The Archeon is a very personal deck. It contains the personal mythology and beliefs of visionary artist Timothy Lantz. The Archeon Tarot defines and explores Lantz’s symbolism and mythology in a very contemporary and graphic fashion. The card’s imagery is absolutely stunning. Lantz uses a digital canvas to create the cards and explore the very depths of his soul. Long before this tarot deck was even published, I had seen images of the cards on his website. And I was impressed with what I saw. The cards are a wonderful blend of dark, gothic, carnivale mixed with elements of the mystical and fantastic. But don’t let the darkness of the deck’s imagery fool you because within each card there is a strong sense of light and beauty. Each card’s image contains dazzling backgrounds and characters expressing realistic emotions; each layer thick with symbolism. Even the cards’ back include snippets of Lantz’s personal mythology and symbolism.

The little white book (LWB) that accompanies the deck helps guide the reader through Lantz’s world. It begins with a personal definition on his art. He defines the title of the deck, Archeon, as having a relationship with archeology, where “those who consult the Archeon Tarot sift through the layers of the cards, thus finding a way to harvest order and meaning from chaotic or seemingly unrelated events of life.” Which is a perfect description of what a tarot reader these days seeks to do. The LWB continues on to describe the cards, helping the reader peel away the mystery of these gorgeous cards. Lantz describes the Major arcana in detail beginning with quote that best fits the card’s mood. He goes on to describe the card’s imagery and offers suggestions for both upright and inverted meanings. All of which help to add and elaborate on the personal mythology and symbolism contained in the deck.

It’s hard to find any faults in this deck. I would have liked to see the minor arcana and court cards covered in detail just as much as the major arcana but this only begs for an expanded book to be written about this unique and creative deck. I strongly recommend this tarot deck for enthusiasts who admire the beauty of decks like the Vertigo Tarot or readers looking for a very modern interpretation of tarot. I know I am very much looking forward to working with the Archeon Tarot and exploring the personal mythology of Timothy Lantz and how it relates to my own life.

The Fey Tarot distills the best of both worlds in tarot and the art of Japanese anime and recombines them into something new and exciting. Written by Riccardo Minetti, featuring the artwork of Mara Aghem, this deck is wonderful for both the young at heart and in age. The tarot presented here is lighthearted and kind, “bringing no shadows.” However, this lightness does not eliminate the darkness of traditional tarot decks; instead, The Fey Tarot subdues and twists the negative card meanings inwards. In doing so, this set becomes easily accessible and understood by children.

“The Fey Tarot is a deck full of life,” writes Riccardo Minetti, the author of the enclosed book. There cannot be anything closer to the truth. The bold colors of the cards contrast with the simplicity of the design, creating a uniquely magical and deftly detailed series of story-cards. Each whole card is alive; from the attention paid to the expression in each creature’s eyes to the way the fey’s world blends into the card. Using a combination of unique and bold color palettes, Mara Aghem brings the center focus of each card straight into the emotions the images evoke. Every creature’s face, every part of their actions, contains realistic emotions. Each card becomes a theater for the mind?s eye; where the fey perform on center stage teaching their lessons and showing their perspectives and views of the world and the meaning of life. The cards beg to be played with and explored.

The book is also a masterpiece. At 156 pages long, it delves deeper into the concepts and ideas that made this deck possible. It begins with the core foundations and beliefs of the artwork, going straight into designer Aghem’s mind showing how she developed the cards’ sketches and emotions. Then it introduces the mysterious history of the tarot, and how the fey are a perfect match for this divination tool. Lastly, the cards themselves are described in detail, Minetti adding layer upon layer of insight and meaning into the simple but intricate artwork. The book ends by showing 4 unique spreads to use the cards with, from simple 3 cards on up to complex 8 card designs.

The Fey Tarot is a great addition to tarot enthusiasts’ collections. This is the product of the first collaboration between Minetti and Aghem (hopefully not the last). This deck marks a new perspective on deck design for the new millennium. It also moves away from traditional meanings of the cards giving them a fresh and playful twist. I would also recommend this deck as a great way to introduce young children to the modern world of the tarot, as it presents a very accessible and non-threatening view of the tarot and it’s concepts.

I love the Dante Tarot for it’s bright vivid colors and how they contrast to the dark symbolism many of the cards represent. I have always been a fan of Dante and the Inferno; when this deck got published, I immediately ordered a copy. The imagery does not disappoint me at all. This deck offers a rather interesting and unique perspection into tarot and it’s meanings. However, the design of the deck being radically nontraditional in suite and meanings, does tend to make me think that this tarot deck is better for collectors than readings. It’s not a deck for the faint at heart.

