Tarot Deck Review – The Relative Tarot by Carrie Paris and Tina Hardt
Tarot Deck Review
The Relative Tarot
by Carrie Paris and Tina Hardt
Published by Weiser Books
Published on November 8, 2021
78 cards, 94 page guidebook
The Relative Tarot: A Guidebook for the Diligent Diviner is created, illustrated and written by Carrie Paris (copyright 2020 and 2021 by Carrie Paris) along with Tina Hardt, and published by Weiser Books, an imprint of Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC, 65 Parker Street, Suite 7, Newburyport, MA 01950.
The Relative Tarot comes in a sturdy 5 ¼” by 7 ¼” magnetic closure box with a matte sepia- toned finish, and a beautiful vintage image on the cover, with card images and a deck description on the back. The first thing we see when we open the lid is the 94-page guidebook, a 5” by 7” soft cover book also with sepia tone matt finish and a different vintage image on the cover. The pages are a soft white with black typeface and all of the card images are full color with the same sepia tone.
Next comes the cards themselves, nestled into a sturdy pocket below the guidebook. The cards are beautiful, 3” by 5” in size and easy to handle, with a gold leaf edge and a nicely neutral card back. Each card has a lovely vintage image with a sepia border all around, and the card name and number at the bottom. These numbers are here to help the reader not only regarding the Tarot Blueprints but also with card pairings. The numbers at the bottom left of each card represent the Major Arcana Birth Card numbers, and the numbers at the bottom right corners give the Minor Arcana card pairings, making the use of Carrie’s methods even easier.
The guidebook begins with some acknowledgements, no surprise with a deck that acknowledges and values the people in our lives, and an Introduction describes the process Carrie used to obtain the beautiful images of this deck, and how she put the deck itself together. Next we delve right into the cards and the unique way they can be used. Carrie describes a process for building a Tarot Blueprint that will show who you are and what you are here to accomplish in this life. These life purposes are illuminated through choosing a Birth Card, Annual Card, Inner Expression, Soul and Significator Cards; these processes are described in detail over the following pages of the guidebook.
The next chapter deals with the Minor Arcana cards, which are considered as offering inner expression. In this section, Carrie shows us the connections between the Major Arcana cards and their corresponding Minor Arcana card pairings. She uses full color images of the cards to illustrate the comparisons and connections, and ends the chapter with a useful Blueprint Review that can be used as a template for readings. The next chapter explores Court Cards, and how they can be used as Significators. Again, full color images of the cards are used and a description for choosing the Seeker’s Significator is included.
The last section is entitled The Nine Tarot Blueprints, and it is here that Carrie goes into detail, describing her methods and including more information about card comparisons, including Inner Expressions, Outer Expressions and Hidden Shadow Major Arcana cards, along with descriptions of corresponding Minor Arcana cards, with suggested keywords for all.
While The Relative Tarot deck itself is set up like a traditional Tarot deck with Major Arcana, Court and Minor Arcana cards, there are some unique options for personalizing the cards. There are three different Lovers cards a reader can choose from, and two sets of Strength and Justice cards, with numbering reversed. The elegant vintage images, set off by the gold edges of the cards, are styled and chosen to sensitively represent time periods, cultures, races, and genders. The images include black, white, native American, Asian, young, old, straight and gay figures, all lovingly compiled by Carrie from friends, family, clients, and social media. In the end, these cards are all about people, the people in your life now, those who came before you, and those who might come into your life later.
Yes, the guidebook includes a detailed breakdown of Carrie’s methods and what each method should achieve, but this might not be the deck for someone just beginning to learn about the Tarot, as the guidebook does not include traditional card meanings and keywords, but the deck is so lovely that a new reader could get that kind of information elsewhere and still use the deck. If you are interested in learning how to use the Tarot in a new way, Carrie has created a valuable and accessible tool in The Relative Tarot. If you are a reader who does ancestral or spirit guide readings, or intuitive, psychic or mediumship work, this deck has been created specifically for you. Anyone who loves vintage images could easily use The Relative Tarot deck in a more traditional manner and enjoy the elegance of these classic and artistic card images.
Carrie Paris, M.A. has a passion for divination and ancient ceremonial rites that invoke the spirit of divining communities. Carrie was in the first class in the University of Kent, UK to receive a Masters in the Cultural Study of Cosmology and Divination. She is the creator of the Magic Oracle, co-creator of the Lenormand Revolution deck, as well as the creator of the Nippon Lenormand and the Dark Salon Lenormand. Carrie divides her time between California, Santa Fe and Europe, teaching classes and offering divination services to a global clientele in the US, Asia and Europe. You can read her blog and find out more about Carrie on her website.
**
About the Author:
Raushanna is a lifetime resident of New Jersey. As well as a professional Tarot Reader and Teacher, she is a practicing Wiccan (Third Degree, Sacred Mists Coven), a Usui Reiki Master/Teacher, a certified Vedic Thai-Yoga Massage Bodyworker, a 500-hr RYT Yoga Teacher specializing in chair assisted Yoga for movement disorders, and a Middle Eastern dance performer, choreographer and teacher. Raushanna bought her first Tarot deck in 2005, and was instantly captivated by the images on the cards and the vast, deep and textured messages to be gleaned from their symbols. She loves reading about, writing about, and talking about the Tarot, and anything occult, mystical, or spiritual, as well as anything connected to the human subtle body. She has published a book, “The Emerald Tablet: My 24-Day Journal to Understanding,” and is currently working on a book about the Tarot, pathworking and the Tree of Life. Raushanna documents her experiences and her daily card throws in her blog, DancingSparkles.blogspot.com, which has been in existence since 2009. She and her husband, her son and step son, and her numerous friends and large extended family can often be found on the beaches, bike paths and hiking trails of the Cape May, NJ area.
