Whispering Tarot

The Whispering Tarot Deck and The Whispering Tarot: Softly Spoken Secrets

by Elizabeth Hazel
Deck, 78 cards, $25.00
Guidebook, 55 pp., $10.00
2008

I have just had the delightful opportunity to review Elizabeth Hazel’s The Whispering Tarot and its accompanying guidebook, The Whispering Tarot: Softly Spoken Secrets. I must say that this whimsical deck not only whispers but giggles. The brightly-colored and boisterous images convey meanings that are far less rigid than other decks such as the iconic Rider-Waite-Smith or the more heavy-handed Thoth deck. For example, the normally staid Heirophant is given a new visual: “A guru levitates onto a sunbeam. Beneath him is the scene of a Middle-Eastern city, with onion-domed towers. A temple rises in the foreground…”

Hazel uses pen and ink drawing that feel alive. In my initial reading with The Whispering Tarot deck, a pairing of The Fool and the Ace of Wands caught my attention. Clearly, this conveyed creativity and a new beginning for me, as it might with other decks — but with Hazel’s cards, the Fool with all his chakras open and reaching for a star just seemed to carry the meaning of fresh potential for me. Her bucolic Ace of Wands, meanwhile, is a wonderful scene of everything Eostre: a bonfire, a rabbit, daffodils, and green, green grass.

A note here: While Eostre is definitely symbolized here, and you can find many more Pagan references such as the Ace of Pentacles which depicts a Beltane procession complete with May Queen, this is not in the least a stereotypically “witchy” deck. There is more element of the fairy tale to The Whispering Tarot - with actual faeries are noted too. Indeed, they are highlighted in the beautiful Ten of Cups which demonstrates an idyllic scene of a farmhouse with the winged beings floating about in the magical woods. Mermaids and even a baby dragon hatching from an egg make their presence as well in other cards.

And for some strange reason, the Two of Swords where “a woman enters through a picket fence. Behind her, a wind zephyr blows a cloudy sky” reminded me of a scene out of Mary Poppins! Actually, this deck made me think of the Alice in Wonderland deck as well. Maybe it’s just me but that is the light-hearted energy these cards contain. The cards are friendlier to hold and shuffle as they are smaller than most, poker-sized.

However, lest you think that then these cards would not be appropriate to divine questions more weighty, you are mistaken. Hazel provides innovative spreads, including a Finger of God spread that incorporates the astrological concept of a Yod that can be used when the seeker needs to make a difficult choice.

Overall, I am happy to add The Whispering Tarot with its gently laughing secrets to my tarot collection. For ordering information, please visit www.kozmic-kitchen.com.

Review by Diane Saarinen. Learn more about Diane, including how to contact her for a tarot reading, at http://wavelengthtarot.com.