Review by Sheri Harshberger
Silver Era Tarot by Aunia Kahn and Russell J. Moon
Published by Schiffer Publishing Ltd., www.schifferbooks.com
ISBN: 978-0-7643-3438-2
What do you get when you cross an amazing artist with Tarot? Many, many times you get decks that are both insightful and stunning. The Silver Era Tarot created by the visionary artist Aunia Kahn is a deck that carries on this trend in beautiful and unique ways!
First, I'd like to offer KUDOS to Schiffer Publishing, for continuing to build a reputation for quality and diversity, and offering artists and other oracular visionaries the means by which their work may be shared with the public. From Emily Carding's Transparent Tarot and Transparent Oracle to Jude Alexander's The Tarot Game to Adrienne Trafford's The Journey Oracle and The Journey Coloring Book to Jordan Hoggard's Tarot in the Land of Mysterium, Schiffer continues to offer decks and books that push the Tarot and oracle envelopes! Bravo! We in the Tarot and oracle community thank you!
Okay, back to the stunning Silver Era Tarot by Aunia Kahn with companion book by Russell J. Moon...
The Silver Era Tarot comes packaged in a shrink-wrapped, compact, lidded box with a hinged, magnetically-closed lid. The box opens like a little chest. A small silver ribbon loop is provided to help the user lift the lid of the box. Additional silver ribbons are affixed to the sides of the box and the lid to limit the lid opening to 90 degrees of the box. Very nice! The 96-page companion book and 78-card deck are nestled within the box.
This 78-card deck follows the Waite-Smith structure with 22 Majors and 56 Minors. The Majors are numbered, with the Fool as 0, Strength as 8 and Justice as 11. The members of the Courts are King, Queen, Knight and Page; and the suits are Cups, Pentacles, Swords and Wands.
The deck looks very thick due to a thicker card stock and the dimensions of the deck, which is a bit shorter and a wider than a Waite-Smith. Though flexible, the cards are stiffer than most decks, making shuffling crisp. Readers with smaller hands may want to split the deck into parts to facilitate shuffling due the the thickness of the deck.
The deck is designed to support reversals as the companion book includes meanings for reversals and the backs of the cards have a beautiful direction neutral back design. The back design features a wide, shaded, almost stone-looking gray band centered and running the length of the card, flanked by slightly darker and somewhat greenish gray bands on the edges, with the entire design overlaid with a diagonal crosshatch. Beautifully elegant! On the front, the cards are bordered with a somewhat large (maybe 1/4 inch) border within which the card numbers and titles are located. The only cards that are numbered are the Majors, with the number centered in the top border. All cards have titles and the titles are centered in the bottom border. I like the font.
The imagery of this deck is stunning! I love the look of monotone images that have key elements enhanced with bold, bright color. True to its name, the overall color scheme of the deck is shades of gray, with a very light greenish cast. As with any Tarot deck, the magic is in the imagery, but this deck takes it to a new level! Readers familiar with the Waite-Smith will recognize the updated archetypes in this deck.
It is a common practice for readers to learn new decks, or Tarot in general to meditate on the individual cards... to insert themselves into the cards to get a sense of what is going on and what the potential meanings of each archetype could be. This deck is actually the manifestation of Aunia Kahn doing just that! With the exception of the specifically male cards, each card features an image of the artist herself making the meaning of the card manifest through her actions, appearance, etc.--in effect, she shares her own personal journey through the Tarot with us, bringing a 21st century artist's take on the cards. That is enough to make this an awesome Tarot and set it apart, but it also makes it transcendent. Through the inclusion of herself in the image, she makes the reader, the querent, i.e., the user of the deck part of the deck, too! Seeing Aunia's image interacting across the cards makes it easier for us to insert ourselves into the cards and interact with the cards, too, even if our experiences are different than hers. She's opened the door for us to be part of the deck through her.
The 96-page companion book, written by Russell J. Moon, is small, so it is easy to carry if necessary. The book features the image of each card with its meanings, including reversals. A 3-card Past-Present-Future spread as well as the ubiquitous 10-card Celtic Cross are also provided. Did I mention that the book is signed by both Aunia Kahn and Russell J. Moon? It is!
This deck would be a worthy addition to any collector of Tarot or Aunia Kahn's work, as well as a powerful tool for any reader, especially newbies who may have problems connecting with the Waite-Smith or other classic artwork and imagery. If you really like her artwork in this deck, the artist offers prints on her website for the deck, www.silvereratarot.com.