The Faeries Oracle is a fun, magical deck! Not everyone will necessarily agree with me on this, but I seriously look at this deck as it's own category - like you have Tarot decks and oracle decks, but then there is ~ The Faeries Oracle ~ in its own glorious, distinct category (or maybe I just *really* like this deck that much lol). You can approach it as a regular oracle deck if you'd like, but it's a deck for connecting with fae energy and that's what the creators of the deck have intended for the user. How it will read for you is a very personal experience and it's your choice on what to believe. I've also gotten Brian Froud's book "Good Faeries Bad Faeries" as a counterpart to the book in this set. And I've also had some really good readings with it by combining the cards with Tarot too.
To me, the cards are very much alive in their energy, and my better readings with it are when I've taken an open, spontaneous, and interactive approach to the cards. To me, it's not like other decks because the card meanings are especially alive, fluid, and ever-changing - they aren't dead fixed. It has an endless depth to it. It's like talking to a person - a person wouldn't always tell you the same thing (like a pre-recorded audio tape), the response changes all the time given the question/context and the situation... But on second thought, looking at the Faeries' Oracle in this way has actually helped me to translate this view to all my other decks and modes of divination too; using this deck has helped me to get more comfortable with reading intuitively... It's a great deck for discovering your own meanings as you develop a personal relationship with the cards. But that isn't to say that the book meanings don't count, because they do for me - I've found it very useful to commit to studying the book too (having read it multiple times). And plus it's just a pleasure to read; it's written very well and it comes with a lot of instruction on how to connect with the fae and how to meditate and read the deck intuitively in general.
I've spent a lot of time with this deck and, in my experience, I find that doing so is worth it. I absolutely love this deck and I could never be without it. It's one of my top top top favorites. I've already gushed about it in numerous places across this forum lol. The book is a lovely hardcover and the book and cards smell great. (I don't care how weird that sounds, they smell so good haha! They have a distinct lovely paper smell!!) I love the quality. I think it's worth every penny.
(Hope it's okay for me to include this link...) I suggest reading this interview with Jessica Macbeth, the woman who wrote the book for this set. I think it's really informative and it may help you get to know more about the deck and whether or not you think it would be right for you.
http://jamesricklef.wordpress.com/2010/12/08/deck-creator-forum-faeries-oracle/
Well wishes!
