Fugdale’s Funhouse

Navigators Tarot of the Mystic Sea

Theme

Based on traditions of the Golden Dawn and the Rider-Waite deck, the Navigators deck utilizes some familiar imagery and symbolism, but provides many new aspects uncommon to similar decks. It bases its structure on the Tree of Life (illustrated on the back of the deck). Using the 10 spheres and 22 connecting paths, the deck utilizes 32 Paths of Wisdom by which a person can come to understand themselves.

The deck places the pip cards in reverse order, meaning the tens are considered the lowest cards, rising up the sequence to the powerful Aces. Although you won’t really be able to tell a difference in how the cards are numbered.

The deck is designed to help teach a meditative path to self-knowledge. The suits represent the four different aspects of the psyche: Pentacles represent the five senses and their material environment; Swords represent the intellect and the ability of the rational mind to analyze situations; Cups, as usual, represent emotions which flow beneath rationalization and the Wands represent intuition and visionary power.

Imagery and Symbolism

The imagery used throughout the deck is bright and colorful, utilizing human figures on every card. Each card has numerous symbols and rich detail. The artwork has the feel of contruction paper cut-outs layered on top of each other, although the deck was actually created through painting. The human figures are tall, slender and simplified, looking very much like Egyptian hieroglyphics. Most of them have neutral expressions on their faces, and project their emotions and situations through their surroundings and their body positions.

The backgrounds on the cards consist of solid colors without gradients and use of rich, saturated rainbow colors. Much of the symbolism used throughout the deck appears very tiny. You may have to examine the cards closely to discover objects and symbols which are easy to overlook at first glance. The minor arcana cards all include appropriate depictions of pentacles, wands, swords and cups in the artwork.

Most of the imagery seems to come from a timeless era, ancient in feeling, but you will find some modern imagery, such as the computer used in the three of pentacles (see image below). This combination of influences throughout history make for a very unique and interesting design.

The Cards

The back design (see above) is a depiction of the Cabalistic Tree of Life. The ten cards of the minor arcana represent the 10 circles on the tree and the 22 cards of the major arcana represent the 22 paths connecting the circles.

The cards measure 2.5″ x 4.25″. They are printed on very durable semi-glossy card stock and each card has rounded corners. The titles of each card lie in the white area below each image, with a relevant key word centered at the top of each card. The Major Arcana cards do not have any numbering on them. This is because the designers believe the traditional order of the Major Arcana doesn’t fit the orders indicated by the paths of the tree of life. Therefore, they removed the numbers so that the deck could be interpreted using both the traditional order and the new order.

Many of the Major Arcana cards have new names (see complete list below).

Booklet Descriptions

The 40-page booklet that accompanies the deck provides useful interpretations of each card. It doesn’t provide the usual list of short words and phrases. Instead it tells you (in the second person) what you might experience, feel or understand about the individual cards.

Here is an excerpt for the Three of Pentacles (pictured above):

Three of Pentacles Foundation
Old wisdom is being transformed and modernized. Look ahead to see what is happening in the world around you and focus your own vision on new endeavors and on updating your backlog of infomation. Your disposition will change if you discard old habits.

As you can see, the description doesn’t necessarily correlate to the imagery in the card and the bookelt doesn’t provide any descriptions of the artwork. So I recommend that users utilize the booklet only for getting acquainted with the cards and develop their own interpretations using the actual symbolism.

The booklet also includes a new spread called the 12-card Past-Present-Future Spread called the Web Spread.

Recommendation

I recommend this deck for people who like bright colors and rich symbolism. If you enjoy interpretations based on Cabala and the Tree of Life, this deck will certainly appeal to you. It may also appeal to those who want an alternative to a Crowley Thoth Deck. It may be a little too non-tranditional for some beginners to learn from. I found doing readings with this deck to be a little hit and miss. I tend to get decent readings, but the interpretations and artwork may not always provide enough information to tie all the cards in to a cohesive understanding.

Deck Information

• Size of Cards: 2.5″ x 4.25″
• Number of Cards: 78 Major: 22 Minor: 54
• Major Arcana Titles: Fool, Magian, Arch Priestess, Empress, Emperor, Hierophant, Lovers, Chariot, Strength, Hermit, Fortune, Destiny, Suspension, Death, Art, Devil, Tower, Star, Moon, Sun, Aeon, Universe
• Suits: Wands, Cups, Swords, Pentacles
• Court Cards: Page, Knight, Queen, King
• Included with Deck: Booklet with descriptive interpretations
• Appeals to: Readers who enjoy exploring the Tree of Life, Cabala or who like vivid colors and rich symbolism
• Deck Distributor: U.S. Games