FreeSpiritDiane
October 4th, 2008, 10:32 PM
I recently reviewed this deck and guidebook for New Age Journal online. Here's a slightly different version of the review for this forum:
The Whispering Tarot Deck and
The Whispering Tarot: Softly Spoken Secrets
by Elizabeth Hazel
Deck, 78 cards, $25.00
Guidebook, 55 pp., $10.00
I have just had the delightful opportunity to review Elizabeth Hazel’s The Whispering Tarot and its accompanying guidebook, The Whispering Tarot: Softly Spoken Secrets. I must say that this whimsical deck not only whispers but giggles. The brightly-colored and boisterous images convey meanings that are far less rigid than other decks such as the iconic Rider-Waite-Smith or the more heavy-handed Thoth deck. For example, the normally staid Heirophant is given a new visual: “A guru levitates onto a sunbeam. Beneath him is the scene of a Middle-Eastern city, with onion-domed towers. A temple rises in the foreground…”
Hazel uses pen and ink drawing that feel alive. In my initial reading with The Whispering Tarot deck, a pairing of The Fool and the Ace of Wands caught my attention. Clearly, this conveyed creativity and a new beginning for me, as it might with other decks -- but with Hazel’s cards, the Fool with all his chakras open and reaching for a star just seemed to carry the meaning of fresh potential for me. Her bucolic Ace of Wands, meanwhile, is a wonderful scene of everything Eostre: a bonfire, a rabbit, daffodils, and green, green grass.
There is an element of the fairy tale to The Whispering Tarot – with actual faeries are noted too. Indeed, they are highlighted in the beautiful Ten of Cups which demonstrates an idyllic scene of a farmhouse with the winged beings floating about in the magical woods. Mermaids and even a baby dragon hatching from an egg make their presence as well in other cards.
And for some strange reason, the Two of Swords where “a woman enters through a picket fence. Behind her, a wind zephyr blows a cloudy sky” reminded me of a scene out of Mary Poppins! Actually, this deck made me think of the Alice in Wonderland deck as well. Maybe it’s just me but that is the light-hearted energy these cards contain. The cards are friendlier to hold and shuffle as they are smaller than most, poker-sized. Overall, I am happy to add The Whispering Tarot with its gently laughing secrets to my tarot collection.
The Whispering Tarot Deck and
The Whispering Tarot: Softly Spoken Secrets
by Elizabeth Hazel
Deck, 78 cards, $25.00
Guidebook, 55 pp., $10.00
I have just had the delightful opportunity to review Elizabeth Hazel’s The Whispering Tarot and its accompanying guidebook, The Whispering Tarot: Softly Spoken Secrets. I must say that this whimsical deck not only whispers but giggles. The brightly-colored and boisterous images convey meanings that are far less rigid than other decks such as the iconic Rider-Waite-Smith or the more heavy-handed Thoth deck. For example, the normally staid Heirophant is given a new visual: “A guru levitates onto a sunbeam. Beneath him is the scene of a Middle-Eastern city, with onion-domed towers. A temple rises in the foreground…”
Hazel uses pen and ink drawing that feel alive. In my initial reading with The Whispering Tarot deck, a pairing of The Fool and the Ace of Wands caught my attention. Clearly, this conveyed creativity and a new beginning for me, as it might with other decks -- but with Hazel’s cards, the Fool with all his chakras open and reaching for a star just seemed to carry the meaning of fresh potential for me. Her bucolic Ace of Wands, meanwhile, is a wonderful scene of everything Eostre: a bonfire, a rabbit, daffodils, and green, green grass.
There is an element of the fairy tale to The Whispering Tarot – with actual faeries are noted too. Indeed, they are highlighted in the beautiful Ten of Cups which demonstrates an idyllic scene of a farmhouse with the winged beings floating about in the magical woods. Mermaids and even a baby dragon hatching from an egg make their presence as well in other cards.
And for some strange reason, the Two of Swords where “a woman enters through a picket fence. Behind her, a wind zephyr blows a cloudy sky” reminded me of a scene out of Mary Poppins! Actually, this deck made me think of the Alice in Wonderland deck as well. Maybe it’s just me but that is the light-hearted energy these cards contain. The cards are friendlier to hold and shuffle as they are smaller than most, poker-sized. Overall, I am happy to add The Whispering Tarot with its gently laughing secrets to my tarot collection.