The New Liminal Tarot by Penelope Cline

[Nemia]

I have waited for this deck longer than for any other, but it was worth the wait - and more.

Juggling the pictures is always tricky, that's why I'll publish my review in chapters.

The deck is print-on-demand, printed by MakePlayingCards, and the quality is very good. I'm not one to rhapsodize about buttery cardstock with a nutty flavour and others might say that the Pagan Otherworlds has better card quality - but I'm not too keen on linen and so I'm glad that this deck is smooth. The white is bright but not to bright, the cards don't stick to each other, they're not glossy or soft or stiff. They're just as cards should be. Maybe I'd prefer a bit more "papery" feel to the fingers but I'm really scraping the barrel here. The cards feel sturdy, are easy to shuffle and beautiful. The white, smooth material makes the colours pop, even in pale cards.

The box itself is white, and the two additional cards can be used to stick them on the box. That would be perfect, and I'll do it. It's a great idea.

Confession time here: I have a wide tolerance scale for cardstock, and I'm totally underwhelmed by fancy boxes. I don't feel publishers have to invest so much in a fancy, too-large box. I prefer a nice simple box. This deck's box is on the simple side and that's great for me. I feel that my money went into the cards and not the box. I'm certain the original limited edition was printed on exquisite stock and packed gorgeously - but I'd never be able to afford it. I think it was a wise decision to make the deck more accessible to people like me (especially in Corona times!), and I'm totally happy with it. Yes I feel it's a plus.

There is another difference to the earlier independent edition, it seems, and that's the placement of the painting on the card, and the less elaborate inscription. An example I found on the Internet:

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You can see the lovely borders that frame the images perfectly.

For the new version, Pen added strips on the upper and lower side of the cards that echo the image within. Looking at the cards, I think in most cases, they're not a continuation of the card image but just a repetition of its upper part. In others, like the Fool, it feels as though a white strip was set upon the image.

I'm not certain how I feel about that. Oh, I forgot to take a picture of the cardbacks, but the two white stripes are there, too. I hope the artist will forgive me if i ever decide to trim these stripes off. It would throw the lower part of the card off balance. I haven't decided yet. For now, the cards remain the way they are. The white borders are actually nice next to the gentle water colours. And there is something unique, airy, light-footed about these stripes. You'll see some of them in the next part of this review!

[Nemia]

The majors set the New Liminal Tarot in the Thoth tradition, but it's an independent deck, not a "clone".

The Fool and Magician remind me of Thoth but are much more real, active and three dimensional. Frieda Harris used projective geometry to design her cards. They're dense with symbols, and the figures seem to exist in an abstract, allegorical, crystallized space. Pen's figures are three dimensional and warm, they move, they breathe, they speak to us. I can imagine that readers fascinated by Thoth but also overwhelmed by it can work very well with the New Liminal.

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Thoth's Fool is nearly confrontational - Pen's is full of energy.

One of the many things I like about Pen's art is that she constantly moves her point of view. She's never just simply eye-to-eye with her painted subject. She looks from below and above. The artist's point of view is our own - that's the power a painter has (and a sculptor hasn't): to make the observer see exactly from the angle she chooses.

Pen never simply copies Harris' composition. Her Hierophant is the incarnation of old, grown, powerful wisdom - grown from the EARTH, the Hierophant's element. (Oh how I wish I had the book! to see what Pen writes about this wonderful old tree!). Many decks portray the Hierophant as authoritarian, cold, manipulative figure - he and the Emperor don't fit into our postmodern worldview. We reject the idea of ONE fountain of wisdom. But this Hierophant can show us where real wisdom can come from.

The Lovers are beautiful, too. The difference between the genders is done gently, and it's not their main difference. One partner comes from the sea, the other from the air. I put on extra-strong glasses and maybe I'm wrong, the colours are so pale it's difficult to see - but one seems to have a kind of fishtail, the other wings, but maybe they both have wings? I can't decide but I love the idea

Fortuna dancing on her wheel is a wonderful innovation. This wheel has to move, and there are Wheel of Fortune cards that are quite static (with all respect to Colman-Smith - her wheel doesn't move at all, how could we see the symbols otherwise?). This wheel moves before our eyes. there's exuberance and joy in this picture, but also danger.

