If I am not mistaken, this deck is actually
Colette Baron-Reid's first tarot deck.
Colette has made a name for herself with some truly interesting oracle decks that she has put out. I, myself have the
Wisdom of the Hidden Realms Oracle as of a few years ago. And I've had my eye on the
Wisdom of Avalon Oracle, which I hope will someday make its way into my collection. Someday!
Reading reviews online has been a mixed bag. A lot of people are not into this deck for the same reason I wasn't that into it. It doesn't really work as a tarot deck, but it does still have imagery that your intuition can connect with on an emotional level. I say its best not to point fingers and to instead let the cards speak for themselves. Let's face it, while some of us may not necessarily be crazy about the way that this deck reads, for somebody else it could be an ice breaker. There will likely be somebody out there who has wanted to make the jump from oracle to tarot and has struggled to make the transition. Well, I think this deck can bridge the gap for them as a transitional tool. But once there is comfort with these cards, I definitely recommend adopting a
Rider-Waite Smith,
Thoth or
Marseille tradition deck to continue the journey down the tarot path. Oracle decks and tarot don't work the same way, no matter which reader glamours the craft well enough to make it seem like the same thing. Don't be fooled!
The illustrations of this deck are so gorgeous. Some of them look like stills from really fantastical dreams. I actually love the soft, grungy collage feeling that they have. I just had to get it in the hopes that it would be a great deck for daily card draws, to wet the imagination on days where starting seems like a tedious task. The cards are oracle size and the entire deck in a stack is pretty bulky, but I like the card stock. It will hold up to use over time, and likely destroy your hands in the process. It’s sturdy!
The card backs are gorgeous. This deck looks a lot like a fairy tale storybook from olden times, worn and tattered after years of keeping people entertained. Stories take us to places of fantasy and moral teachings. In a lot of ways this deck is a storybook that changes its order again and again to regale you with endless stories. Oh, the intrigue! Your life unfolds before your eyes in sweet, tender storytelling. I actually find that rather endearing.
I really wanted to love this deck more. It’s hard to when the imagery is so beautiful but you can’t really find the substance that you need in it. I couldn’t talk to a client about why their relationship didn’t work out when I don’t even see any indicatives of hard times in the cards. It’s all set in this detached dream realm where everything and everyone is picture perfect.
This is definitely an art deck. I recommend to use it as an oracle. It’s really hard for me to see these cards as a tarot deck. They are stripped of any hermeticism, and read mostly as emotional oracle cards. It’s really hard to fit them into a system that makes sense when they replace very important symbols with watered down and non-threatening images. Not only are these images non-threatening, though, they're also very detached from us. I can't quite put my finger on it, I just know it's not working for me yet.
There is nothing really deep about this deck. It takes away all the pain and the hardships from the tarot and instead fills in that void with sugarcoated fluff. I think the deck is very beautiful but at least for me it is unusable for work. I need to be able to tell people why their relationships aren't working out, why their business is unable to sustain itself, why they're not going to get that house they have been so ardently working to get... if that's the case. While readers deal out glowing news, often times readers also face the responsibility of telling a client why their dream is about to flop. Readers also need to be able to offer options or next steps, and I'm just not seeing that flow with these cards.
Due to the inconvenient card size and the style of the cards, I don’t see myself using this deck as a workhorse copy. I do, however, see myself pulling this out if ever I find myself writing fantasy or if I need to read for somebody who is afraid of the tarot. Some of us need the darkness present in everyday life to be able to read, simply because life itself is a balance of darkness and light. When you understand that and live under that principle, you can't embrace one extreme over the other and still be able to give grounded advice.
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What is your most important characteristic?
Sun. Radiating warmth and joy unto all. An uncharacteristic sense of wellbeing is projected out to bring even more positivity to the lives of those seeking advice. A light that when cast so vigorously over events will take out shadow aspects out of sight.
The light of self-empowerment burns gold and blinding.
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What are your strengths as a tarot deck?
Knight of Wands. The crown of candles drew my eyes in right away. It is a deck meant to prompt personal realizations, to strengthen our own confidence. I see the glow in the face of the Knight as one that comes from looking directly at the Sun, even though in this spread she has her back to the Sun. Instead she looks to the limitations being worked on. This Knight does not appreciate limitations or responsibilities if they slow her goal from springing into being.
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What are your limits?
Eight of Coins. Some of the possibilities growing in your life stretch past your limits, and are therefore outside your control. What will help you understand your possibilities is to also understand just how much is in your control. Once you are in the know, you can proceed to do what is needed to get the desired results. Working around your limits is definitely an act of patience.
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What are you here to teach me?
Ace of Cups. I am here to teach you to be okay with your vulnerability, to learn to express your feelings in awkward times and to remind you that the way that you feel is absolutely valid. Fantasy themes don’t necessarily eliminate the possibility of what you feel being very real, and being able to draw connections between the fantastic and the real elements just the same.
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How can I best learn to collaborate with you?
Nine of Swords. Accept the circumstances. Don’t get overwhelmed by the sources of stress. Instead, seek to free yourself from them. Allow the glow coming from within to be your guiding light in the darkness. Travel swiftly, light, fast, and invisible. Ask for help from your guides knowing that you intuition will take you where you need to go.
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What is the potential outcome of our working relationship?
Six of Wands. The feeling of overcoming all obstacles to move forward in the world brings satisfaction. There are times of celebration ahead for having braved the rough and not given up. There are special medals for all those of those overcoming their obstacles and besting themselves. It all starts with you.
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Which card do you want to show off?
The World. Proper calibration of energies can help you feel like everything is falling into place. Everything as it connects to the woven fabric of life, as it stretches out into bodies of much larger scale. It's all connected somehow.
See, here’s my problem with this deck. A literal illustration of
The World,
The Moon and
The Sun all in one card. The concept of
The World is stripped of all its symbols, the victory wreath, the naked woman. All we are left with is the planet.
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How do you see me?
The Star. Vulnerable, out in the open. Transparent. People see through you the same way you see through them. Learning to express and accept emotions. Tears aplenty. With opening up and being vulnerable comes sharing the darker parts of yourself that others won't understand or will somehow judge.
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How do you see yourself?
Page of Cups. A young or youthful spirit that is sensitive and intuitive. A reflection of your younger self, perhaps before you went through the transformation you are just now recovering from. There is emotional respite here if you seek it with an open mind an heart.
All in all, not a contender for my go-to selections. While this deck is certainly beautiful to look at, I was disappointed by the childproof bumpers put on the edges of the card. Life isn’t just rainbows and purple flowers.
Maybe next time,
Colette Baron-Reid.
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