Compare Frouds Faeries and Heart of Faerie.

I agree Absynthe, and I think the influence of Jessica McBeth and her writing really made the FO, as it was his art both times.

Now that I have both decks in front of me, there are a couple of things to note.

Although the card stock is the same size, they are not the same weight or feel. HOF cards have a heavy plastic coating on them which makes the deck thicker than FO even though its the same number of cards, and less easy to shuffle conventionally. It also means if you are planning to shuffle them together into a single deck then each deck will clump rather than mix freely.

I find FO to have a more carefree and playful feel about it than HOF and the archetypes its contains to be more generally useful. It covers life's trials more broadly than HOF and gives better insight into general questions. I also just really like the artwork better. It is more whimsical than HOF and the singers, are really great for signalling major life themes within a reading.

The artwork for HOF is tighter, more structured and just that bit restrained. There are fewer of the weird and wonderful creatures and the colours are really muted compared to FO. HOF is more centrered on the internal journey to wholeness and therefore can come across a little confusing if you are wanting clarity on events and circumstances.

I have both decks and even use both in a single reading, but I tend to reach for HOF cards as clarifiers for example if an event seems to be tied to a relationship and FO as clarifiers if I want to know the larger impact of a relationship trouble and what it might mean to that person's soul journey.

If you are wanting a deck for general guidance then FO is the better bet. Relationship to self or others, go with HOF. I'm glad I have both decks but FO is still my favourite.

Absynthe said:

I have both. I like HOF and overall its a good deck, but there are two cards in there which are WTH moments for me, Pan and Hero. They are both so out of step with the rest of the deck I'm actually removing them altogether. The artwork seems off, the card meaning even more so. I get the feeling some meddler (Wendy) insisted on having those two jammed into the deck because they personally like them, but they just do not belong. They are both completely non froud-faerie concepts and I can find no connection with those cards at all. The rest of the deck is awesome and I get a lot of accuracy with them.

I do find though that the original faerie oracle had a vibe that was hard to beat and although it was more random in its structure it worked better. It was more froudian because someone wasn't trying to overlay new agey feminist rubbish over the top of it. It just was what it was, a faerie deck with its own purpose and ideas about the universe. To make HOF work the same way you really have to throw away a lot of the book and just connect to the cards yourself to find their meaning on your own. If you want a completely intuitive deck then HOF can work that way well.

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Thankyou for your in depth comparative review. I still have not invested in the HoF, yet. Still unsure whether or not to get it. Maybe one day, at the moment I only have one oracle and it is Frouds Fairies, I am still learning this, it is fascinating, thanks again!

Mags x

MagsStardustBlack said:

I had heard that The Heart of Faerie was not as impressive and that some of the images were repeated from Frouds Oracle - is this true?

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There are no repeated images as far as I can tell, but there are similar ones. The Queen of Laughter in the HoF is similar to Losgunna in the FFO, but is a totally new painting on the same theme. Froud seems to explore certain themes repeatedly, as I'm sure you've noticed.

Both decks have art that was used before, as book illustrations and the like. I feel like there is more of that in the HoF. I was excited to get the HoF because there are some cards that did prior service as cover art for books I've enjoyed. The Queen of Hearth and Home, for instance, was the original cover for Charles de Lint's The Wild Wood, and the Queen of Passage was on The Dreaming Place. Also, the Queen of the Day was the cover for Patricia McKillip's Something Rich and Strange. Some of the art comes out of the book he did with Ari Berk on runes, also.

Basically if you're a fan of Froud's art, you can't go wrong getting this deck. I guarantee you'll be pleased.

If you're looking for a deck you can read with, your mileage may vary. That's really down to individual taste. I know a lot of people don't like Wendy's book that came with the HoF, but I prefer it, myself. The FFO book kind of annoys me. But I don't really use either book to tell the truth. They just sit on the shelf.

There's been tons of discussion on the two decks but I am constantly discovering new things or having new thoughts about them. The original Faeries Oracle was my first oracle deck and will probably always be my favorite. When I got the Heart of Faery, at first I as disappointed. It didn't hold me and mesmorize me in the same way the original deck did. But as I have continued to work with it I've grown to like it more. I also believe the depth of the readings with the Heart of Faery deck are not as deep....or maybe the issues are more defined (as in relationships) and things of a more human nature.

