A POET'S TAROT
A Guest Review by Damarys Mercado
 
I have mixed feelings about this deck, A Poet's Tarot (Words & Pictures by Jesse Cougar) because I don't consider it a “traditional” Tarot.  First, instead of 78 cards, this deck contains only 74, consisting of 22 Trump Majors and 52 Trump Minors.  The Minors consist of four suits:  Sticks, Bowls, Knives and Pens, which are alternate titles for Wands, Cups, Swords and Pentacles.  The major discrepancies found here are that the Sticks (Wands) correspond to earth instead of fire; the Knives (Swords) correspond to fire instead of air; and the Pens (Pentacles) correspond to air instead of earth.  Needless to say, this is very confusing, and one of the reasons I don't recommend using this deck for divination purposes.  Another reason is that there are no Kings, Queens, Knights or Pages, which I consider integral in a Tarot.  The hierarchical format has been replaced by animals and “representatives of the higher order” (I understand this to mean humans).
 
      The deck is made up of two-sided cards featuring “original art” on one side and an interpretive poem” on the other.  The cards are in four colors:  black, white, silver and violet, and have sharp square corners.  The “original art” is in the form of black and white drawings which appear amateurish to me, though they have a certain charm.  The deck comes wrapped in a blue silk cloth, but no box.  Instead of a little white booklet like we see included in most Tarot decks, the introduction and instructions are printed on five cards.  I have no knowledge if a separate book was ever written for this deck.
 
         Because of the introspective nature of the poetry, I strongly recommend these cards be used for personal guidance and/or meditative purposes.  Due to it's unconventionality I do not recommend this deck for beginners, nor do I recommend it be used for divination purposes, as I stated earlier.  However, I do think it would make an interesting addition to the collection of a seasoned or advanced Tarot reader/collector.  Although the deck has a unique and haunting quality, I find it to be somewhat depressing, probably due to the lack and variety of vivid colors.

I have no idea if this deck is still available; I tend to believe it is out of print, since the copyright date is 1986.  The Poet's Tarot retailed at $14.95, and was published by Tough Dove Books, PO Box 528, Little River, California 954456.

 
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Guest Review Copyright 2000 by Damarys Mercado
used with permission