Deck Review: Sacred Sites Oracle Cards

Barbara Meiklejohn-Free (author) and Yuri Leitch (artist), Sacred Sites Oracle Cards. Newbury Port, MA: Watkins Publishing (imprint of Red Wheel/Weiser). 2015. ISBN: 9781780288420. (link to publisher)

This kit includes the 53-card deck and a small companion book. The kit comes in a nice slipcase, which adds a bit of a classy element. From the publisher's description: 

"Heal your past, transform your present, and fulfill your potential by connecting with the planet's most sacred sites. . .". 

 The book is arranged as follows: 

• Introduction. The author describes some of her travels to sacred sites and the overall concept of the deck. If you can't just take off to travel, the cards here may help you connect with the energy of these sacred sites. 
• How to read the cards. Here we get instruction on how to use the deck. The cards are arranged by directions: north, east, south, and west. Each card has interpretations based on these world: lower world (the past), middle world (the present), and upper world (potential). In a nutshell, you interpret the card based on what part of a card-- top, middle, or bottom-- catches your eye right away. It's a different system, and best I can tell unique to this deck. 
• Card entries. Entries are grouped by direction. Note that entries under each direction are not alphabetized. Since the cards are not number either, it may take a bit of work finding a card entry in the book. Each entry includes location name, card's energy focus, and location of the site. Each entry also has interpretation for each world-- lower, middle, and upper. Each entry closes with a small ritual, invocation, meditation, and/or exercise you can do. On a side note, card entry book pages are color coded. The detail makes the book look nice, but that is about it. 
• Small list of resources. This is basically the authors' books and websites. A bit of self-promotion. 

 

The card art has a nice pastel coloring style with good details. The art does draw you in. The division of past, present, and future is more apparent in some cards than others. Cards overall are nice and colorful. In theory, I would say you can probably read the cards intuitively. However, you will need to read the book if you want to read them according to the author's system of directions and levels. The text interpretations are good, but you need to do some serious study to master the deck's system. Personally, I sort of read the cards intuitively and then read the book for clarification or to enhance my initial reading. 

The cards measure about 5 inches by 3 inches. The cards have a color border based on its region. At the side of each card there is an arrow tip to indicate a card's direction. The cards have a thick glossy finishl they can stick together when shuffling. The card back art is minimalist and reversible, though the deck is not designed for reversals. 

Overall, I like the deck. I do like the art. It's system does feel a bit complex at times. You do need to keep the book on hand. While I am good with it in my collection, it does not feel like a deck I'd bring out to use often. It may be comparable to the Earth Power Oracle (link to my review). Between the two, I like the other deck better. 

3 out of 5 stars.  

 This kit qualifies for the following 2026 Reading Challenge: