oracle deck

Deck Review & Card Reading: The Body Cards

by Nefer Khepri, Ph. D.

As far as oracle decks go, Courtney Putnam’s Body Cards are a fairly unique concept. Methods of divination that rely upon the energy field of the human body; such as, muscle testing for one example, are accurate because our bodies have innate wisdom we can put to good use. The Body Cards are a lovely divination tool that provides us with another avenue for consulting the wisdom of our bodies. Putnam states that “[y]our body is your map, your muse, and your medicine” (guidebook, p. 5). Putnam demonstrates how The Body Cards bring this statement to life.

Body Cards1

The Body Cards are a tool through which we can consult our own bodies for guidance. the card imagery serves as a metaphor for physical ailments. Putnam’s beautiful collages “symbolically represent the energy, essence, and deeper meaning of each part of the body used in this deck” (guidebook, p. 10). Symbols; such as, birds, frogs, and other animals, in addition to stars and other patterns are included for additional intuitive meaning.

Courtney Putnam’s artwork is beautiful. If you like scrapbooking, art journaling, card making, or rubber stamping, you will love her art. The overall style is very much like that of the artists whose work graces the pages of the mixed media art magazine Somerset Studio, which I have been reading for years. Each card is a delight for the eyes and the soul.

The cards measure 4 x 6″, which does make them difficult to shuffle, but I’m thankful for their larger size because a reader can see the finer details of the artwork. Card interpretations consist of the title of the piece, an aspect of the card’s image upon which to meditate,  the specific location within the body to which each card corresponds, the function of the associated body part, associated chakra, and overall interpretation. A reader can discern the card’s message as it pertains to the question asked within any of the aforementioned parts of the card’s interpretation. As a result, I strongly advise readers to go over every section of the card’s interpretation. Do not merely skip on ahead to the final interpretation of the card because you may miss some valuable insights.

Each card’s interpretation concludes with a “Try This” section. Included is the associated color along with suggestions on how to incorporate that color fully into your life, suggested uses for essential oils, and a physical activity that serves to activate the energy of that particular card in your life. I have experimented with this deck extensively and can tell you that these suggested practices do garner results.

As for asking questions, in my experience decks work differently for different people.  That being stated, I find that for me this deck is best suited for answering questions that focus on the reason behind something (why did she react as she did, etc ..). It is also well suited to answering questions that begin with “what is the nature of  <name>’s connection to <name>,” when asking about relationships. An example of this type of reading is below. When seeking guidance about making a decision it is best to phrase the question as, “how would I best benefit from <state your option>.” Then ask the same question about your other choices. Or you can ask “which choice is for my highest good,” and draw 1 – 2 cards on each alternative. Another type of question you can ask is “which body part requires attention at this time,” or “where in my body am I storing emotional disappointment/trauma” and then follow that up with “how can I release the emotional disappointment/trauma in a way that is the least painful for me?”

This deck answers the why, what, how, and which questions very well, but if you wish to know if John or Nancy loves you or what their feelings are for you, this deck does not respond well to that type of question – at least not in my experience with it. Another reader may have a completely different opinion.

Sample Reading

A client came to me with a question about her relationship. Both she and her partner see themselves as soul mates, but they sense the relationship goes even deeper than that. She asked if they could be twin flames. I asked the cards “what is the true nature of the connection between M and C? I drew the following cards:

Body Cards2

Corpus Callosum: Communication ~ what is interesting is this body part is the bundle of nerves and neural pathways in the center of the brain that allows the two halves of the brain to communicate with each other. This immediately brought the twin flame concept to my mind. Without the proper function of the Corpus Callosum it would be impossible for the body to function correctly. the focus here is of pure and clear communication through kindness, compassion, and diplomacy. I interpreted this card to mean it’s important for M and C to remain clear in their communication with one another and this would be their strength as clear communication would strengthen their connection and ability to walk forward into the future together as a couple.

