This really attractive and very interesting deck is one of the few round decks on the market today.  It is not a tarot deck, but rather a deck of meditative circular mandalas.  These mandalas are very brightly colored, and really pretty.  In a way, they remind me of highly advanced versions of the drawings I used to crank out back when I was a kid and we had the Spirograph.  These, however, have a much higher purpose than simply being "cool round designs."

I'm not entirely sure why, but for some reason, all the round decks are double-boxed.  That is, the outer box, which is printed just like any other deck box, opens and a second box slides out, this one is plain white.  I found this to be true of the Motherpeace decks, the Tarot of the Cloisters, and the Daughters of the Moon Tarot.  Perhaps it is hard to keep the round cards from sliding out through the slot that the tabs tuck into, and having a double box prevents them from getting away.  Whatever the cause, this means the deck is surely and securely packaged.

There are 52 round cards in this deck.  They seem to be broken down into some informal categories; while several of them just have names like "Foundation" and "Giver of Light" there are whole series of Law titles like "Law of Free Will" and "Law of Cause and Effect."  Then there is a series of Universal ones, like "Universal Harmony" and "Universal Abundance."  Another series of 12 cards indicates the 12 signs of the Zodiac.  Unity, Duality and Trinity come after that, followed by two Guardian Angels and a blank card entitled Miracle.  I guess the Miracle is pure white light and no design can indicate it.

Since this is not a tarot deck, there are no Major or Minor Arcana, no suits, court titles, pips or scenes.  All of these cards have their titles printed around the edge several times over, so that no matter which end is up (with a round deck any end can be up since there aren't really any ends) you don't have to rotate the card too far to read the title.  None of the cards are numbered, and there isn't really any specific ordering system in place.  They don't seem to have any value one over the next, but are all equal and different.

The cards themselves are the standard round size, which is about five inches in diameter.  I find it a little hard to handle and shuffle because it's wider than my hands.  The cardstock used is good and flexible with a slightly slippery coating on it for protection.  The edges are nicely smoothed and of course, being a roudn deck, there are no corners.  The back design is a simple white spiral star design against a solid lavender background.  The little white booklet for this deck is fairly informative.  I usually find this to be the case with decks that are not tarot, because so much more explaining is necessary for their use.  The booklet describes three different spreads for reading and gives meanings for the cards plus sample readings.

I recommend this deck particularly for use in self-healing and meditation.  While I'm sure you could do readings for other people with it, the focus seems very personal in terms of your self-energy and values.  In a lot of ways it reminds me of the Vibrational Medicine Cards.  The cards are healing just to look at.  Again, since it's not a tarot deck, no prior tarot experience will help you with this deck, so a beginner starts out just as well as someone who has been reading for many years.  Another nice thing about this deck is it's safe for use with children, and there's nothing to offend persons of any religious or moral beliefs either.

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Review Copyright 2000 by Gina M. Pace

Cosmic Deck of Initiation by Barbara M. DeLong, 1991
published by U.S. Games Systems, Inc.
ISBN 0-88079-514-x