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Breakthrough To Brilliance
illustrator: Eric Hotz Llewellyn Worldwide 2005 ISBN #0-7387-0595-0
suits: Red, Blue, Green, Yellow Trumps:
0 - Freedom The Bright Idea Deck is clearly meant to act as a follow-up to McElroy's previous book, Putting The Tarot To Work (Llewellyn Worldwide, 2004). There is a slight tilt with this deck and book, however, as the word Tarot is never mentioned - anywhere. Not in the book, not in the publicity (it is being marketed under the category of Self-help/ Business). It appears that it is being marketed under a veil, as it were. Businesses, groups and individuals who might balk at using the Tarot will jump at using "cards, just cards" for creative brainstorming. However, the deck is broken down into twenty-two trumps and four suits, with four approach cards entitled "Learning, Doing, Feeling, and Controlling" in each suit. There is also a plethora of astrological symbols hidden in relatively plain sight on each of the cards, as well as a fair amount of occult symbology, such as the red circle, yellow diamond, and crescent moon on the street sign in the Yellow Two (Debate), the wings on the heels of the figure in Trump 1 (Capability), the green snake in Trump XI (Boldness), the dove and crescent moon in the Red Nine (Release), the seven birds in the sky in Trump VIII (Balance) and the Blue Four (Restlessness), and the veritable alchemical quilt in Trump XIV (Synthesis). The 202 page book accompanying the deck is truly full of bright ideas. The deck is being promoted as a powerful idea processor and brainstorming tool, leading to a quicker turn-around time in solving problems, ease of generating new ideas and effectively thinking outside of the box. McElroy lists some of the ways in which this deck can be used: generating ideas in planning sessions; mapping out storylines, character motivation, plot twists and writer's block; boosting creativity for marketing departments and advertising agencies; corporate trainers and presenters can use this deck for ice-breakers, attention getting games and memory aids; and anyone can apply this deck for personal use (exploring options, problem solving, building action plans). It is suggested that each card can be used in several ways: as an approach to problem solving; an action to be taken; a person (or type of person); a moment or situation from everyday life; information about an issue or situation; a factor that influences, creates, perpetuates, or could resolve your situation. The deck is broken down into two types of cards: trumps and suits. The twenty-two trumps carry more weight, representing methods, motivations and influences that deserve special attention. The four suits are broken down as follows: Red (actions, desires, goals and intentions); Blue (emotions, feelings, perceptions, intuitions, reactions, and prejudices); Yellow (decision making, logic, mathematics, strategies, responses, judgment, and reasoning); Green (material resources, the five senses, physical objects, and the environment). The numbers of each suit are defined as follows: (1) Opportunity; (2) Duality; (3) Productivity; (4) Stability; (5) Instability; (6) Flexibility; (7) Psychology; (8) Activity; (9) Totality; (10) Finality. McElroy lists the following steps in preparing to use the cards: (1) Prepare Yourself; (2) Phrase Your Question; (3)Select A Spread; (4) Shuffle the Cards; (5) Deal the Cards; (6) Make Some Meanings; (7) Plan Some Action. There are several spreads listed in the book: a five card Four Dimensions spread; and a three card Past/Present/Future spread. McElroy also describes laying out lines of cards for working with options (Pro and Con spread), and for working with individuals. Each card is presented with its Title; Associations (Encourages and Cautions Against); Exploration (a listing of five questions to ask about the card); and Commentary (a short paragraph about how the author sees the card). There are no scans used in the book. The book and deck come in a very bright yellow box that opens from the side. My only complaint here is that the box is of very light construction. Inside are the book and deck (but no bag to place the deck in once opened).
The face of the cards shows a 1/4" colored border (Purple for the Trumps, and Red, Blue, Yellow or Green for the suits). For the Trumps, across the bottom of the card is listed the number and title. For the suits, across the bottom of the card is listed the card number and a keyword. The keywords are written in a lighter version of the trump or suit color, so that they are not distracting, but in reality - this doesn't work, except for the Yellow suit. The artwork is that of line drawings, with nice use of color. However, the color is both muted and flat. This type of deck might have been better presented with a more vibrant, intense color scheme.
The concept behind this deck and book, the organization and writing, as well as the illustrations are all top notch. It is easy to use, fun to use, and will certainly fill its intended purpose. My one problem here is that the format of the Tarot has been taken in blanket form and attempted to be placed into a more general "creativity" format. Prospective purchasers of this book need to be aware of this. If your purpose in working with these cards is to work with/expand your own creative nature, then they will work very nicely. If you attempt to work with them from a Tarot standpoint - I don't think they will work as well.
Bonnie Cehovet
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Graphics by Art for the web |
The cards are approximately 3" by 4 1/2", of good quality, glossy cardstock. The back of the cards show a hand holding a glowing lightbulb, over a multi-color background. The graphic is used facing each direction, so that it would be impossible to determine if the cards had been drawn in the upright or reversed position. There are two extra cards with the deck: one that lists the number associations, and one that lists the trump and suit associations.
The Blue 1 carries the keyword Motivation. Here we see a gentleman, dressed in a suit, facing a table with a goldfish bowl sitting on it (and a goldfish swimming in it). He has a large gold cup in his left hand, and a folded whip in his right hand. On the wall behind him is a gold picture with the numbers 69, and an astrological glyph. One of the questions that can be asked here is: "What motivates you more, the promise of the gold cup or the whip?"
Trump 0 is entitled Freedom. At the top of the card, we see a black spiral on a yellow background. Following this are curved stripes in red, yellow, green, blue and purple. Resting on the blue stripe is a white egg. On the yellow stripe we see a brown dog, with an open book floating in the air above him. In the center of the card is a businessman dressed in a black suit. In his left hand he carries a stick with a Joker's head on it, and in his right hand he carries an hourglass. 
Green 1 carries the keyword Receiving. We see a young lady, wearing a red dress and shoes, seated on a large stone. In her lap she holds an elegantly wrapped green box that she has just opened. She is seated in the middle of the desert, with green cacti in the background. Note the visible split in the ground, with the green plant growing from it. This is another card that shows multiple astrological glyphs. The commentary for this card concerns whether we are ready to make the most of what comes to us each day. 
Trump II is entitled Intuition. It features a female, dressed in a green dress, wearing green shoes and hovering over an expanse of water. She hold both arms over her head. In her left hand she holds a book, in her right hand she holds a lit candle. In the background we see a crescent moon. The commentary revolves around tapping into our feelings and allowing them to carry us through the desert to the happy oasis.
The Red 10 carries the keyword exhaustion. Here we see a male figure, seated at a table. His jacked it off, his sleeves are rolled up, and his torso (but not his arms) are in chains. The table is filled with stacks of paperwork, and there is a clock on the wall behind him. The look on his face is one of resignation. The commentary here deals with what pointless tasks are draining our energy.