Honestly I find the Fae in the Heart of Faery far too human like. While they represent very real human issues they just don't have the same feel as the faeries in the Faeries Oracle. I almost see them as a bridge between the two worlds. With the Faeries Oracle being deeply inbedded in the fae world, with riddles and totally different ways of seeing the world. While the Heart of Faery is more in the "veil" bridging the two and with a more human perspective. As I'm typing this it came into my mind that the Heart of Faeries is like a dumbed down version of the lessons the fae have to teach us....not as complex as the Faeries Oracle.

Sometimes the readings with the Heart of Faery just dont seem to flow....what they say doesn't always fit the question or go together smoothly with the other cards in the reading. I don't have that problem very often with the Faeries Oracle, there are so many possibilities and so many ways the cards can interact together that they read well for almost any question.

I know people combined them. I tried it for a couple readings and it felt most uncomfortable....the ancient wisdom of the Faeries Oracle definitely overshadowed the message from the Heart of Faery....so that I really don't read them together any more.

Quite honestly I cannot imagine being without the Faeries Oracle but I could get by without the Heart of Faery. It is nice but not essential.

I know this thread is old but thought I would post anyways. I see that several of my old friends still around here . Yes I am still as much into the faeries as I ever was LOL. I got the HOF when it came out but it originally did nothing for me really ... then I learned. It is a deck that will call you and teach you when you hit certain lows and need some redericting. In my case it was to bring me back intouch with Faerie and with myself. It is not a deck I use a lot, but when you are trully disconnected from Faerie the faeries from this deck will guide you back and you will find your old friends from the Faeries Oracle there ready to work their magic (good and mischevious alike) on you.

The deck does not have the same feel as the Faeries Oracle, nor is it intended to I don't think. It works at an entire different level.

A really interesting and complementary take on Heart of Faerie. I have been reluctant to purchase it until now. You have made me rethink HoF and now I feel I would like to hold it my self. Thankyou for your words they are lovely :.)

In my case it's the opposite reaction. I much prefer Heart of Faerie over the Faerie's Oracle, the colors are more vibrant, the faes are much more. But after reading the Faerie's Oracle study group the deck has started to grow on me. But I've ditched The Maiden card from Faerie's Oracle and keep The Maiden from the Heart of Faerie instead, that baby is no Maiden.

Different decks, but very complimentary

I found these cards in the reverse order of many who love the Faerie oracle. I had no intention of buying any decks of any cards, but I was drawn to the section of the bookstore where these cards were displayed. The Heart of Faerie deck chose me more than I chose it.

After two weeks exploring the deck and falling totally in love with it, I began to feel drawn to the first deck, the Faeries' Oracle. Today I finally investigated this deck, bought it, and am absolutely certain I will love it.

From just an initial introduction with the Faeries' deck, I can certainly see how it is much looser in its organization than the HoF. HoF seems to deal with archetypes more, and does have a bit more internal structure. The art is slightly different, but it's all beautiful.

After having perused the Faeries' deck, I believe that these two decks, while different, compliment each other beautifully. No wonder the HoF was leading me to the Faeries' deck. It wasn't quite complete.

Heart of Fairy-

PROs:

Art work is cool.
I like the back of these cards better as in the illustration or design.
Cards are numbered better and easier to read.
Very on to it readings although sometimes it can be a riddle.
Well written descriptions.

CONs:

Doesnt have reversal meanings.
Writing for me would have been better in black. (Both books).
3 extra cards were a bit of a question mark.
CHILD card (24) for me is a little disturbing and THE BIG BEHIND (47).
To read that MOST FAIRIES shouldnt be trusted except really THE SPEAKER OF TRUTH (13) is also a bit disconcerting because then surely the readings cant be trusted unless that card turns up.

FAIRIES ORACLE-

PROs:

Some real depth to how these cards address questions in the meanings given.
Upright as well as Reversal meanings.
Nails things in a very uncanny way. eg 3 WISHES spread.
Alot of the art work is cool, some that differ look like the Aurora lights or alien creatures.

CONs:

Written numbers in the 30s and 50s look the same.
Font is more difficult to read on these cards compared to the other deck.
Dont like the backs or brown color chosen for the background.
Aurora like images do nothing for me.

Card stock for both I would say isnt solid. I like both decks for different reasons and there are some things I dont like in both decks for different reasons only those things have nothing to do with the well worded descriptions or readings themselves.

As oracle cards go I think they will be up there for me like the Tea Leaf Oracle cards.

That is what I think after having them since Wednesday afternoon and now it is Friday night and yesterday I was at the casino.