Sandra Anne Taylor is really a master in creating decks that resonate with me, and this is another example.
This is one of the best decks I've purchased from Hay House in a long time regarding the quality of the artwork, deck design and production. It is overall a very feminine oracle, but also a very shamanic one, both very earthy and magical. Images of spirit animals, powerful feminine archetypes, natural forestry settings and Indigenous shamanic imagery blend together to perfection to bring us an oracle that will speak to people with strong feminine essence and into alternative spirituality.
THE ARTWORK
Webber's fine-art paintings for the deck are amazing. They are multilayered and richly metaphoric, exuberant but still sophisticated. The imagery has a predominance of earthy colors: ocher, golden, browns and greens that convey well the connection with Mother Earth and the world of spirit/totem animals. You could have any of the images in large format hanging from your walls. OTHER GOOD STUFF
> Although there are many oracles and decks devoted to the divine feminine, this one shines over the rest because of its mix of Gaian, Pagan, Wicca, Native-American, shamanic and reiki-like elements, which will resonate with anyone into alternative forms of spirituality and energy work.
> I love that this oracle imagery doesn't relate to Tarot major arcana as much as other oracles do. In that regard, this is not only an original deck, but also a true oracle.
> Imagery is potent enough to be used on its own in intuitive readings.
> A contemporary diversity-sensitive deck that depicts characters from several races and color skins.
> The cards stock is wonderful.
> Despite its size, the deck is not heavy or bulky.
> Very pleasurable easy shuffling.
> Great design and production from the interior of the keepsake box to the quality of the paper used to print the guidebook.
> Guidebook is wonderful. The quality of the paper is great and the texts are good. Each card meaning ends with a lovely affirmation.
OK STUFF
> No surprise, but except for the divine masculine card, all cards are feminine, so this is not a deck for men with strong masculine essence and energy.
> Cards are large-ish, so, people with small hands might find shuffling them a bit difficult.
> The card edges deteriorate easily with little shuffling.
> There is a lack of synchrony between some of the images and the meanings given to them. I'd say that the deck is 50% congruent and 50% non-congruent. In some cases, the concepts the cards relate to are difficult to convey visually. In other cases, the connection is not clear to the user even though it might have been for Taylor. Take for example cards 38 sensuality (not very sensual), 25 go with the flow (character seems concerned and apprehensive more than going with the flow), 22 Telepathy (it takes two to tango for telepathy), 49 Achievement (It looks more like power/strength) or 33 Building your World (it looks like an hermit) , just to mention some of the cards that I don't think represent well the concepts. would loved more if they had not keyword associated as they don't seem to match. For the rest, card 14 seems out of tune with the rest of the lot, and looks more like a painted photograph. It reminds me of some countryside scenes that I saw in Turkey or the Middle East years ago. Taylor says that she chose the artwork and then channeled the energies to create the deck, so the artwork wasn't specifically created for the deck, or so it seems.
> In the guidebook, I miss a reproduction of each card before each card meaning..
MIND
> The authors recommend reading the whole guidebook before using the cards.
> Order of the cards was chosen randomly and intuitively and some of them, looking very similar, were put together, even though they relate to different matters.
This is a very beautiful set of cards with awesome digital artwork that mixes modernity, fairy-tale elements and magical and universal imagery, and the ensemble feels both timeless and contemporary. The card back design is really gorgeous in its simplicity and it perfectly reflects the deck overall energy. The deck is organized in seven suits: consciousness, energy, intention, people, events, spirit, and cycle, which represent and connect with universal and personal influences and cycles in life. Cards have both upright and reverse meanings, but, hey, nobody will force you to use the latter if you don't want to.
The cards are printed in matte colors and are mid sized. The card paper is a bit stiff and not glossy or polished, so it doesn't shuffle as well as it should be.
The guidebook is excellent re content but the quality of the printing paper is poor.
I love this deck, the details, the concept, everything. I use it often, it is just that my queries are not usually answered, that is, the cards coming up have nothing to do or advice for my queries. I found that, due to the shuffling quality of the deck being just OK, the same cards come up over and over. I don't think it's the universe, I think it is that the cards stick to each other and those who don't stick as much come out all the time.
I wanted to love this deck. Actually, I love this deck. However, for whatever reason, I haven't connected with it at an intra-psychic level as yet. Said differently, there hasn't been a deep connection with the deck, just a conceptual and artistic connection. It's like loving a man who has everything you want in a man on paper, except for the fact that there is something lacking that prevents passion and love from igniting.
Sturdy packing case, that will keep your deck protected.
