Click here to see gorgeous first card images (Queen of Pentacles, Wheel of Fortune and The Lovers).

Just when I think Karen and Alex can't oudo their previous decks...WOW.

-- Janet Boyer, author of Back in Time Tarot; founder of the Tarot Classroom

Can't wait to get my hands on this one, folks! Looks like it would be a great deck for kids, too.

-- Janet Boyer, author of Back in Time Tarot; founder of the Tarot Classroom

Pretty cool, huh?

If you can't spot 'em but would like to, you can learn the cards from me in my innovative (and fun!) Tarot Classroom. Click here for details for Tarot Classroom 2 set to begin February 15, 2010.

-- Janet Boyer

While the Tarot is often cast into the role as fortunetelling device or portable counselor, author James Ricklef reminds us that the cards speak in symbols--the language of the soul, as it were--making the Tarot an ideal vehicle for focused intent.

Whether you seek solace, need courage or desire prosperity, Tarot Affirmations can help inform your meditative and contemplative practice using the cards. Do you need to bolster your resolve? Consider pondering the fiery Ace of Wands. What about increasing attention to detail, especially in your work? Affirmations using Eight of Coins can help you stay alert, build upon your successes, use your skills effectively and find satisfaction at your job.

Improving relationships, sticking to a health regimen, accentuating the positive, fostering gratitude, obtaining clarity, promoting optimism, opening to abundance--all of these benefits and more can be gained from using the book Tarot Affirmations.

Using grayscale thumbnails of his Tarot of the Masters deck, James not only provides practical, direct affirmations for every card, but also insightful exposition and personal anecdotes showing the value and power of affirmations.

If you're looking for new ways to use the Tarot or want to incorporate the cards in your affirmations or contemplative practice, Tarot Affirmations is the only book on the market addressing the subject--and it does so in an accessible, compassionate and empowering way.

-- Janet Boyer, author of Back in Time Tarot; founder of the Tarot Classroom

So the wonderful news is that Tarot Classroom #2 starts February 15, 2010! If you missed out on the first session or were on the fence about it, you may want to sign up soon!

http://bit.ly/TarotClass2

Only 2 weeks into classes, wonderful praise has already been posted about my Tarot Classroom. Here's one blog post:

"Although I have been studying and reading the Tarot for some time, I decided to take Janet Boyer's Tarot Class. It has been a wonderful experience! The class started on January 4th. My knowledge and understanding has grown in leaps and bounds since then." -- Autumn Winds Blog

I hope you can join me for engaging homework, personal feedback and innovative lessons and tips in Tarot Classroom #2! (Like Classroom #1, Classroom #2 will be a Yahoo Group with the exact same lessons--just different students).

Click here for more information.

-- Janet Boyer; author of Back in Time Tarot; creator of the Tarot Classroom

After the Gilded Tarot and before the Legacy of the Divine, there was a second deck birthed from the fertile imagination of Ciro Marchetti: the Tarot of Dreams. Self-published in large, deluxe format and accompanied by digital goodies in 2005, the Tarot of Dreams was widely acclaimed both then and now.

However, the original package was cost-prohibitive for many.

But good news dawns, Tarot enthusiasts! Ciro Marchetti has self-published a smaller, mass-market edition of the Tarot of Dreams, with slight modifications. Gone are the Kabbalistic Tree of Life path numbers in the border (as modified by Lee Bursten), and the central icon of the backings has been changed, too.

The astrological symbols in the borders remain, as do the corresponding Hebrew letters among the Majors and the elemental symbols among the Courts.

An innovative addition to the mass-market version of the Tarot of Dreams is four extra Palace Cards: Palace of Cups, Palace of Coins, Palace of Wands and Palace of Swords. These gorgeous, otherworldly places—published after the original Tarot of Dreams—were noted as the “Tarot of Dreams real estate” by artist Ciro Marchetti.

The original digital-only “companion book” has been truncated into a companion booklet, but still contains Bursten’s insightful commentary into the Tarot of Dreams. The sturdy box has to be one of the best on the market: a flip top lid that opens sideways and is secured magnetically.

For the life of me, I simply could NOT connect with the original Tarot of Dreams four years ago, writing a less-than-glowing review of the deck.

I’m not sure what happened since 2005, but all I can say is that I’ve been using the Tarot of Dreams almost exclusively for personal readings and about 90% of the time for client readings. Perhaps the Tarot of Dreams seduced me at Ciro’s Gateway to the Divine site, where I found myself selecting this deck for several web readings.

Whatever the case, these lustrous, often enigmatic pictures are speaking clearly and accurately, imparting wisdom that, at times, blows my mind.

