Hello, soul friends!
I wanted to start off a section on my website where I review card decks that I have used over the years. I have owned over 80 various decks (currently own about 70), and thought I would write some of my notes, experiences, personal opinions, and information on the decks for anyone out there looking for suggestions. Diving into the world of decks can be a bit scary, fun, and also at times overwhelming with the sheer amount of choices.
There are various differences to the types of card decks people use, but the most common ones are Tarot, Oracle, and Lenormand. Over the years, I have come to collect various and eclectic decks ranging in artistic style and type. I always purchase what grabs my attention, and have learned that my aesthetic is not for everyone. So, as always, purchase what you feel guided to use for yourself.
I am just expressing my opinions and my own personal experiences with these decks and I hope that you can appreciate the candor. As always, use your own intuition and find tools that suit your tastes.
Mind/Body Makeover Cards
This is one of my newer additions to my deck collection, but has quickly become one of my go-to, and most recommended decks for anyone who is starting off and would like a slightly different type of deck that is completely Oracle and a large deviation from Tarot.
The Wisdom of the Oracle Divination Cards is published by Hay House. I purchased my deck directly from their website, but I have also seen it available at Barnes and Noble, Amazon, and other bookstores.
From Amazon's Product Description:
These cards were created by neuropsychiatrist/medical intuitive Mona Lisa Schulz, M.D., Ph.D., to help you rewire the emotional patterns that increase your chance of succumbing to physical illness, depression, and anxiety. This 70-card deck is accompanied by an instruction booklet that offers a variety of practical ways to tap in to your intuitive abilities by being aware of your emotions, thoughts, and physical symptoms.
About Mona Lisa Schulz, the Author
Mona Lisa Schulz, M.D., Ph.D., a clinical assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Vermont School of Medicine and Maine Medical Center, Portland, is a practicing neuropsychiatrist and medical intuitive. She serves as a research editor and consultant for bestselling author Dr. Christiane Northrup's popular newsletter and is the author of "Awakening Intuition." Her media appearances include national radio, "The Oprah Winfrey Show, " and the "Discovery" channel. She lives in Yarmouth, Maine.
My Personal Review
This is a 70 card deck includes ten specific areas of healing with positive and negative thoughts and how they may affect the way you react in your life.
Product dimensions are 4 x 2.2 x 5.6 inches. The cards are different than most decks, as they are oval shaped cards.
"The fact is, most makeovers don't last because changes from the `outside in' rarely last. True change is an `inside' job. If we don't learn how to mold our mind and body into healthier ways of feeling and thinking, then our outer experiences will get stuck in a rut." -Mona Lisa Schulz Neuropsychiatrist Mona Lisa Schulz, M.D., Ph.D. has created the Mind/Body Makeover Oracle Cards to help you rewire the emotional patterns that increase your chances of succumbing to physical illness, depression, and anxiety. This 70-card deck features oval cards which contains three different sections: 1.The emotion or feeling that needs healing 2.The Healthy Thought pattern (regular text, upright position) 3.The Unhealthy Thought pattern that can precipitate depression, anxiety, anger, and painful life events (reversed text in italics) The Mind/Body Makeover deck is constructed to be an oracle, and includes ten different suits. The five Feeling Suits are made up of Sadness, Anger, Fear, Love and Joy and the five Action/Health Reaction Suits are made up of Self-Esteem, Goals, Relationships, Society, and Healthy Body. There are seven numbered cards in each suit that represent arenas in which we can experience a feeling, a mood, and its consequence: - Families and Organizations - Relationships, money, and creativity - Responsibility, work, and competition - Partnership and nurturance - Communication, will, and timing - Perception, morality, life purpose, and spirituality The 99 page companion booklet advises shuffling the deck, allowing for reversals, and then quickly pulling out a card and laying it face-up on the table. If the reversed statement is on top, it indicates that an unhealthy pattern is predominant. Reverse the card so the healthy statement is visible, and then repeat it to yourself as an affirmation. Schulz encourages you to write the healthy statement ten times a day, while repeating it aloud.
I have found that the messages should be read in the booklet and also to read the opening statement for the pertaining suit. The information that has been included gives an overall review of the specific suit. Each of the suit and card numbers assists you to understand why there may be an unhealthy thought association that needs to addressed within you. Some of the thought patterns also affect you on a physiological and physical level. This is why the focus of the cards is a mind AND body makeover.
I bought this deck, as it was unusual, and I have eclectic taste, but have found it to be a bit difficult to use in practice. I enjoy it for quick 1 or 2 card drawings, but don't find it valuable in painting an entire picture. It also seems to be not as user friendly as one would first imagine, and what has aided me in changing how I use this deck, is to not think of it as an oracle deck.
The card stock is thick, has a shinier finish than newer decks (which is annoying when trying to get a nice picture of the deck), and also allows you get a nice bend without cracking the card stock. This quality of card stock seems to be what most of the Hay House decks that I own tend to lean towards.
Due to the oval shape, I find them to be extremely cumbersome to shuffle, and us without a lot of trouble. The non-reverseable back image also makes it difficult to get a true reversal in your cards. It isn't my favorite, and the non-traditional shape is also something else that I find an issue with, although it was what initially drew me to the cards.
In my opinion, it was a mistake to try to make the Mind/Body Makeover Cards an oracle deck. This is not an oracle deck in any shape or form, once you dive in. Dividing it up into 10 "suits" and 7 numbers makes the deck confusing and unwieldy-especially if you're used to thinking along the lines of Tarot suits.
The information and wisdom included in the cards and companion booklet is very solid, practical, and helpful-great for a meditation deck. In fact, just about anyone could benefit from using this deck for meditation and self-inquiry. But by making this deck an oracle, the messages get lost in the distracting presentation of reversals and suit titles.
The Mind/Body Makeover Oracle Cards contains vital medical, biological, psychological, and intuitive information for breaking unhealthy patterns like sadness, fear, and anger by replacing them with empowering beliefs.
The Guidebook is also another part of this process that I am not happy about. Nothing is in order, the numbering is all over the place, each section seems to just be randomly placed, so it makes it a bit overwhelming when you are trying to get more information on the card's messages.
However, if you're looking to examine the beliefs and attitudes that keep you disempowered and defeated, the wisdom of psychiatrist Mona Lisa Schulz may hold an important key to your personal freedom.
This deck is one that I recommend to those who have an interest in the healing aspects of spirituality, are in the healing arts, or also in the Psychiatric aspects of energy work. It is a blunt deck, and I appreciate Mona Lisa's straightforward approach. I am not sure that the execution of such a valuable deck was done to the fullest potential and really has limited the exposure and perhaps even use of this deck. It has a lot of potential value.
Yet, I feel the presentation obscures the wonderful wisdom contained in this deck and companion booklet. If you're looking for an attractive, easy-to-use oracle deck, you may be disappointed. But if you can look past some of the execution mistakes, this deck may one to add for personal introspection, allowing space to really meditate on where you are on your healing journey.
My overall opinion is that this deck is a 3.5 star choice.
Artwork - Not graded, as there is no art on the cards
Card stock - 4.5 stars
Ease - 3 stars
Guidebook - 3.5 stars
I hope that you enjoyed my deck review, and also enjoy other deck reviews that I add to this site. I have a passion for exploring new decks and also finding various ways of connecting to my intuition. I appreciate you checking out my site and taking the time to read my review.
Happy Reading!
