Review by Bonnie Cehovet
“Joie de Vivre” - French for “joy of living”. And yes, this is a joyful, light-hearted deck that brings out the child in each of us – something that we don't do often enough! In her introduction Cassidy notes that the living beings that occupy this realm are all sentient souls of love who want the best for those that choose to journey through their world. They will help you lighten up in order to better tap into your intuition and connect with Divine source. The Seeker will find themselves responding through heart, mind, and spirit.
The presentation in the LWB (Little White Book) is what I have come to recognize as the style of U.S. Games Systems, Inc. - text only, keywords, a short paragraph describing the energy of the card, and the upright and reversed meanings. At the end of the book is a unique six card spread entitled “Spreading the Joy”,as well as blank pages for note taking. The author bio is something that you will want to read also – because it is here that you will find that Cassidy has been a student of energy healing for over ten years, and applies her studies in Reiki and pranic healing to her visual art, and that she also composes and records songs. Certainly the energy of the healer comes through in this deck!
The cards are 2 3/4” by 4 3/4”, of good quality, glossy card stock. The backs show a 1/4” white border around a beautiful orange center, and are reversible. The card faces show the same 1/4” white border, with the card titles at the bottom: number (in Roman numerals) and title for the Major Arcana, number (in text) and suit for the Pips (numbered cards), and title and suit for the Court Cards.
The art is very gently done fantasy, in pastel colors. The Fool seems to be floating through the air, and there is a bit of the Mad Hatter in the Magician's top ha. The Hanged Man hangs from a vine in mid air, while the Two of Wands is a lovely muse standing with a globe in one hand, and her owl companion appearing to be sitting on her head. The Nine of Cups is a lovely lady with nine cups swirling around her. The Four of Swords shows a figure standing, with a sacred spiral where her lower body would be. The LWB notes that this is Chrysalis, who has retreated to her sacred cocoon of soul healing, from which she will emerge a butterfly. The King of Swords, a cat-like figure, stands with his dove companion.
This is an excellent deck to use with clients that are a little nervous about the Tarot, or to take yourself, or a client, “out of the box” in your reading. It would also be a wonderful deck to use in a comparative reading. It is not a deck that would be used by a beginner to learn to read the Tarot, but it has its place. The artwork alone is worth the price of the deck!