The Mystic Dreamer Tarot

This new deck, by Heidi Darras, is a photo-manipulated deck with a slightly Gothic feel. It is very heavily influenced by the Rider-Waite-Smith deck, although there is a lot of additional interesting imagery. Most of the people depicted are young, attractive, long-haired young ladies, generally wearing soft, floating gowns. The cards are mainly coloured in dark hues, with dark blue and sepia predominating.

There are numerous symbols in all the cards that add to the meaning. e.g.. The teddy bear in the 9 of Swords, the spiral staircase behind the High Priestess and the sword in the chalice underneath the Lovers. However, because these are standard-sized cards and because of the size of the borders it is quite difficult to see all the detail. In fact, I considered using a magnifying glass to view the cards!

The companion book, by Barbara Moore, begins with chapters for beginners, covering how to read the cards, choose a suitable spread, keep a tarot journal, and all the usual basics. The spreads given in the book are varied, with some standard spreads such as the Celtic Cross, plus a wide variety of new spreads. The section on Dream Work with the deck is particularly interesting and has some excellent ideas for specific use with this deck. The card meanings are split into sections of Major Arcana, Minor Arcana, and Court Cards. The notes for each card are fairly brief. However, for each card there is a “Use Your Intuition” section at the end, in which the reader is asked a few questions about the card.

The deck is presented in an attractive pale pink box, with the companion book and a black gauze drawstring bag for storage.

The deck is ideal for anyone seeking a modern, slightly Gothic alternative to the more traditional Rider-Waite-Smith images. It is full of fascinating detail and would definitely repay further study.

The Mystic Dreamer Tarot

By Heidi Darras
Companion Book by Barbara Moore

Published by Llewellyn
ISBN 978-0-7387-1436-3

-- Brian Stevenson --
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Comments

[Connie]

I waited eagerly for months for this deck to be released...the images looked so pretty on the internet. I ordered the set and received a sealed deck with 3 cards missing. I wasn't sad to send the deck back, however, because between the muddy gold borders and the murky images, I could not clearly see the cards anyway. Very disappointing!

[Julie]

i felt drawn to this deck in the store and love the images! the symbolism resonates with me and the cards are beautiful. so far i have found them to be quite accurate.

[CJ]

I just bought this... I thought the imagery is beautiful and im so glad i picked it out im very happy with it! completely inspired and resonate with it.

[CJ]

I just bought this... I thought the imagery is beautiful and im so glad i picked it out im very happy with it! completely inspired and resonate with it.

[Balakirev]

"Most of the people depicted are young, attractive, long-haired young ladies, generally wearing soft, floating gowns." Most of the women, you mean. It's a female-centric deck. Even the Sun gets the gender switch. Beautifully rendered, but--well, bluntly put, I don't want to read a deck whose subtext tells me I belong to an inferior species. ;)

[Balakirev]

"Most of the people depicted are young, attractive, long-haired young ladies, generally wearing soft, floating gowns." Most of the women, you mean. It's a female-centric deck. Even the Sun gets the gender switch. Beautifully rendered, but--well, bluntly put, I don't want to read a deck whose subtext tells me I belong to an inferior species. ;)

[Regina]

I love how this deck shows that just because you are a woman doesn't mean you are inferior. to me this deck brings a sense of refreshment and free spirit. You can truly get in touch with the world of magic in a different and individual view.

[psychic readings]

Have just ordered this Tarot Deck! :)

[Mystic]

I felt drawn to this deck in the bookstore, and I feel as I must have it. However, I cannot afford it yet. I look forward to owning it!