Two Magical Decks -Vision Quest Tarot & Tarot de St. Croix

I received the Tarot de St. Croix today and do I love it! Magical is the word to describe the feeling I get looking through it! I can tell this will be a deck I will use a lot - maybe not just for spiritual self-readings, but for all-purpose readings too...I haven't yet strayed from RWS deck and clones usage for basic question spreads for myself and others, but I do want to and this may be the deck to do it! There's just something about the images by artist Lisa de St. Croix that is haunting....just perfect for me - the perfect haunted "4" of the Ennegram system, if you're familiar with that...If not, it means that I like layers of meaning and images with a hint of darkness or sadness beneath. We 4's suffer from an underground river of melancholia, though we can also shine very brightly. In short, I think we're a bit intense emotionally. This deck has a definite emotional component to every image, so I really relate to it.

I also want to put in a plug for the Vision Quest Tarot, which is certainly not a new deck (came out in 1998 I think), but a deep deck, thanks to the LWB that accompanies it. I love the way it handles "negative" or painful cards, putting a spiritual and positive (though not fake) spin on them, making them helpful, rather than frightening or dark. The LWB has two interpretations for each card - Inner message and Outward Manifestation, and each is compassionate and spiritual. It's not unlike the recently released and celebrated (by me and many others) Chrysalis Tarot in its depth and approach, though Vision Quest is of course Native American-themed while Chrysalis is more Celtic and a mix of other traditions.

I have done some self-readings with the Vision Quest Tarot and found them to be extremely, even startlingly accurate and meaningful. I haven't yet worked with Tarot de St. Croix, but of course I will soon and I'll report the results right here! I don't think I'll be disappointed in this deck.

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