This Week's Oracle Deck (The Heart of the Faerie)

For the next two weeks I'll be working with the Heart of the Faerie oracle deck by Brian and Wendy Froud.  This is a deck that I was so excited to get when it came out.  Brian Froud's other deck, The Faeries' Oracle, is a deck that I worked a great deal with, actually almost exclusively, for a few years.  When this second deck came out I actually pre-ordered it, something that I rarely ever do.  When the deck came I dove right in but something about it didn't really connect for me at first and it's taken a while for me to really work with this deck and feel like it's making sense for me.  And that's why I've decided to make this the oracle deck for the daily readings for the next couple of weeks.  It's fun to work with a deck that you're not terribly familiar with on a daily basis because it give you a chance to really become familiar with the cards by engaging with them each day.


If you know The Faeries' Oracle deck than this deck wont be much different for you. The artwork is the same beautiful and enchanting faery artwork that the Froud's are known around the world for.  The names to the cards are both evocative and a bit amusing.  And much like in The Faeries' Oracle the cards are grouped into families, somewhat akin to suits in a tarot deck.  Here we have the The Faerie Queens, The Queens' Consorts, The Archetypes, Sprites, The Ladies, Tricksters, and the Journey. 

My personal favorite card in the deck is The Magician from the family of Archetypes.  In the deck the card talks about glamour magick, the faeries, and responsibility.  We can work magick, call on the faeries to help with our desires, but eventually that magick and the glamour is going to wear off.  You have to take responsibility for what you're left with.  In fact, going into the process of that magick you need to know if you're not only ready for that responsibility but also if you have the skill to keep things going when the glamour ends.  So you can call on the faeries to help you get that job that you want but once you get the job and the glamour that made you look so perfect fade do you actually have the ability to do the job?

The deck itself is really nice.  The cards are thin but not too thin. I would suggest being a bit gentle with shuffling them because these could bend and crease a little easier than most cards.  The size is manageable; they are a little taller than many other decks but about the same average width.  The backs have a really pretty blue and gold theme with red winged hearts.  And it's a pretty hefty deck for an oracle deck with 65 cards, an average of about 20 more cards than most oracle decks tend to have.  The deck come with an extensive hardcover guide book that provides stories and explanations of the cards along with general background and assistance with reading and working with the faeries in the deck and some suggested spreads. 

If you like the artwork of Brian and Wendy Froud and you're looking for an oracle deck to play with I would definitely suggest this deck.