Transformational Tarot - tarot decks

Price: US $15.51

ProductID: alt1141

• The Transformational Tarot is a universal mythology for our time, showcasing colourful modern collage artwork with a
• medieval/renaissance feel. Previously self-published, this deck has been now been updated and reprinted by US
• Games.

Both Major and Minor Arcana images combine a swooning turn-of-the-century richness with a modern sense of the absurd which scribbles shades on the magician and graffiti on the walls. The effect is sometimes whimsical and charming, sometimes unsettling, but always worth a second look. When styles clash, as they often do in this deck, meaning jumps out at you -- and it's not always the traditionally assigned meaning you might expect if you are used to Rider-Waite and its clones.

Temperance, for example, is now called Alchemy; the Tower has turned into the goddess Kali -- Ando has gone one level deeper and created an image of the spiritual implications of the card, with sometimes breathtaking results. However, certain cards that recur for me personally in readings lost their accumulated meaning for me and were colore d by the new Ando image (the Ace of Cups comes to mind). Maybe that's where the Transformation comes in -- a fresh image casts a new light on a recurring issue.

In any case, we are not left floundering with no explanation for the less traditional interpretations, images, and concepts. The accompanying softcover book gives Ando's interpretations for both upright and reversed cards next to a black and white reproduction of the card. These interpretations are brief yet evocative -- helpful and insightful into the meaning of the card as well as into Ando's thought process. The only flaw in the book is the large number of typos, grammar mistakes, and misused words.

Most important in my opinion is Ando's recognition that personal associations are the key to a reading. She leaves lots of white space for notes, so that the book can become a workbook if the reader so chooses. This honors the reader's ownexperience and counterbalances the very personal quality of some of Ando's cards. < p>Is TT effective in readings? I only read for myself -- I have found it to be very effective if I take the time to study the images. Since I am accustomed to traditional decks, I have to rewire my responses to some of these cards, but it is worth the effort. It has inspired me to create decks of my own, incorporating my own history into the cards, and for that inspiration alone it was worth the price of $24.95. Transformational Tarot should probably not be anyone's first Tarot deck, but it should be prominent in any serious modern collection.