So I’ve cycled through the majority of my tarot decks, excluding my Halloween Tarot by Karin Lee and Kipling West, which I’ll be using closer to that time, and my Motherpeace Tarot by Karen Vogel and Vicki Noble, which I always seem to forget I have. I took a moment to decide whether to use a deck that I’ve already used, or to use one of my oracle decks. I’m not an enormous fan of oracle decks, just because so many of the cards are made up to suit whatever visual aesthetic that the creator was trying to go for with the cards. However, I do have a special fondness for the oracle decks created by Colette Baron Reid. For some reason, her images and meanings really resonate with me, and I always get an amazing reading with her cards.
So today I’ll be using the Wisdom of the Hidden Realms oracle from CBR. This is a pretty new deck to me, and I haven’t had much time to get to know it. The cards feature personifications of various Jungian-esque archetypes, and the art is stunning. The only thing I love/hate about it is the gilded edges of the cards. I understand that the gilded edges are meant to kind of ‘elevate’ the cards, creating a quality that makes them feel luxurious. However, I cringe whenever I have to shuffle them, freaking out over every nick or blemish in the gilding. It really messes with the perfectionist in me.
One thing I love, however, is that when the cards are reversed, they’re known as ‘challengers’. When they’re not reversed, they’re ‘allies’. I kind of dig that system.
