Deck Review: Celtic Wisdom Oracle

Caitlin Matthews (author) and Wil Kingham (art), The Celtic Wisdom Oracle. London, UK: Watkins, 2011. ISBN: 9781780285115. Note: Seems publisher has renamed the deck as The Ancestral Oracle of the Celts (link to publisher. Details appear mostly the same).

Genre: oracle decks, Celtic

Subgenre: cartomancy, nature

Format: 40 cards set with companion book and foldout sheet.

Source: I own this one. Found it second hand at Half Price Books.

 

I first used this deck in June 2023. This set includes 40 oracle cards, a companion book, and a foldout diagram. The book has 88 pages, and it is arranged as follows: 

• Introduction: Keepers of the family soul. This includes a discussion of ancestors and a small discussion on drawing the cards. 
• Chapter 1: Questioning the oracle: How to use the oracle. This provides interpretation basics. 
• Chapter 2: Ancestral Footprints: Spreads and Patterns. You get four card spreads to try out. 
• Chapter 3: The Divine Ancestors: the Wisdom of Elders. This presents the eight Divine Ancestor cards in the deck. Each entry includes card title, interpretation text, four topics to consider with questions (general attitude, work/creativity, health/well-being, and love/friendship), and positions in the Sun Wheel. 
• Chapter 4: The Clan Cards: Ancestors of our Bloodline. The remaining 32 cards are arranged in four clans. The four clans "represent the four social conditions of the ancient Celtic world: farmers, warriors, rulers, and 'the people of the art' or the druids, poets, and healers" (40). The card entries include card title, interpretation text, meanings upright and reversed, and a family wisdom message. 
• Chapter 5: Reweaving the Web: Re-membering the Ancestors. Working more with the ancestors, looking at family and group patterns. Some additional spreads to try out are included. 
• Further reading and resources. A short list of seven books on Celtic culture for further reading and learning.

 

The Druid card

The book offers a lot of information and material to work on. All card entries include a small color image of the card. The entries' interpretation text include description of the card and a bit of the character history and folklore. As someone not an expert on Celtic folklore, the entries provide the basics. I felt I got enough to get me started, learn a little bit, and then research further if I wanted. The book is accessible and very easy to read. I mainly used the deck as I often use oracle decks: for a weekly card pull; I consulted the book as needed to supplement my initial intuitive reading of a card. The book offers a lot more in terms of prompts and spreads to work with the cards further. I can see how folks can use the deck and book for ancestor and family work. The book is concise. 

The foldout sheet is mainly a diagram to understand the relationships between the cards and the Celtic year. I did not use it nor felt a need to use it when using the deck, but it may be helpful for some readers. If I had worked with the deck more in depth, I may have used the sheet. It is a nice additional detail. 

The 40 cards feature original art in full color. Art is by Wil Kingham, who also did the art for the Steampunk Tarot: Wisdom from the Gods of the Machine (link to my review ). The cards are colorful but not too bright. Green is a predominant color, which goes with the Celtic theme. I'd say much of the art is slice of life, depicting aspects of daily living. Many images can be read intuitively; I felt I was able to read many of them with ease. The book provides explanations of the symbols in the cards. Still, these are not heavily esoteric cards. Anyone can pick them them up to read with relative ease. The card images are expressive with good detail. They can offer enough for intuitive readers, though I still recommend reading the book. 

The Maiden card

The cards measure about 4 1/2 inches by 3 1/4 inches. The card stock is a bit on the thin side, feels flexible. The cards have a very soft and light glossy finish; they shuffle easily. The card back design is simple, nice, and reversible. The card art features a thin Celtic art border, which looks nice. 

Overall, I really liked this deck. I like the artwork. I like it is relatively easy to read. I may want to read more on Celtic culture and folklore to get more out of it, but it is a good deck all around. I hope people with Celtic interest will enjoy it. This deck is good too for folks interested in nature themed decks. It can be a good spring and summer deck, but use it any time. 

4 out of 5 stars. 

 

 

 

 

Deck kit qualifies for the following 2023 Reading Challenge: