The Heart of Faerie

Update here (seeing as I posted earlier in the thread unsure as to whether to buy or not)... well I have bought it and have used it and I really like this deck. I don't mix it with the Thoth just yet but there is something about this deck which draws me in much more than the original Faeiries Oracle. That stuff in the book about dancing with the fairies put me of from the start I'm sorry to say. That and the brown-ness and the backs. I never really connected with it to be honest. Of the fairies decks I have I only really relate to the Paulina Tarot.

However, I really like this; the dark, rich colours, the more detailed artwork. It seems a less flightly deck than the previous one, feels more substantial. Can't put my finger on it.

I did a spread today and two out of the three cards were very interesting indeed, but the third one was one of those un-numbered, untitled cards. the fairy with a unicorn horn sitting on a mushroom.

How are people reading these unidentifiable cards? There's nothing in the book about them, no mention it seems. What meaning are you attaching to them?

But it's offical; I much prefer Heart of Faerie to the Original Faerie Oracle, even though mine arrived very warped (like two seperate decks bending in the opposite direction) and I presed it for over a week and it came out no different.

Le Fanu said:

However, I really like this; the dark, rich colours, the more detailed artwork. It seems a less flightly deck than the previous one, feels more substantial. Can't put my finger on it.

I did a spread today and two out of the three cards were very interesting indeed, but the third one was one of those un-numbered, untitled cards. the fairy with a unicorn horn sitting on a mushroom.

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I like the HoF too, it is a really pretty deck and I probably use it more than the Faeries Oracle. I have one issue with it though, I mentioned it in another thread - lots of the cards have really similar meanings - like the Song & Lady of Song, The Boy & Pan ... it just annoys me sometimes when I am using the deck.

Le Fanu said:

How are people reading these unidentifiable cards? There's nothing in the book about them, no mention it seems. What meaning are you attaching to them?

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I tend to read the un-named cards intuitively and go by the images in the cards, and how they go with the other cards around them. If I get them in one card draws I tend to see them as representing the unexpected or something that I can't see at this time or maybe I am not meant to see right now. To me they are like "expect the unexpected".

Le Fanu said:

But it's offical; I much prefer Heart of Faerie to the Original Faerie Oracle, even though mine arrived very warped (like two seperate decks bending in the opposite direction) and I presed it for over a week and it came out no different.

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Mine are like that too, but not as bad. Mine peeled at the edges quite quickly.

Hi Le Fanu,

When the Unnamed come up I see it as a call to really give notice to the issue. In fact, the card you are referencing sort of makes me think of what is it that my intuition is pointing out to me.

I'm thinking horn/third eye and the horn as a pointer. In several of my decks I use certain cards as devices that direct me to think about something differently. Perhaps you can "charge" the cards like Sylvie S. does in the Lenormand, to stand for something that will assist you in the reading space.

I have cards (in other oracle decks, and in the faery decks) that mean "no more, you can't go any further with this issue, let it lie". I have a card that means "the person you are reading for cannot take any more information, stop now." I also have cards that mean for me this person is Psychic, or could be an excellent reader, encourage them to get a deck". LOL. Like in HOF I don't remember the name, but the Jester looking character, with the Tarot deck, that one means "this persone is psychic" for me in the reading. But that isn't all it means.

These are inventions that actually help me, but I have no idea if they'll help you.

I'm happy to see that HOF is touching your heart, and saddened to think you didn't connect to the FO. I love them both, and yes, the HOF is more vibrant. I just has a different feeling to it, there is different information and energy happening. The two decks are actually amazing. If you can get past the books and just let them speak to you, you will be amazed at the discoveries that will happen.

So the Rarr in the FO deck looks like the Harry Potter Snitch to me. So when that comes up I know someone is being competitive and they are trying to catch something, they are a Seeker. Funny huh? But these things work for me, and my clients seem to appreciate the readings.

Good luck finding your definitions....let me know what you come up with.

Such a helpful post Satori, thank you for sharing your thoughts. Of course, I could devise a meaning for this card (and the other two), but it just struck me as odd that there is no reference to them in the book. The thing is, I did a spread without really knowing the deck, but knowig that intuitively, with the images and names, something would come up, and int he other two cards int he spread they came up with a very interesting message, which is why - if I could decipher the unamed card - I'm sure I'd get additional info!

I have left them out on my reading table so I'll have a look later and see what comes to me. It is interesting how this card came up together with Lady of Leprachauns with her multifaceted crystal unicorn horn and then to the left I had this card with it's unicorn horn.

Maybe using this deck will make inroads for me into the FO.

DragonFae said:

Sorry....another thought...there are soooo many...lol. But does anyone know...are the three "surprise cards" the unnumbered, untitled ones the same in every deck?

The ones I have in my deck:

A card that reminds me of the topsie turvets...lots of little mushroom like headed faeries

A card that has a faery with a unicorn horn kneeling on a red mushroom with lotes of other faeries in the background

A card thats sort of dark with a faery with tattered wings sitting on a mushroom or toadstool to the right of her is another small sprite like faery sort of tipstoeing by....there are other faeries in the background also.

