This is not a tarot deck, but it is a remarkable tool for self-discovery.  There are 60 cards altogether, and there are no Major or Minor Arcana.  No suits.  No numbers or titles of any kind.  Just 60 cards, in no particular order.  There is nothing to identify which card is supposed to be which.  Your soul, your subconscious, is given free rein with which to identify each one.

Interestingly enough, not only are these cards identifiable by your inner consciousness, but the identity of a card can change many times, as often as you look at it you may get something different from it each time.  This is the beauty of the Soul Cards.  There is a small booklet which accompanies the deck, but there are no meanings given for any of the cards, so that you are literally free to decide what each one means to you.  You don't have to worry about being right or wrong.

The little booklet does give directions on several different ways to use the cards, describing some layout type information for meditating on them, as well as divining with them.  I do believe divination by these cards would be best kept to those people you know well, or just for yourself.  Trying to determine what they mean to a total stranger might prove an exercise in frustration.

The painting style of these cards is called "touch painting" and was pretty much a new discovery by the artist and creator of this deck.  The story behind this discovery is in the little book, but basically it describes how the artist was literally playing with a paper towel that lay atop a glass plate covered with ink.  Patterns formed wherever she touched the paper towel, and an art form was born.

The size of the deck is larger than a standard deck and the cards are coated in a glossy laminate that causes many of the cards to stick together heavily.  Several of them became creased while trying to separate them.  Careful handling is necessary in order to keep them in good shape.  An interesting note is that while the back design looks the same on each card, careful introspection reveals that there are actually what looks like four different but similar pictures which were used for the backs, all starry night sky type scenes.

I recommend this deck very highly for anyone looking to do some serious mental inroading.  This is definitely a meditation tool rather than a divinatory tool, in my opinion, though it can be used for either.  The artwork is stirring.

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Review Copyright 1998 by Gina M. Pace