Soleus Muscles: Action ~ located within the calves,the Soleus Muscles are responsible for pumping blood from the lower extremities back up toward the heart. the Soleus Muscles help with balance and walking. the Soleus Muscles indicates it is time for M and C to take action on what they have been envisioning, yet they may resist or feel frightened of such action.

In summary, the Corpus Callosum verifies they do have a twin flame connection. They are two halves of the same whole, two parts of the same soul. Clear communication is of great importance. The Soleus Muscles urge them to take action now on whatever they may be hoping or planning to manifest.

Deck Design Specifics

The Body Cards are housed within a sturdy laminated box with a hinged lid and magnetic closure that allows the box to stand up on its end to be stored in a bookshelf like a book. The box measures 6 x 9 x 1 1/4″.

The guidebook measures 6 x 9″ and has 96 pages.  The guidebook is illustrated in full color throughout. Sections of the text  include Introduction, How to Use The Body Cards, 4 spreads, card interpretations, bibliography, and full color groupings of the cards as they correspond to each of the seven major chakras.

There are a total of 35 cards that are of excellent quality with a semi-gloss laminate.

The Body Cards is a unique system of divination. If you’ve been searching for something different, this is definitely the deck for you.

Blessings!

~ Nefer Khepri, PhD., R. M-T.

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Full Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher in order to consider it for review. I only review those decks that are of interest to me & which I feel would also be of interest to my followers.

Review: The Sacred Awakening Cards

by Nefer Khepri, Ph. D.

sacred awakening cards 3The Sacred Awakening Cards is a 67-card oracle card set with accompanying paperback 48-page guidebook. The card and book set is packaged within a box with fitted lid that measures 3 7/8” x 5 ½” x 1”. The cards measure 3 ½ x 5” and are printed upon a highly flexible and somewhat thin card stock. The artist/author is Sa’arah Esther Felix, and is published by the Lemurian Temple LLC, 2013. I suspect this deck is self-published as I have never heard of this particular publisher. I purchased my copy from Amazon.

The cards shuffle easily, though I will warn anyone who purchases this deck that you will need to be VERY careful when you first remove the cards from the box. Give them a few gentle flexes. There is a very thin laminate on the cards and my deck arrived with some cards slightly stuck together. As I gingerly pulled them apart some of the black border came off so a few of my cards have white specks along the borders. This does not bother me and it never came close to tearing any of the cards, but depending on the level of humidity where you live, for some this may be a real problem, so open for first use carefully.

The imagery consists of bright colors that are a combination of painting and photo collage. The borders are black and the card title appears in white within the black border along the base of each image. The black borders allow the colors to really “pop,” and the images feel as if they are alive with energy. I have used the images for meditation and for me they work very well as a meditative tool so that may be something you may wish to consider should you purchase The Sacred Awakening Cards.

sacred awakening cards 2

The guidebook with a few introductory paragraphs on the artist’s idea behind the deck and how to use the deck. This is followed by several card spreads: a One Card, Three Card, and Four Card spread, as well as an 11-card Pagan Cross spread that will present you with a thorough analysis of a situation or question. Other traditional tarot spread work well with The Sacred Awakening Cards. Card interpretations consist of approximately 7 – 9 sentences that cover half the page. I have found the deck to be useful for both guidance and predictive readings.

Here is an example of The Sacred Awakening Cards in action.

For this 3-card reading I am asking for general guidance for all of my social media followers from now until the end of July, 2016. The cards you received are as follows:

Withinside + Veil + Resistance.

sacred awakening cards

Withinside indicates that you already possess whatever it is that you need to deal with any type of situation that arises in your life. You can rely upon your inner power. Despite the fact that you may not believe this, trust in the fact that every resource is at your disposal. Trust in the process, go with the flow, and be patient (paraphrased from pp. 44-45 of the guidebook).

Veil represents that which hides the love within you of All That Is. Despite being hidden by the Veil upon your incarnation, this love remains within you and is projected outward when you fall in love. Lift the Veil so you can continue to feel the flow of this divine love within you (paraphrased from pp. 43 – 44 of the guidebook).