Instead of the World, we have here Anima Mundi, the Weltgeist, the Soul of the World. Above the planet Earth, our blue marble, a mandorla opens, and a moon-white dragon dances. There are so many dragons in this deck, fiery and watery and airy ones - beautiful.


In the Inner Child Cards, the World looks like this:

inner child cards earth child.jpg (45.07 KiB) Viewed 1250 times

and the Guardian of Crystals (Queen of Pentacles) like this:

inner child guardian of crystals.jpg (111.34 KiB) Viewed 1250 times

It's Gaia in the modern sense, the belief that the world is a living, breating organism. And it's a moon white dragon of wisdom.


Can you see how beautiful the New Liminal is, how innovative and intelligent, and how it makes the brain work? I could have talked about each and every card here.

I'll close this chapter, I'm having Internet connection problems and uploading the pictures is difficult enough.

[Nemia]

If the majors show a freely conceived Thoth influence, the minors refer sometimes to the RWS traditions - or simply go to the core meanings in a unique manner.

In the Five of Wands, the playful-not-so-playful fighting is shown through colourful clothing while a group of children jumps over a fire. This seems to be the precise moment when a harmless tiff or measuring of powers turns into an unpleasant fight.

The Six of Wands draws an interesting parallel between Tif'eret (the sixth sephirah on the Tree of Life, the one where all the Sixes belong), a Jesus-like figure (Tif'eret is the Son) and the RWS core meaning of victory. This is a peaceful victory, one achieved through love. (I really have no idea whether I'm spouting nonsense but hey, I don't have the book so I have to make sense of the images I see!) The warm colours that remind me of the Sannyasin monks in our city when I was young, the halos and smiles are wonderful. Lover conquers all.

Seven of Wands - perfectly caught, watchful, competent, no aggressive but ready to defend himself.

One of cleverest Eight of Wands cards I've seen. So dynamic, but not in a rush. Look at those oriental little shoes - and the interplay between the wands and the stripes. She's one with her movement.


Look how in both cards, Pen depicts movement. It's not easy to create the illusion of movement in what is a static picture. You can see the wands flying through space, there is so much movement in this deck, so much life.

Everybody here knows how much I love the Thoth - but looking at this deck I notice all of a sudden how static the minors are, and how much these Wands are in need of movement.

The Cups are of course a different story - here, the movement is much more gentle. All the Aces in this deck are quite pale - they're foreshadowing what might, will happen. Like a visualisation. I see the Aces as seeds, as potential - and these Aces seem to tell me that in order to succeed, I have to keep the desired outcome before my eyes. No', it's not reality yet, but it's in my reach.

Apart from this association, this card is heartbreakingly beautiful. I'd get a tattoo like that, it's simply so beautiful. In many decks, the Ace of cups is an aesthetic high point - but look at this, have you ever seen a lovelier Ace of Cups?

The children playing at the beach in the Six of Cups - the little girl floating on the surface of her dreams - wonderful cards. Easy to understand if you know the RWS but by no means rehashing Colman-Smith's visual formulae.

We all know the Three and Four of Swords, don't we? Now look what Pen did with the Three. There's a storm going on, the roses are whirling through the air, losing their leafs. The little girl is flying, too. She hugs her heart-shaped, bleeding cushion with its three swords. At the center of the storm, there is peace, there are pretty clouds, there is hope.

I'd call this card "embrace the pain". You're getting through this storm. And don't tear out the Swords - they're precious, too.


I could go through this deck and show each card! Most of the Swords cards feature a disregard of the law of gravity that is inspiring and adds so much depth to this suit.

In the 6 and 7, the persons float in the air. Very strong atmosphere!


In the Four of Swords, a girl sleeps on a cloud, high above the city where other people live, where maybe people can't understand what she wants, dreams, desires. The four swords look like a compass rose but she's not looking. She's taking her time to rest, to find herself. Will she return to the normal world? She will - but for now, she needs the place of quiet and detachment where others can't reach her.

