Review by Bonnie Cehovet
The deck/book set for the "Wheel of Change"
Tarot consists of 78 cards, accompanied by a 400 page,
fully illustrated book. "Wheel of Change" was a ten year
project in the making for artist/author Alexandra Genetti.
It shows a Pagan orientation, and her deep reverence
for the natural world and its inherent sense of
balance.
Alexandra has chosen to stay with the
traditional suits of Wands, Cups, Swords and Disks, while
following the Thoth interpretation on the court cards. The
Prince and the Princess represent youth and the "learning
curve". The Knight and the Queen represent our adult
selves in their highest, most confidant form. From "The
Wheel of Change Tarot", page six:
"In the court system
of the Thoth Tarot, the active Knight usurps the role
of the Father King, and his addition makes the system
a cycle of changes, moving like a wheel. The Knight
embodies energy from outside the family pattern and
represents, as Lancelot did, a new influence of the Queen,
made manifest in the outer world as the Knight carries
her off."
The elemental associations are also along
the lines of the Thoth deck: the Prince's representing
the element of Air, the Princess's representing the
element of Earth, the Knight's the element of Fire and the
Queen's the element of Water.
The cards themselves are
absolutely wonderful! The backs are a blue base with a white
swirling vortex - easy on the eyes for both the reader and
the querent, non-offensive, and certainly representing
the energy of this deck. The twenty-two cards of the
Major Arcana are gray bordered, while each of the suits
is bordered with a complimentary color: Wands are
yellow, Cups are peach, Swords are blue and Disks are
green. The cards are in a double outline: a fine border
inside the card, surrounded by a quarter inch color
border on the outside. My preference is for decks that
are bordered, as opposed to decks that continue to
the edge of the card, so "Wheel of Change" works well
for me.
I cannot say enough about the book itself.
Alexandra does a fantastic job of getting across the meaning
for each card, and their numerous levels of
interpretation. Since I am currently working on a numerical "map"
for the Tarot, something akin to the Qabalistic Tree
of Life map, I was fascinated by her presentation of
the energy of the pips. It makes sense, and puts a new
slant on how I see them.
Her presentation of spreads at
the back of the book, as well as her short commentary
on shapes, colors and symbols are all resources that
will add depth to any reading. I have chosen to present
one of her spreads here: a four card layout called
"The Magical Triangle Reading". ("The Wheel of Change
Tarot", page 326) This is a spread that is oriented
towards clarification of a specific problem or situation.
As a professional reader, as well as one who reads
for themselves, this is an invaluble spread!
Card
number one represents the Self. Card number two
represents the goal/problem. They are the left and right hand
anchors for the triangle at the bottom. Card number three
is the action to be taken, and it sits at the top of
the triangle. Card number four represents the outcome,
and is placed beneath the triangle, directly down from
card number three.
The manner in which this spread is
set up interested me. Had I not read it, I would have
shuffled all of the cards together, then drawn the cards in
sequence. (Yes - I read instructions only when all else
fails! LOL)
The way that Alexandra presents this is to
shuffle the cards, then place them in three piles. Decide
which pile represents which of the first three cards,
then select a card from that pile and place it in the
appropriate position. Gather all of the remaining cards
together, shuffle them and draw a final card for the
outcome.
The cards that I drew were: Self - The Devil,
Goal/Problem - Queen of Swords,
Action To Be Taken - The Star,
and Outcome - Eight of Wands. Since I do so many
relationship readings, I arbitrarily defined the "issue" here
as one of relationship. The querant is being asked to
look at their part in the issue - to recognize what
they are choosing to place in their lives and why.
Alexandra's Devil is an interesting person - seated on a Goat,
looking out towards the reader while he bangs his drum
overhead. Nothing dire or scary here.
The Queen of Swords
shows an oriental lady surrounded by much beauty and
tranquility. The issue for the querant is to see their
relationship(s) in a clear and concise light. In some manner,
balance needs to be brought into the world of
relationship.
The action to be taken involves the Star, which
Alexandra portrays as a female figure standing in the midst
of a whirling vortex with the light of the stars
beaming down upon her. The querant has all of the creative
potential of the universe at their command, and needs to
boldly and confidently follow their intuitive thoughts
and feelings.
Alexandra's Eight if Wands makes me
want to play! We see eight small painter's
brushes/pencils laying on a wheel of all colors (representing the
eight stations of the year), from which marvelous energy
in the form of a stream of yellow emanates. Lovely
action here. The querant has the force and the energy to
create whatever outcome they wish to see.
I find this
deck to be extremely positive in nature, well depicted
and accompanied by a well thought out, well written
book. I would recommend this deck for any level of Tarot
reader, and would not hesitate to offer it as one of the
decks of choice for my clients.
Bonnie Cehovet is a professional Tarot reader with over ten years experience, holds a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology and is certified as a Tarot Educator with the American Board For Tarot Certification. Bonnie has served in various capacities with the American Tarot Association, is co-founder of the World Tarot Network, and Vice President (as well as Director of Certification) for the American Board For Tarot Certification. She has had articles appear in the 2004 and 2005 Llewellyn Tarot Reader.
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