the context of this deck. 

Rating: Favorite