Mystic_Faerie

“The faeries of Mystic Faerie Tarot will help guide your way through the garden. The garden is really your life, and the tarot can help you find your path. You can use it to explore possibilities so that you can make better decisions. If you make better decisions, you can create the life you long to live.” – From the companion book

In a garden strewn with red speckled toadstools and iridescent pearls, magical blue roses and ripe juicy berries, resides the enchanted world of the Mystic Faerie Tarot. Playful, resolute, curious and helpful, all manner of personality and appearance find expression among the sparkling, fluttering wings of the faeries.

From the Fool to the Wheel, the Hanged Fae to the World, the sprites, elves, faeries and nymphs of the Major Arcana demonstrate a deep connectedness to nature, imparting visionary insight to humans if we but take the time to listen carefully and closely.

The Minor Arcana cards of the Mystic Faerie Tarot are delightfully unique, for each suit weaves a special tale of exploration, discovery, industry and duty—as well as loss, love, triumph and adversity. With bloodied thorns and magical blue roses, the Sword suit speaks a cautionary tale about attempting to eliminate all pain and disruption from life.

The Pentacles suit shows the story of a self-assured, assiduous fae, while the Cups illustrate the power of understanding and effort in building relationships. The Wands suit tells the lively account of two young friends who make a pact to find their fortune—but whose actions lead them down unexpected paths.

Among the four suits are Knaves, Knights, Queens and Kings, representing the people and energies surrounding issues both significant and mundane. The card backing features a simple design that is fully reversible and there are two extra cards in the deck: a Faerie Greeting and a Faerie Farewell. The Mystic Faerie Tarot box set comes with a lovely gold organdy bag with satin drawstrings, as well as a bronze cardboard storage box that matches the border color.

The exquisite images from self-taught British artist Linda Ravenscroft imbue the Mystic Faerie Tarot with gentle beauty and animated expressiveness—making this an immensely readable deck. In fact, as soon as I began looking through the Minor Arcana, I soon realized—with surprise and delight!—that each suit unfolded to impart a special “faerie tale”.

Author Barbara Moore provides brief, lucid Tarot instruction in the 284-page companion book, but also demonstrates some impressive storytelling chops. Reading the vivid parables was an enjoyable experience in itself, but I gained additional insights into various cards because of her uncanny observations.

For example, when describing The Hermit—my favorite card in the Tarot—Barbara observes that this particular fae is on a solitary, life-long quest with no expectation of an end. He examines the wisdom that other faeries have left behind so “he can compare the collective social beliefs to those that reside in his own heart.”

Noting his ragged, loosely stitched cap, she comments that “what he thinks and believes is constantly pieced together as time and new knowledge changes what he thinks” advising to “Release what doesn’t work, keep what does, and continually re-create your own belief system.” This is, indeed, what I’ve done to survive and thrive in the world, and it was fascinating to read her perceptive observations about the fae, Tarot and life in general.

At first, I felt that the images of the Mystic Faerie Tarot were too cluttered, especially with the large, ornate frames painted by the artist. But as I began to work with this deck, I came to see the filigreed borders as portals into the faerie realm—a place inviting humans to listen closely, look carefully, and access timeless wisdom that honored nature and the interconnectivity of all things.

The Mystic Faerie Tarot surprised me on several levels, most notably the affinity I forged with this compelling deck. Why this is surprising is that, before now, I didn’t feel any connection to faeries—feeling that the subject matter was mostly frilly, frothy, and fanciful—lacking substantive relevance or commentary to the “real world” of humans.

However, after working with this deck—and performing several of the excellent spreads found in the companion book—I now count it among my favorites! I feel as if I’ve found some new friends that are unfailingly honest, non-judgmental and uncannily visionary.

If you love elves, faeries, gnomes and nymphs, you’ll no doubt love the Mystic Faerie Tarot. However, even if you don’t feel that you resonate with this magical world so intrinsically tied to the Earth, you may want to try this box set anyway because, like me, you could end up discovering an enchanted realm filled with new friends and fresh insights.