This deck and book set is a very special treat for the eyes, hands, and mind.  I received this set as a gift (thank you, Joan!) and I have been savoring and enjoying them for a long time.  Decks that explore the Hawaiian spirituality and cultural wisdom are rare and unusual; this makes this deck even more of a gem.  However, in addition to its rare subject matter, the deck itself is beautifully created and the book is very informative, so the set is useful, attractive and anyone can learn to work with it.

According to the back of the box, "Mana is a creative-spiritual force that flows through the universe.  The more Mana you possess, the more your body, mind and spirit radiate health and wholeness."  In my way of understanding this, there is a similarity between Mana in the Hawaiian culture, and Chi in the Chinese tradition of T'ai Chi.  Native American culture also has a form of this energy in their spirituality.  It even corresponds to the Force, in the Star Wars stories.  Based on this concept, these cards help the individual to bring the benefits of Mana (and greater self awareness) into his or her life.

This is not a tarot set, so there are no Major or Minor Arcana.  There are 44 cards in the set altogether, plus a blank card at the end.  Each card is illustrated with a really pretty image that takes up most of the card; a pink border around the image contains the number of the card and the title in Hawaiian underneath the picture.  On most of the cards, this title is only at the bottom; however, there are five cards where you will see it printed upside down in the top border as well.  The way this set is designed, most of the cards do not have a different meaning if they come up "reversed" but there are five cards whose meanings do change depending on whether they are upright or reversed.

The packaging is lovely.  You start with a good heavy box which opens like a book (hinged to the left) and inside it the book for the set is on top of a drop-in section which holds the deck of cards.  The cards themselves are larger than standard size, in that they are squarer.  I don't think they are longer, necessarily.  They are printed on a thin, flexible cardstock which has a silky soft coating on it for protection.  You can feel it is quality when you touch the cards.  It lends a sort of reverence to their handling.  The edges and corners have been polished to a smooth finish which tends to draw your fingers.  These cards just beg to be held.  They shuffle and handle quite nicely.  The back design is a graphic pattern which looks like a handwoven native Hawaiian fishing net, done in a pink color against a green.  There is a leaf in the center of it.  This is not a reversible image since the design is not double-ended.  The same pink handwoven fishnet pattern covers the entire box, inside and out.  There is no little white booklet since there is a good sized book with the set.

The book is excellently made and bound, begins with an opening prayer, in both English and Hawaiian.  Then an introduction and a section on "how to use these cards" is followed by several spreads, including a really unique and interesting one that is for use between two people who are having difficulty communicating.  It restores balance in a relationship or situation by using the cards, and a mediator, to assist in the reading.  I am especially intrigued with this technique.  In the descriptions of each card, the book offers a black and white illustration, a chant in Hawaiian, with its English translation, a detailed "teaching" for the card, and an interpretation.  For those cards which have different meanings when upright or reversed, the book offers two interpretations, one for each direction.  The reversed interpretation is every bit as detailed and good as the one for the upright meaning.

I absolutely recommend this deck and book set to anyone who has any interest in Hawaiian spirituality and culture.  It would also be something of interest to those who work with Native American traditions, since there is a great deal of commonality.  This is not a tarot set, so prior experience will not be necessary and will not particularly factor in at all.  A beginner can use these cards as easily as someone who has been working with card systems a long time.  They are truly beautiful to work with, and are very helpful as well.

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Review Copyright 2000 by Gina M. Pace

Mana Cards by Catherine Kalama Becker, Ph.D. and Doya Nardin, 1998
published by Radiance Network, Inc.  Hilo, Hawaii
ISBN 0-9660142-0-0