Product Description

A new and updated edition of the popular tarot deck that reawakens the child in all of us.

• Over 100,000 copies of the first edition sold in 7 languages.

• Uses the important archetypes of childhood fairy tales to awaken emotional memory and heal the child within.

• Excellent for dream work, the recovery process, and use with children.

Inner Child Cards is a tarot system that helps us interact with the world's most potent archetypes. The authors assign an archetypal childhood story to each image in the traditional tarot deck. Cinderella aligns with the Moon card, traditionally associated with the power of dreams and visions. Sleeping Beauty parallels the Death card with its theme of personal metamorphosis. Little Red Cap stands in for the Fool (the innocent).

Before the Age of Reason higher learning was transmitted through archetypal characters in stories and fairy tales. In modern times these all-important stories have been relegated to a secondary position, with no recognition of their deeper meaning. The whimsical art and familiar characters of the Inner Child Cards will awaken dormant emotional memory that has been trapped in long-forgotten childhood stories. Tarot has always had an uncanny capacity to act as a "hall of mirrors" reflecting the true trajectory of life. By referencing fairy-tale archetypes, Inner Child Cards gives adults an especially clear reflection of the child within and imaginative access to the soul's own personal truth. And because of their playful nature, these cards are equally well suited for use with children. 

---

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #346791 in Books
• Published on: 2001-12-15
• Released on: 2001-12-01
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Cards
• 320 pages

Amazon.com
Inner Child Cards bring charming, fairy-tale images to the age-old tradition of the tarot. Authors and professional astrologers Isha and Mark Lerner intended to offer a fresh, innocent perspective on tarot readings while also staying grounded in recognizable archetypes. And what better way to tap into our true spirit than to recall the soul-inspiring stories of childhood? "Fairy stories, told and retold, enrich the depths of our hearts from which our hopes and ideals are born," the authors explain. "No other literary creation has such a fundamental effect upon us than has the fairy tale." Indeed, Little Red Riding Cap with her basket of goodies and her outstretched finger holding a butterfly speaks eloquently to the fragile process of individuation. The Rapunzel card with its maiden's long braid (which is eventually shorn by the evil enchantress) and the blind prince speaks to challenging times when we are cut loose from the strands of our past and must go forward in blind faith. All of the cards are lovely, with their rich images and rainbow borders. But it is the excellent accompanying text that offers readers the most enchanting journey into the past as they make meaning out of the present. --Gail Hudson

Wayne Muller, author of Legacy of the Heart: The Spiritual Advantages of a Painful Childhood
A delightful odyssey. The images and stories of childhood become an enchanting guide for inner reflection.

Review
"I was fascinated by the imaginative transformation of traditional Tarot images to Inner Child archetypes. . . . fun, elegant, and powerful."
(

Dawn Baumann Brunke, Alaska Wellness, November/December 2001

)

"It gives an especially clear reflection of the child within and imaginative access to the soul's own personal truth."

(

Arizona networkingNews, June/July 2002

)

"Aside from being a lovely deck, it's a great tool for getting your inner child and higher self to connect."

(Aquarius, October 2002 )

"A delightful odyssey. The images and stories of childhood become an enchanting guide for inner reflection."
(Wayne Muller, author of Legacy of the Heart: The Spiritual Advantages of a Painful Childhood )

"The authors have accomplished nothing less than a symbolic miracle. Inner Child Cards plucks and plays resonant chords of emotional memory and the psychic life trapped away in long-forgotten childhood stories."
(Antero Alli, author of Astrologik and Angel Tech )

"[The cards] are filled with the images, fairy tales, and stories that bridge the archetypal realm of the child and the future potential of the adult."
(

Psychological Perspectives

)

"This remarkable 320 page book & 78 full-color tarot card set is a perfect gift item for someone you love, including yourself! The book . . is a small masterpiece in itself."
(

Awareness, May 2002

)

"The art on these cards places this deck in a class by itself compared to other decks.The scenes are simple yet highly evocative and magical. The bright, primary colors are used with a skill rarely seen in Tarot decks. Collectors will want to buy this deck for the artwork alone. The text is well-written and concise."
(

Lee A. Bursten, www.Artof Tarot.com

)

"This is a great deck to use when reading for children or those who may otherwise be hesitant to use one of the traditional decks.The Inner Child Cards are wonderful for tarot collectors, as the illustrations are vivid and energetic. I highly encourage all tarot enthusiasts to consider purchasing this deck for variety and added insight."
(Dawn Shainheit, CPTR, www.ArtofTarot.com )

"The stories behind each card are at once familiar and enlightening. The stunning illustrations are vivid and fantastical."
(The Blessed Bee, Summer 2004, Issue 21 )

---

Customer Reviews

Amazing, Colorful, Insightful & Inspirational!
I have around 20 Tarot decks and I got this one in just this week. I have to say it is one of my very favorite decks already. The artwork is brilliant and almost child-like, but beautifully enlightening. The suits are hearts (cups), crystals (pentacles), magic wands (wands) and swords. The cards relate to characters from well-known fairy tales. The Fool card is Little Red Riding Hood.

