moon oracle and radiant sun

I'm thinking of treating myself to both of these as I find myself drooling over the images at every possible opportunity. I'm wondering about the books that come with these decks. How big are they and how indepth? I don't really have time to study a new system of divination, but I love the images.

The Radiant Sun cards are the planets in the signs, so if you're an astrology buff, no new system! But each card has a keyword, so even if you aren't an astrology buff, it would work. Of course, having a good general idea of the associations of the signs and planets would help you out. But then you may disagree with the keywords . . . The book is small but informative (and has cool graphics, too!).

The Moon Oracle system is a bit complicated (and not as obvious--or astrology-based) as the Radiant Sun. It has a set of cards based on moon phases plus elements, and a set of goddess cards, and there's a third set that I can't remember exactly. The suggested spreads involved picking cards from each set. It has a larger book that is well-written. As I said, it's not a totally intuitive system to work with, but I think it's usable.

Hope that helps!

the artwork is lovely, the books are a very manageable size and they assume you already have a working knowledge of astrology.....which I don't possess, so for me it's just a set of beautiful pictures.

I absolutely LOVE my Radiant Sun cards, and I am *not* an astrology guru by any means! I feel that the cards are pretty easy to interpret intuitively, using both pictures and keywords. And the book is very helpful in expanding on those initial interpretations.

The images are lovely and remind me of the older alchemical paintings....they really speak to me. HIGHLY recommend this one!

I had the Moon Oracle and traded it....even though I loved the artwork (same artist, not quite the same style) I just found the system very difficult to work with. And unlike the Radiant Sun, I was not able to work easily with the cards, for some reason. But that was only my experience.....if you love the artwork, maybe you should give it a try, it might work fine for you BrightEye.

Luna

I have a copy of every one of Caroline Smith's decks (Elemental, Mystic Meg, Moon Oracle, Runic Tarot, Radiant Sun) - and the last three have different systems - the first 2 are regular tarot.

To be sure, I haven't worked with any of these decks much - right now with Uranus opposing my SU/MA/ME conjunction you can say that my thoughts are really SCATTERED - but if you love the art, you'll love the decks. The problem with the Radiant sun is the packaging - you'll need a deck box or bag immediately, because the book is part of the packaging, and there is no way to secure the cards. The moon oracle is packaged well - the cards are in their own box, and the book is substantial. It's 127 pages, and while not as astrological as the radiant sun, it does have to do with the moon's current sign and phase. (It's moon phases, goddesses (linked to the astrological signs, and moon mansions - 28 cards). Just glancing through the book, there are some weird typos - showing the Hecate card labeled "ishtar" (which the card isn't, thankfully), and referring to the astro glyph for libra (Gaia? WTF?) as cancer (cancer is hera, the wife, makes less sense to me, she's not the mother... though demeter/ceres as virgo is perfect)

Anyway, it's an interesting combination of goddesses, astro signs, moon phases, and moon mansions. I like it, and getting it out just now, I'll probably spend some time with it tonight.

What Lunakasha said re: radiant sun. (which is not typical of the artist's style, fwiw)

Sravana

The Radiant Sun Oracle really caught my eye awhile ago...the images are just up my alley! So when I got a bday Amazon certificate last month I thought I would finally pick up a copy...wellllll....seems either it's OOP or Amazon doesn't carry it anymore, as the marketplaces sellers have jacked up the price to $54!!! Can you believe it? They were just normal price months ago. I hate when people do that, so needless to say, I didn't get one

6 Haunted Days said:

The Radiant Sun Oracle really caught my eye awhile ago...the images are just up my alley! So when I got a bday Amazon certificate last month I thought I would finally pick up a copy...wellllll....seems either it's OOP or Amazon doesn't carry it anymore, as the marketplaces sellers have jacked up the price to $54!!! Can you believe it? They were just normal price months ago. I hate when people do that, so needless to say, I didn't get one

Click to expand...

Amazon.UK had a very small quantity back in stock about a month ago but now they're sold out again so keep your eye on them

I've got both decks--the book with the Radiant Sun; deck only for the Moon.

I find them beautiful but worthless as oracles, perhaps because I don't do astrology or believe in it, for that matter. The images on the Radiant Sun are lovely and the key word is evocative but it doesn't GO anywhere. I'm feeling bad. I draw a card, it reflects my mood. I try a spread, I get nothing but...where I am NOW. But I KNOW where i am NOW. For me, this is a bust, oracle-wise.

But...lovely to look at. She's got quite a distinctive style as an artist.

I wonder if her tarot is better (for someone such as myself, I mean).

Debra said:

But...lovely to look at. She's got quite a distinctive style as an artist.

I wonder if her tarot is better (for someone such as myself, I mean).

Click to expand...

well, you're accustomed to decks of depth and substance and I don't think either the Elemental or the Mystic Meg are going to fill the bill....they don't for me (personally)

they both have a very "airy" quality to them and the "key phrases" in the borders of the Elemental Majors annoy me.

I love her art but I wouldn't want to be caught in a situation where these are the only decks on hand to read with.

Papageno said:

they both have a very "airy" quality to them

Click to expand...

That's a good way to put it, Papageno. Something about the clarity of the colors and the grace of the line, which I find similar to Robert Place's style....that illustration style reads to me like flat images on paper. I can't "see" anything "behind" the images although they are aesthetically appealing.

Papageno said:

I wouldn't want to be caught in a situation where these are the only decks on hand to read with.

Click to expand...

LOL an emergency!