- In Between Tarot Deck and Guidebook Kit
- Janine Worthington -Author, Franco Rivolli -Illustrator
- Published by Lo Scarabeo 2019
- RRP UK £27.95/ US $35.99 (varies)
- ISBN–13: 978-0738763521
- Reviewed by Jason C Dean
I met Janine Worthington, the author, by chance. It was at the end of 2022, and I was undergoing a Tarot Diploma through Tarot Professionals. The lessons were all recorded and dated from 2012. Janine Worthington was the instructor. Janine was talking about how she was creating a new deck called the In Between Tarot. That earlier, Major Arcana only deck, was created and self-published by Janine and lovingly illustrated by her Dad, David Worthington. This review is about the complete 78-card In Between Tarot Deck and Guidebook set, created a few years later and published by Lo Scarabeo, 2019.
Fast forward to 2022. I have recently joined the Tarot Association of the British and International members (TABI), of which Janine is the current Chair. I soon realised that the TABI Chair and my Tarot instructor from 2012 are the same person, strangely coexisting in my 2012/22 time-space bubble.
I had purchased the In Between Tarot before I connected the dots between the two Janines and was slowly becoming familiar with the deck. The first thing you notice is the outstanding art depicted by Franco Rivolli on the cover of the box, showing the giant chasm-like glowing portal between the Emperor and The Heirophant from the IV card The Emperor. The box set has a magnetic clasp and opens to show a magnificent 160-page guidebook. The companion book is outstanding not only in the presentation of full-colour plates of every card in this 78-card deck. But it also contains Janine’s easy-to-understand concept of the In-Between Tarot and how that facilitates you reading in the spiritual space between the arcana of the Tarot Cards.
To describe the deck, I should first say that this is a Tarot deck with augmented capacity. It is not an RWS clone. However, it can be read like a standard deck, and that is what makes it so accessible as a system of divination and transformational self-insight. Then, as you become familiar with suits, themes and stories depicted in the images and the way they link the cards of a traditional-styled deck, you begin to realise this deck coaxes you into an expansive multi-dimensional reading practice.
As you absorb words in the companion book, it becomes apparent that Janine’s concept comes from a completely realised space of knowledge, where the universal intellect has melded with the aligned consciousness of integrated being, and the result is this beautiful expansive application of self actualized intelligence to assist us to navigate the psycho/spiritual real world we exist in. So, plug in and buckle up, dear Tarot explorer, as this is a great ride!
Janine gently takes us through the concept and genesis of the book from Kirchner’s Knots, the Bridge between Worlds, Sliding Doors, and Katz’s Next Step Tarot teaching practice to explain the vivid but dream-like, solid base of the In Between system of reading. Gently weaving together cyclical storylines, classical elements, numerology, and associated simple semiotic symbology and signals, to beautifully and gradually immerse us into the In Between realm.
Reading with the In Between deck is a really amazing experience, I feel. Not only did I have fun playing, exploring, and reading for myself using Janine’s organically created spreads. I also recently did over 22 real-world readings for clients in order to get a comprehensive feel for this deck. The stories and the threads are educational and entertaining in their universal applicability. Whether you are following the thread of the Picts, fighting the Romans in the Swords, Suffragettes struggle in Coins, Water and it’s influence on life in the developing world with Cups, or the experience of the fostering spiritual Fire within our souls of Wands … you will glean intuitively a larger means to answer the client’s question. This fluid and expansive mechanism, I feel, facilitates a better storytelling narrative and is useful in answering my querent’s questions. The lengthy and purposeful glowing feedback I received from clients from my readings with the In Between is experiential proof of its real-world viability.
So, do yourself a favour. If you want a deck that expands your reading practice, is naturally integrated knowledge-based, spiritually inspired creation and a stunningly visual tarot deck, then this is the deck for you! It truly is an amazing experience and will expand your Tarot reading experience and divinatory perception of the spiritual realm we all exist within. I promise you will not be disappointed with your purchase and Tarot experience!
*Also available on the TABI Blog is the review of Oracle Deck of Bridges by Janine Worthington a thematically connected oracle deck to the In Between Tarot.
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