Wicca Oracle Cards
by Lo Scarabeo.
Divine your way to self-knowledge and awareness. Built upon the core beliefs and traditions of Wicca, this vividly illustrated oracle can put you in touch with the sacred gods and goddesses. Whether youﾒre seeking spiritual wisdom or answers to everyday questions, the Wiccan Oracle offers inspiration and an illuminating perspective.
Cards measure 4 x 5 inches.
Full Review: This kit is a repackaging of an older kit called Wiccan Cards. The new version has several improvements. It uses the same card images but the cards are larger, with lovely decorative purple borders and the addition of textured silver foil that is used in the borders and is incorporated into the images themselves, giving them more interest and life. Perhaps even more important is the longer booklet, written by Lunaea Weatherstone, an accomplished writer and High Priestess of the Sisterhood of the Silver Branch. This new booklet fills in many of the gaps left by the old one and makes the oracle more useful to beginners.
Oracle decks can be great additions to one's divinatory tool box. However, all oracle decks are not created equally. Because they do not have a built in structure, such as tarot decks do, they run the risk of being a random and arbitrary collection of lovely pictures. Although, even this is even too harsh a criticism, for anyone can, if they set their mind to it, find an omen or message in anything. This lack of definition makes reviewing an oracle deck all the more difficult. For what does one base one's critique on? There is no required structure; there are no clear expectations.
The question often becomes: does it perform as an oracle? A good question perhaps, but then so much depends on the skill of the reader, doesn't it? Some readers can read the steam off your coffee while others may be, shall we say, less proficient. In addition, oracle decks require that you get to know them, to understand how they work, and to allow them to play with your intuitive and psychic methods. It is a relationship that must be built between the user and the cardsﾗand it can take time.
In reviewing the Wicca Oracle, we'll consider a few specific aspects: theme and structure, imagery, instructions/interpretations provided, and how to best work with them.
The theme of the Wicca Oracle is clear: Wicca, primarily Celtic. The theme shapes the structure as well as the symbols and messages. The thirty-three cards are divided into five groups.
There are four element cards represented not by element but by the Wiccan tool associated with the element. The Athame for air, the Pentacle for earth, the Cup for water, and the Wand for fire. In the booklet, it is noted they relate to the directions as well: east, north, west, and south respectively. Jumping ahead to discuss imagery, there is little on the cards to indicate the elements. The Wand and The Cup show fire and water, while the Sword and the Pentacle do not show air or earth. Also, none have any indication that I can see of the direction it represents. The positive side of this lack of directional representation is that some practitioners assign different directions to the elements. However, it is a weakness in a deck that claims it can be a first introduction to the Wiccan Way of Life. An introductory deck should include visual cues to help the beginner learn. Luckily, this deck now includes a longer booklet with more details and instructions, making this well suited to beginners as well as much seasoned practitioners.
There are two deity cards, one to represent the Goddess and one for the GodﾗAradia and Cerunnos, respectively.
Eight cards represent each of the Sabbats, Imbolc, Ostara, Beltane, Litha, Lammas, Mabon, Samhain, and Yule.
Three cards are called Master cards and represent the Other-world, the Three Wise Ones, and the Oak Tree.
The last sixteen cards are symbol cards and include: spiral, cat, ring, mask, kettle, raven, butterfly, book of shadows, mandrake, fox, tree of life, broom, pond, chariot, mare, and Celtic harp.
The imagery is charming but lacks immediacy. Most of the cards nicely illustrate what they are supposed to. Imbolc shows a sheep and two lambs in the snow with a few early flowers blooming. It is pastoral and very sweet. It adequately illustrates how many people think of Imbolc. The kettle shows an iron kettle with a spout hanging from a chain. Liquid is inside and steam rising up. One must imagine a fire beneath it, as there isn't one in the picture. The broom shows a picture of a broom leaning in a corner with a picture of a flowering tree on the wall behind it. They are all exactly what they say they are. But they are quiet. They are not cards that most people can pick up, shuffle, lay down and do a quick reading with. They are more of an invitation than a message. They are soft-spoken and to use them, you must approach them gently, with a calm and receptive spirit.
The book includes instructions for using the cards for readings and for magical purposes. For each card, Lunaea provides background for the symbol, its upright and reversed meaning, keywords, an affirmation, and a challenge.
This deck is most suited, I think, for Wiccan practitioners who want an oracle deck to act as a doorway for their own spirit and intuition. These simple cards invite meditation and reflection. To just look at, say, the broom card and expect an instant trigger or clear answer will be disappointing. However, to gaze at the broom and let your mind wander and imagine the picture coming to life (is the broom sweeping or flying out of the picture which has somehow become a window?) will yield much more satisfactory results.
