I have been collecting and reading Tarot decks for as long as I can remember. Usually I always ignored Oracle decks as they are in a completely different structure than what is a traditional Tarot Deck. But when I first saw this book and deck set, and looked at the few images the deck showed, and the really cheap price, I was sold. Now to be quite honest with you, being Latino the only experience I have with Astrology is Walter Mercado, and the rest, well I can say I am astrologically illiterate. So of course I had my doughts on purchasing this deck. But the cheap price and the beautiful images shown in the back won me over. This oracle deck is as it proclaims, Radiant, but more than that it is truly breathtaking. And you do not have to even know astrology to start reading because each of the 84 cards has a key word that can get you to start reading right away. So if you are a seasoned Tarot reader, or a newbie, these are truly perfect.
I had seen Caroline Smith's previous works with the Elemental Tarot, and I thought they were okay, was not really impressed. But these are just beautiful. . One of the things that really first attracted me to these cards is the art work. Each image conjures and inspires the psyche within in ways that I never thought possible. The art used is a collage of Medieval, and renaissance images, that reminds me of art work used in ancient grimoires, occult books, and ancient maps The other thing I loved about this deck is that the cards are really eclectic, and one does not have to be a student of Astrology to use them.. Occult and religious Images grace each card, images such as Voodoo Veves and other occult sigils, Buddha, Hindu Gods, Biblical characters such as Solomon and Moses, dragons, demons, Greek gods, Egyptian images, Angels, fairies, and so on and so on. Each card is breathtaking, and beautiful.
Unlike traditional tarot, this does not have the Major or Minor arcana. Instead it is broken into 7 suites. They are the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. Each suite has 12 cards each using the 12 zodiac signs, Leo, Scorpio and so on. The cards are the size of playing cards, and shuffle with ease for small hands. The cards are of a medium thick stock with a nice coating for durability. The thing I love the most about this deck is that one does not have to be fluent in Astrology, and it is a good tool for those who want to begin to learn about Astrology. But not just that the images really wakes the curiosity, and at least for me, made me want to search the meaning behind the pictures.
There where only two problems that I found with this kit. One although I love the book that it comes with, it is made in a way that the back flap is also the base where the cards are held. So when you are reading the book, there is this big flap that is anointing, until of course you use scissors and carefully cut along the crease to get rid of this really annoying flap. If you are a seasoned card reader, you will have a bag or box to place the cards, and that is that. The other problem i had was the really bad typo in the beginning of the book. It begins with a Short introduction, that would have been beautiful, but the typo made you feel like you where Elmer Fudd. All the s where replaced by f, and it makes it confusing to read. But beside these two minor little problems, that can really be fixed or overlooked. This is one of the most beautiful oracle decks, I have seen. I am still studying them, but because there is a key word printed on each card. I have done minor test readings for myself that have come out really accurate. This deck has a romantic renaissance; Medieval and Victorian feel to them, that conjurors the memory and feel of Spiritists, Mediums, Gypsi Witches, and Psychics of old, Its in the cards this will defiantly be a classic.