The accompanying book very succinctly and eloquently describes the meaning/tales behind each card. It's a very positive, uplifting and upbeat deck. I did the five card C-H-I-L-D reading (described in the book) this morning and it was right-on, as if the cards had known me from the get-go. I don't think I've ever gotten such a wonderful first-time reading from a new deck.

I have to disagree with the reviewer who said this deck isn't for beginners. I think this deck stands alone and that anyone could quickly learn the basics of Tarot with it.

The cards are over-sized but easy to shuffle diagonally. They come in a sturdy storage box which holds the cards and book nicely. I highly recommend this set if you're ready to learn more about yourself and this journey we call life.

Not sure I'd recommend for a beginner, but...
I have four other tarot card decks - Rider Waite, Medieval Scapini, Celtic Dragon and Shakespearean - and have been told that I'm a very good reader (I've never had a disappointed readee yet). However, I haven't until this point had a deck where I actually "feel" anything physically from the cards. I may sense strong ties with the Rider Waite and be able to tell a story and make connections based on the images, but the vibrations just aren't there (especially with the Medieval Scapini, which I haven't used enough, or the Shakespearean tarot, which has breathtaking artwork but might as well be written in Sanskrit for all the sense I can make of it).

The Inner Child tarot deck is totally different. From the moment I opened the box and held these cards, they felt full and rich and alive. I truly love holding these cards. I can actually feel rather than merely sense when I have shuffled enough, and the readings have so much more depth than the rest of my decks. The metaphorical journey of the soul as a child growing up is so appropriate, I feel, to the journey of the human being, and is beautifully illustrated in the cards and the accompanying book.

I love how the cards are explained by Ms. Lerner, and though some of the cards differ from the "standard" deck, her explanations of the cards make sense. As I said in my title, I'm not sure I'd recommend these cards to a beginning reader, as "hearts" for cups and "crystals" for pentacles could be a bit confusing. Of course, "hearts" are what the cups are talking about, and "crystals" makes the Earth portion of the deck seem much less materialistic than pentacles can sometimes read. The artwork also didn't make sense - coming from a Rider Waite background - on some of the cards until I read the explanation, and then it was abundantly clear how the meaning of the cards tied in with the illustrations, and the tie-ins are wonderful.

Ms. Lerner puts a positive spin to the cards, which some people may not like. I feel it's appropriate, as how life affects you depends largely on how you look at it. For instance, the Tower (in this deck Rapunzel) is only a bad thing if you don't like or resist change. If you look for the growth in the change, try to find what the experience is trying to teach you and try to take something from it (which admittedly is not always easy), then at the very least you'll learn how to roll with the punches and be better prepared the next time some massive upheaval disrupts your life. So, while many people may find this positive spin to be a bad thing, I don't believe it is. I believe it's a benefit of the deck, unlike, for instance, the Celtic Dragon tarot, which is beautiful but never has anything to say other than doom and gloom, no matter how many readings I do with it (and I unfortunately know many readers who say the same thing about that particular deck). Though it may sound trite, Monty Python really did say it best when they advised to "Always look on the bright side of life". This deck helps one do that and truly shows that there are lessons to be learned in all that we do. It is a very spiritually grounded deck and I feel very powerful. I certainly feel it's a good deck for anyone interested in developing spiritually.

Since I am well versed in fairy tales, some of the descriptions do seem long and even redundant, especially for the major arcana, but I am very aware that not everyone is as familiar with all the fairy tales used as I am and I would not hold this against the deck. I really can't say enough good things about this deck - the cards are simply wonderful to hold, they vibrate with a beautiful energy, and the child-like drawings are lovely. Though I don't do readings for children, anyone who does would be pleased with these, I'm sure. I highly recommend these to anyone serious about the tarot.

colors are awesome!
I really have nothing bad to say about this deck, the only thing is that they are very large, which makes them difficult to handle and shuffle, but there's so much detail that they really need to be that size! The book that goes with it is forever helpful. Each and every reading is different, and always noticing something new. The artwork is beutiful and sometimes I just like to look at them! 5 stars all the way. I wouldn't want any other deck, I've looked and looked and just had to come back to this one!