Tarot in the Land of Mystereum

Mind Body & Soul Ezine Card Deck Review: Tarot in the Land of Mystereum - An Imagination Primer by Jordan Hoggard. Presentation Boxed set of 78 cards and accompanying book. Published by Schiffer Publishing. US $34.99 : £31.99 Quality cards Size: 30cm x15cm with white border. 

 https://jordanhoggard.com/

All similar- each unique! 

The Land of Mystereum Tarot is presented in a smart magnetic box with ribbon drawer and it contains intensely colourful cards in an Avant-garde / Surrealistic leaning genre. I found the card images are complex and enigmatic with a slight overwhelm. The accompanying book contains detailed, elaborate and innovative text for each card. We are told to take a good look at a card image, then say what we are feeling out loud. These strange cards speak from individual characters within the Tarot but not in the usual manner. There are sections of information for each card for explanation and creativity. I am pleased to have an informative book to accompany this non conformist, unconventional concept deck, designed to “take our imagination to new heights and depths”. 

 The Dedication states: “For your imagination to soar and take root. A portrait of yesterday, for those who are not tomorrow… To your inner inheritances and imagination, inner treasures present when you were born. May you remember, may you dream. Each birth brilliant in its age, may you discover all your life.”

We have the Majors as the Fool’s Journey, here known as the the Archetypal Imagination group of cards. This is followed by the Grounding Imagination of Pentacles (earth and solid things), the Fulfilling Imagination of Cups (water and flow), the Energizing Imagination of Wands (fire and ideas) and the Communicative Imagination of Swords (air and communication). Each card is presented as a character and we, as the reader, breathe life into each one! We are invited to dream up a Mystereum companion. We are also invited to imagine our ideas are as bright as stars and sunlight. We are advised to tailor and modify as we choose to. We are gifted with Imagination Tools that help us with tips, exercises and general advice. The Mystereum Tarot is described as an Imagination Primer that is easy to use and the concept is designed to assist us in developing our own imagination. 

The book is written by ‘the book cover and binding’, ie., the architect, writer, artist and tarot deck creator, Jordan Hoggard, who describes himself as “a vessel and a container” who holds and unfolds the story as you turn the pages to read the mysterious and imaginative words of each character. I would think ‘Bohemian style’ would describe the pioneering nature of this deck. We are given an introduction from all the Tarot archetypal characters and we have a description of what each card indicates. Each of these characters speak to us. It is suggested these channelled writings are read out loud. 

There is space in the book for note taking and I made copious notes about my own inspirational process and understandings of this deck, and the thoughts that arose about the nature of my psychological creativity. How do we describe the Land of Mystereum? It is here - a place where we ‘make a harmonious relationship with our ideas and imagination, and celebrate our differences!’ 

Everyone will experience this deck as an individual. And Wow! What a wonderful wander through the ways of woo-woo, where wonders of which way to whisk will bring your wildest wishes your way! This deck is stated to be intended for the ‘Young at Heart’, for the novice or intermediate Tarot reader. I am recommending it to those who have experience of working with Tarot and who want an added je ne sais quois! This deck is well titled as ‘Land of Mystereum’ - the mystery prevails! Neoteric! The mind boggles - and I am delighted by the enhance creativity! Recommended.

In personal correspondence with the author, Jordan says:  “My primary intent is to bring in what I call ImaginAction, so that the unconscious can well up nourishing contents to more naturally address issues of any type. Ideas and imagination are great, though like logic and reason, when they are standalone, they are relatively useless folly. Well, except for the rest of distraction here and there. “My bent is that with ImaginAction one can marry the heart of the matter with actionable and creative and natural ways of implementing the heart of the matter in produced works… and most times, those “produced works” are helping to clear out traumas that create blind spots of expectations that get in the way of action. I laugh… to get the PRO out of procrastination that is based on afraid ness or lack of self-worth. “Kintsukuroi of Self. We, like in Japanese pottery Kintsuge, are better for having been broken when we mend with golden connections rather than motion-limiting scars. I had a “Kintsukuroi of Self” article published in the TaroSophie Tarot Association’s mag a couple of summers ago.”

Reviewer: Wendy Stokes https://wendystokes.co.uk