This is a 48 card deck containing words of advice and wisdom that reproduce the principles mentioned in Ruiz's eponymous book. There is no interpretation book as the message of each card is written at the back, while the front is a painting with a summary of the message.
The cards are divided in four coloured groups, each one corresponding to Ruiz's four principles or agreements, and the advice on each card is related to that specific agreement within that group.
This is not an oracle or tarot deck. In that regards, it won't speak to you if you're looking for a deck to harness your intuition or get messages from the divine. On the contrary, this is the sort of deck you use in the mornings, when you get up, to get a pearl of wisdom for day to apply and remember during the day.
If you don't want to read Ruiz's book, and still want to learn what is all about, this is a hassle- free tool which summarizes the book perfectly. If you have read the book, and want a reminder or refresher, this is also a perfect tool.
The artwork is colourful and cute, very naif in general. Somewhat reminds me of some Mexican mural art or tattoo imagery.There is a lack of artistic cohesiveness, and that is so because the deck was illustrated by 5 different illustrators, This is is one of the reasons that the deck doesn't speak to me visually and why I don't use it more often, even though the messages are wonderful.
The format of the cards is a bit odd as they are small and square and not rectangular and medium/large size. They shuffle well, though, and the cardboard is very good quality, a little satin, and it will last you for years.
This is a good companion to Ruiz's Four Agreements, and digs further into the Toltec philosophy of life and their idea of spiritual awakening form our dreaming life - a life based on false perceptions and tons of lies.
The book basically calls for you being present, for becoming attuned to your own "being" and feelings not to your mind and thoughts. Ruiz advocates for forgetting all the negative chatter that is driving our lives, and to focus more on our hearts and feelings and less in our head and thoughts.
The basic idea of the book is that our mind is full of lies about who we are, we are not, and about who other people are. Our mind is biased by our social and cultural background, too. Our lies makes us judge ourselves and others, and create stories that are mere fantasies affecting our lives... for the worst. If we accept that we can only access our on perception and we are the creators of our own story and that everybody does the same, we can find a better way of not judging, or seeing the divine in everybody, and not getting triggered by somebody else lies and stories.
In this book, Don Miguel Ruiz mentions many of his personal experiences in his transformation from surgeon/doctor to Toltec master, not just somebody preaching a way of living or philosophy.
I agree with some of the other reviewers on the fact that the book is a bit loopy and that it should be more concise. In fact, the book can be easily summarized and re-read by going directly to the end of each chapter, to the section "Points to Ponder", where the gist of each chapter is succinctly and clearly presented minus the over-talking.
This is a great book that will bring lots of peace to your mind.
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