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Happy Spring! Hopefully, you are feeling the wonderful energy of the spring months and have all sorts of exciting plans for personal growth.

In keeping with the theme of springtime energy and growth, I wanted to write about some decks that might be useful in your journey. The many fairy-themed decks from Lo Scarabeo seem like a natural sort of spring thing. But they are much more than a collection of charming, clever decks. They embody amazing intellectual, mythical, and divinatory concepts.

Tarot of the Hidden Folk is based on the little known Book of Rael, the transcription of the history of the Secret Realm (or fairy world) and the origins of the occult hierarchies within that world. Amazingly enough, the story fits the structure of a Tarot deck perfectly.

According to the Book of Rael, the Secret Realm is divided into twenty-two Keepers of the Universal Power, the fundamental energies of nature. These Keepers are assigned to the twenty-two Major Arcana. The Court Cards align nicely with the sixteen Governors of the Secret Realm. These governors act directly on the four natural elements, Eternal Fire, Water of Life, Eternal Wind, and Mother Earth.

The Governors exercise their power through the thirty-six Lords (cards 1 - 9 of each suit).

The four Roots, like the Aces in a Tarot deck, are the core expressions of each element. In Tarot of the Gnomes, the Major Arcana tell the fable of Sichen, a gnome who crossed the world of the gnomes, Esir, eventually becoming their greatest wizard. As he journeys, he meets many gnomes, including Gimlar, the Empress, the Queen of the Gnomes, who demands that he heal her daughter or face death;; Michem, Death, the keeper of the Kingdom of Death; and Tecla, the Hermit, who helped Sichen during his exile.

As he travels the world of Esir, Sichen meets different families: the family of abundance (Cups), the family of diligence (Wands), the family of success (Pentacles), and the family of law (Swords). After his travels, Sichen created a Tarot deck, with each card representing the lessons he gleaned from his experiences.

The Fairy Tarot depicts the legend of the Emperor and Empress who had a difficult time controlling their chaotic subjects. The fairies, it seems, care neither for work nor seriousness. Although curious and bright, because of their undisciplined nature, they never formulated a system of law or any sort of stable government. The Great Magician of the Fairies, through his travels, met Sichen, the Wizard of the Gnomes. From Sichen, he learned about the Tarot. He proposed to that the fairies create their own Tarot as a way of instilling structure and wisdom into the chaotic world of the fairies. He reasoned that this method would work as no other had because the Tarot would speak to the fairies' natural curiosity and love of beautiful things. Apparently the plan worked. Although designed for fairies, this deck can benefit humans as well. Through the cards and the text, we can learn fairy lore as well as important life lessons.

The Fey Tarot is the astonishing result of the collaboration of Riccardo Minetti and Mara Aghem. As an artist of great skill and spiritual insight, Mara's cards present traditional Tarot meanings blended with unique vision. Riccardo's text illuminates both the wisdom of the Tarot and the mythology of fairy traditions. In addition, he allows us a rare look at the exciting creative journey he and Mara shared in the creation of this deck. So many of the cards in this deck deserve to be showcased. Space does not allow that, so I selected two. Many of my co-workers and I have a shared habit.

Whenever we first handle a new deck, there are certain cards we look at immediately before we look at any others. A common one is Death. When I first saw The Fey Tarot, Death was among the first I loved. Wit, beauty, spirituality, intelligence-this deck has it all. Check it out.

The imaginative creators of The Fairy Ring, Anna Franklin and Paul Mason, have numerous devoted fans of their hauntingly beautiful Sacred Circle Tarot.

They have teamed up again to give us a delightful set, The Fairy Ring. In these cards, you will find British and Irish fairies of all sorts: beautiful and ugly, good and wicked, helpful and mischievous. They are divided into four suits of thirteen cards each: Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter. In addition, there are eight festival cards: Imbolc, Ostara, Beltane, Midsummer, Lughnasa, Herfest, Samhain, and Yule.

The cards are beautifully done, as is the text. For each card, we learn the story of the featured fairy in detail alongside its divinatory meaning. Also included for each is a meditation for working with that particular fairy-unless, of course, it is not recommended to work with that particular being, such as Boabhain Sith (literally "wicked woman fairy" in Scots), a particularly unpleasant fairy with vampiric tendancies. Anna Franklin's solid research and extensive knowledge of fairy energy coupled with Paul Mason's compelling artwork make for a powerful oracle.