Heart of Faery vs. Faeries Oracle?

autumn star

inanna_tarot said:
Also, the HOF has Wendy Froud writing the book. Nothing wrong with Wendy, but when you compare it to the Faeries Oracle with Jessica Macbeth writing, Jess wins hands down. She has a unique amazing relationship with the faeries, and worked with Froud on creating the concept of the oracle as a lover of the artwork and a lover of the faerie world. You feel as though she is talking to you as an equal on how to work with the faeries, with Wendy it feels as though theres a bit of hierarchy, in that 'Im Wendy Froud, I know everything, sit and listen'... just my opinion.

And the Cards themselves are so much more talkative in the FO. The HOF are a bit wet lettuce at times, a bit psychological and wishy washy, whilst the FO will slap you with a wet fish with the answer, giggle at you and then give you a big kiss.

Much prefer the FO. I could rave about it for ever. lol

I completey agree with inanna_tarot here :) I started off with the Heart of Faery first which drew me in made me want to explore the original. I use the Faeries Oracle alot more than the HOF now, especially for my daily draws and the book that comes with the Faeries would be more helpful to someone who is new to faeries or oracles.
 

Alta

hum, I prefer the FO but not as definitively as other posters. I like both very much. It is clear that his art style has changed over the years, also I find the categories in the HoF not as clear as in the FO. I wonder if that was the influence of Jessica McBeth.
 

MareSaturni

I prefer the Heart of the Faerie.

I have the Faerie's Oracle, and frankly I never got a reading from that oracle that made sense to me. Whereas the Heart of Faerie, for some reason, seems more clear.

Perhaps it's because this kind of faerie is not originally part of my culture... it is something that was brought from Europe, nobody here cares much about faeries except fantasy artists, RPG players and Wicca people.

So, I find it a bit hard to find the "meaning" of the cards in the Faerie's Oracle, it seem it gets lost in the middle of a of a folk-spiritual-lore talk and I find myself more confused than enlightened. As for let the faeries talk to you.... well... still waiting. And trust me, I have tried.

The Heart of the Faerie is a bit relationship-oriented, but seems a bit more to the point of me. You don't have to belong to the Faerie religion and beg the Faerie people to talk to you before trying to use the oracle. I don't think it's an inferior sequel, but maybe a "Faerie-for-the-non-initiated".

Also, I LOVE the art of the HOF, so much that I even have the book in which he published it first! :love:

I don't know, perhaps I should give the Faerie's Oracle another chance since so many people seem to love it. *shrugs*
 

greatdane

Really enjoying reading your posts....

Love to read how you FEEL about these oracles, because that's what it's really about. You have all been so expressive and generous with your thoughts and I really appreciate that, as it helps making a decision.

Interesting, Marina. Thank you for explaining why you prefer the HOF. Very well said and it seems each of these oracles has not only something different to say, but communicates in a different way?

Blessings all,
GD
 

Laura Borealis

greatdane said:
If you were going to give one as a gift, which would you choose?

It would depend on who I was getting it for. If they were a big fan of Brian and Wendy's art, I'd probably go with Heart of Faery. I don't have it yet, but from what I've seen, I think the art is a little nicer (personal opinion!). The big thing for me, though, is that some of the cards come from art that Brian did for the Faerielands series book covers. For publisher reasons, only the first two books were released with Brian's covers, the way he meant them to be. So it's neat to see those paintings given new life in the HoF deck.

I do love the Faeries Oracle and I definitely connected with it in a way that was both deep and a lot of fun. The book is excellent, too. Ideally one could give both as a gift. :)


*edited for clarity!
 

greatdane

Thank you, Laura!

I appreciate your thoughts. As I will just gift one, and I have neither to judge from, I am depending upon ATers thoughts as to which would make the best one to give, at least as a first introduction. I know the first tends to be what people go with, but didn't know if it made a difference. Your thoughts re depending on who it's for and their perspective is helpful. I know they don't have any fairy oracles as of yet, so wanted to give one that would make the best first impression.

GD
 

faunabay

Somebody else, Satori I think, explained them as the Country Fae (faeries oracle) and the City Fae (heart of faery). LOL And I think that's a wonderful description!!! :D .....as the faeries oracle seem more like the faeries you'd "see" in the wild. Where the heart of faeries would be "seen" in the cities! :*
 

Laura Borealis

I like that distinction. The Faeries' Oracle are definitely woodsy! You could lose the cards in a pile of leaves. :D

There's a short but good review of the Heart of Faerie here. I'm liking the idea of Journey cards.

Though I guess if I could only choose one to gift... and taking in consideration the fact that I have only seen scans of the HoF... I'd probably have to go with the Faerie's Oracle. It's tried and true. Plus there's the study group here, a wonderful resource for the giftee if they chose to come here to AT.
 

greatdane

Any place to compare scans of each?

I've seen a handful of scans, but wondering if there's anywhere to compare each? Is there some place to look at all scans of each deck? Both seem to have lovely artwork from the cards I've seen, but I notice a lot seem to like the first book better.
 

greatdane

Thanks, Laura!

Checked out that site and enjoyed reading the HOF review! Wow, decisions, decisions.