Resistance represents the need to be open to the changes in life. When we resist change we block our own natural flow and this can lead to all sorts of problems. Be open to the lessons that life has to offer and this will help you to experience them with grace (paraphrased from p. 35 of the guidebook).

Taken together as a set, these cards indicate that the energies that are taking us from July into August are centered around helping us to realize we have the power within ourselves to transform our reality. Most of us do not believe this to be true, but it is. We all need to accept our inner power and so doing will allow us to access tools within us that have always been there for our use. Once we do that we can use that divine power within us to overcome our resistance to change, thus creating a free flow of energy in and through our lives that will help us in our own spiritual growth.

The Sacred Awakening Cards is a truly beautiful oracle that I can tell was created with love and intention. I find the images to be very soothing and some feel as though they are actually healing. I always feel uplifted after I have done a reading with this deck.

The images are all non-threatening, peaceful, some are quite joyful, and the interpretations offered in the guidebook are fairly straightforward, making The Sacred Awakening Cards a great deck for beginners and seasoned readers alike.

Blessings!

~ Nefer Khepri, PhD., R. M-T.

Tarot & Lenormand Readings, Spells, & Visionary Art

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The First Light Tarot

by Nefer Khepri, Ph. D.

Dinah Roseberry      The First Light Tarot      Schifferbooks      $24.99

First Light Tarot: 22 Majors, 22 Insights, 22 Spread Cards

The First Light Tarot consists of 66 cards and a 96-page paperback guidebook. The cards are housed in a recessed well inside of a 6 x 9” hinged box with a magnetic closure that allows the box to be stored standing on its end as if it were a book. The First Light Tarot also includes a 6 x 18” fold-out laminated Reference Card that provides card names and major keywords, concepts, astrological correspondences and basic interpretations for quick and easy reference.

Entitled The First Light Tarot, this deck is more of an oracle deck. The First Light Tarot consists of a 22-card major arcana with the traditional card titles, along with an additional 22 Insight Cards for a total of 44 cards with interpretations. There are an additional 22 Spread Cards meant to be used by readers in order to create their own spreads. A single card position is noted on each of the Spread Cards that include two Wild Cards so readers can come up with their own names for a card position within a spread.

 

The 22 Insight Cards lend a more oracular feel to The First Light Tarot. The 22 Insight Cards and the 22 Major Arcana cards can be used in isolation for readings or combined. Only one spread is included, entitled the Universal Spread, which is a 10-card spread that is laid out just like the Celtic Cross, but card positions have different associations than in the traditional Celtic Cross tarot spread.

The artwork for the card images consists solely of gorgeous photographs of outer space taken by the Hubble Telescope that have been cropped to focus on a particular area within the larger original photos. The title of The First Light Tarot refers to the very first time light hits the mirrors contained within a telescope that enables the telescope to take its very first photograph. It is a moment of tremendous excitement for the telescope developers and the staff of NASA.

Dinah Roseberry’s goal for The First Light Tarot was to create a deck that could easily be used straight out of the box and not require any great study, thus being user friendly. The card interpretations for The First Light Tarot are traditional tarot major arcana interpretations for the 22 Major Arcana cards while interpretations for the 22 Insight Cards have a more oracular feel to them that are based upon Numerology. The two types of cards create two 22-card decks that can also be used in combination with one another. The First Light Tarot works well as a stand-alone 22-Majors only deck, a 22-card oracle deck, and in combination. The cards also work well with both traditional tarot spreads and spreads commonly found in guidebooks that accompany oracle decks, most of which are strongly based upon traditional tarot spreads. Card imagery of The First Light Tarot lacks the symbolism of tarot cards so readers do not feel bogged down with symbolic associations due to the simple imagery found in outer space photographs.