This deck has been a great disappointment. Taylor produced one of my top five oracle decks ever, The Energy Oracle Cards, which is so reliable that is scary, so naturally I thought that this new deck would have the similar energy. However, it doesn't at any level. This looks like another angel/archangel/ascended masters tarot with reinvented suites that is a bit the same thin with a new dress. The suits are, Roses, Forces, Scrolls and Keys.
The deck contains 62 cards instead of the usual 78, which is not rare for a Tarot deck, but also not the standard.
Imagery is uninspired and so is the design of the cards. Back of the cards is pretty. There is too much unused space in the cards as the marquee is a bit too big.
The guidebook is great and has plenty of instructions about how to start and do a reading, how to do different spreads, what the Akashic records are, plus the individual meaning of all the cards. Overall, I don't find this deck good for intuitive readings, or at least doesn't work for me, and it is not especially inspired re anythjing. .
For the rest, Hay House has produced another bulky, unnecessarily big, inflexible deck, with thick unpolished cardboard and printing quality, that is difficult to handle and shuffle.
Returned to sender.
I've used this deck since first came to the market, 7-8 years ago, and it's still one of my favourite, more reliable, more attuned intuitive tools. They seem to reply to my queries on point, clearly, without me having to clarify. The artwork is wonderful for sure, but the most important thing is that this oracle gets my energy and how things are going in my life.
The deck is a mix of Tarot major arcana, angels cards, chakras and male and female archetypes.This is quite trendy in modern tarot/oracle decks nowadays, but it was totally new when the cards came out first.
DOWNSIDES
There is no racial or ethnic diversity in this deck, so be aware if you aren't Caucasian. Also, the deck has a strong female/male energy imprint so if you are non-binary, you might struggle with it. Personally, I find that some of the male models used to depict the angels are too metro-sexual or six-pack macho to be angelic. Yet, I confess, I really like those modern macho angels.
> Good quality glossy cardboard.
> Vibrant detailed good-quality-printing.
> Jena DellaGrottaglia's digital artwork is beautiful and has congruent style. Digital artwork has evolved enormously in the last 8 years, yet, the cards feel fresh and contemporary.
> Wonderful card back design that doesn't give away whether the card is coming reverse or upright.
> A perfect deck for intuitive readings.
> Detailed guidebook with upright and reversed meanings, plus an affirmation assigned to each card, all of which adds depth to the deck and makes it more versatile.
> Very good sturdy beautifully printed packing box.
PAPER DECK DOWNSIDES
> There is no racial or ethnic diversity in this deck, so be aware if you aren't Caucasian.
> Personally, I find that some of the male models used to depict the angels are too metro-sexual or six-pack macho to be angelic. Yet, I confess, I really like those modern macho angels.
> Cards are on the larger side, so not good for people with small hands.
> Unnecessary bulky and heavy deck.
> Cards are stiff and tend to stick to each other, so they don't shuffle well.
> Average quality printing guidebook.
APP UPSIDES
> Very easy to use and navigate.
> Many different spreads to use from.
> Shuffle with or without sound.
> You can email and share your reading.
> You can save your reading.
> Great deal of information about the artist, the cards, the app developer.
APP DOWNSIDES
> The apt is no longer in the Oceanhouse developer main page, which is odd. They might be re-packaging or updating it. The app page is still available HERE.
> The return from the card back to the front is not intuitive. It would be just natural using the back arrow on the smartphone bottom menu to go back, but, if you do that, you'll be out of the application. Instead, you have to use the curly back arrow button in the cards, and the triangular back arrow in the information area. I have been using Oceanhouse apps for years and I still have trouble remembering the curly back arrow, just because is contra smart-phone use natura.
> Impossible to zoom in the image to focus on the small details.
> Just one way of shuffling the cards, not several. In that regards, Oceanhouse has plenty to learn from the other major tarot app house, The Fool's Dog.
> No tablecloths available. There is one background.
> Users cannot add their own meaning to the cards to customize the deck.
> Oceanhouse, now and then, inserts promotional info when they are launching a new app. That's annoying because all of their decks must be paid in full to be used, aren't cheap, and there is no need to bother customers with something that they might naturally be interested on and look up themselves. At least that is my case. It is also true that sometimes they advertise discounts and special pricing, but I would rather not have adds on my fully-paid app.
IN SHORT
One of my best oracle decks with regards to he way it reads my energy and replies to my queries in precise on-point ways. However, the deck is heavy, bulky and difficult to shuffle, so the app is, to me, a better option.
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