Divination of the Ancients Oracle Cards

Gifted oracles who spoke directly with nature,
interpreted signs and omens, and
communed with the Gods for messages.

~ Quote from the back of the box

Title: Divination of the Ancients Oracle Cards

Author: Barbara MeikleJohn-Free and Flavia Kate Peters

Illustrator: Richard Crooks

Publisher: Blue Angel Publishing

 

• The Divination of the Ancients is a well done oracle deck which features 45 magically illustrated cards that conveys tools that diviner use.

• While I was browsing through this oracle deck, I saw a card that has one of the most celebrated divinatory system that continues to be used today and I’m referring to tarot cards. Of course, the deck that was used for this card is the world renowned Rider Wait. In this image we can see the Fool card. The cards that circle the Fool and show a glimpse are the World and the Lover. In front of the Fool card, there are the four symbols that represent each suit, and those are, a cup, sword, pentacle and wand. The message for this card is “guidance”. And yes, this is self-explanatory. Tarot cards are known to give us guidance when we most need it

• Now, since Tarot is celebrated and world renowned, let me introduce you to a divinatory system that is notorious and controversial, and is one of my favorites – that is the Ouija Board. There are far too many myths and legends about this funky board. In this image, the Ouija is sitting on the table with chairs around it and with its planchette on top of it. On top of the board and table, there is a bigger image of the board. The keyword for this card is “caution”. Of course, there are sacred things that we must be careful with and that we must learn about before meddling with.

• Since I mentioned about Tarot and Ouija, let me introduce you to a divinatory system that is unheard of and uncommon. And I knew of this system and I have been wanting to study it. This system is called Phrenology. This here is the ability to conduct divination by reading people’s heads. Funky, huh? In this image there is what appears to be a pale Roman (or Greek) statue and on its head, there is what appears to be the brain, but is made up of squares with symbols on them. The key word for this card is “certainty”. This tells us that we have to be sure of what we do

• The back of the cards is reversible. It is not recommended that you read the cards in reverse. The image for the back of the cards is pretty simply done, but captivating. The image consists of space with stars forming inner circles with one another.

• The texture of the cards is semi-sturdy and shuffle well. The cards are glossy and feel really nice. They are approximately 5 ½ x 3 ¾ inches.

• The cards are stored in a is a box and lid package

• The text booklet is written by Barbara Meiklejohn-Free and Flavia Kate Peters. This book contains 119 pages. The book starts off with an Introduction and within this Introduction you will find sections titled, “Journey of Divination: A guide to Visualization”, “Divination through the Ages”, “Become the Oracle”, with two sub-categories, “How to read the cards” and “How to use the cards”. Then there’s the “Divination of the Ancients: Trio of the Simple Card Spread”. This features three cards spread called, “Single Card Reading”, “Three Card Spread” and “The Cornish Cross”. Followed by this are the “Card Meanings”. The meanings to the cards are written clearly and short. On the top left hand side, there’s the image of the card. Below it is the title of the card and keyword. Then there is the divinatory meaning. Following this, there’s an Incantation, an alternative divinatory meaning and the Revealed, which gives a brief background story of each divinatory system.

• The illustrations for each card was done by British graphic designer, Richard Cook who has done many other oracle decks. What I love about the art is that it has a touch of fantasy and surrealism. Also, the majority of the illustration consist of actual photos

• When I heard about this oracle deck, it peeked my interest even before I saw promotion pictures of the cards. I had to have it. I find this approach very interesting and unique, to say the least. I like that there are familiar divinatory systems, as well as those that are unheard of. There are of course other systems that I would have liked for them to be mentioned in here, but 45 systems is good for now. There are of course some that left me wondering, “Are they actually divinatory systems?” for example, Black Cat. When a Black Cat manifests in front of a person and in certain cultures, it is an omen of bad or good luck. Not so much for divination. But anyhow, it is a different approach. The companion book is rather keen in its writing, which is good, because it cuts to the chase and won’t distract the reader. I would have liked for it to give more information to the back story of each divination tool. But there’s good old’ Google. None the less, here are the complete divination tools that are included in the card deck. Arrow(s), Astrology, Augur, Black Cat, Book, Candle, Clouds, Coins, Crystal Ball, Crystals, Dice, Dictionary, Dowsing Rods, Dreams, Feathers, Fire, Flowers, Footprints, Fortune Cookies, Geomancy, Hydromancy, I-Ching, Lots, Numerology, Ogham, Ornithomancy, Ouija Board, Palmistry, Pendulum, Phrenology, Psychometry, Runes, Scrying Mirror, Shagai, Shooting Star, Smoke, Spells, Tarot, Tea Leaves, Thunder & Lightening, Wheel of Fortune and Wishbone. If you would like to own a copy of this oracle deck, click here!

© 2010 – 2016 J. R. Rivera
Reproduction prohibited without written permission from the author.