The 22 cards of the Major Arcana of The First Light Tarot have astrological associations that are factored into their card interpretations. The 22 Insight Cards have numerological associations as part of their interpretations giving The First Light Tarot a heavy dose of Numerology if one also takes into account the numerological associations typically associated to cards of the Tarot major arcana.

The card images of The First Light Tarot are beautiful, but unlike other Schiffer decks, the card stock is flimsy with a semi-gloss finish. The Major Arcana, Insight, and Spread cards all have different card backs so they can be easily sorted by looking at the reverse side of each card. The cards are very flexible and are therefore easy to shuffle despite their size. The First Light Tarot lend themselves well to both tarot and oracle spreads making this a well-rounded deck with numerous applications.

Blessings!

~ Nefer Khepri, PhD., R. M-T.

Tarot & Lenormand Readings, Spells, & Visionary Art

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Email: IsisRaAnpu@gmail.com

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Full Disclosure: I received a copy to consider for review by the publisher. I only review decks that I find useful to myself & that I feel my followers will also enjoy.

Deck Review: Healing Light & Angel Cards: Working with Your Chakras.

by Nefer Khepri, Ph. D.
Healing Light and Angel Cards: Working with Your Chakras
Healing Light & Angel Cards. (C) Saleire & Schiffer Books, 2015.

Healing Light and Angel Cards: Working with Your Chakras, by Saleire. Schiffer Books, 2015.

This is a neat little oracle deck. It comes housed in a hinge lidded box with a magnetic closure, which is standard box design for Schiffer Books. The box measures 5 1/8” x 3 1/8 ‘ x 1 ½” so it’s a nice size to bring along when traveling. The total number of cards is 42. The guidebooklet is the same size as the cards and has 96 pages.

The manner in which this deck is used is uncommon among oracle decks. Most oracle decks are not organized according to suit while the Tarot is divided into the Major and Minor Arcanas, with the Minor Arcana consisting of four suits. Oracle cards are usually numbered and titled, but not clearly organized.

The Healing Light and Angel Cards are organized into six “suits.” I use the term suit lightly because not all suits have the same number of cards, yet each suit has a clearly and easily identifiable theme. The suits are as follows: Chakra Cards

  • Chakra Cards
  • Action Cards
  • Color Cards
  • Animal Cards
  • Crystal Cards
  • Angel Cards

The manner in which Saleire intends for us to use the deck is to shuffle each suit of cards separately from one another. So you end up with six piles of cards in front of you. For the reading you then choose one card from each pile, therefore one card from each suit.

The concept revolves around working with your chakras.The Healing Light & Angel Cards are helpful in identifying blocks and imbalances within your chakras that, once identified, can be focused upon for further healing so blocks can be removed and balance can be regained. Every reading should begin with you asking something along the lines of, “which chakra needs to be worked on and brought into balance at this time?”

Another way I have used The Healing Light & Angel Cards is to ask why I have a certain health issue. I had a chronic 39-year knee problem that was miraculously healed by the Virgin Mary during a trip to Rome in 2012 (see the post here), but I wanted to know WHY the heck did my knees bother me for nearly 40 years. When asking the question the chakra card I drew at random was the Root chakra. The Root chakra is your foundation, stability, and security in life. This is what grounds us and helps to maintain the health of all the other chakras. I thought back and realized at the time I first injured my left knee my cousin, aunt and uncle had just moved away to Florida after us kids having grown up together. It was a huge adjustment and thinking back, as a child my security and foundation was threatened. About a year later my grandfather, an aunt and two cousins also moved away, so once again I felt my familial foundation being undermined. The Healing Light and Angel Cards helped me to realize the reason behind my knee condition.

This deck can help you to get at the root of physical, emotional and even spiritual afflictions and then you are better informed in how to deal with and heal these conditions. The other suits offer suggestions as to which colors, stones, angels, animals, and actions can be taken in order to facilitate the healing process.

The artwork is computer-generated and has a soft, calming feel to it. Colors are bright for the most part, and the Color Cards suit consists of fractural images that are quite beautiful. The images can also be used as focal points for meditation as well.

