Goddesses and Sirens Oracle

Title: Goddess and Sirens Oracle

Author: Stacey Demarco

Illustrator: Jimmy Manton

Publisher: Blue Angel Publishing/Beyond Words Publishing

• Female Goddesses are our mothers and creators. They are our patrons who guide and see us through. They represent the women in our lives, in our generations, be it our Mothers, Grandmothers, Aunts, Sisters, or God Mothers.

•  38 female deities from all the pantheons grace this oracle deck. The Goddesses and Sirens Oracle deck does not discriminate. You get Greek, Roman, Mayan, and Asian (just to name a few) female deities. Each Goddess gives you advice to follow or take into consideration or simply do as we please with.

•  For example, in this deck you have, the Goddess Hera who represents “commitment”. Of course, she’s Zeus’ faithful wife, but was Zeus ever faithful to Hera? Of course not! So Hera brings the message of “commitment”. What does she imply by being committed? That’s strictly up to you.

• A Goddess I find so intense is Sheela Na Gig, “the wild woman”. She represents, “Gateways”. Of course, most of you know a Sheela Na Gig as an old hag who has her vulva opened. Yes, her vulva (though you won’t see her exposing it). But see, her open vulva denotes “gateways” place to enter, places to exit.

• Then you have the sirens such as, (queen) Boudicca who represents “Unity”. Boudicca was a beautiful queen who inspired and persuaded an army of men to fight for what was right. Men would unite and do anything for her.

•  The back designs are not reversible. Though, the back designs are beautiful. They have a golden look to them. The title, “Goddesses and Sirens” really stands out and appears to be fused with a gold and platinum touch.

• The size of the cards is approximately 5 ½ inches in height x 3 ¾ inches in width. The card stock quality is very good and durable. They have an absolute matted feel to them, almost glossy. The print transfer is fantastic. There are hardly any flaws. You can see the details in each card.

• The cards are fairly easy to shuffle. They are large and flexible. If you have rather small hands, it should not be a problem for you to shuffle the cards. The cards come in a very durable and sturdy box that will be sure to protect the cards and booklet from any damage, though the box provides a little bit of space for the cards to flow and rattle around. The box in which the cards come in shelves and stores perfectly, like a reading book, and it occupies little space at all.

• The guide book is written by Stacey Demarco. The guide book contains 152 pages. Each page gives a background story of the deity, upright and reversed divinatory meaning, as well as a chant or spell to invoke the particular deity for a deed. The illustration are done by Jimmy Manton. The art work appears to be sketched, then colored in with a touch of chalk and acrylic painting, which in my opinion is a very beautiful combination.

•  When I think of a Goddess, I think of a beautiful divine female being that has no limits or boundaries. She is she and she is one. She is maiden, mother, or crone. Obey and you shall be rewarded, disobey and you shall be punished. Of course, this is the lesson that these deities give to me and to you when conduct a reading. This deck is idealistic for Pagans and Wiccans. To by the Australian edition, click here or to buy the American edition, click here.

© 2010 – 2015 J. R. Rivera
Reproduction prohibited without written permission from the author.

Ghosts and Spirits Tarot

Through the symbolize of tarot,
they deliver their messages from beyond,
shedding light on human experience.

~ Quote from the bottom of the box.

Title: Ghosts and Spirits Tarot

Author: Lisa Hunt

Illustrator: Lisa Hunt

Publisher: US Games System

• You can feel them watching you, watching every step you take. Dare to speak to them?

• The Ghost and Spirits Tarot presents 78 mysterious entities that have crossed over from the “other side” and into our world to make contact with us, though, what is it that they are trying to tell us? Featuring in the Ghosts and Spirits tarot, you’ll get entities from all cultures as well as where entities reside and a spectrum of different kinds of entities. Each entity may be freighting or friendly. Depending on your perception.

• In this tarot deck, there’s one of my all time favorite Mexican ghost folklore called, “La Llorona” (The “Whaler”) represented by the 9 of swords. The story of La Llorona is about a young woman who fell madly in love with a wealthy man who was nothing more but a Casanova. After falling in love, she gave birth to three children. Her wealthy husband soon abandoned her and his three children for a younger woman.  Driven by sorrow, despair, and grief, she drowned her three children into a river. After realizing what she had done, she too drowned herself into the river. Many people say that at night time, when walking near the river banks, they hear moans and whales echoing in the area. Some have spotted “La Llorona” wondering around in circles looking for her children, and other have felt a force trying to pushing them into the river.

• A very interesting character is the, “Doppelgänger” (double walker) that’s represented by the 2 of Wands. A doppelgänger is our “look-a-like”. It’s also said that it’s our evil side that has manifested. According to folklore, when someone close to us such as a relative or friend sees our doppelgänger manifest itself, it denotes illness and/or misfortune. When we see our own doppelgänger, it signifies a premonition of our own demise. A Doppelgänger was featured in a TV series called, “American Horror Story in season 1.

• Next there’s the “Enchantress-Sibyl“ who’s represented by the High Priestess. A Sibyl is not an entity, but she’s a prophetess who’s also a medium. She plays a big role in the spirit world as she interact with an entity in all levels. Be it clairvoyance, telepathy, or empathy. In Roman and Greek times, people, especially woman would seek the help of a sibyl to be able to communicate or deliver messages to loved ones who have passed to the other side. Sibyls also had the ability to let an entity posses them to establish face to face communication with the seeker.

• The back design are reversible and are simple yet captivating. The background is a royal blue and there are three little ghosts dancing around who remind me so much like Casper “the friendly ghosts” (lol). There are no titles on the back of the cards. The size of the cards is approximately 5 ½ inches in height x 3 ¾ inches in width. The card stock quality is fantastic and very durable. They have an absolute glossy and matted touch to them, The print transfer is fantastic as well. By the looks of it, Kort Kramer (Lisa Hunt’s husband) did a wonderful job in scanning the images.

• The cards are sturdy enough and easy to shuffle. They are medium size and flexible. If you have rather small hands, it should not be a problem for you to shuffle the cards. The box in which the cards come in is decent and does hold the cards well. Also, the deck contains an untitled bonus card!

• The little white book is written by Lisa Hunt. The little white book contains no more than 50 pages. In the little white book you’ll get a  minor background story of the ghosts and spirits, symbolism, and a divinatory meaning. The artwork is done by renowned artist, Lisa Hunt. The medium for the art is done by hand and in water colors (which I admire Lisa Hunt who’s able to conduct water color painting. I personally find water color painting difficult to maneuver). Considering that the title of the deck is, “Ghosts and Spirits Tarot”, the art work is not “dark“ or per say, nor grim or macabre, but more “shadow” like.

• Over all, I’m in all and fascinated to own the Ghost and Spirits Tarot. I must say that this is one of the best tarot decks of 2012! This deck is perfect for teenager as well as adults who love the paranormal and ghost haunting. Each entity in this tarot deck tells a story and a beautiful story if I must say so myself. When I lay the cards out and look at the entities in this deck, I feel as if each entity is wanting to speak with me. Believe me when I say, you will not regret buying this tarot deck. If you’d like to get acquainted with this entities, click here to buy!

2012 Pecto Award two time nominee and one time winner

Outstanding Tarot Deck of the Year
Outstanding Illustrator for a Tarot Deck
-Lisa Hunt

Honorary Award winner for;
Most Captevating and Inovating Cartomancy Deck

Ghosts and Spirits Tarot © U.S. Games Systems, Inc.
Images Used with permission of U.S. Games Systems, Inc.