Deck Interview with Fantasical Creatures Tarot

Fantastical Creatures Tarot- Three of Wands, Two of Swords, Page of Pentacles

This week I am using Fantastical Creatures Tarot by D.J. Conway and Lisa Hunt, published by U.S. Games Systems, Inc. and it is beautiful!  I am hoping this will quell my craving for the forthcoming Ghosts and Spirits Tarot, which I really, really want to be released!

Last weeks' questions seemed to work well, so I just repeated them here.  First, what can I expect from you as a deck?  Three of Wands, represented by the Djinn.  These misty creatures are considered muses of a sort for writers, poets, mystics, and psychics, so their appearance as something to expect from this deck is really exciting for me, since I'd like to be all four of those.  Traditionally, I see the Three of Wands as expansion, growth, and progress, so I am thrilled to see that this is a deck that can assist in growth in these areas.

The second cards ask what my part of the relationship with the deck shall be, and the Two of Swords is the answer.  The first thing that strikes me about the card is the snake swimming across the top of the water, since I am unreasonably, unnaturally and desperately afraid of the creatures.  My first thought is that there may be times in working with this deck that something scares me, and sometimes that may be just because I don't understand it.  I could shove this card back in the deck, just because I don't like the thought of dealing with the snake, even as ink and paper, or I can face it, confident it can't hurt me, and stay still long enough to garner some knowledge.  From this card, I can glean that while it may not always be easy, it will be worth it to stick with the cards as long as it takes for understanding to begin.

The third card, basically anything else I should know, is the Page of Pentacles, and my instant understanding of this card as a student makes perfect sense.  I adore Lisa Hunts' decks but I have yet to see one that did not require study for me to use it most effectively.  The images are rich in symbolism and the stories are a treasure trove of information, but they deserve more than a cursory glance, and my experience with her other decks has been that they richly reward study.  This Page of Pentacles as an earth fairy also brings messages, in this case ones that pertain to my earthly realm, so I think some of the spell work I have set in motion may come through this week, and this deck will be around to tell me about it.

Fantastical Creatures Tarot- High Priest

The Shadow Card of the reading,  the High Priest, which would be named the Hierophant in Waite Smith tradition, is a bridge between the Heavenly realm and our earthly one.  This majestic bird is the Roc, beautiful and terrible all at the same time.  My own Taurean nature, which astrologically corresponds to this card, is not represented at its' best, as the bovine creature in the card is about to become some birds' lunch.  I can infer that my love of traditional things may be at odds with using this deck, as it is sumptuous, but does not closely follow the Waite Smith tradition I am so enamored of.  At this moment, I am thinking that I want to stretch my wings, but I am not in the thick of wrestling any cards yet, so it while I realize that growth is always good, I am also aware it is rarely painless.





These cards are from Fantastical Creatures Tarot by D.J. Conway and Lisa Hunt, published by U.S. Games Systems, Inc.