This deck of shamanistic animal cards was featured in last year's US Games catalog as a new item, and I've wanted to get a copy since then.  Originally only available as a single deck, now the Wolf Song Cards come packaged in your choice of a deck and book set, or either the deck or book individually.  The artwork on them is really good, and I like the different animals featured in the deck.  For the first time, perhaps, different types of the same animal are shown.  An example of this is the four different breeds of wolf used in various cards within the deck.  Other animals are represented with various breeds as well.

There are 60 cards in the deck.  Since this is not a tarot deck, there are no Major or Minor Arcana, no suit cards, no court cards.  None of the cards are assigned any numerical value, and all seem to be of equal but different importance.  The image area is fairly small for the size of the card, and a border of petroglyphs carved onto a woodgrain background surrounds the image and a large text box with the title in it.  Because it is so different from standard tarot decks, I would definitely recommend the book for this deck.

It appears to me that this deck is best suited towards use in meditation and self-discovery rather than divination.  They work rather simply, using symbolism gained from several native american sources, and then condensed into single animal totem images which most people should be able to relate to.  All of the animals are native to North America.  This might make it difficult for people from other continents to make the associations with the animals.  However, the book that is now available for this deck does an excellent job of discussing the animal symbolism and relating it to the cards for use.

An underlying theme of change follows throughout the deck; while other animals shown illustrate various ideas and ideals, the four wolves show different aspects of change.  One spread is described, using the four different wolves as "compass points" and placing other animals on top of each wolf card, thereby indicating where and what kind of change will occur with each animal.  The four aspects of change are natural change, necessary change, unexpected change, and resistance to change.  So each animal would thereby be modified depending on which wolf it landed upon.

The other spread described is a single card spread.  This will actually prove to be the more difficult with this deck.  Usually single card spreads are quick and easy answers but the meanings given for each animal card here are so scanty as to make this a difficult way to gain insight.  I found it to just be too little information.  The book that is now available comes with six *more* spreads for use with the cards, and these go into nice explanation of how to use them, plus there is a ton more explanation on each of the animal cards themselves, so it totally changes things.
 
I thought it was a shame really that the deck has so much potential and is so nice and yet easy to use, but the little white booklet which accompanies the deck is about the weakest I've seen.  It is a good thing there is now a book that goes with the deck.  Ironically, as flimsy as the booklet tended to be, the book is just that much more spectacular as a result and goes a long way towards really showing how good these cards can really be.  You can buy the deck and book separately, but I would recommend buying them both no matter which way you go about doing it.

The cards themselves are standard tarot size but since there are only 60 cards it is easier to handle.  The cards are printed on thin, flexible stock and shuffle well.  Edges are nicely smoothed and rounded at the corners.  The back design is a non-reversible woodgrain design with petroglyphs carved on it much like that of the borders on the card front.

Overall, my opinion on this deck is, it is very nice for people who already have some experience with using cards for self-examination and exploration.  A person new at this would probably need more information than is provided in the scanty booklet.  The cards themselves are very nicely done and will be an excellent addition to any collection, particularly those who are interested in animal mythology.

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Review Copyright 1999 by Gina M. Pace

Wolf Song Cards by Lew Hartman, 1998
published by US Games Systems, Inc.
ISBN 1-57281-124-2