"The Living Earth Tarot" is one such tarot deck that sees the light because its creator held it very close to heart. It is not - like so many modern packs - a purely commercial enterprise, but rather a deck that needed to be made, because it is part of its creator's life.

The Living Earth Tarot has the same color as its name implies. The monochrome color is dusty-brown like barren earth. I have heard that Loren, who made the deck, actually wanted a colored deck, but could not raise enough money for its production. But a colored Living Earth Deck would have been quite a different thing.

It is a full 78 card deck. The four suits are Feathers, Waves, Stones and Flames, representing the four elements: air, water, earth and fire. The illustrations show respectively winged creatures, fish and sea mammals, furry animals and images from the earth, like trees and mountains. The court cards are Child, Youth, Adult and Elder. They do not show human characters but the symbols of the particular suit.

The Major arcana is not numbered, and only a few of the characters are directly comparable to the traditional tarot deck: the Magician, the Hermit, the Judge. Otherwise we find a number of archetypal figures: the protector, the gardener, the warrior, the harper, the nurturer, the midwife, the rememberer, the journeyer, the guide, the philosopher, the artist, the learner, the healer the merchant, the dancer, the builder, the shaman, the teacher and the dreamer.

Despite it's simple design and rather primitive production (there had been trouble with the rounding of the corners), the Living Earth Tarot deck has a certain charm that secures it from being totally overshadowed by the many commercial products.