The cards measure approximately 4 ½ x 3 inches and the finish is somewhere between the glossy Gilded and the matte self-published Legacy of the Divine—satin, perhaps? I was a bit concerned when I saw the card stock; it was quite flexible, and the corners of a few seemed to begun to bubble or peel.

After using the Tarot of Dreams for a few months now, I’m relieved to report that the cards are holding up well. The minor instances of peeling don’t seem to be getting worse except for my Palace of Cups card. Ciro expressed his displeasure with the card stock, too, but for $30, I feel that the cards, box and companion book are worth the price. You may want to take extra care with them, though, should a few of the cards show some rippling on the edges.

If you love Ciro’s Gilded Tarot and the Legacy of the Divine, I think you’ll be very pleased with the Tarot of Dreams. The coloration is richer than the Gilded, although the anatomical renderings aren’t as good as the Legacy of the Divine. Still, because the cards are smaller, the less-than-perfect portrayals haven’t distracted me as they did with the larger, deluxe version (and neither do the CM “signatures” that seemed so prominent in the original).

An original deck that gushes with gorgeous hues, the mass-market version of the Tarot of Dreams stands proudly in between its brethren—at a price affordable for most anyone.

To see 15 more images from this deck, click here.

-- Janet Boyer, Editor at TheTarotChannel.com; author of Back in Time Tarot; creator of the Tarot Classroom

Arguably the coolest thing was the mention and use of Tarot! Admittedly, it was the villain--the Shadowman--who used Tarot cards for nefarious ends, but it was neat to not only see actual cards used, but used correctly!

Disney must have done their homework.

One of the cards in the reading showed an X at the top (Roman numeral 10) with a man carrying a burdensome load of sticks (obvious reference to the 10 of Wands, although no suit name was used). Disney brought the the 3-card Past-Present-Future reading to life by "animating" each card. For example, for the 10 of Wands, the man carrying the load comes to life and becomes henpecked by a woman and further burdened by future challenges.

Yes, I realize it's not great that Tarot has once again been relegated to use by charlatans like the Shadowman, BUT Mama Odie, the affable, slightly-crazy voodoo lady in the bayou, helps show that magic and intention can also be wielded by noble people with good intentions to serve others.

Also, it was great to see a heroine of color, as well as a strong, talented, confident female who works hard for her dreams and doesn't need someone else to save her. If I could sum up The Princess and the Frog, it would be that hard work + dreaming + flexibility + remembering what's important often = what you need, as opposed to what you want, and also can help redefine what it means to be "successful".

Click here to see the trailer for The Princess and the Frog.

P.S. If you'd like your own 3-card Past/Present/Future Reading as seen in the movie, I'd be thrilled to do one for you! Just visit my Readings page at this link. Would you like to learn Tarot for yourself or to do readings for others? Join me in my Tarot Classroom for the New Year! Click here for more information.

-- Janet Boyer, Editor at TheTarotChannel.com and author of Back in Time Tarot

I am not “into” vampires. I’ve never read an Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles nor the Twilight series. However, I *am* a fan of Davide Corsi’s computer generated decks, which include the Pictorial Key and the Tarot of the Elves.

Naturally, I wanted to get my hands on the Vampires Tarot of the Eternal Night, primarily so I could see what technical wizardry Corsi produced with this latest deck from Lo Scarabeo.

Gratuitous bloody scenes or romanticized hand-to-the-forehead poses might be expected for a deck dedicated to vampires. Not in the Vampires Tarot of the Eternal Nightl! Instead, I found this deck to be provocative, even elegant. 

Realistic, arresting creatures populate this deck. Yes, the pale, lithe vampires are here, but there are also hairless, bat-eared beings with milky, translucent skin as well as wolfish, powerful, menacing monsters.

From burnished wood caskets in card X (The Wheel) to veined, muscled black horses in the Knight of Swords, many depictions are downright photorealistic. There’s also a strong sense of movement to the Vampires Tarot of the Eternal Night, as with the blurring of bat wings in card XVI (The Tower) and the dusty stirrings of skin disintegration in card XIX (The Sun).

The card borders are outstanding: a stonework frame, reminiscent of a mausoleum’s entrance, encases the central image. As with his two previous decks, there are no words on any of the cards. The Major Arcana features roman numerals, while the Minors bear color-coded, marble-like placards with the number and suit symbol. (Coins are emerald green, Cups are royal blue, Wands are crimson, and Swords are gold. The Majors are charcoal).

