The Whimsical Tarot Book: A Deck for Children and the Young at Heart

by Dorothy Morrison

Book Overview

The Whimsical Tarot is a fresh, new approach to a time-honored system. The book was written especially for children and beginners, but tarot adepts will find it useful as well. The easy-to-read style... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1572813156
• ISBN13: 9781572813151
• Release Date: January 2003
• Publisher: U.S. Games Systems
• Length: 204 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 4.8" x 7.1"

Customer Reviews

The Whimsical Tarot : A Deck for Children and the Young at Heart

This is only a paperback book in black and white. No color and no DECK! Much too expensive for just a black and white book. The title says "The Whimsical Tarot : A Deck for Children and the Young at Heart" Where's the deck? A very big waste of money. I was able to get the same thing for free online. Very disappointed in the false title. Should have said just The Whimsical Tarot BOOK!

An Excellent Companion to the Deck

This book accompanies the Whimsical Tarot Deck. While there is supposed to be a gift box set, I have only seen the book and decks sold separately and when I purchased the deck, I also purchased the book. I have reviewed the deck under it's listing. The book's layout is easy to follow. It begins with an introduction to the purpose and style of the cards, use and care of the deck, discussion of various layouts of tarot readings and then meanings of the cards as designed by Dorothy Morrison. The Major Arcana is first, followed by the Minor Arcana in order and each card has a black and white graphic rendition of the card so it is easy to visualize and follow. The discussion in the beginning of the book focuses on children reading Tarot. This may sound surprising to some but to those of us who have our kids around us all the time, the curiosity of child is only second to how persistent they can be to know about things that attract their attention. Ms. Morrison offers assistance in helping us introduce the tarot to our children. From examining the cards to blessing and handling the cards, it is a basic handbook for introducing our children to simple, basic divination. In the layouts section, there are suggested layouts for use by kids, and it is grouped by ages, from very simple one card readings to more complex spreads for the experienced older child. There may be questions as to the card's subject. If we are not familiar with all the fairy tales that Ms. Morrison has included in this deck, this book will help you out with that. For example, the Queen of Rods, while looking very queenly, is actually Cinderella. If you look her up in the book, the association is clearly laid out. "No matter how dire her circumstances or how horrible her treatment, she never let it get her down. She just kept on working, kept on smiling, and kept on with the business of living. In the end, she prevailed and won her heart's desire: a charming prince with a gentle heart, a fast horse, and all the love she could ask." Ms. Morrison is very clear in her meanings; nothing is hidden and nothing is left open and mysterious. This is the plain English Ms. Morrison we know and love. She even gives details of how she designed the cards. To continue "Dressed in the yellow and green of creative growth, the Queen of Rods is the eternal cheerleader. She loves everyone and everything." While this is very insightful for the reader, it also gives us insight into how Ms. Morrison is guiding us along as we search for answers in our own lives. Very clear, very easy to understand and so insightful, this handbook is a guide as well as a companion to using the deck. She also offers some advice and insights into what this card may mean if it shows up in your readings. Again, referencing the Queen of Cups, Cinderella: "When the Queen of Cups graces your spread, it's time to look at life with a loving eye." Further down, she adds "Remember that love is a gentle, kind, a

Best tarot deck ever to introduce to the beginner

If you're not the cutsey type or won't appreciate the artwork because you're "darker" or more "serious" than that, all I can say is, lighten up. This is a great deck and a great springboard to learn from before getting into something as esoteric as Rider Waite or Crowley Thoth. Everybody knows the fairytales and even if you don't, it's fun to look them up. These cards are definitely more accessible to us modern pagans and witches! I would highly recommend this for the absolute and not so absolute beginner (a welcome addition to any tarot library, as it's less intimidating than other deck images!).

Quality time with Grandma!

My four year old grandson has this deck. He picks out a card and brings it to me to tell him the story. After he hears the story, we talk about the life lessons the story holds. What a wonderful way to spend "quality time" with my grandson!! I highly recommend this deck to anyone with children or grandchildren!! This deck is wonderful for all ages. It brings back memories of the fairy tales and nursery rhymes we loved as children, and brings the stories into new light. The story or nursery rhyme that goes with each card fits in excellently with the meaning of the card. For instance, the Lovers card is Beauty and the Beast. How perfect!!

Wonderful Concept; Beautifully Written

To create a divination tool useable by adults and children alike is no small feat and Dorothy Morrison has accomplished it incredibly well. Children will find all the images easily recognizable and something to which they can relate. Adults will be pleased with the reader-friendly imagery and the pragmatic, light hearted writing Ms. Morrison is so well known for. I cannot say BRAVA loudly enough since I have sought a deck that I felt comfortable with for over 10 years.

An excellent book for an excellent deck

Tarot cards allow the user to access their subconscious / intuition through the use of archetypal imagery. Most Tarot cards use medeival imagery, which actually makes the cards less accessible for people in this modern age. We deal with very different issues than the people of 400 years ago. The same ideas are presented to us visually in very different ways via television, movies, etc. What better way to re-connect the user with the cards, than using imagery we became familiar with in our childhood? The author of this book and the accompanying cards takes the unusual approach of replacing the medieval imagery with characters from fairy tales (including Grimm's and Mother Goose). The choice of characters for each card is very appropriate, making the deck very easy to use (for those of us who remember the fairy tales of our youth, at least!). ^_^ I don't read Tarot often enough to have the meanings of each card memorized, so I usually have to consult the accompanying books, etc., when doing a card-casting. However, after reading through the Whimsical Tarot book, I found that the meaning of every card was clear from the imagery-- and stayed clear over time. I believe that the issues represented in more traditional decks (such as Rider-Waite) are parallel to the issues respresented in fairy tales and nursery rhymes. However, fairy tales have been presented to us with characters, a plot, and (often) a lesson to be learned, whereas the traditional Tarot images are just that-- images. The use of storybook characters really brings the Tarot to life!As an added bonus, the "Advice" explanations of each card are so well-written that they can be taken individually as topics of meditation or daily "points to ponder". Many Tarot books provide the briefest of descriptions for the related cards, leaving the reader confused as to how to interpret the card. The Whimsical Tarot book provides not only the storybook explanation, but also a couple of paragraphs of advice for each card.Overall, this card and deck combo (note: Deck sold separately!) is one of the best I have come across. For those who find the Rider-Waite decks a bit too abstract, this deck is perfect! If you'd rather try something a bit more "adult", then check out the Rohrig Tarot deck-- but beware, there's no book for the Rohrig deck.