Aboriginal Dreamtime Oracle

Just got this deck today in the mail. The creator - Mel Brown, has made a few decks in a similar vein, such as the Aboriginal Spirit Oracle Cards, and the Aboriginal Goddess Chakra Cards. They have a Wiccan/goddess movement influence that don't quite appeal to me, but the Aboriginal Dreamtime Oracle looked to me to be a change of pace with its focus on Ancestors and Dreamtime stories instead. Having seen all the cards now I can confirm that it is indeed the case.

Some thoughts:
The cards themselves are of decent, springy card stock. Their dimensions are 10.5cmx15cm. There were small chips in the lamination on two of the cards unfortunately, but on the other hand it was a lovely surprise to discover that the deck has gilded edges. The are 40 cards altogether, and they come in a snug sturdy box along with a booklet with a short foreword and the meanings. The meanings are given two pages each and include a scaled, full-colour picture of the card, a Dreamtime story for that card along with a Dreamtime Message to distill the meaning of the story. I have feeling the deck will be better for 1 card draws or simple spreads as a result, because I can imagine a more elaborate use could get overwhelming with all the advice it's going to give you. But then I suppose you could say that about most oracle decks

Anyway, time will tell if it becomes a much-loved deck. So far though I'm quite impressed.

Link to the creator's website: http://www.spiritdreaming.com.au/

Ooh, nice find. It looks like they mixed traditional artwork with modern (photographic?) backgrounds... how well does that work for you?

Also, I'd love to see pictures.

I found this about the Australian Aboriginal concept of Dreamtime:

http://aboriginalart.com.au/culture/dreamtime2.html

Ooh, nice find. It looks like they mixed traditional artwork with modern (photographic?) backgrounds... how well does that work for you?

Click to expand...

Yeah, the juxtaposition of the painted art on top of the scenic photo background creates an interesting effect. It reminds me a bit of old Australian children's movies like Dot and the Red and Kangaroo
Sometimes the backgrounds add to the card's imagery, as if the paintings are supposed to be part of the photo's scenery. Other times the backgrounds are much less noticeable, either because they're too shadowy to make out details, or because they don't seem to be adding anything significant beyond being a backdrop. I like the look of them overall, though. They give the deck a kind of quiet, contemplative feel.

And photos are a good idea! I'll find my camera take a few snaps for you

I found this about the Australian Aboriginal concept of Dreamtime:

http://aboriginalart.com.au/culture/dreamtime2.html

Click to expand...

Thanks for the link, Happy Squirrel! It was a really interesting and helpful read

Whoops, a little late with this but better late than never

Here's a link to some photos of the deck (and apologies for the slight glaring issues on the cards themselves): http://imgur.com/a/Qmzij

As you can see the backings are the same as the image on the box which is a bit disappointing. Still, the photos will hopefully give you a better idea of what the background effect is like, as well the range of images and colours used in the paintings. The darkened background creates some very striking cards