The Wisdom of the Oracle by Colette Baron-Reid was one of the first oracle decks that I purchased after seeing it on YouTube (for those of you who don’t know, I have a guilty pleasure of watching tarot readings on YouTube just to see what cards the readers are using). I enjoyed the messages so much that I wanted to use these cards in my own readings.
After looking up the rest of the artwork for these cards, I was sold by its dreamy and surreal images. I also like that the cards are numbered – it’s great for when I get a message that the numbers on the card are significant to the querent.
The original description from Hay House reads:
‘Colette Baron-Reid has expertly blended elements of the I-Ching, Norse runes, traditional tarot, and other ancient divination tools into a sacred communication system: Wisdom of the Oracle. This 52-card deck and companion guidebook will allow you to interpret messages about all aspects of your journey, with over 250 independent meanings that can speak to an unlimited number of circumstances. Imagery of animals, the elements of nature, and other potent symbols will touch you deeply so that a soulful dialogue about your life can take place.’
Hay House
The oracle deck is packaged in a hardcover storage box and comes with a printed guidebook. The gorgeous artwork is by self-taught digital artist Jena DellaGrottaglia and is soft, whimsical, detailed and full of symbolism. If you look carefully, you’ll see the face of the Oracle looking at you from each card.
Expect to see playful images like an elephant bathing in a bowl of milk and honey; or a fox looking at the crescent moon through a spyglass, and even a fairy sitting on top of a sand timer.
The image on the back of the card is reversible and uses the same image as card twenty-five: Round and Round. Since this deck is designed to be read with reversed cards, the back design helps to eliminate any prior knowledge that a card is reversed.
As Colette writes in the guidebook, The Wisdom of the Oracle is designed to ‘help you gain wisdom and knowledge about your choices and their consequences, the best use of your thoughts and intentions, and the next right action for the highest good of all.’
To assist you with receiving the best possible message from the Oracle, Colette has given each card one essential meaning and four messages. They are:
- Essential meanings
- The Oracle’s message
- Relationship message
- Prosperity message
- Protection message (which is used for reversed cards)
This makes the oracle deck very versatile; you can do one, two or three-card readings. Since there are a number of messages for the most commonly asked questions (i.e. general life, love and career), this oracle deck can be used for a lot of different readings. They are not so much ‘yes or no’ answer cards – but instead, provide a deeper message and insight into questions about life. I find that this oracle is great for the ‘w’ questions such as, ‘where, what and why’.
The black and white guidebook has over 200 pages and is a fantastic resource for understanding the cards. I really appreciate that Colette has gone into a lot of detail and depth with each message that she has written. I’ve had a few people tell me that the Oracle messages that they received were on-point and gave them something to ponder over.
Preview of the cards
Criticisms
As I’ve found with most of the Hay House oracle decks, the cards are rather large (90mm x 127mm) and for people with small hands like me, it can be a bit hard to shuffle. This particular deck is printed on glossy card stock, which I find to be much harder to work with than the matte cards. They seem to stick to each other more than usual and with the non-laminated edges, I’m pretty sure I’ve gotten a paper-cut or two from shuffling.
Overall thoughts
The Wisdom of the Oracle deck is a really beautiful deck visually, symbolically and conceptually. With 52 cards in the deck and each one having four possible messages, you are definitely going to find the answers that you are seeking. Whilst I personally haven’t connected with this deck as much as I would like, it is still part of my collection and useful for the readings that need a closure message. It is an uplifting and positive oracle deck; even with the reversed cards, the messages are always full of inspiration and encouragement.
—
Please note that some of the links in this post may be affiliate links and any purchase made through the links will give us a small commission (at absolutely no extra cost to you). These funds help us to keep sharing good vibes through this journal. Please read our Affiliate Disclaimer for more info.
