by
~*~Velvet
Angel ~*~
Quester
Tarot:
Journey
of the Brave
This
deck is especially suited for questions related to spirituality,
self-exploration,
and personal growth.
by
~*~Velvet
Angel ~*~
Quester
Tarot:
Journey
of the Brave
This
deck is especially suited for questions related to spirituality,
self-exploration,
and personal growth.
Quester Tarot: The
Journey of the Brave - A New Interpretation of the Tarot
© 1999 Patricia
Beattie; Illustrated by Mike Giddens
Published by Element
Books
The Quester Tarot is a non-traditional form of Tarot, but a beautiful and effective creation based on Native American spirituality. The card are even more lovely than what the sample image scans convey above. On the front of the accompanying 215-page hard-cover book, you'll find the words "A New Interpretation of the Tarot." The back of the large orange-colored box calls this a "tarot pack with a difference." It is definitely different than traditional Tarot, and while some may claim it's not truly a tarot deck because of these differences, I have found (and worked with) a large variety of non-traditional Tarot decks through my years of practice that I would still fully classify as a Tarot deck even if it's not traditional. I do consider the Quester Tarot to be a tarot system, albeit different from the classical and familiar structure of Tarot.
The Major Arcana cards
are considered Life Path cards. They are all renamed from traditional Tarot
and do not have numbering for a particular order as in traditional Tarot
structures. However, they are listed in the book from 1 to 23 in
the order below. The following associations from traditional Tarot
Majors can apply to the Quester's Major Arcana as follows -- and these
are also noted in the Appendix -- which I read only AFTER I did my homework
in reading the material to decide which traditional card best fit with
each Quester card. Oh well, at least I came up with the same correspondences
as the book indicates!
| 1. Brave - Fool
2. Chief - Emperor 3. Cornmother - Empress 4. Heyokah - Magician 5. Keeper - High Priestess 6. Shaman - Hierophant 7. Shaman's Drum - Temperance 8. Trail Maker - Chariot 9. Inner Power - Strength 10. Awakening - Lovers 11. Sacred Hoop - Wheel of Fortune 12. Sun Ritual - Hanged Man |
13. Twisted Hair - Hermit
14. Image Shatterer - Tower 15. Shadow Dancer - Devil 16. Passage of Time - Moon 17. New Life - Death 18. Star Woman - Star 19. Grandfather Sun - Sun 20. The Calling - Judgement 21. Council - Justice 22. Village - World 23. Warrior |
The Minor Arcana suits of this deck correspond to traditional elements and suits as follows:
With all of that said, I definitely consider this to be a Tarot deck. It is intended to be a Tarot deck, and I feel that it works well for Tarot work. Each card is given a positive application (upright interpretation) as well as a negative application (reversed interpretation). The Major Arcana cards include a meditation and are explained more thoroughly in the book than are the Minors -- which is typical of a lot of Tarot publications. Despite the brevity in the descriptions for the Minor Arcana cards, I feel that this book is very well written. It's actually enjoyable to read. It starts with an introduction to give an overview of the deck, followed by "The Story of the Journey of the Brave." The chapters that follow are:
The cards and book come packaged in a sturdy box that has a lift off lid. The cards are made from an excellent quality cardstock. They are much thicker than typical cards. They measure 3-7/16" X 5-1/8" and have a light glossy protective coating over them. Because of the bulkiness of the cards and the fact that they are also a bit larger than most decks, I find it easiest to use a side-to-side shuffle with this set of cards, or you could shuffle them hand over hand as well. In any event, you'll likely find that a poker-styled shuffle will be quite awkward to attempt. The back design of the cards is not reversible -- although you can still use reversed meanings which are also included in the guidebook. The back of the cards feature a golden feather on a black background.
If you are already familiar with the traditional Waite tarot, the learning curve for this deck will not be significant. I would not recommend this deck to a beginner to the world of Tarot, however, because the differences can be confusing to the new student. But if you are already well-versed in Tarot, and you want a deck with a spiritual perspective and an opportunity for enhanced self-exploration and personal growth, then I would highly recommend this deck! The bad news is . . . this deck is out of print! As of this writing, it's already been around for 10 years. I've had it on my shelf for a number of years, but only recently decided it was time to pull it out -- especially since I'm reviewing about 50 decks at this time. I'm glad I did pull it out, because maybe I wasn't ready for it when I first bought it a long time ago . . . but it's one that I love now after many more years of experience in Tarot and the metaphysical and spiritual world. If you are interested in the Quester Tarot, you can try the Amazon Marketplace sellers, ebay, or other places that may sell out-of-print decks.
I am not Native American, and so I cannot honestly say whether the cards accurately depict lifestyles of this heritage or not. To me, they look appropriate with great choices for each card scene. I do think the author's intentions were quite genuine, and the result of her work is a beautiful creation. So whether some might argue that it's not "accurate," the whole point for me with any Tarot deck is whether I like it or not, and if it works for me personally. This one works beautifully for me, and thus, I would highly recommend it to others. The back of the box states that author Patricia Beattie is a Sequoyah Medicine Wheel Therapist who had worked with the Qabbalah for over 16 years at the time of this publication in 1999. She has a degree in Parapsychology and in Psychotherapy. The box also state that she is experienced in Holistic Hypnotherapy and Past Life Regression Therapy. She has published articles in magazines and has served as teacher and lecturer.
Velvet
Angel
Email
Velvet Angel
Size of Cards: 3-7/16" X 5-1/8"
Included with deck: A 215-page hardbound book
Major Arcana:
Brave, Chief, Cornmother,
Heyokah, Keeper, Shaman, Shaman's Drum, Trail Maker,
Inner Power, Awakening,
Sacred Hoop, Sun Ritual, Twisted Hair, Image Shatterer,
Shadow Dancer, Passage
of Time, New Life, Star Woman, Grandfather Sun, The Calling,
Council, Village, Warrior
Suit Names: Bear (Cups), Wolf (Fire), Eagle (Swords), Buffalo (Earth)
Court Cards: Maiden (Page), Warrior (Knight), Matriarch (Queen), and Patriarch (King)
Back Design of Cards: 
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