The SoulCollage Deck:
An Overview

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”. You can purchase these at the KaleidoSoul Shop. However, you might choose to use a different size, or a different shape. Mat board can be purchased at art supply stores in large sizes and then cut to the size or shape that you choose. It’s a good idea to decide this ahead of time so that you can maintain some consistency in your own SoulCollage deck.

You can also purchase mat board at

Base

Usually, the 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. You might choose to create all of your cards using a digital imaging program and store them on the computer instead of in a special box.

Decisions To Make Along The Way

Quantity

This is not something that is ever decided, actually. 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 year!

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 backing.

You can use wrapping paper, handmade paper, construction paper, colored copy paper, or you can just paint a different design on the back of each suit category. The possibilities are limitless! Share your card backings idea with us by using the short form at the bottom of this page.

Container

The possibilities are endless!

Share your container idea with us by filling out the short form at the bottom of this page.

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-
your own internal voices. 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-
those beings in your life who support you. Examples: your spouse/lover, your friends, siblings, parents, an author who has touched your life, current or past pets, or ancestors.Click here for a more detailed, deeper discussion of the Community Suit.



• The Companions Suit-
a companion animal, one for each of the seven chakras. Examples: wolf, octopus, eagle, skunk, dragon, squirrel, dolphin, bear, honeybee, otter, to name a few.Click here for a more detailed, deeper discussion of the Companions Suit.



• The Council Suit-
Dream figures 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.

Other Suits

If you've read a little bit of the information on this website, you already know that there are no rules in SoulCollage!

So keep that 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!

With a little imagination, and some time spent making the cards, you will probably 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 interesting things about working with SoulCollage is that we come to have a better understanding of the shadowy parts of our soul as well as the brighter ones. Much has been written about shadow-work. You can read about one SoulCollager's experience in the article SoulCollage: Light and Shadow.

The Source Card

The Source Card in a SoulCollage® deck represents what Seena Frost calls "the oneness beyond dimension." There really is no image that goes with Source because it is without form, and not accessed with our five senses.

If you think of Source as "God," try not to limit your definition of that God. Source is not like a God who exists separate from us as a supreme being, loves us, and judges us. Instead, Source is One. It is the Source of all life. It is that which every living thing comes from, and to which every living being returns when life is over.

Again, there are no hard and fast "rules." You don't have to make a Source Card right away. It might take a while for the "right" images to find you. Remember, there is no "right" way to make a Source Card. Whatever images call out to you...those are the exact "right" ones for you!

The book SoulCollage by Seena Frost has several examples of Source Cards. You will notice that they are all very different. One person even cut out an egg-shaped hole from the center of her card!

When doing a reading with your SoulCollage deck, the Source Card is set in the middle of the reading. It holds space for all the other cards. It doesn't have a Voice. There is no need to do the I am the one who exercise with it.

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.

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