Hello, soul friends!
Today's review is covering a deck that caught my attention for it's beautiful Jimmy Manton's artwork, which I have grown to love since I first saw the Goddesses and Sirens deck. Plus, I have grown an interest in Goddesses, so getting this deck seemed like an obvious choice. I loved the details, color, and overall theme of the cards. I couldn't wait to get my own and work with this beauty. Once I found the Gods and Titans deck in a Swap group, I knew it would fit perfectly with the Goddesses deck. I decided to do a review on both of these two together, since they are similarly themed and by the same Artist and Author.
I hope you enjoy my review and generous pictures!
Goddesses And Sirens Oracle
I purchased this deck last year online from Blue Angel Publishing, which has a lot of interesting and unique decks. After seeing the gorgeous artwork online, I had to have it. Even if it was not available in the US, yet.
Amazon's description of the Goddesses and Sirens Oracle:
There was a time when goddesses and gods, the Feminine and Masculine Divine, were honored as two halves of a creative whole. Over time, our understanding of that sacred union has become distorted, and the Divine Feminine became feared, disrespected, and almost lost to the world. Again, she rises!
With 40 dramatically illustrated oracle cards and a detailed guidebook to get you started, Goddesses and Sirens invokes the power of the great feminine to offer real guidance, powerful spells and invocations, and limitless inspiration. This powerful deck invites you to rediscover the spirit of the Feminine Divine. Learn to connect and utilize this energy to solve modern problems with the profound creativity, love, strength, and joy of this timeless feminine wisdom.
Gods And Titans Oracle
I received this deck from a Swap group and thought it was a perfect addition to my Goddess and Sirens deck. I also really love Jimmy Manton's artwork, so have a few of his decks that he has illustrated. I love the powerful images he creates.
Amazon's description of the Gods and Titans Oracle:
Discover the strength, action, compassion, and protective love of deities and other powerful men of legend from around the world in Gods and Titans.
With 38 dramatically illustrated oracle cards and a clear, detailed guidebook to get you started, this powerful deck offers real guidance, powerful spells and invocations, and limitless inspiration from the Masculine Divine. This ancient yet timeless wisdom will guide you through the twists and turns of life and teach you to utilize the energy of land, sea, heaven, earth, and underworld to solve modern problems. Embrace the true spirit of the masculine and discover your own power!
About the Author
Stacey Demarco is an internationally respected spiritual Pagan practitioner, Witch, author, and activist who hails from Sydney, Australia. Her passion is to make practical magic accessible to everyone and to reconnect people with the power of nature.
Her down-to-earth yet scholastic spiritual style and her skill at weaving ancient techniques to solve modern problems make her popular amongst clients and a regular contributor upon all things spiritual across television, radio, and other media.
A former successful corporate animal, she has worked for multinational companies in senior marketing and PR roles until she decided to transition into her purpose - that of being a "catalyst for change."
A long-time lover and scholar of the mythos of the feminine and masculine divine, her first set of Oracle cards, Gods & Titans, illustrated by award-winning artist Jimmy Manton, was released early 2011 and her second set, Goddesses & Sirens, was released in October 2011 in Australia with a US release in 2013. Reflecting her love of nature, her Earth Power: An Atlas for the Soul was released worldwide in 2014, and the stunning Halloween Oracle is her latest work. Her next book, The Disconnect will be released early 2015.
About the Illustrator
Jimmy Manton is an award-winning illustrator who has provided artwork for numerous Blue Angel publications. While he has been drawing since his little opposable thumbs allowed him to grasp a pen, he has been obsessed with all things sci-fi and fantasy. It runs in the family, too. Jimmy was named after James T Kirk, Star Trek’s indomitable captain of the USS Enterprise. For the last few years Jimmy concentrated on studying architecture and also the art of architectural model building. Jimmy’s work is featured in magazines including international architectural and gaming titles. He is based in Melbourne, Australia.
My Personal Review
The Goddesses and Sirens is a 40 card deck and the Gods and Titans deck has 38 cards and is meant to be used as an Oracle deck, which is just meant to be a little less restrictive than tarot, while allowing you to devise your own meanings of the cards, as well. The dimensions of the decks are 5 x 1.4 x 6.7 inches and published by Blue Angel Publishing and Beyond Words, as well.
The lift top box is beautiful and thick. It is a larger box, but typical of the Blue Angel boxes. The artwork throughout the deck is just breathtaking. They are bright without being overpowering, there is a beautiful strength in the cards where the figures are powerful and evoke the themes from each of them. I am always impressed with Jimmy Manton's artwork and these decks do not disappoint at all.
The card backs are different on each of the decks, as I have one from Blue Angel and the other from Beyond Words.
Reversals are up to the reader and can be interpreted as Shadow Side of the energies. The cards are a larger size, which I have become familiar with Blue Angel's decks. They are a decent quality with a smooth feel that makes shuffling easy. A Goddess/God name and a keyword is printed on the front of each card which corresponds to the descriptions in the guidebook. Some of the images are a bit darker, but nothing too scary for those faint of heart. There is a beautiful thread of strength and also really incorporating a lot of the symbolism that is associated with each of the figures. The card stock is not overly thick, semi-gloss finish, slick to shuffle, and allows you get a nice bend without cracking the card stock. The finish really helps make the cards shuffle easily without sticking or scratching. This isn't my fave card stock as it is a bit too shiny and they can be a bit hard to shuffle at moments.
The size of the cards is a much larger than the average oracle deck size. Compared to Hay House card, they are quite large. The guidebook is meaty, and gives a lot of information on each of the deities and their stories. It really does lead one to using their intuition and also diving into all of the details in the cards. This may not be the easiest to just pick up for those who are not used to having to rely too heavily on intuition, but with practice and an open mind, they can quickly become great resources for tuning in and connecting with these deities.
The images are clear yet, they convey mystery. It's an interesting effect, that I have not seen in other decks. It is such a beautiful way of connecting with these Gods and Goddesses and learning about them. This deck is perfect for those who love mythology and would like to learn more about some of the traditions celebrated by various cultures.
There is a beautiful mysterious vibe to a lot of the images, and there is a lot of personality by each of the cards. I find that I need to know my clients pretty well before I pull this one out on them, in case they are uncomfortable with some of the images or even the stories that come with figures.
Here are some extra pictures of these gorgeous creations, side by side:
Overall, I think these are well-executed themed decks. Colorful and powerful, but straight to the point. I highly recommend it!
My overall opinion is that these decks are both a 4 star choice.
Artwork - 5 stars
Card stock - 3 stars
Ease - 4 stars
Guidebook - 4 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!
