Debrief & Review Tools

52 illustrated symbols for metaphor-driven reflection and review

Ask a group "what did you take away today?" and you'll get the tidy, rational answer everyone thinks they're supposed to give. Hand them an image and ask "which one captures it?" — and you'll get the real thing.

That's the move this deck makes possible. It's sold as an affirmation deck, but its quieter superpower is the other side of every card: 52 hand-illustrated symbols drawn from nature and human creativity — a lighthouse, a phoenix, a compass, a vine, an hourglass, an ocean. Set the words aside and each image becomes a projective prompt: open enough that people read their own experience into it, specific enough to draw out a story they wouldn't have volunteered on their own.

Why it works

Metaphor does an end-run around the analytical brain. Ask a direct question and people reach for the answer they think is expected. Ask them to choose an image and explain it, and there's no "right" answer to perform — so what surfaces is honest, particular, and often surprising. The picture gives people a little distance to say the true thing — "this was the phoenix: we crashed in week two and had to rebuild" — and it hands the rest of the room a vivid shared reference. It's the same principle behind our Tarot for Training kit and the Climer Cards: the image carries what plain words won't.

What's in the box

• 52 illustrated symbol cards (plus tips cards; 56 total), playing-card size (2.5" × 3.5") — easy to shuffle, deal, and spread across a table
• Bold, modern, one-of-a-kind artwork on every card — no two alike
• A first-person affirmation on the reverse of each card, for an optional second layer (more on that below)
• Durable coated stock, sustainably made in the USA and recyclable at end of life

Put them to work

Opening check-ins. Spread the deck image-side up and have each person grab the card that matches how they're walking in. Quick, revealing, and a far better temperature read than "so, how's everyone doing?"

Learning reviews & debriefs. Close a session by asking each participant to pick the image that captures what they're taking away — or two cards for "where I started / where I am now." You'll hear insights a verbal go-round never surfaces.

Project retrospectives. Deal a card per team member and ask them to choose the metaphor for how the project actually felt. It's a fast, honest way to get real sentiment on the table without anyone having to be the first to say the hard part out loud.

Closing & commitment. End with "find the image for what you'll carry forward," and let people name a next step through the metaphor. The picture makes the intention stick.

The words on the back — your call. Because each card also carries an affirmation, you get a choice most image decks don't offer. Keep the deck image-side up for pure projective work, so no one's led by the text. Or use the words as a reveal: have people interpret the image first, then flip the card to see whether the affirmation echoes or challenges what they saw. In coaching or solo reflection, that second layer can be a gift; in a group debrief, you'll usually want it face-down. Either way, you decide how much the words are in the room.

One facilitation note: keep it invitational. Let people pass, and resist interpreting anyone's card for them — the meaning belongs to whoever chose it. Your only real job is to ask "what made you pick that one?" and give them room to answer.