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Does anyone have scans of the first one DragonFae described... the "topsie turvets"?

I just got the HoF today (gorgeous! I already love it) but I have only TWO un-named cards. So I want to contact the publisher, but it will help if I can show them which card I mean.

ETA: Never mind, I just sent mine back to Amazon for a replacement.

I just got the Heart of Faerie deck today!!! from the online scans I thought i wouldn't like the back much but I LOVE it! I definitely feel like I'm connecting with this deck much faster than Froud's original deck (not that I don't love them both)

I did hear somewhere they were meant to be used together so I may try some readings with mixing them at some point!

I never really connected with the HOF, unfortunately -- and I'd been looking so forward to it. In fact, I disliked it so much at first that I got turned off both decks and the poor dears gathered dust in my closet for two years.

Today, I was pulling out decks to clean up, sort through, sell, and choose which ones I would do weekly readings with...and my eyes kept sliding back to the HOF and the FO over the course of the day. I moved them back out of my to-sell pile, first. Then a few hours later, I opened them both up and flipped through them (Ilbe the Retriever, my all-time favorite card, flipped out and made me grin). Finally, late after dinner, I felt an incredibly strong impulse to go through the HOF and make Decisions.

So I combined the decks! But not fully. 3/4 of the HOF got put back in the box, with the Maiden from the FO (the child, not the adult from HOF), whom I have replaced with The Child from the HOF -- I don't know why, but the Maiden and I never got on at all.

The cards I kept from the HOF and put into the FO are The Green Man, The Crone, The Joy of the Future, Bright Spark, The Smith, The Prince of Light, The Queen of Owls, The Question, The Temptation, The Queen of Laughter, The Hero, The Lady of Joy, The Queen of Bedlam, The Queen of the Night, The Lady of Song, The Faerie of Naughtiness, The Pan, The Child, and The Leaving.

The Question and the Leaving especially were never under question! The troll-y sort of creatures on both of them INSISTED upon it, and I was glad to include them, even though I haven't even looked in the book to see what they mean.

I generally shuffle without looking at the backs anyway, so I shan't imagine it will be an issue to have a good handful of different backs in the stack. My next job is writing out a little about each of the HOF cards in my own words and putting it in the back of the FO book. Much easier than dealing with one huge deck stack and two large hardcovers! I'm enjoying working with them again after so long...I remember the day I bought the FO, and took the deck to the park, and sat on a swing with my bare feet in the sand for two hours, getting to know all of them.

How are y'all getting on with your Froud cards? For those who have mixed the decks, how have your experiences been?

My Journey Into The Heart of Faerie

I just wanted to share how I got my HOF deck. I was strolling through my favorite section in Borders bookstore the "New Age" section when I came across the deck and book. It was love at first sight. I'm very familiar with Brian and Wendy Froud (my favorite movies of all time are "Labyrinth" and "The Dark Crystal") so I was immediately drawn to them. Anywho...I couldn't afford it at the time so I hid it deep in the shelves behind other books, so I can purchase it later. Two weeks later I returned and made a beeline straight to the section and searched the shelf where I left it. It was gone. I was so upset. Not to mention Borders was running out of business, so there won't be any new shipments coming in. So I picked up some other books and headed to the checkout. To my amazement, the deck and book were behind the counter on a shelf. I asked the girl if I can get the small red box behind her. She says, "Hmm...how did this get here?" I laughed under my breath (I know how mischievous faeries can be lol). She asked the other checkout girls none of them could explain how it got there. I feel the faeries tested me to see if I were worthy. I must say I love this deck and have a real special connection to it. Reading this thread has helped me interpret it a lot better, so I thank everyone for your wonderful insight on this lovely deck.

Finally had the HoF delivered to my doorstep. But it seems I got an opened deck (no shrinkwrap) and the edge of the Card 1 had a tear Too lazy and too impatient to send it back, so I repaired it with glue and pens...

Is it just me or the print quality of HoF not as clear and sharp as the FO? I don't have my FO deck with me to compare, but I felt the HoF has more washed-out colors...a blue tint (especially with the blue borders) and the color saturation isn't quite as nice as the FO. There are no true blacks.

My eyes may be playing tricks with me, so could someone with both decks please compare?

HoF Opened

marimorimo said:

Finally had the HoF delivered to my doorstep. But it seems I got an opened deck (no shrinkwrap) and the edge of the Card 1 had a tear Too lazy and too impatient to send it back, so I repaired it with glue and pens...

Is it just me or the print quality of HoF not as clear and sharp as the FO? I don't have my FO deck with me to compare, but I felt the HoF has more washed-out colors...a blue tint (especially with the blue borders) and the color saturation isn't quite as nice as the FO. There are no true blacks.

My eyes may be playing tricks with me, so could someone with both decks please compare?

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I too got an opened deck, no shrink wrap and dented squished box or maybe they are just not wrapped? The gold card insert was ripped and the cards were not wrapped either. There are 68 though!

I do love these oracles though. I had no idea I would connect with them so well!