The Wonderland Tarot

Well, this is a weird tarot deck if I had to describe it as anything. That shouldn't be too surprising as the deck is all about a certain Alice and her appearances in two particular books. What surprises me is how the deck can be used as a deck of playing cards. That was a surprise to see when I first got it to see two cards useless to the deck, only to learn that these were the Joker cards when I ended up looking at the cards and seeing the usual suits and numbers that appear on a typical playing cards deck. Even the size of the cards is what you would expect of many playing card decks.

The unusual thing about the deck is how the usual minor arcana is slightly changed. Instead of stuff like wands and swords, we have flamingos and hats. The guide that comes with the book is a great help and explains what each of the minor arcana corresponds to and explains what each card means both upright and in reverse. The suits on the cards is also helpful in remembering what each of the minor arcana usually is but it can take some time getting used to.

Artwork wise, it has a nice, old fashioned look to it. If you're into the art from older decks, you'll enjoy seeing what this deck has to offer with its own art. The back of each card also has three rows of a vine with some leaves and flowers on it. The design for this is simple and, truth be told, would make a fantastic tattoo design to wrap around a wrist or ankle.

Tattoo Tarot: Ink & Intuition

For tarot, I cannot say I am not the most interested in the various decks on offer yet this particular deck stole my heart immediately. Olivia Munden, or Megamunden as he is credited under with this deck, has created a beautiful deck with an interesting tattoo theming. As someone who appreciates the aesthetics of traditional western tattoos, seeing all the personal interpretations Olivia Munden has given the cards is amazing.

The designs given to each card had thought put into each one and it shows. Each individual card had research put into them for their meaning and/or history and it shows if you know a thing or two about tarot. Even if you're unfamiliar with tarot, understanding each card when they are upright is made easier with how the design each card has received.

Even the guide that comes with the deck has had a lot of work put into it. The most useful part of the guide is obviously the parts detailing the meanings of each card and the upright meanings of the cards is given plenty of detail. This also brings me to my one complaint I do have and that is the lack of meanings for when the cards are in reverse. Everything else has been done right, from the cards, box design and the upright meanings of the card, so the lack of meanings for when the cards are in reverse are a bit of a surprise.

Alchemists, Mediums And Magicians: Stories of Taoist Mystics (Translated And Edited By Thomas Cleary)

Categorised by time periods the people lived in, the book is filled with supposed immortals through China's history and makes for a worthwhile read on those who are knowledgable on the Taoist classics. The book makes note of the many stories of supposed immortals over the years.

Clarity And Tranquility: A Glide fo Daoist Meditation by Stuart Alve Olson

If you're into meditation, pick up this book. It is detailed on how to the Daoist styled mediation, but that is at the end of the book. Before that there is plenty of writing that is best understood if you already have knowledge on Daoist terms and will likely be most interesting to those who are more serious practitioners of the Dao.
 Reading the whole book can be worthwhile to the more casual reader trying to learn the meditation style presented but just sticking on the guide on how to do the meditative practices may be best to certain peoples.

Folk Legends From Tono by Yanagita Kunio and Sasaki Kizen (Translation by Ronald A. Morse)

If you're into folklore this is going to be a go to book to read and is currently the book most often brought up in regards to Japanese folklore and for good reason. The many short stories make the book easy to pick up and read, they're fascinating and give detail into the stories shared in a small part of Japan.