{"product_id":"cyclone-by-chris-mallon-and-the-strange-stage","title":"Cyclone by Chris Mallon and The Strange Stage","description":"\u003ciframe width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/F78VD2Y72HQ?si=5DnGS5bpsWXas12i\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e“The cyclone had set the house down very gently, for a cyclone, in the midst of a country of marvellous beauty.”\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLong before the road of yellow brick had been laid, or the Emerald City had risen at the end of it, L. Frank Baum had become interested in mysteries of a different sort.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHe read much concerning spiritualism, mysticism and those strange matters which are commonly called the occult. In the year 1892 he became a member of the Theosophical Society, whose followers believed that many ancient truths had been forgotten, or hidden from the world.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEight years afterward he wrote The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt was intended to be a fairy tale for children, and perhaps it was nothing more.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYet curious things are sometimes hidden in the simplest stories.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThose who have examined the tale closely believe that it contains another journey besides that of the little girl whose adventures it relates. It is a very old journey, known to those who have studied the mysteries of the tarot.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLong after Baum had written the story, the pictures drawn by W. W. Denslow were taken from the pages of the book and placed upon cards. Their resemblance to certain older pictures became difficult to overlook. Indeed, they appeared so much at home upon the cards that one might almost suppose they had been intended for such a purpose.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor over a hundred years the world has regarded The Wonderful Wizard of Oz as one of the most beloved stories ever written, but it may also be something quite different.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePerhaps it has kept a secret all along.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eSTRANGE STAGE PROUDLY PRESENTS CYCLONE\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTo borrow the words of a good friend, this one has been a labour of love.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBefore any of the magic described below could exist, another kind of magic had to happen first.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe book was digitally restored from my own original copy of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. This proved far more difficult than I had imagined. The original text had to be removed, page by page, while illustrations were repaired, rebuilt and returned to their proper places. That might not sound too unreasonable until you discover that the book contains an illustration on almost every page.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWith the help of Haresign Press, the correct materials were sourced to reproduce the book as faithfully as possible. The cloth used for the cover was selected to match the original as closely as we could manage, following a frankly ridiculous amount of research into early copies, materials, colours and construction.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI began this task in September 2024.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA year later, the restoration and layout were finally complete.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOnly then could I begin adding the other kind of magic.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eTHE WONDERFUL TAROT OF OZ\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eW. W. Denslow’s original illustrations have been transformed into a complete Major Arcana tarot deck.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe cards may be used as a fully functional tarot deck in their own right, but when brought together with the book, something far more unusual begins to happen.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCyclone allows you to give a complete tarot reading, exploring the sitter’s past, present and future before answering a question they have never spoken aloud.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe book adds remarkable depth to the reading, while also helping those new to tarot become familiar with the meanings of the Major Arcana simply through use.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn fact, the sitter could use the book to give themselves a reading without you even being present.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eExperienced readers will discover an entirely new way to work with the cards, whilst for beginners, Oz has already laid the road before them.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA BOOK THAT READS THE CARDS\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI set myself one particularly unnecessary challenge while creating Cyclone.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe book had to remain completely readable.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYou can pick it up, begin at the first page and read the entire story through to the end. There are no strange charts hidden within it, no suspicious lists of words and no pages that suddenly stop resembling The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhy I decided to make life quite so difficult for myself, I am still not entirely sure.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEvery secret had to be built naturally into the story, and the book still had to look and behave like an ordinary early edition.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAt least, ordinary until you understand what it can do.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI present the book as an early edition of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Precisely when it was printed is a question I prefer to leave unanswered.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYou can speak of Baum’s interest in spiritualism, mysticism and the occult. You can explain that he joined the Theosophical Society eight years before writing Oz, and suggest that perhaps something more than a children’s story found its way into the pages.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThen you introduce the illustrations.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePlaced beside the images of the Major Arcana, their resemblance becomes increasingly difficult to dismiss.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePerhaps it is coincidence.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThen again, Cyclone is largely concerned with coincidences that begin to feel like something else.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eTHE BOOK ANSWERS THEIR QUESTION\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThroughout the reading, the sitter holds a question silently in their mind.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThey never need to write it down or tell you what it concerns.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eUsing the tarot cards they have selected, the sitter creates a page and a line within the book. Waiting there is an answer connected to the question they have never spoken aloud.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe process feels open and personal because they make every important decision. When the answer is found, they read it for themselves.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe answer is already hidden inside the story.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThey simply find the road that leads to it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eTHE MAN BEHIND THE CURTAIN\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCyclone is not limited to the tarot reading.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe sitter may open the book to any text spread. They can choose either page, select a line and focus upon a word.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYou are able to reveal the word they are thinking of.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMore importantly, you can begin giving them a reading based upon that word before you reveal it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe word becomes another step along their journey. You can explore its meaning, connect it to the sitter’s life and then, when the moment feels right, name the word itself.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis can be presented as mind reading, as an extension of the tarot reading, or as a completely separate demonstration using nothing but the book.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe sitter creates their own journey through Oz. You merely follow them down the yellow brick road.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWHAT YOU RECEIVE\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCyclone includes a specially prepared edition of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the corresponding Major Arcana tarot deck, a large custom bookmark, a printed user’s manual and a numbered certificate of authenticity.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe manual explains the complete reading system, the tarot deck, the secrets hidden within the book, several different ways to present each phase and a collection of additional ideas.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eTHE PERFORMER’S EDITION\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eLimited to 130 sets\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Performer’s Edition contains the same secrets, the same complete reading system and the same fully readable story, presented in pristine condition.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is the coffee table edition.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt can be left naturally in a living room, study or performance space, waiting for somebody to notice it and ask the inevitable question.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt is also the edition intended for regular use. The book can travel with you, sit inside a case or remain ready upon a shelf, waiting for a performance opportunity.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Performer’s tarot deck is produced upon a more modern stock and is classic tarot size, making the cards comfortable to shuffle, carry and use throughout an evening of readings. The deck is housed inside a custom printed tuck box.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Chris Mallon","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56383309742459,"sku":null,"price":195.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0600\/8225\/8105\/files\/ChatGPT_Image_Aug_18_2026_04_46_27_PM.png?v=1787068005","url":"https:\/\/alakazam.co.uk\/zh\/products\/cyclone-by-chris-mallon-and-the-strange-stage","provider":"Alakazam Magic","version":"1.0","type":"link"}