The Court Cards symbols are a bat (Knave), lion (Knight), head with long feathery hair (Queen) and head with coiffed hair (King). Because of the absence of cards names and abstract court symbols, beginners would probably find the Vampires Tarot of the Eternal Night quite challenging to use.

Cards measure approximately 4 ¾ x 2 ½ inches with handsome backings that are not quite reversible because of the (small) central sphere in the design. However, whatever that scarlet central image (I haven’t been able to figure it out), it certainly produces a hypnotic effect while shuffling!

The Little White Book to the Vampires Tarot of the Eternal Night contains glaring errors and contradictions, and the interpretations don’t correspond with the images (as is the case with many Lo Scarabeo decks). However, the card meanings that *are* clear and accurate aren’t bad at all (some are even thought provoking).

So how does the Vampires Tarot of the Eternal Night read for someone who’s not into vampires? I was wondering this myself! I admit not to expecting much, not because of the illustrations—as I said, they’re striking—but because I don’t relate much to the genre.

Yet, when I did three separate one-card readings with this deck, I’ll be darned if it was not only accurate, but had a sense of humor! The cards spoke with such clarity, that I admit to being quite surprised. One card made me chuckle with its encouraging bluntness, while another was truly profound. For example, I asked what I needed to know most about my novel-in-progress and drew card IV (The Emperor).

However, I didn’t notice it to be The Emperor right away. Rather, I the ankh brooch at the neck of the figure, located at the throat chakra, “said” to me “express your truth, don’t censor”. Then I noticed the large, clear goblet of wing (er, blood?) that the person was holding. I immediately thought of the Ace of Cups and “heard”, “write from your soul, the depth of your being”. (The Ace of Cups often comes up for me when I need to dig deep when writing, or accessing the wellspring of Spirit.)

And then I saw the glowing full moon in the background and “heard”, “trust your intuition and the receptive side of creativity”. It was *then* that I noticed that it was the card usually called The Emperor. And then I heard a message about boundaries, organization and routine (something for arranging those impressions in an orderly fashion). And I “got” all that information in under a minute!

So if you enjoy the CGI artistry of Davide Corsi and would like to expand your cache beyond traditional decks (in case you’re not into vampires like me!), do give Vampires Tarot of the Eternal Night a try. I found the imagery of this deck to be far superior to the cartoonish Vampire Tarot in both art and depth of intuitive transmission. I plan to use this deck for the “darker” elements of my novel and for plotting, as well as any time I want an especially piercing dose of truth.

To see 16 more images from this deck, click here.

-- Janet Boyer, Editor at The Tarot Channel

Bold coloring and surreal imagery, uncertain circumstances viewed by emotive eyes, this is the eerie landscape favored by the Tarot of the Sweet Twilight. Painted by the fanciful, confident brush of Cristina Benintende, this deck is reminiscent of the kaleidoscopic films by Tim Burton, where wide-eyed naiveté and subversive knowing romp in off-kilter worlds.

Haunting yet appealing, the illustrations glow profound in the Tarot of the Sweet Twilight. Rich, chalky brushstrokes paint a world that’s a bit like ours, but not quite—a place where our feet find purchase and our imaginations set aflame amid the in-between place of symbol and the subconscious.

Measuring approximately 4 ¾ x 2 ½ inches, the cards feature an attractive indigo border with a reversible (but a bit too busy) montage on the backs. The Minor suits are Chalices, Wands, Pentacles and Swords, with the Court Cards following the Knave, Knight, Queen and King designation. 

The Little White Book, penned by Barbara Moore, doesn’t provide keywords but rather “jumping off points” for personal interpretation. Many are quite good, especially for journaling and personal contemplation.

I’ve been using this deck for several months now with great success, especially for creativity and fiction writing. I’ve also had great results when reading for others, most notably when I did Black Friday gift-giving readings on Beyond Worlds at Blog Talk Radio. Even my 11-year old once read with the Tarot of the Sweet Twilight deck, giving me some amazing insight into a character from my first novel that I’m working on!

Fans of the Deviant Moon Tarot and the Phantasmagoric Theater Tarot would most likely love the Tarot of the Sweet Twilight, as would anyone who enjoys the art of Dali or the visual storytelling of Tim Burton. I highly recommended this deck for creative, romantic types, especially for idea brainstorming and solution generation.

Insights that go beyond “good enough” into the realm of otherworldly perspectives and refreshing, surprising readings have been my experience with the Tarot of the Sweet Twilight, and it may provide the same to you if you’re drawn to Benintende’s shadowy, fantastical artwork.

Click here to see 17 more images from this deck.

-- Janet Boyer, editor at The Tarot Channel