The Spirit Animal Oracle: A 68-Card Deck - Animal Spirit Cards with Guidebook

I received Colette Baron Reid’s latest deck from Amazon as soon as they were released. Just a day later, I saw more than 40 reviews for the deck on Amazon...wow! I thought I should take a bit more time and work with the cards before I reviewed them for everyone. Though this deck may not satisfy all, I already enjoy working with it. It’s a bit different from a number of other animal and bird decks that I own (such as Jamie Sams’ Medicine Cards, Ted Andrews’ Animal Tarot and others)…but that is not necessarily a bad thing. If you are an animal-lover like myself and are open to receiving messages and omens from the natural world, you will most likely enjoy this deck.The deck contains 68 cards that depict a nice variety of creatures, great and small. Reid did not cover everything. She states that she only included the animals that communicated to her that they wanted to be included in this project. Some animals took themselves out of the deck to make room for others that wanted to come through.Unlike other decks that provide you with a lot of background on the animals, their behavior and significance, Reid’s interpretations are just messages channeled to her directly from these animal spirits. Like some of her other decks, there is a message to read when the card appears to you upright (“oracle message”) and a “protection” message for you to read when the card falls in reverse. Besides the one-card draw, she provides a couple of layout ideas for the cards. I look forward to trying Reid’s New Moon reading, the next chance I get.As an added bonus, there is a phrase on each card that can certainly add to the message you are receiving. For example, if I draw three cards, I like to put those three phrases into a cohesive whole to provide me with further insight; summing up the cards I just read. Here’s an example from drawing three cards at random (right now). I drew Spider Spirit (reversed), Flamingo Spirit, and Skunk Spirit. The phrases in order were: Make your dreams real; embrace the in-between; know your worth. If I put it together in order, I get: “Make your dreams real by embracing the in-between and knowing your worth”.The cards are a bit on the larger side; the box is well constructed and sturdy enough to hold them and the 204-page guidebook. The animal artwork by artist Jenna DellaGrottaglia is visually appealing, captivating, and a joy to explore. But, the artwork did leave me with a question. Why do some cards depict animals with crowns (associated with royalty) on their heads while others do not have one? At first I thought it was just the birds that had crown, but some of the animals do as well. I am not sure I read an explanation for this in the accompanying book.I’ve been drawing one card daily and came up with a chant to say while I shuffle: “What animal spirit ally/is coming out to play/and coming to assist me/on my journey today? I sincerely give, in advance,/my heartfelt thanks to you--/for any advice you can share/your unique point of view.” Today I drew the “White Raven Spirit” card which has the phrase, “Trust in the magic”. I do…. oh I do!I find Collette Baron Reid to be a very gifted author and creator of divine wisdom decks. Like most of her other works, this deck will inspire, inform, and guide you and the people you share it with. It is definitely a worthwhile addition to a seeker’s divinatory library.

I have been using various divination methods for more than 40 years - tarot, I Ching, runes, and variously themed "oracle" decks. Each has its own flavor/tone, and each tends to give insight in different ways.I have three of Collette Baron-Reid Oracle decks now, and this one is based on animals from around the world. It has thoughtful interpretations for each card. I like her approach to creating her decks, and appreciate the guidance they give.The deck comes in a nice, sturdy box for safe keeping, and the box includes a book that gives different "spreads" one can do for different types of readings, an introduction to using the deck, as well as the interpretations for each card.Ms. Baron-Reid's introduction to the deck is both interesting and instructional. She gives background on the deck, suggestions on how to use it, the kinds of questions that will give the best answers, and sets the tone for one's approach to doing readings. (I definitely suggest reading the introduction before doing a reading with it; especially if you've never used an oracle deck before.)The deck is meant to be shuffled in a way that allows for "reversed/upside down" meanings, and although it is a larger sized deck, I don't have any trouble shuffling it. (Of course I have larger hands, so that factors in). I don't find the card stock to be a problem, either, as some reviewers do - any thicker and it would be a problem to work with, in my opinion, as there are a lot of cards in the deck. As for sticking together, I simply went through the deck the first time I opened the box and made sure every card was there before shuffling, as some reviewers apparently received decks with cards that were "missing and/or stuck together". I haven't had any problems with cards sticking together, and all the cards were there.It's not as Native-American themed as some "animal spirit" decks, which is fine, because I have decks that are geared for that anyway. I'm very pleased with it, and the readings were accurate from the start, unlike some tarot decks that take a lot of shuffling before you can be sure you're getting a true read.It has a peaceful, contemplative feel overall, and I use it for personal reflection as well as for giving readings for others.Bottom line: I'm very glad I bought this deck, I use it a lot, and I recommend it.