Deck Review: Wisdom of the Oracle

Colette Baron-Reid (author) and Jena DellaGrottaglia(artist), Wisdom of the Oracle Divination Cards. Carlsbad, CA: Hay House Publishing, 2015.

Link to publisher: https://www.hayhouse.com/wisdom-of-the-oracle-divination-cards

Genre: Oracle card deck with guidebook
Subgenre: oracle, divination, cartomancy
Format: 52 cards deck with small guidebook in box
Source: I bought and own this one. If I recall, this is my second Baron-Reid deck, which I got after I got the Enchanted Map Oracle Cards deck (link to my review of that).

I used this one for a good while as part of my daily rotation. As I rotate this one out to use a different oracle deck, I wanted to write a review and here we go.

Let's start with the companion guidebook. This book is arranged simply. It includes "a note about the cards," a note on the oracle, "how it works," and meanings for all of the 52 cards in this oracle deck.

• "A note about the cards.' This is a short note from the author. She speaks briefly about how she creates a new deck. Note if you've watched her videos, say on YouTube,  you may already be familiar with that story. 
• In "how it works," she explains some of the elements in the deck and how to work with the deck. This includes explaining about reversal cards, which she labels as "protection" cards. Naturally, you can or not use reversals based on your preferences, but I'd say for this deck they may at least be worth a look. This section also offers some suggestions on preparing for a reading, some spreads (one card, two cards, three cards, i.e. nothing fancy), and explains the types of meaning the cards offer (essential, oracle's message, relationship message, prosperity message, and protection message). Finally, this section gives some sample readings. 
• Card meanings for all 52 cards.

If you are new to using oracle cards, the author provides a good amount of guidance in the card

Card 10: Unfinished Symphony

meanings. The book includes small illustrations depicting each card and presenting its meanings. Overall, the text and cards are mostly gentle and positive in tone and outlook. Baron-Reid offers a deck with imagery and content that is gentle, calm, and nurturing. Personally, I used a combination of my intuition with the text when doing readings with this deck, and it works for me. With practice, you can learn the meanings and combine with your own intuition (or not I am not telling you what to do with your deck) if you use the deck with others.

Let's go over the cards. The art is by Jena DellaGrotaglia, who has done the art in other Baron-Reid decks.  The art can be described as fantasy based with surrealistic elements. It is beautiful light art with mainly pastel tones. The images are relatively gentle. If you are looking for a soothing, easy, and positive deck, this is a good choice. If you want a deck you can use with folks who do not want "dark" or "scary" elements, this can be a good choice as well.

Card 37: Never-Ending Story

I particularly like the surrealism and magical imagery in these cards. You can lose yourself looking at the images. The imagery is rich, and it can inspire intuitive readers a bit. Each card is numbered and features a keyword/short key phrase. I find it to be a soothing deck, but it does give good messages as well. You can use it by itself or combined with Tarot decks. I find it works well with lighter types of Tarot decks. I'd say this deck has a dreamy quality to it, and I mean that in a good way.

Card 47: Go the distance

The cards meassure about 5 inches by 3 3/4 inches. They have a light, glossy finish. The back side is fully reversible. I do not generally do riffle shuffle, but if you do, the cards can be a bit stiff for that. They do feel durable.

Overall, it is a nice deck with good art. I like its dream-like quality, the
surreal elements, and its calm elements. For me, it reads well, and it often gives me good messages to think and ponder. I really like it, and I am happy to have it in my collection.

4 out of 5 stars.

Notes: 

>All photos in this post are taken by me from my personal copy of the deck, except the promo photo for the deck, which comes from the author's site.

>If you want to try the deck "virtually", Baron-Reid usually features some of her decks on her website for people to do one card readings; this is a free feature. As of this post, this deck was on the rotation. Direct link to that part of her website: https://www.colettebaronreid.com/use-colettes-free-online-oracle-cards-app/