The Dante Tarot is a non-traditional 78 card deck. Black backgrounds with the title (and/or number) of the cards printed on top in english frame the cards. The title of the cards, written in 4 other languages, appears at the bottom of each card. The back of the card appears almost like a chess board, with a castle one one side with a person writing and a landscape with a knight riding a dark horse on the other.

The deck’s artwork, painted by Andrea Serio, makes the deck unique. Done in watercolor and pencil Serio’s images are rather dreamy and does a good job of representing Dante’s ideals. Even the box the cards are kept in contains original artowrk. However, I found it hard to associate many of the images on the cards to their meanings (traditional or otherwise) as the arcana switch between ideas and people throughout the entire deck. The Dante Tarot also comes with 2 variations of the King of Fire (swords) card. One depicting an beast-like character while the other is more scenic in nature. The pamphlet that comes with the deck does not give any explainations as to why they did this.

The deck deviates from a standard deck with it’s minor arcana names. The Swords have been replaced by Fire, the Coins (pentacles) become Clouds, Wands are Bricks and the Cups are Lights. The deck comes with a small pamphlet and according to it, the symbolism was changed to conform more to the standards Dante wrote about in his works, mainly the Divine Comedy. The second way the Dante Tarot deviates from standard decks is in it’s interpretations. It does not follow the Rider-Waite and Crowley interpretations of the cards. For example, the Fool, normally represented by most decks as new beginnings and adventures now becomes “Need. Eccentric behavior, recklessness, and material or psychological problems”.

The cardstock it’s printed on is thicker and glossier than other decks. At first I thought this was a good thing making the deck appear as if it would last longer. However, shuffling the cards was a bit harder to do without damaging the darker edges of the cards. The pamphlet that comes with the book is more of a reference to the deck and does not go into great depth on each card’s imagery and meaning. This was a bit disappointing since The Dante Tarot is so different from other cards. The pamphlet does include two different layouts for the card.

Because of the dramatic changes in the cards meanings and the inability to quickly “connect” with the cards makes it almost unapproachable for me as a reader to utilize quickly as a divination deck. It would take a great deal of studying this deck and practicing readings using the methods it describes for one to adequately use the Dante Tarot for divination. I do, however, love the imagery and believe that it would make a great companion to those studying Dante and his Divine Comedy.

Garden Witchery brings fun back into the garden chores. Ellen Dugan, Master Gardener and witch has written a manual to delight anyone. Dugan writes as if she were speaking to you while wandering though her own garden. This book is extremely practical and fun to read. The stories and wisdom on her own gardening experiences sprinkled throughout the book help to illustrate and remind the reader that gardening is a process and mistakes happen. There aren’t many pictures in the book but it does contain some decorative illustrations and charts. As a new homeowner with a yard waiting to be sculpted, Garden Witchery got me excited about planting and making my gardens magickal.

The book opens with gardening basics. While she lives down south, Dugan presents her gardening wisdom as generically as possible. This section includes a copy of the US Hardiness Zones chart that explains how to pick the best plants according to the weather. Some might find such practicality odd to include in a pagan-themed book. But Dugan points out that gardening and planting is fun and very magickal. She shows readers how to plan their garden, select plants and which ones to avoid. Plants, flowers, herbs and trees are discussed equally in the book. She explains that a magickal garden doesn’t need to include exotic and expensive flowers, or flowers that aren’t native to the area. Instead she invites the reader to look outside and within their local area to see what it has to offer their magickal gardens.

She includes a chapter devoted to different types of gardens that focus magickal energy into different intentions. Shade gardens, cottage gardens, moon gardens, faerie gardens and more. Dugan makes each garden magickal by listing a “witches dozen” listing of plants one can add to their garden. She also gives spell and ritual suggestions for each garden. The plants in Garden Witchery are chosen for their “witchyness” as well as their ease to plant, locate and grow. Like the circle of life, Dugan teaches that with garden magick, everything is interconnected.

Dugan starts imbedding her magickal knowledge by sharing her ideas on planting correspondences tables. She believes that the seasons, time of day and the day you choose to plant something affects the plants, their blooms, and the magick you can draw from them. Then she relates all those correspondences back to the lists of plants and trees the book contains. The spells, rituals, simples and other crafty examples all draw from the plants she includes in the book. The book includes an entire chapter written about the art of florigraphy (the meaning of flowers) and flower lore. Then she ties the magick back into a whole garden by giving the reader ideas on how to construct their own Garden Book of Shadows and spells.

