The Shaman's Oracle by John Matthews

Picked this up at Barnes & Noble...

with my coupon. It is a beautiful set, and very well produced.

The box is tall (7 1/4 inches) with a lift-off top. The cards, book and spread sheet sit in 2 wells. The book is hard cover, 5 x 7 inches, and the cards are illustrated in full color. Each card's theme is described in a paragraph, and a small box includes keywords for each card. A final chapter, Further Work with the Oracle, explains how to do shamanic journeying with the cards, and includes a bibliography for additional study.

The cards themselves are good size (3 1/2 x 4 3/4 inches), printed on sturdy card stock with a light finish. The art is very well done, incorporating images from ancient cave art, which I love. The cards are comprised of 2 interactive cards: The Journeyer & The Companion, which "act as a direct interface between the seeker and the oracular energies of the deck" (p.8). They are meant to be placed in each spread. The remainder of the deck is divided into 5 Tribes (Spirits, Ancestors, Shamans, Hunters and Dancers) of 10 cards each. The title of each card and its symbol are printed at the bottom of each card.

Included in the set is a 9 1/2 x 13 inch spread sheet, called the Cave Oracle Glyph. It depicts the outline of a hand, and is the template for the readings, although users may choose to do other layouts. The glyph "visually demonstrates the interaction between the realm of Spirit and that of everyday reality" (p. 10). Much more detail is given about the glyph and how to incorporate it into your readings. No sample reading is given; the meanings of the cards will become clear upon reading & meditation.

This is a quality package all around, and is very reasonably priced. Anyone who is interested in shamanism, cave art symbolism, and inner journeying will find this a compelling set to work with. It may well prove to be a nice introduction to shamanic practices for those with little experience.

I'm excited to begin to work with these amazing cards.

Asher

okay, i ordered these! will let you know what i think when they arrive!
i also treated myself to Matthews book 'The Sidhe'.

I picked up a set tonight to...as Asher said so well, it is a quality set.
The only thing I am disappointed in is a lack of explanation as to the history behind the art chosen...where it came from, what the symbols mean....I was hoping it would go into this as it would be helpful along with my study of the Greenwood deck.
But I will work with it as an interesting new oracle, and be happy with that.

lark said:

The only thing I am disappointed in is a lack of explanation as to the history behind the art chosen...where it came from, what the symbols mean....

Click to expand...

Me too. I have read several books/studies about cave art, but it's been many years ago. Some of the images look very familiar, others less so, but it's very evocative in any case.

I think it will be a very different kind of oracle to work with.

Enjoy!

Asher

I will Asher thank you!
I felt for some reason that I needed to sit down in Barnes and Noble with the kit and open it right after I bought it...I have had some bad luck lately with decks missing cards...well this deck had all it's cards, but also an extra one.
Two... Dancer of Beginnings
So if any one is missing that card I have an extra.

victoria.star said:

okay, i ordered these! will let you know what i think when they arrive!
i also treated myself to Matthews book 'The Sidhe'.

Click to expand...

Good choice

please post some scans

to Asher and who ever else bought this deck can you please post some scans so that we can see some more of these cards. i am tempted to buy the said deck but need to know more.
thanks in advance-dvorah

um, all i can say is OH MY GOODNESS!!

flat out, by far and away the most amazing deck i have purchased.

i am sorry, ironwing. i am really sorry.

THE IMAGES ARE LAYERED AND DEEP AND SO FULL OF INFORMATION AND 'TALKING' THAT MY HEAD IS SPINNING.

i feel like i have been space trucking!

without hestiation, do not pass go, do not collect anything else--

GET THIS DECK! YOU WON'T BE SORRY!!

Scans?

Pictures?



Please.....?

This is hard, but here's an overview -- have to reduce pictures first

I had problems uploading pictures right now, here's an overview first and the few that I could manage. Some others might come when I have time to reduce and upload.

The book is really essential to first start out how to use this deck. The picture that one can enlarge on amazon.com and book depository.com shows at least five scans of cards. But the weather is so dark and dreary in our winter, it is hard to get good pictures. The deck cards are photos with excellent lighting of re-created cave art from old ritual sites by Wil Kinghan, a teaching and writing/film partner with John Matthews. The sources are not identified, the reader is advised to check out more resources on the last page of the book. The art are recreations from different continents, and again, photos of original art by Wil Kinghan in a 52 card set up of five suits.

First, the hand large picture you see in the example for bookdepository or amazon.com is a layout page. I'd suggest you color copy it so you get a fresh backup or perhaps make a layout cloth...trace your hand using white on a black background to help.

The book has an introductory example of a hand picture as a sample layout to show you or others how you will be laying out the cards. This is the original layout suggested by the authors.

The two Journeyer and Companion cards are essentially what the reader would use to feel they are journeying with a guide, friend or whomever you want to visualize as a companion.

Two other cards, an ancestor card and a spirit card from their different suits, are shown in the bookdespository or amazon.com ad, so I took bigger pictures so you can see the photos in a bit larger size.

If the light is okay and if I have more time, I'll take a few more pictures and upload them--but they will only be what has already been shown, so not certain that it offers more than what is already available. I am certain since this a new deck, over time, you will see better pictures and more detailed reviews. For the price they are available at the introductory/new product price, 52 cards of cave art photographs with a book geared toward divination for $12 was a good deal for me.

I would say the photographs are beautifully rendered and lighted and the filmaker Wil Kinghan did an excellent job of getting texture, essential raw imagery and seeing that the photographs were lighted so one can get the essential nature of cave art -- abstract, but primal and not just a simple set of squiggles and glyphs.

Best,

Cerulean