In both cards, Pen uses the watercolours to emphasize the airy, floaty feeling of this suit. Her cloud shapes are much softer than Harris' which look like propellors, have harsh corners. this is a very encouraging deck, no sugarcoating at all - but looking for the positive angle where we need to find it.

The Queen of Swords is the most difficult to depict. We have feminine stereotypes in our patriarch culture for the Queen of Cups (the gentle, intuitive, emotional beauty) and the Queen of Disks (Earth mother feeding us). Even the more extrovert Queen of Wands can be put into a nice, safe niche - the sexy, active, fiery bundle of energy, the wild cat. But the Queen of Swords? Widow, bitter, too clever for her own good, tearing off men's masks - what a frightening figure!

Some books still advise you to read two or three queens in a spread as bad omen - gossip! help! women rotting together discovering their power!

This Queen of Swords with ther throne of books and her white mane is simply breathtaking, one of the best of her kind. The owl, the swords, the books, the wind and clouds around her - that's a Queen of Swords neither feared nor alienated for her wisdom.

The suit of Disks is interesting, too. Five of Disks - mother and child alone in the freezing cold, the train going off without them. Around them a halo-bubble of love and care. Six of Disks - a fair exchange, beautiful music in exchange for money. The musician is proud, the donor looks humble. What a lovely idea.

I'm not through yet but I'm still suffering from post-zoster brain fog and on painkillers so bear with me while I build this review slowly-slowly!

[Nemia]

Until now, I have mentioned the artistic perfection, the intelligent use of water colour, the creative interpreation of core card meanings - but there is much more. There are many cards in this deck that interact and help develop immediately a narrative when they come up together. Some examples.

Adjustment and the Sun - look at the two children. Don't they look like the same children at different stages of development? Adjustment is much warmer than in other decks (I'll show examples in the next chapter). Raised with fairness, balance and warmth, they are playful and curious. They hold hands in both cards. The ball Adjustment balances on looks like the Sun.

Six of Swords - Three of Wands, both interpreted creatively and in a totally new way. And don't they look like the same scene, seen from different positions? One warm, controlled, connected to the ground, in quiet expectation, with a low horizon. The other cool, floating, aware of dangers and sea monsters, in hm, here I don't have the English word in what kind of expectation! Not really anxious - maybe between resignation and suspense?

I could use these cards in order to explain the difference between frog perspective (seen from beneath, low horizon, lots of sky visible) and bird perspective (seen from above, high or invisible horizon, little or no sky visible), and maybe I shall do so.

Five of Cups and Eight of Cups - two sombre cards. Don't they look like two stages in one story? In the Five, there is hope left, we only have to discover it. In the Eight, all hope is gone, and all we can do is leave the situation behind us.


there are more examples, and I'm sure I didn't even start to scratch the surface. this is a rich deck with lots of inner connections. I didn't read with it yet but I'm sure it's easy. I simply jumps from the cards - stories, associations, scenes.

[Nemia]

In the last part of this review, I want to compare cards from the New Liminal Tarot to other decks that try to do something similar.

To the left, the Lo Scarabeo flagsphip deck that is supposed to combine TdM, RWS and Thoth iconography. Unfortunately, the deck was painted by a comic artist who is technically very competent with her water colours but can't imagine feminine figures in any other way but full-busted, wet-lipped and sexy. The deck is interesting but the Empress shows how this artistic approach falls flat. Well, at least for me.

To the right, the Zillich - another water colour deck, very beautiful, very simple and harmonious. Here, the Empress is no sexy doll, she's more of a symbol than a person. In the New Liminal, the Empress looks a bit like a Regency heroine in her Empire dress. I also love the dragon. This Empress is an archetype, a symbol and thus universal - but she's also a personality with a history.

The Hermit, oh I could have taken so many examples to compare! Here, we have the Fountain Tarot Hermit to the left and Pen's Hermit to the right. In the Fountain Tarot, the Hermit is walking away from us in the snow, in a new path that he creates right now. His light shines away from us.

the New Liminal Hermit hovers above us but his light includes us. He is like a human lighthouse (I have to think of the Pharos Tarot here, another deck I simply love, how lucky am I????).