Wishing you many blessings,

~ Nefer Khepri, PhD., R. M-T.

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DECK REVIEW: AboraMana: Channeled Goddess Wisdom Cards

by Nefer Khepri, Ph. D.
AboraMana:  Channeled Goddess Wisdom Cards 
Neithard Horn
2011
Schiffer Publishing, Ltd.
www.schifferbooks.com
ISBN #: 978-0-7643-3696-6
USD: $34.99
Product Specifics: 
·         Cards:  4 ½” X 3”, heavy card stock, nicely laminated
·         Guidebook:  8 X 5 ½”, 176 pages, glossy paper, B&W full size images of each card
·         Box:  11 ¾ X 6 X 1 ¾”, sturdy & laminated with a hinge-style lid with magnetic closure
The AboraMana is not your typical goddess oracle deck.  Firstly, the author is male and his goal for this deck was to create an oracular system that would help the women of today find their place in the world and to help them assert their inner power.  Secondly, the deck was not created in some nice artist’s studio, not even a loft or a space in a room set aside for the creation of art.  Neithard Horn created the deck via channeling from the Goddess in a cave on the Carnary Islands and also on a beach on the Hawaiian island of Kua’i.  Lastly, the manner in which this deck operates is very different from most others.  As one who has consulted various tarot and oracular decks over the past 33 years I grew accustomed to approaching a deck with a question, problem, or a situation about which I needed more information.  When using a deck I am looking for answers.  The AboraMana does not provide the reader with the answers itself.  Instead, the interpretations of the cards are written in such a way (remember, also that this is all channeled material throughout) as to ask questions of the reader.  If you take the time to examine the questions and formulate your own answers, therein lies your answer or solution.  In that way, this deck is an excellent tool for guided self-examination.
There is only one lay out discussed in the book and the author does not say whether the deck is useful with typical tarot lay outs or not.  As an experiment, I used the deck with a number of typical tarot lay outs, including the 3-card past-present-future, the 3-card body-mind-spirit, and the Celtic Cross.  At first, the cards did not seem to wish to cooperate.  However, after a few prayers to the Goddess explaining I just wanted to see if the deck could be used another way and asking for Her permission, suddenly, the deck worked just fine in these traditional lay outs.  I do suggest that if you purchase this deck and wish to use traditional tarot lay outs with it that you first ask the Goddess for permission.  I tried for over an hour to use these cards traditionally, without any success until I began to pray to Her.  Some may consider this to be hokey, but that was my experience with this deck, for what it’s worth.
The deck has 89 cards, but it is not organized like a tarot deck.  There are groupings of cards that can be construed as suits:  the Houses of Air, Fire, Water, Earth, & House of AboraMana.  The author suggests laying out the entire deck in the order he specifies in the guidebook. You will need a large table or counter for this exercise.  If you do this, and I highly recommend that you do, you will be able to see connections among the cards within each House, and also further connections between the cards within each subset of each House.  This exercise will aid in your understanding of the cards and how they work together as a cohesive system. 
The Houses are further sub-divided into various sets, which also are organized into cohesive groupings.  They are as follows:  The Jokers (Fates), Your Fighting Spirit, The Hall of God, The Matrix That is the Human Soul, The Science of Physics, The Pillars of the Universe and Time, Magic Physics, The Four Elemental Houses, The Science of Biology, Life-Death, AboraMana, Magic Biology, Devi and Deva, Humankind, FirstWoman and FirstMan, The Temple, Religion and Ceremony, You, and Who are You?  Define  Yourself.  As you can surmise from the titles of the various sets there is an inherent hierarchy within the deck as it moves from universal divine forces through the manifestation of the Universe and of Time, and on into Physics, the Elements, physical life (Biology), onwards to humankind, religion, and finally the big question of who we are.  I found that once I laid out all the cards on my dining room table that the entire exercise, although a bit tedious at first, was quite enlightening and it helped me to work better with the cards, so I highly recommend following the author’s guidelines on page 16 of the guidebook in laying out all the cards in the deck before you begin to use the deck for readings.  You’ll be glad you took the time to do this.
As mentioned, the guidebook only contains one layout, which is similar to the Tree of Life lay out found in many tarot books, but the lay out works a bit differently than the Tree of Life.  The card interpretations provided in the guidebook have no reverse meanings, with the sole exception of a single card, Number 17, that appears twice in the deck with the second version of the card being a reversed image of the first entitled, “The Mirror.”  Interpretations pose various questions to the reader or suggest areas of the reader’s life that ought to be further examined.  This is basically a non-predictive oracle.
As a mother I cannot recommend that minor children use this deck simply because there is a great deal of nudity in it with graphic depictions of male genitalia.  Now, the nudity does lend itself to the interpretation of the card so it’s not nudity for nudity’s sake as a number of card interpretations do focus on sexuality.  However, my daughter is just 12 and although she is reading her own tarot cards, personally, I would not want her to ever view this deck.  Then, that’s just me and everyone has different views on the matter.
The artwork itself is visionary in nature.  Created in a cave on a tropical island and later also on a beach, the images, as well as the interpretations, are all channeled.  The images have a dreamlike quality to them.  Cards with bright colors are balanced by others with earthier tones.
The cards shuffle well and although they are highly laminated (they will last through countless shuffling), in the humid environment of Houston where I live the cards do not stick to one another. 
Regarding packaging, Schiffer sets a higher standard and I sincerely wish other publishers of tarot and oracle decks would follow their example.  The cards and guidebook come packaged in a very sturdy and strong cardboard box that is also heavily laminated.  The lid is hinged with a magnetic closure and it closes perfectly every time.  Within the box the cards and guidebook lie side by side.  Both the box and cards will last through years of regular use. 

