Deck Review- Tarot in the Land of Mystereum

Tarot in the Land of Mystereum by Jordan Hoggard is the latest fantastic tarot deck to come from Schiffer Books. Billed as an "Imagination Primer," this deck asks you to embark upon a journey of creativity and imagination where you are the guide. Adapted and expanded from the Mysterium Tarot which bases it's imagery on the roots of architecture, Jordan  has created a wonderful deck in which your imagination and intuition are the keys.

The images in Tarot in the Land of Mystereum are colorful and unique, and the bold bright colors encourage your imagination to work with your memories, dreams and ideas. There are 78 cards in this deck, as most tarot decks, but the creator asks to to see the design on the back as a 79th card which has the appearance of a window that we are invited to use as a window to our imagination.  You are also encouraged to practice using your imagination regularly and often in order to strengthen your intuition when using this deck.

The cards are a little larger than the average tarot deck at 3 1/2"x5" and have an attractive glossy lamination. They handle and shuffle beautifully and made from sturdy card stock.

Each card has it's own personality and the 192 page accompanying book guides you through the cards in which we imagine ourselves at the Fool on a journey as he experiences each card along the way. The book is absolutely fantastic, describing his Major Arcana experiences and giving "Imagination Tools" that help us to fully understand how he is affected along his journey. 

The Imagination Tools give several examples of new ways to look at and interpret the cards such as from the Fool " Feel and remember natural new directions you create as you move and evolve your ideas with imagination and creativity" and from the Hermit "I present you with an inner lantern for clarity."

In the beginning of the book, we are introduced to the Fool who describes himself as naturally expressing himself along the way and how these experiences all give him enthusiasm as he discovers cool new ideas and things. His "fave" thing to do is to be aware of his feelings as he experiences what is offered. I love the language and modern style that the book is written in and the sometimes funny expressions that are used that make it very entertaining and educational all at the same time.

After the journey through the Major Arcana, we find our Fool exercising his "Grounding Imagination" with the suit of Pentacles, followed by the "Fulfilling Imagination" of the Cups, the "Energizing Imagination" of the Wands and finally the "Communicative Imagination" of the Swords. In each Minor Arcana card, we are greeted with an explanation of that particular card followed by "Imagination Tools" just as we saw with the Major Arcana. The Court cards are slightly different with an explanation of the card followed by an introduction to the Courts that describes each card if it were a real person with "I am..."  and "I feel... statements and are concluded with "Imagination Tools" as with all the other cards.

I was very impressed with this deck and the sturdy box that the cards and book come with, it's an upbeat and wonderful deck to work with and I enjoyed it immensely. It makes using the Tarot fun and exciting and really engages your imagination and intuition. I found myself discovering tons of new ideas and concepts and got really good readings with this deck as well.  I highly recommend getting this deck whether you are a beginner, intermediate or seasoned reader.

Publisher: Schiffer Books

Author: Jordan Hoggard

ISBN: 9780764336010

images used with permission from Schiffer Books