Today’s deck review is Sacred Geometry Activations Oracle by LON.

“Discover the language of your soul”

This oracle is one of my favorites.  The backs remind me of a starry night sky and the fronts have the card number, title, and a short meaning, in addition to the stunning vivid geometrical artwork.  You could probably safely trim this deck to a square deck if you wanted to do away with the borders and just focus on the art.

The guidebook is substantial, consisting of 131 pages.  Each card’s entry has a black & white image of the card, a copy of the short meaning, a full page expansion on the symbolism & meaning of the card, “try this” questions and activities, and several spreads designed to work with this deck.  The appendix contains basic meanings for numerology, symbology, and color meanings.  You do not need to already know these things to use this deck.

 

As an example, the Communication card (pictured in the upper right in the above photo) says

“The frequency of Communication supports our ability to exchange information in many different forms. It reminds us to run every piece of information – both incoming and outgoing – through our heart, the center of our truth, to stay in the flow of Source and balanced exchange.”

The guidebook goes on to discuss developing our non-verbal methods of communication, and explains the meanings of the elements on the card (dolphins, the number four, symbols, colors). The “try this” has suggestions for both communicating with yourself and others.

The cards are as follows: Root chakra, sacral chakra, solar plexus chakra, heart chakra, throat chakra, third-eye chakra, crown chakra, alchemy, allowance, belief, change, coherence, communication, compassion, conception, consciousness, cosmic flower, delight, discernment, divine feminine, divine masculine, dynamic, earth, emergence, empowerment, fertility, Gaia, healing, integration, magic, merkabah, miracle, passion, perception, prosperity, realization, remembrance, romantic love, soul time, synergy, tantric journey, transition, universal love

This is an excellent oracle for those who want a little more depth to work with.  You can approach the cards utilizing just the prompts on the cards.  You can also read and contemplate the longer explanations in the guidebook, even using them as starting points for other research and exploration. Highly recommended deck.

Sacred Geometry Activations Oracle by LON

Today’s deck review is Anne Stokes Gothic Tarot, art by Anne Stokes, text by John Woodward.  The deck I own is published by Fournier, instructions on the little white book (LWB) included in the box are in English, German, French, Spanish and Portuguese.

The Gothic Tarot is a dark bordered deck.  Each of the cards has a frame that looks like carved stonework, which adds to the esthetic.  I have used this deck very seldom for actual readings, as it is one of those decks where existing art has been meshed with the system of tarot.  I purchased it in a gift shop near a castle in Wales, UK, as a holiday memento.

Neither the box nor the LWB (little white book) explain the decision process behind the artwork.  The Cups appear to be vampires, with the pip cards showing a liquid-filled chalice and the corresponding number of bats flying around.  The court cards are vampires.  The Swords appear to be angelic, with the pip cards showing a sword and the corresponding number of floating white feathers.  The court cards are angels.  The Pentacles appear to be death/skeletons/necromancy, as the pip cards show a pentagram with the corresponding number of skulls; and the court cards are skeletons or grim reapers.  The Wands are dragons.  The pip cards are a wand with the corresponding number of dragon motifs.  The court cards feature dragons, with the exception of the Queen of Swords who for some reason is a fairy? with a small dragon on her shoulder.

The Major Arcana is more diverse, with representations of dragons, unicorns, butterflies, fairies, gargoyles, mermaids, a medusa, an elf, and so on.

The artwork is lovely.  The colors are generally dark, blacks, grays, cloudy night sky with moon, candles.  If you are looking for a deck that fits the gothic esthetic, this one will work well.  The guidebook… well, you get just a couple of sentences for each card.  You will probably want the guidebook to go along with your own intuitive reading of each card, as images such as a white feminine angel with a key representing the Knight of Swords may be a little obscure.  (The guidebook says this card means “My strength is your strength and I shall always be by your side. Together we shall fly into battle and fight the injustice that would dare to raise itself against us!”)

This is a deck that you will want a journal to go along with it, so you can expand on the meanings of each card, if you want to actually use it for readings.  I do recommend it, with the caveat that if you are a beginner with cards and are wanting to use it for readings, this is not a good deck to use.

Anne Stokes Gothic Tarot