This Hermit also reminds me, and that's simply my personal association and I'm sure Pen has never heard of him, of Herr Tur Tur,

herr tur tur.jpg (17.04 KiB) Viewed 1243 times

the seeming giant in a much beloved children's book (Michael Ende, Jim Button and Luke the Engine Driver). A seeming giant seems gigantic from afar but when you stand closer to him, he's of normal human size.

Justice and Adjustment - from the Cosmic Tarot by Norbert Lösche, the New Liminal and the Fountain Tarot.

In the Cosmic, archetypes are represented by Hollywood stars from the Golden Era - I love this deck and I think this is very fitting. This is not the place to discuss the inspiration for this image - it is striking, no doubt, but also remote. The Fountain Justice is even more remote and abstract - she is really the principle of Justice. Pen's Adjustment, as mentioned earlier, fills the abstract value of Justice with human kindness and mercy - what the Romans called Caritas.

Now it's typical that Crowley thought of Justitia, the Roman allegory/Goddess of Justice, of Maat, her Egyptian equivalent - but he didn't think of Caritas, the personification of merciful love. I think this Adjustment card is simply beautiful - and to a person struggling to fulfill all her/his commitment, this card may mean a lot, on a personal level that other Justice cards don't reach.

I have to make a break now, there are still some card groups I'd like to introduce here.

The Five of Wands, called Strife in the Thoth. Lo Scarabeo combines the Thoth abstract composition of five Wands, Zillich interprets Strife from the perspective of the victim. In the New Liminal, you get a feeling of aggression somewhere between the playful and the threatening, as mentioned above - very well done. The picture is busy and confusing - actually, you have to decide for each and every person in the picture whether he's serious or just a bit over-eager. Exactly what a Five of Wands situation feels like when you don't really know how to react, not over-react.

The Seven of Wands - in the Fountain and Cosmos Tarot, they are quite similar to the New Liminal Tarot. The Fountain man jumps from steep stairs to overcome the Wands that seem to attack him - the Cosmic man reminds me of the scene in Carlos Saura's Carmen when the male dancers threaten each other with canes. The Fountain man has little control over what will happen when he jumps - the Cosmic man is in full control of his dance steps and will deal with the threats beautifully. We're not really afraid for him.

Pen's fighter looks concentrated. The Wands don't threaten him, they're his defense reserve. He is really preparing for a long battle, and he looks like a martial artist.

I love the Cosmic and appreciate the Fountain but there is no doubt that the New Liminal brings something new and very human to this card.

I wrote about the Queen of Swords already on her own, but I want to show her sisters from other decks. The Cosmic has a wonderful choice for the Queen of Swords - Ingrid Bergman who lived her life authentically, even when the media were ready to crucify her for it. Her favorite role was Joan of Arc - and Joan's symbol was the crowned sword. Great choice. The Lovers couple in the background shows that this queen has left dreams of love and romance behind her. She is alone and protects herself with the sword of honesty and independence. The white flowers and dove indicate that she prefers to solve problems not by the sword but peacefully. But she has her sword.

(Many years after the Cosmic was painted, Isabella Rossellini, Ingrid's look-alike daughter, played Empress Josehpine and wore a crown...would have been a wonderful Queen of Swords, too, although Josephine.... off my hobby-horse NOW!)

The Fountain queen also protects herself. Angular shapes seperate her from the viewer, and she crosses her sword over her body. A double barrier.

Now look at the New Liminal queen. The only thing that separates her from us is the owl, and it's a symbol of wisdom, not a potential weapon. Her sword points to the (cloudy) ground. It doesn't hide her and it doesn't threaten us. She is approachable and kind. Yes, it's possible to be an intelligent, articulate woman without frightening everybody off. Heart and head, emotion and intellect, go together in this card, this queen and this deck, too.


I hope my examples gave you an impression of the deck. Now I want to pull it all together. It's called New Liminal and the images are identical to the Liminal - it's a deck on the brink, on the threshold.

Between the Worlds
There is another,
Neither this nor that,
Here nor there.

One, yet strangely two,
A world perhaps
Of dreams.

This is the threshold...