DECK REVIEW: Journely Oracle Cards, by Adrienne Trafford

by Nefer Khepri, Ph. D.

The Journey Oracle, Adrienne Trafford
Schiffer Publishing, 2011
http://www.schifferbooks.com
ISBN #: 978-0-7643-3783-3
Box Dimensions:5 3/16 X 3 3/16 X 1 3/16″
Cards & Guide Book Dimensions:4 1/2″ X 2 3/4″
From the box:  “Discover your personal pathway.  Oracle cards for the choices we make in our daily lives.  46 stunning art cards featuring strong, decisive women & an easy-to-follow guide.”
Contained within a ribbon-hinged box with a magnetic closure, the Journey Oracle cards rest in a recessed niche with the paperback guide book resting on top.  The box is small enough that it can easily fit into a purse and it is nicely laminated to save it from eventual wear and tear.
The card backs are decorated with a tree containing a nest with two blue eggs – a very sweet visual homage to the author’s “two eggs,” her daughters.  The cards are nicely laminated with colored backgrounds of various colors throughout the deck; including, violet, pink, orange, three shades of green, light blue, burnt orange, etc …  This is not a reflection of various suits, but each color works well with the colors within that particular image and helps them all to visually “pop.”  Departing from the typical portrait-orientation, four cards are rendered in landscape orientation.  As a professional reader and artist I found this to be both interesting and refreshing. 
Card titles reflect characteristics that strong women have in common (Passion, Hope, Patience, etc …), along with cards reflecting possible weaknesses or sources of inner conflict (Storms, Torn, Confined, etc …).  Other cards represent qualities women possess that are also spiritual forces that can help in a particular situation; such as, Appreciation, Hope, Innocence, Independence, Defiance, and Desire.  Other cards represent universal archetypes; such as, The Guardian, The Adventurer, The Actress, The Quiet One, The Vampire (as in psychic vampire, not the mythological creature of the night), The Champion, The Messenger, and The Radiant One.  Divine energies are represented by The Goddess, Mother Earth, Eve, and The Ancestors.  Two cards depart from the formula and do not depict women.  Resilience is a tree stump with a single small living branch protruding from the very top with a blue bird perched upon it.  Home is a very comforting image of a quaint cottage surrounded by lush trees with a loving Mother Moon gazing down upon the scene and a bird’s nest in the foreground containing two blue eggs representing the author’s children.
The guide book contains a black and white image of each card on the opposite page from that card’s interpretation, which is divided into two sections:  “What the card says” and “What the card means.”  The cards for Appreciation and Home include a third section, “Consider this.”  The guide book contains no spreads and the author tells the reader that her cards can be used any way we see fit, including standard tarot lay outs.  I have done single card draws, 3-card draws, and a few Celtic Cross readings for myself using this deck.  It works well with all of these methods.  The Celtic Cross readings I gave myself were particularly insightful.  
Shorter lay outs result in readings that are clear and to the point.  A wonderful example of this is a 3-card draw I did regarding my 12-year-old daughter and a teacher who has been giving her problems.  My husband has just spoken to the principle and my question was, “How will all this turn out for my daughter?”  She had received an F in the class for the previous grading period due to having seven zeros on assignments and the teacher had never informed us she was doing so poorly, plus there were other issues going back to the start of the school year.
