Wednesday, February 19, 2014

HazelMoon's Hawaiian Tarot - by TarotAnn

As I begin this review, the first “real” snow in several years is falling (and actually accumulating!) and being someone who loves summer, it seems perfectly natural to be reviewing a beautiful Hawaiian themed deck. The first thing that stands out to me about this deck is the superb quality of the printing and packaging of the deck, especially for such a friendly priced deck. The kit comes in a small outer box containing a 106 page book and a smaller box containing the deck itself. The cards themselves very high quality, thick plastic cardstock with very vibrant colors which shuffle easily and do not seem to get distorted. Each image in the deck is centered and surrounded by a large border with 8 Hawaiian symbols and icons. All of the image in the deck were hand painted by the creator based on her experiences living on the island. All of the cards contain bright painted images in a thick border containing various Hawaiian symbols and motifs.
 
Many readers choose to skip reading the “Little White Book” that comes with new decks, or in this case, the gorgeously bound mini-book, but that would be a mistake in this case. I particularly loved the introduction where the author discusses the concept of Aloha and island life. One of my favorite aspects of this deck is the author’s descriptions of the people, circumstances, and events depicted on the card and how they relate to life in Hawaii, Hawaiian culture and history. Most major arcana descriptions have a paragraph of the more “traditional” tarot meanings, and a second paragraph explaining the Hawaiian ties on the image. For example, the Hierophant card displays a “little blue church” that is a famous historical landmark in Kailua-Kona.


The Hierophant, HazelMoon's Hawaiian Tarot
 
The Hierophant, HazelMoon’s Hawaiian Tarot




 

My personal favorite card in the major arcana is the chariot, which depicts a woman swimming with two majestic dolphins.



The Chariot, HazelMoon's Hawaiian Tarot

The Chariot, HazelMoon’s Hawaiian Tarot




In the minor arcana, the traditional suits of wands and pentacles have been renamed sticks and lava stone, respectively. The pip cards are semi-illustrated, with beautiful scenery and the element represented depicted, however the court cards, labeled Boy, Warrior, Queen and King, display people. Again, the accompanying text is essential as the representation on each card is eloquently explained by the writer. The meanings assigned appear to be loosely Rider-Waite based, although the cards do not depict the typical symbols and associations found in other Rider-Waite compatibles and clones. However, the vivid imagery and thoroughness of the author’s accompanying text should not be overly challenging to beginners. This would also be a good deck to use if reading for clients at a theme party or for daily meditation in cold weather if you want to be warm.

Another totally fun fact about this deck: It was featured on the TV show Hawaii 5-0 episode “Popilika”- how cool is that?

What do you think of HazelMoon’s Hawaiian Tarot?
Let me know in the comments!
by TarotAnn
 
Deck: HazelMoons Hawaiian Tarot
Edition: 1st
Creator(s): Katalin E. Csikos
Where to Buy/Contact: www.myhawaiiantarot.com