Crystal Power Tarot Deck Review

The Crystal Power Tarot is my first ever deck, which was given to me by a close friend during the holidays last year, and this is what I use to read for myself. I have been talking about my interest in cartomancy for the longest time and the superstitious belief that you should not buy your own deck, otherwise, the deck will not work for you. In this post, I will review the deck and how helpful it is for the cartomancer, paying particular attention to the deck’s design and illustration or both major and minor arcana, as well as the guidebook.

General description

The Crystal Power Tarot is a Rider-Waite deck created Jayne Wallace and designed by Emily Breen with the crystal photography by Roy Palmer. Wallace designed the card with the love of crystals in mind and heart, and the belief that imbuing the cards with crystal power that represents the energy of the card will make cartomancy more powerful. Every card is tied with an empowerment crystal whose properties should help the cards, the cartomancer, and the person whom the reading is for.

Every major arcana card has a unique empowerment crystal, except for 0 The Fool, which has seven. The minor arcana has two empowerment crystal for each suit: one for the ace to ten of each suit and another one for the court cards. Along with the assigned empowerment crystals, the chakra points or energy centers of the body that the crystals relate are also included. This is supposed to help the cartomancer identify the aspect of self the crystal can help the most.

Design and Illustration

The cards are printed in glossy 8×13 cm paper, and are all aesthetically pleasing. The back of the cards forms a gradient, thus, giving an easy tell whether the card is upright or inverse. This may be beneficial especially when you adhere to the inverse interpretation of the cards as you know whether or not the cards are upright or otherwise. Normally, inverse cards deliver ominous messages, and knowing that the card is inverse may be tasking already.

Each card also comes with a “power message,” or affirmations. These affirmations are directly linked to the message of each card. The cartomancer of whomever the reading is for should read these affirmations to activate the qualities of the crystal and connect with the power of the crystals that are imbued in each card.

Major Arcana. The designs of the major arcana are vivid and distinct. For example, 0 The Fool: the card shows us a boy walking through a rainbow bridge while holding a back in his right hand and a white flower in left hand, and instead of looking ahead to where he is going, he is distracted by the flower’s beauty, thus, not seeing the void where he is about to fall into. The imagery of the illustration for the card tells us of innocence, beginning of the adventure, leap of faith, new beginnings, and wonder.

Every other card for the major arcana has distinct designs to help the cartomancer interpret the cards much easier. They give several symbolisms and imagery for the cartomancer to read or, at least, remember the archetypes that the cards stand for.

Minor Arcana.  The minor arcana, however, are illustrated quite simply. For example, Ace of Swords: we see a single sword against a bluish-purple galaxy gradient background. There are no other illustrations nor imagery that can help the cartomancer to read or remember the archetypes the suits stand for. Despite this simplistic design, the card’s affirmation or “power message” helps to remember what the card stands for.

The court cards, however, are a little bit different. Just like the major arcana, they are illustrated quite distinctively. For example, The Queen of Swords, where we see a strong woman wielding a sword upright and is ready to attack as she holds her position steadfast. This imagery reminds of someone who is independent, strong, and insightful—someone who is self-reliant and resilience or a high level of responsibility or resilience.

Guidebook

The lack of intricate design for the minor arcana suits is simply made up by the intricacy of the guidebook. Wallace thoroughly explained the symbolisms in the designs of every card in the major arcana, the meaning of the card, and the crystal power imbued in each of them.

There is also concise introduction to the minor arcana, what they are, what they represent, and what crystals they are linked to. After which, each card from every suit is described in detail. Wallace begins with the keywords and then transitions to specific interpretations and to broader meanings of the card. The court cards are also described in-depth both as a situation and as a person.

The guidebook also includes six spreads that the cartomancer can use: one-card draw, question and answer; the past, the present, and the future; the way ahead, wish upon and crystal, and chakra crystal reading. Each spread is described carefully and coherently, making it easy to remember and follow, even for a novice cartomancer. This is, by far, the most thorough tarot guidebook I have ever seen, and is the most helpful among all other guidebooks I have come across.

Recommendation

If you are a novice cartomancer without any background in tarot reading, the guidebook can help you become familiar with the cards and their archetypes. The ace to ten cards of the minor arcana may pose a problem for beginners since there are few symbolisms and less imagery to help you remember their archetypes. At the same time, this also challenges you to become more connected with your deck and get to know them well. However, it is best to remember that you do not need to memorize each card by heart before you could start a reading; this is the very reason we have the guidebook. With the help of the power messages of every card, you can easily interpret the messages they send. Over all, the Crystal Power Tarot is a good deck for anyone who wishes to start learning the art of cartomancy.