This poem is printed beautifully on one of the extra cards (glued already to the box which makes the box really beautiful). One of the reasons why tarot is so fascinating is probably the promise of entering this dreamworld, this world of memories and potential, that seems to be folded and tucked away somewhere within us, an in-between world where nothing is defined, controlled or determined. The New Liminal invites us to enter the hidden world - and find our way back into our everyday world, too. It's a guide over the threshold.

Highly recommended.

[Pen]

Goodness, Nemia, I'm bowled over by your amazing review - and you're not even finished! I can answer the questions you raise in each of your posts, but I'll let you complete your review first so as not to disrupt the flow. So very many thanks - you're a star.

[Nemia]

Oh no, I hope I didn't write nonsense or over-interpret your cards! I finished the review now. I don't know whether anyone else wants to read long reviews - I always do before I buy a new deck.

[Pen]

Oh no, I hope I didn't write nonsense or over-interpret your cards! I finished the review now. I don't know whether anyone else wants to read long reviews - I always do before I buy a new deck.

Not at all - the Liminal was created with the idea of personal interpretation with no LBW being necessary, but I wrote the guidebook afterwards in response to a few requests.

Adjustment and the Sun - look at the two children. Don't they look like the same children at different stages of development?

They are my daughter's twins and are also present in The Empress (quite literally), as she was expecting them at the time. Looking after them in the early days was indeed a delicate balancing act with much adjustment needed.

From the guidebook:

THE EMPRESS

The Liminal Empress sits on the edge of a field of grain that is ripe and ready to harvest. She is pregnant with twins, their spirits visible in the two ovoids that surround the Sun and the Moon. In the sky, spirals – one of the oldest of petroglyphs found all over the world – and swirling pathways form and reform in ever-changing, never-ending patterns. The spiral is believed by some to be a symbol of the creation of the Universe, here it is used simply as the symbol of all creation. The fertile apple tree, laden with ripe fruit, reminds us of Eve, the biblical or mitochondrial mother of humankind, depending on your inclination, although here, in this world between worlds, nothing is set in stone. The red poppies symbolize desire, without which fertility would be in suspension.
The Red Dragon, emblem of Wales, has come to life from his place on the shield next to the Empress. He replaces the Imperial Eagle of traditional cards and denotes power and the connection between the pair. The red squirrel, harvester of ripe nuts, is both a reminder of gathering and of wisely husbanding the fruits of the Earth in the earth, an activity that helps acorns and other seeds to sprout and grow, and also of the real-life consort of the real-life Empress whose likeness is pictured here.
The Empress is the archetypal Earth Mother, who indicates a time of abundance, fertility and domestic stability. She sits in contentment in the light of the Sun, and the full daylight Moon on her right indicates the prospect of fulfilled potential.

(Oh how I wish I had the book! to see what Pen writes about this wonderful old tree!).

THE HIEROPHANT

The Hierophant is pictured as an old and wise oak tree. His branches are like arms held up towards the heavens, the hands
open to receive spiritual wisdom and direct it down to Earth through his trunk or body, to be available to any who might come seeking answers. His upper branches, with their resemblance to a horned headdress, hint at the pagan past. He may have stood in this place since before the Druid priests came to cut mistletoe from his branches with a golden sickle, part of a forest network of arboreal souls that access, share and communicate information and wisdom. Behind and below him two saplings grow. These represent the two acolytes seen with the Hierophant in some traditional tarots.

The Hierophant can represent an old and beloved teacher or advisor, someone who can be relied upon to give advice that is both practical yet has bearing on spiritual matters. Perhaps the Querent feels a need to explore or develop this side of their life, but is at a loss to know where to begin.

The Liminal Hierophant may be interpreted as an actual tree, one known to the seeker, or one they have yet to find, and a message to spend time in Nature, quiet, still and alone with this special tree. Over time a connection may be formed and a little of the wisdom of the tree provide unspoken answers to unspoken questions.


Do let me know if you have more questions - I'm always happy to shine a light on my inspiration for artwork - it can be somewhat obscure at times. And thank you again for the lovely review.

[Nemia]

thank you, dear Pen, it's wonderful how you integrated these two children! and thank you for explanations. If you feel I'm totally off, please tell me so.