Overview of a SoulCollage® Deck

Central to the process of SoulCollage® is a deck of cards that is handmade by the owner. Your deck will be different from all other decks because it is uniquely yours. You alone choose the images that comprise the cards in your deck. You alone decide how many cards are in your deck, and what the size and shape of the cards are.

Decisions to Make Before You Begin

Size and Shape

Most SoulCollage® cards are created on precut rectangular pieces of mat board that are 5” x 8”. Mat board can be purchased at art supply stores in large sizes and then cut to the size or shape that you choose. They are also for sale in the KaleidoSoul Shop.

But you might want to use a different size or even a different shape. It’s a good idea to decide this ahead of time so that you can maintain some consistency in your own SoulCollage® deck.

Base

Usually, SoulCollage® cards are created on art quality mat board, but there is no reason why this has to be so for you. You might choose to use heavy cardboard or file folders cut to your unique size and shape.

Some people use watercolor postcards that are 4” x 6” in size.  And there is at least one SoulCollager out there who is creating her deck on used CD’s!

So the sky’s the limit when it comes to your deck.  If you do decide to use mat board, you can always find them on sale in the KaleidoSoul Shop.

Decisions to Make Along The Way

Quantity

Part of the fun of the process of SoulCollage® is its unpredictability. You might decide at the beginning to make only 50 cards, but once you get started, your imagination is hard to slow down and you might end up with many more than that. Seena Frost, the creator of SoulCollage®, is in her 70’s, has been creating her deck for 20 years and still creates a few new cards every now and then!

So don’t put any unnecessary limits on your deck. Be open to possibility and let the creations flow through you!

Card Backings

You will need a different backing for each suit in your deck (see the description of the suits below).

Suggestion: Don’t wait until you know for sure exactly which suit each card belongs to! When you have 10-15 cards and you know the suit categories for at least half of them, that’s a good time to start with the backings.

The backings help when you turn the cards face down for a reading. For example, if the reading you are doing suggests choosing one card from each suit, then you will be able to do this visually and easily because each suit will have its own unique backing.

You can use wrapping paper, handmade paper, construction paper, stickers, rubber stamps, colored copy paper, or you can just paint a different design on the back of each suit category. The possibilities are limitless!

Container

Eventually you will want to have something special to hold your deck. You could use a photo storage box, a special tote bag, a wooden box, a special linen cloth, a Whitman’s chocolates sampler box (The yellow one is just the right size, all you have to do is paint it or collage/decoupage it).  We also have some beautiful handmade fabric Spirit Satchels on sale in the KaleidoSoul Shop.

Once again, the possibilities are endless!

The Four Suits

The basic structure of a SoulCollage® deck includes four primary suits (just as in a deck of playing cards there are aces, spades, hearts and diamonds).

The Committee Suit

Yes to Life

The cards in this suit belong to your own internal voices. This is the psychological dimension of your deck.  Examples: the shy one, the teacher, the inner critic, the caretaker, the judge, the happy child.

Click here for a more detailed, deeper discussion of the Committee Suit.

The Community Suit
My Friend David

Community suit cards are made to honor those beings in your life who are connected to you in supportive, helpful ways. Examples: your spouse/lover, friends, siblings, parents, an author who has touched your life, pets, or ancestors.

Click here for a more detailed, deeper discussion of the Community Suit.

The Companions Suit
7th Chakra Swans

There are 7 cards in this suit. Each one represents and honors an animal energy, one for each of the seven chakra energies.  This suit is all about the energetic dimensions of life.

Examples: Wolf, Octopus, Eagle, Skunk, Dragon, Squirrel, Honeybee, Hippopotamus, to name a few.

Click here for a more detailed, deeper discussion of the Companions Suit.

The Council Suit

The cards in this suit symbolize spirit guides and archetypes who guide you in your daily life, or who have guided you in the past, or those you wish to receive guidance from in the future.  .

Click here for a more detailed, deeper discussion of the Council Suit.

The Transpersonal Cards
Source

The Transpersonal Cards in a SoulCollage® deck represent what Seena Frost calls “the oneness beyond dimension.” These cards include Source, SoulEssence, and Witness. There really is no image that goes with these cards because they are without form, and not accessed with our five senses. However, we find images that represent these energies for us and place these three cards

Again, there are no hard and fast “rules.” You don’t have to make a Source, SoulEssence or Witness card right away. It might take a while for the “right” images to find you. Remember, there is no “right” way to make these cards. Whatever images call out to you…those are the exact “right” ones for you!

When doing a reading with your SoulCollage® deck, the Transpersonal Cards are set in the middle of the space where you are doing your reading. They hold the space for all the other cards. They don’t speak to us with the  I am the one who exercise… like the other cards in our deck.

Click here for a more detailed, deeper discussion of the Transpersonal cards.

Other Suits
Angry Annie

If you’ve read some of the information on this website, you already know that there are no rules in SoulCollage®!

So keep this in mind when you’re thinking about your deck. There are four basic suits, yes. But that doesn’t mean that you have to have only four suits in your deck!  And that doesn’t mean that you have to jump right in with all four. You can start slowly and build from there.

With a little imagination, and some time spent making the cards, you might soon discover that you want to create additional suits as well.  Here are some examples of additional SoulCollage® suits that people have created:

  • Dreams
  • Sacred Places
  • Seasons
  • Life’s Journey
  • Values

Embracing Our Shadows

One of  the most healing things about working with SoulCollage® is that we receive a better understanding of the shadowy parts of our soul as well as the brighter ones. When we listen to and accept these darker parts of ourselves, we become more whole, and therefore more authentic.

You can read about one SoulCollager’s experience in the article SoulCollage: Light and Shadow.

SoulCollage® Decks and Tarot Decks

For a brief description of how a SoulCollage® deck is different from and similar to a Tarot deck, please click here.