The book ends with a garden journal for the reader to record his or her own thoughts. However, I found that it’s not the end of what the book has to teach. After having read this book I found that I became more knowledgeable and aware of the soil my yard has. I also know more about what plants I do currently own and can get to incorporate into my spells and rituals. Garden Witchery helped me see the value and fun in planting and keeping gardens.

This book is THE definitive guide to working magic with crystals and gemstones. Scott Cunningham’s Encyclopedia of Crystal, Gem & Metal Magic presents a whole curriculum of working with stones and their meanings in this all-in-one reference “field guide”. The first few chapters cover the basics of stones and metals and gives a bit of magical background. He also shares how he collected some of his information and provides some tips for becoming a seasoned rock collector.

Cunningham then dives headfirst into the practical uses for stones and metals. First he explains how to buy stones and how to get the best deals, from haggling in swap meets to store purchases. An appendix in the back of the book lists a few select places to purchase stones. He also suggests ways to interact with stones by in how one selects, attunes and cleanses them. There is even a chapter devoted to divination and another on spells. The exercises are fun to do and do not require lots of pagan wisdom or background training. One could base an entire magical practice just on this book alone.

The rest of the book explores the different crystals, gems and metals. Cunningham divides these sections into two chapters. One contains crystals and gemstones, and the other has the metals. The sections are alphabetized by the rock’s and metal’s common names. For example, to find information on Bloodstones, you’d look the stone up with that familiar name. Cunningham also references the folk names of each item.

Each entry contains a list of stones and their associations to planets, colors, days, etc. followed by a quick summary of power associations. All this information is used to match the best stone or metal with what you intend to use it for. After these quick summaries, Cunningham goes into great detail and depth with his explanations on the magic and background lore of each. The center of the book contains a colorful guide displaying “best” examples of some of the stones. I found this color-inset useful as I was reading through the text and trying to grasp a mental image of what each and every stone looked like. A quick Reference Table follows these chapters summarizing all the book’s information.

Not all stones are covered in this book. Not all stones have the same information either. However, Cunningham does try to thoroughly cover each stone he does list with as much information about it as he can. Some stone lore includes ideas for healing with the stones; some include simple spells one can do with the stone. The book focuses solely on naturally occurring stones and metals; it does not cover man-made or dyed stones (like the Goldstone). I believe that this book should be included in the library of anyone who is interested in the spiritual aspects of stones and metals’ as the information contained is some of the best and most practical information on using stones and metals in magic on the market. I also believe that the lore and stories Cunningham provides for the stones also makes this book fun to read by anyone, not just pagans or witches.

Gemstones and feng shui; the marriage between the two isn’t as apparent as it should be. However, stones and their energies are a perfect companion to the ancient Chinese practice. Sandra Kynes’s book, Gemstone Feng Shui, explores this complex and interesting relationship. I imagined a whole system of feng shui that used gemstones to counter and support the natural energies of feng shui. While the book has a wealth of information on how to use crystals in conjunction with traditional feng shui practices it fell short of that first impression. Instead the book attempts to describe how to use the stones with current good feng shui practices.

The book has two parts. The first part introduces crystals, healing properties, feng shui basics and tools. It then goes into limited exploration of how to use gemstones in combination with feng shui. The book does a great job of introducing the basics of crystals. Ms. Kynes’s gemstone-circle meditation is a great way to introduce new users of crystals and their energies to one another by placing them around a person. The book uses the 9 Square, or Lo Shu Grid to teach readers feng shui. The Lo Shu Grid divides a room up into squares instead of the more common practice of visualizing a room broken down into a circle with each direction representing a piece of the pie.

The second half of the book goes into the gemstones themselves. Over 100 pages are dedicated to explaining the history, lore and energy properties of selected stones. This part of the book is worth its weight in gold. These tables and lists show readers new gemstone correspondences as they relate to the 5 traditional Chinese elements.

Gemstone Feng Shui falls short at teaching readers how to incorporate gemstones into daily feng shui practices. When it describes how to remove blocking or harmful energies it is done separately from gemstones. The two topics seem to have very little to do with each other. When they do interact, it is through descriptions of situations and their blocks and a few suggestions on how to counteract, harmonize or enhance aspects of this element. The book makes a series of statements rather than exploring the rationale behind how the stone’s energies work to produce the desired feeling in a room. It quickly goes from element to element as well as showing how the colors of the stones or one’s birthstone can also produce and affect feng shui energies.

Overall, this book is not for beginners of crystal work and feng shui. Even with the introductory chapters on each topic, the book tries to cram a large amount of study and history of both feng shui and crystals but doesn’t do much to describe the marriage between the two. However, the time and energy spent on describing the stones and their energies make up for the lack of practical applications.