Pearls of Wisdom Tarot Deck

The Only Way Out Is Through, March 10, 2008

By	David Albert "doctordruidphd" (Pacific Northwest, USA) -

"The Only Way Out Is Through."

Such are the words with which the author concludes her introduction to this deck. There is great wisdom here, wisdom won at a price, which is perhaps the most valuable kind.

When I first saw images from this deck, I knew it was special. The artwork suggested a cross between Walter Wegmuller's 'Zigeuner (Gypsy) Tarot' and Johanna Sherman's 'Sacred Rose' -- a kind of psychedelic naturescape, with various symbols including runes, strings of pearls, candles, geometric shapes, bumblebees and others added. The images are recognizable as Tarot symbols, though they are not bound by the usual Tarot conventions; this deck has a much deeper meaning than faithfulness to any tradition. If you are looking for a Rider-Waite clone, you had best keep looking, as that is not what this deck is about. This is a new and innovative interpretation of the Tarot and its imagery; it is the kind of deck that feels like a cool, fresh breeze to those looking for new insights.

The cards themselves are a bit larger than most, printed on substantial card stock with a high gloss finish. The arrangement is standard, with Page, Knight, Queen and King. Most of the cards contain human, or nearly human, figures going through the usual gyrations one expects in a Tarot deck. Many of the images are set in scenes of flowing water, trees, flowers, grasses, and occasionally stone castles. A closer look, though, shows an uncanny resemblance between the clearly western style characters, and the facial expressions and body gestures often found in Hindu and Tantric figures. If that isn't enough to get your attention, the bright, vibrant colors, the kind you get when you set your 'saturation' control on your graphics program to maximum, surely will. These aren't the kind of cards that put you to sleep halfway through the deck. They draw you onward, but also inward -- there is a depth to each card that demands study and reflection. The cards do not wear their meanings on their sleeves -- there are no keywords or suggested interpretations, nor do the images themselves directly indicate a specific meaning. Each card is an invitation to meditate and imagine, a gateway into a world that seems both strange, and somehow hauntingly familiar. It would be hard to pick out a few cards to describe in detail, because all of the cards are brilliant, all of them are Tarot and yet spectacularly different, and all of them have something to say.

There is, of course, a book. Not the usual flimsy leaflet, but a 96 page book describing each of the cards. For the Major Arcana, there are detailed descriptions of the cards, and explanations of the symbols found on them, as well as suggested interpretation for each card. The point of view tends to be New-Agey, with emphasis on healing and spiritual growth. That's not surprising, given the author's introduction. As always, it's important to keep in mind that the suggested interpretations are just that -- suggestions for your own understanding of the cards. There is a quality to these cards that defies definition and categorization -- just when you think you've found everything in the card, something else jumps out at you. You can't say what each card means; you have to study it, immerse yourself in it, and ultimately "feel" it. And that's what gave away the secret of this deck.

"Archetypes have, when they appear, a distinctly numinous character which can only be described as 'spiritual'. It not infrequently happens that the archetype appears in the form of a spirit in dreams or fantasy products, or even comports itself like a ghost. There is a mystical aura about its numinosity,and it has a corresponding effect upon the emotions. It mobilizes philosophical and religious convictions in the very people who deemed themselves miles above any such fits of weakness. Often it drives with unexampled passion and remorseless logic towards its goal and draws its subject under its spell, from which despite the most desperate resistance he is unable, and finally no longer willing, to break free, because the experience brings with it a depth and fullness of meaning that was unthinkable before." -- C. G. Jung

This deck wasn't created by a Tarot "expert" to prove his or her mastery of a genre. It wasn't created to prove someones knowledge of symbolism and tradition, nor to peddle someone's meddlesomeness in the affairs of others. No, this deck was created by someone who suffered a tragic personal loss, and as a result of that loss came into a kind of wisdom known only to the ancient shamans and seers. It has been said that, "The truth will set you free," but unfortunately the reality of it is often the other way around -- one must suffer great personal loss in order to find the Truth. Only when the 'reality' of one's personal life collapses does one see the falseness of that 'reality', and only then can one apprehend the vision of what lies beyond the illusions of social life. It is that vision that is portrayed in these cards. That's why the characters resemble Tantric deities and forest fairies -- rather than cloaking them in the garb of traditional symbolism, the artist has drawn what she has seen. The images have unconscious impact because that's what they are: archetypal images of the universal forces that lie behind human consciousness itself.

Those archetypes often take on a form that we would identify as "psychedelic." This is because modern culture has lost familiarity with them -- they are identified with drugs because, for the most part, that is the only contact modern man has with them. To the ancients, these were the images of magick and healing, personifications of the forces of nature and the divine, messages from ancestors and prophecies for the future. To the mystic, they are symbols of what lies beyond ordinary consciousness -- the patterns of energy flow that give form and meaning to existence. Modern culture has lost contact with these images, preferring to "relax in indolence" and take seriously its illusions of physical and social glory. In the occasional dream or drug-state modern man may see these visions, but instead of heeding their wisdom, the modern just picks himself up and continues on his way. Only when the mental constructs of modern life are taken away -- by choice or by circumstance -- do these visions gain a foothold in the mind. Then, like opening Pandora's box, the ancient powers pour forth, producing madness in some perhaps, but in others inspiring a creativity that draws the artist, and the observer, into the world of the ancient seer.

Can a deck of cards transform your life? No, no more than can LSD, yoga, Kierkegaard or quantum electrodynamics. But, in the mind of one open to new ideas, willing to look in new directions, and, in all honesty, ready to make the sacrifices that must be made to acquire new wisdom and understanding, any of those things can lead to a completely new way of looking at the world, and at one's own self. That's the kind of deck this is; it isn't reading tea leaves, or changing your inner child's diapers. Behind these pretty pictures is the wisdom of the ancients. Take a look around yourself and ask, what will be left when it is all gone? The answer is that what comes and goes is illusory and transitory, but wisdom and understanding are forever. It is that quality of enduring thought that gives these cards their power.