Froud Faeries in Tarot of Transformation?

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 23 Feb 2004, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Kirali	23 Feb 2004
Hello all, I just got the Tarot of Transformation by Willow Arlenea and Jasmin Lee Cori a couple of weeks ago. As I was looking through the cards, I happened to glance a little more closely at trump 20 Compassion (Judgment). I saw a couple of faeries that I recognized as Brian Froud's paintings. They're very tiny pictures, but I could easily see that Froud's "G. Hobyah" was on the right of the card and Froud's "Queen of the Bad Faeries" (good faeries/bad faeries book) was on the left of the card. I looked in the accompanying book that Jasmin Lee Cori wrote and the only mention of the Froud faerie creatures is that they were "tortured souls" that needed Compassion (title of the card). If anyone has the deck, tell me that I'm not just seeing things please! hehehe There is a scan of the Judgment/Compassion card here but you can't see the faeries. http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/tarot-of-transformation/ The Froud "Queen of the Bad Faeries" is on the bottom of this link on the book http://www.worldoffroud.com/www/faeries/goodbad/badfae.cfm I don't have access to a scanner and I'm not sure how to make the Compassion/Judgment picture clearer but I swear I see them in that card! Thanks so much for reading. Would love some feedback! :)

Star Spirit	23 Feb 2004
This thread caught my eye, as these two decks are my two newest purchases (and I love them both to death, by the way ;)). And you are right! I haven't read Good Faeries/Bad Faeries, but that is definitely G. Hobyah on the right, I'd know him anywhere. You're not crazy! I find that very interesting...I wonder how they figured to put him on the card? It's a very small image but it's identical to his image in the Faeries Oracle. You sure have an eye for detail :D

Kirali	24 Feb 2004
ahhh Thank Goodness I'm not seeing things! hehe I can't see to make out the other "tortured souls" in the card but those were the only 2 I could. There is no mention of Brian Froud anywhere in the book. Unless I've missed it. Oh well. It was still pretty neat to see a familiar painting in the deck even though G. Hobyah was my least favorite card in the Faeries Oracle. I'll keep trying to see if I can make any other faeries out.

Star Spirit	24 Feb 2004
How are you liking your decks by the way? I was a little weary of the Tarot of Transformation before I purchased it due to the thinner cardstock, but I'm very glad I did. The cards are quite nice and the artwork is amazing, and even though the meanings are quite non-traditional, I found the book to be very helpful and managed to draw connections to traditional card meanings as well, and I find the cards to be really quite accurate. Although I haven't had a chance to use it much yet. The Faeries Oracle took me a long while to get through studying, and I have yet to do any readings with it! I find them both to be great decks though.

Kirali	25 Feb 2004
Yeah they're both great decks! I've had my Froud's Faerie oracle for a over a year now and still love it. I wish I had more time to work with it. I've found that they are more readable when not using spreads. (which kind of irks me since I like collecting and trying out new spreads!) ;) The Tarot of Transformation is becoming one of my mains! I love the art work. I never thought that I'd like faceless people in art but I do like it much better in this deck that way I don't have any judgment towards the person. It feels more spiritual than mundane. I think I'm beginning to really connect to this deck. I even like the key words on top. It's opening up my intuitive side. (I'm surprised I have one! hehe) I find that I'm using it for a lot of my readings. I don't mind the renamed majors and court cards. I don't usually have a problem with decks that are non-traditional as long as they're readable and this deck is definitely readable to me. The thin cardstock is the only thing I notice when reading with it. I think I might send away for another Tarot of Transformation to have as a backup. Maybe, just maybe. })

Star Spirit	25 Feb 2004
I also love the keywords on the Transformation, or key phrases I should say. They're usually very accurate!

Kyrielle	25 Feb 2004
I find the Froud faeries like to create their own spreads. I use intuition to determine how many to draw and where to place them. If you look at the shape the spread takes (circular? linear? stairstep? etc.), you can tell something about the processes involved. Each spread is different because each reading is different. If you find yourself and the faeries preferring one certain layout, you can try to find the pattern and turn it into a spread. -- Kyrielle

Gardener	25 Feb 2004
Kirali, I can't believe you spotted and recognized those teeny tiny little fairies! What amazing eyes you have. I noticed that somewhere in the introduction Willow wrote about fairies appearing frequently through the deck, and I've been looking for them but never would have found those two! Creepy little guys, isn't it interesting that she included them in the Compassion card? Dead Star, I agree that the keyword/key phrases are really dead on. I showed "Drama Queen" to my boyfriend and he knew he'd been pegged. My personal favorite is "Human Doing," which fits me to a "T". I don't find the deck easy to read with yet, though, because it is so different from the conventional decks. Interesting, just takes some getting used to!

Kirali	28 Feb 2004
errr that's what I meant!... Key phrases. They are spot on.. Kyrielle, thanks for the advice. I find that pulling 3 cards using Froud's Faeries' Oracle for a question like "who can give me strength this weekend" usually does it for me.. But I will try to experiment more. Well I see other faeries in other cards with Willow's art style but it's odd that she used Froud's painting of some faeries. Again I still haven't found any credit to Froud.... eeek I hope I'm not a whistle blower! I'd better buy an extra deck before it goes OOP.. hehe :)

The Froud Faeries in Tarot of Transformation? thread was originally posted on 23 Feb 2004 in the Tarot Decks board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Tarot Decks, or read more archived threads.