Tarot of the Trees Review by Beth Allen

by | | 0 comment(s)

What a delight it is to work with this deck -- The Tarot of Trees is an independently published, mixed media creation by artist Dana O’Driscoll, where trees take on the roles traditionally reserved for humans – and what a splendid job they do!

Originally published in 2009, this deck is now in its third edition. It doesn’t come with a little white book however, it so closely follows the Rider-Waite-Smith system that if you’re familiar with RWS you should have no problem reading with it. There are 78 cards with an extra Major Arcana card thrown in titled Regeneration.

This deck just makes me happy whenever I use it. It’s a good deck to use to get in touch with nature and I can see using this deck if you want to do nature spirit work but don’t have an animal deck you resonate with. I use it when I need to ground and do root chakra work. These cards are fun, and although I would say the style and theme make the delivery of the messages gentler, I wouldn’t call this deck whimsical or superficial -- the messages are straightforward. Think of it as hearing the message from an honest friend, except you’re lying on the ground, in a forest, looking up at trees, and sky, and mountaintops. Do I use this deck for shadow work? No, but the message is there, it’s just presented in a loving way.

It’s difficult to single out favorites in this “forest,” but this deck has one of my all-time favorite Devil cards; the High Priestess is gorgeous (this is the card on the cover of the box); with the depiction of the Chariot you get a tree that, through the magic of creativity, gives us movement and motion; and the Moon card, sigh . . . to die for. It’s unusual for me, but honestly I like every card in this deck. The Court cards and Minor Arcana are fantastic: the Nine of Cups is so incredible I actually think it could be on the cover of the box; the Five of Pentacles is evocative and sad; I love the restful Four of Swords; and the Queen of Wands even has her little black cat – up in a tree, of course.

The deck is a mini, or pocket size, which is great for smaller hands to shuffle, to throw in a purse or backpack for travel, or to use in large spreads. The paper stock is nothing special but it’s not bad and the cards are glossy, which normally I don’t care for as much as matte, but in this case I think enhances the deck’s artwork. There is a guidebook that’s sold separately but if you know RWS you won’t need it to read the cards. Besides the standard suits, the suits are divided by seasons and colors: the Cups are Spring (light greens), the Wands are Summer (deeper greens and blues), the Swords are Autumn (all the beautiful colors one associates with the Fall), and the Pentacles are Winter (indigo colors of blues and purples). This makes the deck a dream to work with at each of the seasonal Sabbats or if you do divination work the seasons can help you put that always-elusive time frame on a future event.

This deck is a reliable little reader for me, although I don’t use it much to read for others except as a spread clarifier. I think it would be a wonderful deck to use for or with children.

The trees in these cards are vibrant and they take on life and meaning. Now, when I take walks, I can see trees in the way they tell their stories in the cards, which is quite a magical gift to receive.

Get Yours Here:https://bit.ly/2YHgPqP

This entry was posted in no categories.

You must be logged in to post comments.