The Shapeshifter Tarot is the collaboration of D.J. Conway, Sirona Knight and Lisa Hunt. Conway and Hunt also produced the Celtic Dragon Tarot. Conway and Knight are the authors; Lisa Hunt is the artist for this deck. Conway is the author of a dozen or so books on Magick, Dragons, Goddess and Celtic & Norse Magick and Mythology.

Shapeshifter is a nontraditional deck. Instead of the usual 78 cards, this deck contains 81cards, this number chosen to honour the 81 knights of the Nine Rings of the Cordemanons of the Gwyddonic Druid Tradition. The additional 3 cards are all Majors: XXI. The Double, XXII. The Journey and XXIII. The Dreamer 23. The World/Universe card then becomes XXIV. Oneness. The Double represents the creation of an energetic Double in Gwyddonic tradition; The Journey symbolises the circularity of lifetimes; The Dreamer represents conscious and lucid dreaming (a natural shapeshifting experience).

The Shapeshifter Tarot by its very nature (Shamanic Journeying) is rife with animal, plant, mineral inclusions. Each card is a wealth of Spiritual information; one could truly study a card and meditate on it for hours without ever exhausting it! Like the Sacred Circle, the written material for each card is extremely inclusive and well-written. Each symbol (animal, plant, mineral, human) is clearly explained. Though I don’t always agree with the explanation of the symbols, it is offered and is therefore food for thought and meditation.

Elements in the Shapeshifter Tarot are:

Cups = Water
Pentacles = Earth
Swords = Fire
Wands = Air
(This same pattern holds in the Celtic Dragon Tarot as well.)

This rendering makes far more sense to me; as Swords are tempered in Fire, as is each individual in the Crucible that is life and Wands to me just seem to represent Air. (I think of Wands as Arrows, as some of the more Celtic-oriented decks do; of Pentacles as stones; Cups as Cauldrons.)

Suits run from Ace through Goddess. Aces through tens are as usual. However, Pages, Knights, Queens and Kings are replaced as:

Seeker = Page (female in the Suits of Wands and Cups; male in the Suits of Pentacles and Swords)
Warrior = Knight (male in Wands and Swords; female in Cups and Pentacles)
God = Queen (now male in all four suits)
Goddess = King (now female in all four suits)

I am not sure if this is intended to be a feminist rendering or rather a part of the tradition which Ms Knight follows (it is she who is a practitioner of the Gwyddonic Druidic Path and provides the material accordingly).

Each card is labeled according to its element: Earth, Water, Fire, Air. For example, the King of Cups becomes The God of Water; the Knight of Wands is Warrior of Air; Ace of Cups (my all time favourite!) is 1 Water, The Well. Each card also uses the Label as its Keyword: Success, Darkness, Rejection, Shapeshifter, Mother, Swiftness, Memories, Desire, for example.

The accompanying book provides a comparison of the Major and Minor Arcana of the Shapeshifter Tarot to traditional card renderings and a guide to the Keywords. In addition, Conway and Knight offer several new spreads designed to be utilised with the Shapeshifter Tarot specifically:

Standing Stones Spread
Finding Animal Helpers Spread
Creating a Change Spread
The Nine Rings Spread
Polarity Spread

Standing Stones Spread utilises 11 cards divided into Youth, Prime years, elder years and the Four Elements.

Finding Animal Helpers is a 10 card spread giving the primary and secondary helpers in the aspects of healing, material, protection, talents and spiritual. This is an excellent spread and can be found online at Llewllyn’s Web Tarot, where it can be used with the Shapeshifter Tarot.

Creating a Change Spread is excellent for areas of ambiguity or ‘stuckness’. It’s a 6 card spread showing present situation, foundation, physical action, attitude adjustment, what cannot be changed and situation post-change.

The Nine Rings Spread is based on a Celtic Gwyddonic Myth and can be used with a 9 card draw. Or, for the adventurous, the entire deck of 81 cards in 9 rings of 9 each.

Polarity Spread has no formal structure. Instead, the Seeker selects the 9 cards she or he likes most, placed in order beginning with the favourite of the 9; and the 9 most disliked, placed in order beginning with the least appealing. Asking one question on a currently pressing issue, the Seeker begins with the disliked cards, which represents her or his worst fears concerning the matter (worst-case scenarios). Work through the emotions inspired by each of these; then walk around, breathe deeply, cleanse oneself of these negative emotions and fears. Next, the favorite or well liked cards represent the greatest loves regarding the query, and are used to work through the emotions they inspire to strengthen one's positive actions toward the matter.