This is not a tarot deck but a wonderful divination oracle deck using flowers as meditative and healing symbols for change in your life. It's meant to be used both in terms of a single card for meditating, or for use in a reading format to determine what your needs are in a given situation. The subtitle of this deck is "A Guide to Flowers and their Essences." The booklet describes uses of this deck as a psychological tool, as a meditational tool, as a tool for flower giving and garden planning, for ceremony and affirmation, as a flower essence tool, with or without astrological transits, or in a reading.
The deck itself is comprised of 52 cards. The first 22 cards correspond loosely to the 22 Major Arcana in a traditional tarot deck; however, this does not make this deck a tarot deck. Rudginsky's inspiration and training with the tarot and the Major Arcana are derived from B.O.T.A. and from the Rider-Waite as well. The rest of the cards are broken down as follows: eighteen Element cards, five Energy cards, and seven Guidance cards.
The Flower Arcana, as they are called in this deck, relate to the Major Arcana without being directly representative. The flowers chosen embody the energy in the archetype of each Major Arcana card. On the face of each card, the image area is centered with pretty vinelike detailing at the corners; a keyword meaning is at the top of the card, and underneath the image is the number of the card and the flower's name which is shown on the card. Arabic numerals are used. While they aren't directly represented, the ordering would be consistent with Strength as 8 and Justice 11. Titles are as follows:
0 - White Rose
1 - Daffodil
2 - Water Lily
3 - Rose
4 - Hawkweed
5 - Calla Lily
6 - Blackberry
7 - Pomegranate
8 - Dandelion
9 - Sage
10 - Daisy
11 - Goldenrod
12 - Sacred Datura
13 - Black Iris
14 - Iris
15 - Christmas Rose
16 - Fireweed
17 - Shooting Star
18 - Pink Yarrow
19 - Sunflower
20 - Black Cohosh
21 - Globe Thistle
There are no Minor Arcana, although the energies of the Element cards correlate roughly to the tarot suits. In the little white booklet the cards are described as being Fire Flowers/Wands, Water Flowers/Cups, Air Flowers/Swords, and Earth Flowers/Coins. There are no court cards or pips in this deck. The Energy cards show degrees of astrological aspects in regards to the flowers shown. On these cards, in addition to the keyword meaning at the top, the term of aspect is also included (i.e. trine, conjunct, etc.) Lastly, the seven Guidance cards show parts of flowers instead of different types of flowers (i.e. stems, seeds, etc.) The Element cards and the Energy cards continue the numbers begun in the Flower Arcana, going from number 22 through 44. The last seven cards, the Guidance cards, are unnumbered.
The cards themselves are standard in size and shuffle and handle very well, since there are only 52 of them. The cardstock is good, with a semi-gloss coating, and the edges are polished to a smooth silky finish, with rounded corners. The back design is different for the guidance cards and for the rest of the deck; for the most part, the back is purple with a multicolored flower spiral graphic, but on the guidance cards it is a yellow with a white star in the center and a small graphic of a multicolored star. Both are reversible. The little white booklet contained with the deck is excellent, containing a lot of information which is highly useful and the art is incredibly attractive. I fell in love with this deck instantly.
I recommend this deck for anyone who is especially drawn to flowers, gardening, or nature in general. I have found this deck to be useful as a substitute for a significator when doing a tarot card reading, and the flower drawn by the querent could be helpful as an essence to bring about the solution indicated in the reading. Many people are interested in working with the Bach Flower Essences; this deck can be used in that system, excepting that Dr. Bach designed his system with the flowers of his native Britain and this deck specifically uses flowers indigenous to North America. Users in other countries may wish to note that. This deck can be used as easily by a beginner as by an experienced diviner since it is totally different from anything else out there and everyone would have to learn how to use it equally. This deck is widely available and should not be hard to locate at all. There is also a book now available on the deck, which I look forward to reading.
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Review Copyright 1999 by Gina M. Pace
The Flower Speaks Deck
by Marlene Rudginsky, 1996
published by US Games
Systems, Inc.
ISBN 0-88079-138-1