Using the evocative, whimsical, and richly detailed art of Walter Crane and Earnest Fitzpatrick, the Harmonious Tarot invites you to experience the Victorian world of the mythical Lady Victoria Westwood. With artistic beauty and an experiential story line, this deck will be right at home at the finest high tea in a typical English cottage's garden...or at your next reading!As Lady Westwood describes the cards, you'll feel enchanted with the charming feel of a hand-painted teacup or maidens fanning a goddess. But don't mistake this for a simple "art deck." This one has powerful insight that will add to your divinatory skills. Death, for example, is shown dancing, not riding. He's now an active character from whom there is no escape. A woman on the Seven of Cups holds a mirror and see herself as aged, a fascinating addition to the usual meaning of "daydreams, fantasies, and imagination" given to this card. The borders show typical Victorian decorative flowers, and the backs are intense, mirrored mazes like rugs or wall hangings that are ideal as focal points for meditation and pathworking.This deck has a delicate, non-threatening softness to it making it ideal for beginners. It's perfect for asking warm, friendly, and gentle questions. It's subtlety and whimsy makes this deck great for more experienced Tarot workers, too, allowing you to bring forth new insights and realizations. Like the Victorians, its depth is often more than is apparent on the surface. This is a great deck to have and use.

Publisher Review: Let's start with the worst thing I'm going to say about this deck. The images are rather small and have lots of tiny details. Is that a bad thing? It can be. However, in this case, I think that it works well and adds to the experience of reading with this deck. And let's be clear from the start. Reading with this deck is meant to be an experience. The LWB [Little White Booklet] starts off right away introducing a fictional character, Lady Victoria Westwood, who is our guide through the journey of the Harmonious Tarot. Give yourself over to the whimsy and fantasy of this deck. Put on a pair of lace gloves, have tea in a delicate, hand-painted cup, and lay out your best white linen. Create an external experience as you prepare for an internal experience. If you are one of those matter-of-fact people who feel silly doing such things, I am sure there is a better deck for you out there. For this deck is full of whimsy. But beware! The lovely flowers do have thorns. It's not all cookies and sherbet. . . read more.

The origins of the tarot have been lost in the mists of time. Most scholars have guessed that its origins were in China, Egypt, or India. In Mystical Origins of the Tarot, Paul Huson has expertly tracked each symbol of the Minor Arcana to roots in ancient Persia and the Major Arcana Trump card images to the medieval world of mystery, miracle, and morality plays. A number of tarot historians have questioned the use of the tarot as a divination tool prior to the 18th century. But the author demonstrates that the symbolic meanings of the Major Arcana were evident from the time they were first employed in the mid-15th century in the popular divination practice of sortilege. He also reveals how the identities of the court cards in the Minor Arcana were derived from a blend of pagan and medieval sources that strongly influenced their interpretation in tarot divination. Mystical Origins of the Tarotprovides a thorough examination of the original historical source for each card and how the cards' divinatory meanings evolved from these symbols. Huson also provides concise and practical card-reading methods designed by the cartomancers of the 18th and 19th centuries and reveals the origins of the card interpretations promoted by the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and A. E. Waite.