Review of the Quest Tarot Deck and Compass Guidebook

The Quest Tarot and guidebook, The Compass, has a lot more to offer than an ordinary Tarot deck. The deck is beautifully decorated. Unfortunately, maybe it offers too much information systems for most readers.

The Quest Tarot system seemed too good to be true when I first read the description. The maker had chosen to make this deck a complete system of psychic connections. Systems and symbols from Elements, Runes, Tarot, I-Ching, Astrology, Hebrew letters, and gemstones are only part of the grand scheme. Other symbols and colors marked on specific cards also are used to form an answer.

Tarot cards are naturally divided into the Minor Arcana, Major Arcana and the Court cards. Like many modern tarot decks, the Quest Tarot has intentional differences and discrepancies.

The Court cards have been renamed from King, Queen, Page, and Knights to Father, Mother, Son and Daughter. This is to bring the cards more in line with the social structure we live in. However, the naming of the cards are only the start of the changes. Each one of the sixteen court cards are more like a living breathing person than the original Rider Waite deck. It is very easy to understand what kind of person is being mentioned due to the personable description of the cards.

The Major Arcana has an addition to the regular twenty-two, the Multiverse card. This card represents the possibility of the material world being intermixed with the ethereal world in order to bring about the desired effects. The Minor Arcana is very much to the point. Although there are some minor differences on specific cards, the majority of these cards are in line with custom definitions.

The Quest Tarot artwork is very imaginative and beautiful. The majority of the artwork is nothing like the original Rider Waite deck, but instead brings forth new and fresh impressions. The one thread remaining constant is the human figures. The human figures appear to be made of glass or metal, with no signs of race or true age. Hair nor eye coloring is not included but is specified in the borders of the cards.

The guidebook, The Compass, does a good job of explaining how to use the deck. The sections describing the different aspects, such as Astrology, Hebrew letters and I Ching are very informative. However, it is difficult for a reader to pull all of the information together. For instance, the I Ching is read upright only as there is no reverse meanings. Sometimes the information received by one system is in direct conflict with the information received by another system, even when on the same card. Other items that can be deduced by the cards is the spelling out of words and the foretelling of time lines.

The Compass does an excellent job however of presenting Tarot card layouts. The best Tarot card layout presented in The Compass is the Quest Tarot Spread. The simplest is the yes and no feature of the Court cards. The Court cards can give a simple yes or no answer by looking at the daggers on top of the cards. Depending on the direction of these daggers, a reader can receive yes, no, maybe, past and future answers.

The Compass also has a nice selection of Tarot Card games. The book gives complete information on how to play The Quest Tarot Poker game. The Color Match game is similar to Uno. There are many other games listed but these are the two best.

All in all the Quest Tarot is a beautiful and useful deck. However, the deck has so many ways to be used that most readers will not be able to take full advantage of the system.