The cards I received were as follows:
–          Defiance:  “stand up, dust yourself off, & fight back …” (Guide Book, p. 18)
–          The Radiant One: “Wherever you go, people will be glad you are there.  You can inspire them to do great things…” (Guide Book, p. 84) (this card always comes up to represent my daughter)
–          Changes:  “As we change, we also grow …  We can’t change what has already happened, but can only move on and learn from what has happened …” (Guide Book, p. 14).
I interpreted this to mean we were correct in going to the principle as our daughter’s well being was at stake, and that changes of a positive nature would occur.  Interestingly, in other readings where the teacher appears as a card she is always represented by The Vampire.  The day after I did this reading the principle called me to say the teacher will allow our daughter to make up all the zero assignments and after she turns them in the F will be expunged from her record and her grade will be changed.  This is most definitely a situation where, although you usually can’t change what has already happened, in our daughter’s case she was being granted a unique opportunity, but we are all moving on having learned a great deal from the experience. 
This short reading got it right.  We were defiant and supported our child by going to the highest authority at the school.  Our daughter has remained bright and optimistic despite it all and she truly is The Radiant One, as depicted in this deck.  Changes were something that were most definitely needed in the situation.  You can see how well The Journey Oracle addressed this issue. It was clear, concise and to the point, not to mention very accurate. 
Personally, I really enjoy this deck. It has a very nice energy – comforting, nurturing, and reassuring.  Colors are bright and vibrant.  The cards may stick together a bit while shuffling if you live in a very humid climate as I do, but overall, I’m very happy with the Journey Oracle.  This is a deck definitely for the girls due to women being depicted on all but two cards; however, I have used this deck to read for my husband and it gave him two very accurate and helpful readings.  The deck may not appeal to male readers, however, it can be used to read for men if you so desire. 
I highly recommend the Journey Oracle, which is high praise indeed as oracle decks and I usually do not get along very well.  As a reader I am usually much more comfortable working within the framework of a major arcana and four minor arcana suits.  
I rate this deck 5 stars for the following:
·         Accuracy
·         Artistic rendering
·         Contains wonderful energy
·         Ease of use (no tarot or oracle reading experience is necessary, making this a great deck for beginners)
·         Packaging, in which Schiffer Publishing has excelled time and time again.

For those of us who enjoy adult coloring books (myself included), also available from Schiffer Publishing is a coloring book containing a line drawing of all the cards from The Journey Oracle.  This is a unique opportunity to be able to color in the cards from this deck in any way a person sees fit.  As an artist myself this idea really appeals to me and I hope that more publishers will follow Schiffer’s example.  The title is, “The Journey Coloring Book.”  It is in paperback and measures 8½ X 11”.   It retails for $9.99 and the ISBN # is:  978-0-7643-3784-0.