The Answer Deck
a guest review by Merritt S. Bumpas
 
""The universe is perfect", a wise man once said. Its a wonderous place waiting to be explored and enjoyed. The Answer Deck is here to guide you in finding your path to personal fullfillment. Let the answer deck help you make decisions and choices. PLay alone or with friends. The answers to realizing your dreams and attaining spiritual well-being are within you. Just follow the simple rules for hours of enjoyment. The universe awaits you" - from the Answer deck instruction manual.
 
I bought this divination set from an auction on Ebay. I had never heard of it, but I liked the artwork. I was not disappointed!
 
First, the Answer Deck is not tarot. Although many of the cards represent situations and characters similar to those in tarot, the similarity really ends there.
 
The box the cards came in was very nice. Oversized, hinged and having a small metal clasp, I wish all decks came packaged this way. Along with the deck of 73 cards, you get a vinyl mat (basically a templet showing you what the card positions represent) a pad of note paper (also with the card positions labelled) and a small instruction booklet.
 
The instruction themselves are very simple. There is only one way to lay the cards down and reversals are not allowed. Card positions are: past (2 cards), present (2 cards), future (4 cards) and outcome (1 card). The layout is simply 3X3 cards. Shuffling instructions are included as well as sample questions.
 
The cards themselve are what drew me to the deck. Drawn in pen and ink by Nicky Zann, the images are simple, but remarkably thought provoking. Colors are black and white with red borders. The backs have an A and D intertwined with a wisp of smoke. The card titles include tarot-familiar ones; Judgment, Strength, The Lovers, and The Fool. The majority of the cards though represent broad situations or feelings; Greed, Scandal, Gain, Friend, Ending, etc. There are also cards representing individual people; dark/brown/fair haired men and women similar to the Court cards of the minor arcana. Several of the cards dont really show much imagination between the images and the meanings. A few are really nice. Fame ,for example, shows a pair of sunglasses. Change shows a winter-bare tree losing its last few leaves and Mistake shows a broken tea-cup. Only five cards are giving specific meanings; The Fool, The Woman of the World, The Master, The Lady, and The Trouble Shooter. The meaing the author gives for the Woman of the World: Intellectual, self-reliant, objective, serene, wise.Opposite: Selfish, cold shallow, superficial knowledge.
 
One bit of confusing information concern these cards and the instruction with them. Opposite(reversed) meanings are given for these five cards,..a special note at the bottom of the page confirms this,  but the instructions given at the beginning the the booklet tell the reader the face all the cards the same way (?) . I would assume that reversals can and should make up part of the reading. After all, the images are basic and the reader is left to interpret them to his/her will. The general philosophy behind the deck is similar to Jung's Archetype philosophy. Although the deck seems to be designed as an oracle, the card meanings lend themselves more to inspiration and introspection.
 
Those who work with decks like the Psycards deck will enjoy this one. People who collect decks for the artwork would appreciate the simple black and white illustrations. Some collectors and readers might find this deck trivial and almost like a parlour game. The deck was published in 1998 and distributed by Fredrick Atkins in New York.
 
Click here to return to guest reviews index
 
Guest Review Copyright 2000 by Merritt S. Bumpas
used with permission